Floor Standing Speakers

[lucky2041]

I currently have a pair of JBL J325 floor speakers for my main. I am looking to upgrade those these have certainly treated me well for many years. I just want to sound.

I am looking at polk - Monitor 60

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882290206

or the better version - Monitor 70

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882290208

Both are on sale currently. I would prefer to buy the monitor 60's just because of the cheaper price so I am curious whether the monitor 70's are really worth it? Both sets have excellent reviews.

Do you folks have any recommendations for better speakers in this same price range?

For reference, I have a BIC America Center Channel, Polk T15's for both rear and surround, AND a polk Sub - PSW 505. This would make almost my entire surround Polk, not sure if that is a good thing or not.

 

[DesiPower]

I am guessing 70s will be louder and have more bass...

 

[gar655]

Provided your JBLs are still in good shape (foam surrounds/cones etc...) the Polks would likely be a downgrade.

You should at least shoot for the Polk RTi line- go to the Polk ebay store.

 

[lucky2041]

I have the sub so I guess I am not too concerned about bass but I do know the mains are supposed to carry some of that load.

I also found this one which would match my center channel.. it's BIC America Venturi DV-84

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882007013

Any one have thoughts on this one vs the polks?

 

[lucky2041]

The JBL's are in decent shape but they are bulky and the highs are just not crisp anymore.

 

[DesiPower]

BIC is considered to be a in a lower class compared to Polk, but I am not an expert, just read around...
Also, its always recommended to go with matching center and front, I don't think Polk front and BIC center would be a good idea
Thirdly, center should be the highest quality as it delivers most of the sound.

You can easily skip the center for now and tell you AVR there is no center and it will distribute the center to the sides.

iirc, CS1 is the matching center for 60 and CS2 for 70

 

[lucky2041]

This is the center channel that I have.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...8656-_-Product

I am obviously no expert, but I certainly have no complaints with this center channel. It has produced great sound for me thus far.

 

[tential]

The JBL's are in decent shape but they are bulky and the highs are just not crisp anymore.

So did no one really address this and we're just ignoring this post?
If your highs were good at one point, then bad at another, most likely you've damaged the speakers. Replace the tweeters then.

I have the Polk Monitor 70s and I've had to replace my tweeters twice (I throw parties though and I was powering the speakers off my AVR back then. Learned my lesson and I now use a dedicated amp).

It's definitely a worthwhile step to me personally to get the top of the line if you do get the Polks. The difference is pretty decent for the price since I've seen the polk monitor 60s in action I believe and they were really lack luster compared to my 70s.

But if I were to do it all over again, I'd build these:
http://www.diysoundgroup.com/waveguide-speaker-kits/fusion-8/fusion8-kit.html

It was a massive mistake buying the Polk Monitor 70s looking back, especially since I was aware of the DIY community. I simply have 0 woodworking skills so was too afraid (0 handiman skills at all really). Now that I finished my sub and seen the effect I'd definitely build. I'd purchase from diysoundgroup though. My subwoofer kit was from partsexpress which while it wasn't bad, it wasn't amazing and the kit isn't as good as the diysoundgroup kits.

Personally, I'm planning on saving up and building 2-3(Depends on whether there is a viable way to use it as a center even...) of these:
http://www.diysoundgroup.com/home-theater-speakers/1899.html

Hopefully by the end of next year. I only want to build speakers ONCE and I don't want to worry about whether they're good/up to the task ever lol. But I also love music and would play it 24/7 loudly if I had the place to do so. When I did in college, people didn't enjoy it, and I lived in a fraternity house lol.

 

[razel]

I would just keep your current speakers. You have lived with them for awhile I take it, got used to their sound and probably enjoy it. I have/had a pair of BIC Americas v52 and v62 mains and enjoyed them as well. Great midrange, but the v52s highs are a bit brittle for me. Others loves them though.

Despite that, as with others skip on the center. If you are looking to improve your sound, look into basic room treatment. I don't mean going crazy with foam/treatment everywhere... just basic stuff. They call it 1st room reflection. Essentially where the sound bounces off the wall 1st is where you'd want to put something to absorb sound... anything... even a fabric art with a print on it. You can test the difference it makes by using a pillow or even putting a heavy blanket over any hard surfaces like your table that's usually between the speakers.

 

[Anubis]

you do realize that the 1899 is massive right? i mean i have a lot of speakers but that would not fit in my house

i also have the fusions they are also excellent

 

[lucky2041]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

If I were to keep my current speakers, I'd like to replace the tweeters. Given that these speakers (JBL J325) are old, they don't make new parts anymore. Where could. Order new tweeters that would be comparable or better to the factory ones current in it?

 

[tential]

you do realize that the 1899 is massive right? i mean i have a lot of speakers but that would not fit in my house

i also have the fusions they are also excellent

Coming from a person with 24 inch subs if I'm not mistaken? Haha.

They're massive and won't fit in any place I have but they're also not currently finished either. When they are finished/available, I'll probably try and get it (if the price is reasonable) but won't actually assemble them until I have a place to do so. I just want to have them before they go out of stock once they come in.

First step though is to make some Volt 10-LX to use as fronts(maybe rears too) so I can toss my monitor 70s and save some space.

 

[tential]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

If I were to keep my current speakers, I'd like to replace the tweeters. Given that these speakers (JBL J325) are old, they don't make new parts anymore. Where could. Order new tweeters that would be comparable or better to the factory ones current in it?

I ordered direct for B&W for my replacement tweeter. It was a LOT of cash but a whole new speaker would be more.

I did a quick search of those speakers and I personally think you'd be better off building new speakers than purchasing something entry level under $500 for a pair.
The Fusion 8's I linked earlier in the thread are ~$400-450
If you built the Fusion 8 Tower, it'd cost more, but it'd fit the "floor standing" look you want (Bet it'd be overkill though but you'd be happy).

I don't think the Polk Monitor 70 is a good deal at anything but $150 so the fact that you were willing to pay more than that means I'd definitely recommend looking at DIY rather than overpaying for speakers like that. I only got the Monitor 70s because they were $150 on sale. They were $160-180+ many times but I never jumped on it.

 

[gar655]

This is the center channel that I have.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...8656-_-Product

I am obviously no expert, but I certainly have no complaints with this center channel. It has produced great sound for me thus far.

Then why not get these since they'll match

http://www.amazon.com/BIC-America-Ve...nturi+speakers

 

[Anubis]

Coming from a person with 24 inch subs if I'm not mistaken? Haha.

They're massive and won't fit in any place I have but they're also not currently finished either. When they are finished/available, I'll probably try and get it (if the price is reasonable) but won't actually assemble them until I have a place to do so. I just want to have them before they go out of stock once they come in.

First step though is to make some Volt 10-LX to use as fronts(maybe rears too) so I can toss my monitor 70s and save some space.

yes but the 24 Box is only 44" long
the 1899 is looking at 48" of just cone length + 6 of so from the 15" WG
that thing is gonna be nearly 6 feet tall

 

[tential]

yes but the 24 Box is only 44" long
the 1899 is looking at 48" of just cone length + 6 of so from the 15" WG
that thing is gonna be nearly 6 feet tall

Is this supposed to make me want to build it less or more =D.
I'm 5'7" by the way. So this thing will tower/dwarf me in every aspect possible.

I need to not only wait for it to be available to purchase, but then find a person in my area that will actually help me build/set up since I wouldn't be even able to move it by myself anyway haha. Couldn't even build it myself probably would probably need help.

I hope a 1599 comes out though since that'll be more practical (although realistically nothing bigger than a 1099 is probably needed for residential use, I just like big speakers =D).

For now though, I just gotta build theses Volts to hold me over.

 

[Anubis]

where do you live

 

[tential]

Philly PA currently. Moving to Austin Texas though. Probably will return to PA by the end of the year though. Pretty sure a couple of avsforum.com members are not too far away from me.

I think a guy about to take on a massive project is actually in Austin. I'm going to. Pm him on avsforum.com to see if I can watch/help out so I can learn/improve my skills which are severely beginner only.

 

[Anubis]

yea the guy I know lives just outside philly and has his own CNC, im sure you know who im talking about

 

[blackangst1]

As others have mentioned, the Monitors likely wont be much, if any, of an upgrade for you. As gar mentioned, you should look at the RTi line.

(full disclosure: Im a Polk fanboi and my entire theater minus the sub is Polk.)

 

[richardycc]

this would be a change or a lateral upgrade more than a true upgrade. like trade in a Honda civic for a toyota corolla, you are still getting entry level stuff. Save up your money and get something better later.