[ks12]

Hi Guys,

I am looking to upgrade from my current setup of KRK Rokit 8's and a Scarlett 2i2 audio interface. I was looking at getting an Emotiva BasX A-100($230) and a pair of Polk LSiM703's. I mainly use the speakers for PS4/PC gaming and listening to music(metal/hard rock). I was wondering what you guys thought of the upgrade or if you have any suggestions for other speakers/amps/setups that I should be looking at? My budget is around $1000, interested to hear what you guys think, thanks!

 

[PJABBER]

How large is the room you are in, are you gaming off a computer monitor or some other display, how close will you be to the speakers?

As you are currently using an audio interface, do you do any work with a DAW or have a need for linearity rather than dynamics?

 

[ks12]

Hi Pjabberm,

The room is roughly 12x12, I am gaming off of a 55 inch Samsung 4K monitor(KS8000) and sit about 3-4 feet from the screen. Currently my Rokit's are about 4 feet away from me on each side sitting on stands with Auralex isolation pads. I could move speakers further away by putting them in the corners angled in on the stands. I do use Reaper for recording guitar but am more interested in an upgrade for gaming/music sound quality then for monitoring. Not quite sure the difference between linearity vs dynamics.

 

[PJABBER]

Studio monitors are tuned to have a linear, or flat, frequency response. Most are designed for nearfield listening where the sweet spot is focused by angling in the monitors and listening only a few feet from them. Great for mixing but maybe not that interesting to listen to movies or play games. And anyone sitting outside the very narrow sweetspot will be losing a lot of the audio frequency range as they do tend to roll off the further off the sweetspot you are.

Home theater speakers tend to have somewhat of a V shaped frequency emphasis, more treble and bass. Can still be accurate but you will be better able to pick up vocals range frequencies and enjoy the explosions viscerally from a further seating distance and a much wider sweetspot. You can correct any speaker to have a flat response and good timing from multiple speakers with a room correction/DSP system like Audessey MultEQ XT.

OK, on to some configuration options.

The early generations of Rokit 8s were OK and the Gen 3s are really pretty good for low budget monitors. I would keep the Rokits solely for mixing since you are already used to them, but If you want to save some money and don't want to change anything else, you can pair the 8s with a decent subwoofer to move into home theater sound, i.e. deep bass for explosions, sub bass rumble and the like, sure to annoy anyone living below you. The Rokits do benefit quite a bit from DSP correction, you might be shocked how much.

Haven't heard them myself but the Polk LSiM703 seems an excellent speaker as reviewed and measured by Stereophile. Looks like you might want to make some distance between them and your ears due to the dispersion baffle they use. And pricing is around $750 EACH, so unless you know of a great sale, these are going to blow your $1000 budget.

Klipsch is continuing to have a really good factory sale until 8/12 - http://www.klipsch.com/specials. To stay within your $1K budget and get an efficient home theater and gaming setup, I recommend the floorstanding R-28F speaker for $359 each on sale. You can add a R-12SW subwoofer, also on sale for the same price, but I would save my money there as the R-28Fs have good bass and would instead add some matching surround speakers like their R-15M for $199/pair as home theater requires rear speakers for surround sound. You can add a center speaker later, but I find that a 4 speaker system (with a phantom center) works fine.

These are passive speakers so you will need an AV receiver or DAC/AMP + source. An AV receiver offers the best value and tons of functionality for a lot less money than separates, so let me focus on that solution.

I highly recommend looking for Audessey MultEQ XT room EQ functionality in any AV receiver you are considering to be able to tune sound to your speaker characteristics, room acoustics and listening position.

Trying to stick within your budget, how about a DENON AVR-X1300W (7.2-Ch x 80 Watts Networking A/V Receiver) for $299 -
http://www.accessories4less.com/mak...-ch-x-80-watts-networking-a/v-receiver/1.html

The INTEGRA DTR-40.3 (7.2-Ch x 110 Watts THX Networking A/V Receiver) for $350 is also a great choice - http://www.accessories4less.com/mak...-110-watts-thx-networking-a/v-receiver/1.html

The Denon and Integra will be fine for headphone amping but if you do want something more specialized for headphone use, I would go for a JDS Labs B-Stock Objective2+ODAC (Objective2 headphone amp with integrated ObjectiveDAC) for $239 - https://www.jdslabs.com/mobile/products/169/objective2-odac-combo-revb-b-stock/

Lots of choices to be sure, but the more you know what you want your end result to be, the more the options become clear.

 

[ks12]

Thank You for the reply, awesome information! I found a deal for a pair of LSiM703's from Adorama open box for $500(for the pair), that was one of the considerations for that speaker. In regards to the Klipsch I have heard a lot of good things about them, how do the R-28F's compare to the RF82 II's(and LSiM703's)? Fry's electronics has Klipsch RF82 II's on sale for $229 a piece so I was wondering if that would be a downgrade or is worth doing? I appreciate the AV receivers suggestions, do you think that would be a better route to go compared to an Emotiva A-100 BasX? For headphone amping I am currently using an Audio-GD NFB 11.28 and my monitors are attached to that as well when not playing/recording guitar. I really appreciate you taking the time to break down the options, here is a link to the Polk deal I mentioned:

https://www.adorama.com/pklsm703mvc...t&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_source=rflaid62905

 

[PJABBER]

Can't go wrong with the Polks at that price! You will definitely need a subwoofer with them, and surround/rear speakers for a home theater setup.
Surrounds require a lot less volume and frequency response than mains so you can certainly go with a lesser speaker spec, but for that price I would get two pairs and be done with it!

Do splurge and get a good subwoofer as you will need one to fill in the lows that the LSiM703 won't reach. Subs from Hsu Research would be a good match, but Klipsch Reference, SVS, Martin Logan, lots of others will also work.

The system you have right now is great for stereo but can't decode Dolby and DTS surround sound, which is what home theater is all about. The receivers I mention will check off all of the primary requirements for HT and are being offered at great price points. I saw some other Denon and Integra AV receiver options at A4L as well, but you will need to do a feature by feature comparison to see if anything else might be better suited for you. Myself, I would probably buy the Integra as a prestige match to the Polk quintuplet.

BTW, Integra is to Denon like Acura is to Honda, both are in the same family with some better component electronics in the Integra that may or may not really offer an audible difference. Pioneer and Yamaha also have good competitive systems but I think the Denon/Integras offer better value due to current sales pricing.

Keep the Audio-GD NFB 11.28 for your headphones, I don't think they are beat by the Emotiva.
The Polks are the better choice at their crazy low price point, but the Klipsch RF82 II's on sale for $229, while prior generation, are a better deal for a better speaker than the R-28F if you don't want to buy a sub and prefer the sound of Klipsch.

 

[ks12]

Awesome, I will go with 2 pairs of the Polk's and proably splurge a bit and get their center speaker(Polk LSiM704c for $269.99)as well. The Integra amp looks like a good fit I will look at a few but I like the specs on the INTEGRA DTR-40.3 that you referenced I think the extra power(110 watts) will help. Unfortunately that leaves me about $600 over budget which is about par for the course lol when it comes to this stuff for me. I will have to hold off on a sub for a month or two but I will take a look at Hsu Research, looks interesting. It sounds like you favor a phantom center, do you think that money would be better spent applied to a sub? I appreciate all your help, I promise this will be my last question!

 

[PJABBER]

The Polks at 88dB are not that efficient, certainly don't have the efficiency of the Klipsch line, so the more power from your receiver, the better.

If I had to choose a sub over a center I would definitely go for the sub. The Polks use 6.5 inch mid-bass drivers and those won't reach low enough for either EDM or movies and you will notice the difference. By contrast, the Klipsches use larger bass drivers and get more bass efficiency just by using floor standing ported cabinets, you won't really need a subwoofer except for earthquake effects, IMHO.

A phantom center will be acoustically matched to the four main speakers of the Polk set up as you will have center sound produced by the two front speakers. A separate center speaker, mostly used for dialogue/spoken voice, should match but often does not due to the different sized mid-woofers, placement, etc. With a good HT receiver and something like the Audessey DSP in play, it probably doesn't matter that much as the DSP will adjust for the innate differences.

Simple solution, of course, is to get the center and a subwoofer at the same time as the integrated AV receiver. You only have to do the Audessey setup once and you will be good to go. If you start with less than the final selection of speakers you will have to run the receiver's Audessey setup each time you add a speaker or the subwoofer. Not a super hassle but it does take about 30 minutes to run the Audessey program as it sequentially generates test tones from each speaker and then has to process the readings.