Sub/amp paired with Polk R15

R

rontruong

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 23, 2006
Messages
336
Hi,
I just bought Polk R15 and i'm not quite sure what kind of sub/amp to buy...

i'm thinking in around the <100 range for something decent...

the recommended watts for each channel is 20-100 W

any tips?

thanks!
 
a normal college dorm room i think its 10 feet x 10 feet

some wehre around that size...
but i want the rest of the suite to hear the music to for parties...
 
i thought computer subs come w/ amps?

or if i buy a receiver.... whats a budget one that would have enough power for the polk r15s?
 
i have a 5.1 setup with a Harman Kardon AVR-135 reciever. I highly recommend HK recievers. HK sells refurbished recievers on ebay that are backed with a one year warranty i believe. you can get them considerably cheaper on ebay than through HK's online store.

another reciever that seems to be pretty popular and wont break the bank is the panasonic xr-55. it doesnt have all the bells and whistles, such as HDMI, as your higher end recievers. i believe these are around the low 200$ range online.

as for a budget subwoofer, i like the Dayton Audio subwoofers. they can be purchased online at www.partsexpress.com. I have the 12 in. sub hooked up to the HK reciever with 2 sets of polk r-15s and polk cs.1 center speaker. it sounds amazing to my ears, although i am planning on upgrading in the future.

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=300-633
 
if i get that sub, i wont need a receiver to hook it up to my computer right...??

:D
 
i am not 100% sure on this, but i believe you would still need a reciever.

theres two ways of hooking up your computer to your reciever, an analog way and a digital way. i have links that explain this alot better that i can dig up once i am home (i am bored at work). it really depends on what you want. for some goofy reason the digital way is only capable of sending the audio signal in 2.1, whereas, the analog way is capable of transfering audio in 5.1.

i opted for the digital way of connecting cuz it requires only one cord. the analog requires 3 cords from computer to reciever. again i will dig up links later on.

if your only purpose is to connect this to your computer, then any reciever will do.
 
will the quality of the receiver matter?


i thought its jus you connect your speakers to you sub's amp and then the amp to the computer..?
 
you may be able to do, but i dont think so.

the only way that i can think of it working is to connect the speakers to the sub then plug in one the rca end of this into the sub then the mini end to the sound card.

i dont think this works tho, although i have never tried.

the way i have it hooked up is all speakers and subwoofer connected to the reciever. then the cable above hooked into a digital audio in to the reciever.
 
also the quality of the recievers will matter somewhat. for the speakers that we are both using any low end reciever is just fine. make sure it has all the connections you need.

it really all depends on your needs. i retrospect i wish i would have bought a higher end HK model or even a denon, marantz, etc. i will be upgrading almost everything in the future whenever i upgrade my tv. audio equipment is just as addicting as the latest and greatest video cards.

if i had to do it all over again, i wouldve waited another couple months purchased the same reciever or near equivalent price and bought mid to high end speakers. good quality speakers will last a very long time. for what i use my system for now is adequate, but you always want that little more even though your wallet says no. :)
 
just wondering if prebought systems just have satelites and a sub/amp... it just plugs through the computer..

isnt this the same thing, what im buying?
 
rontruong said:
just wondering if prebought systems just have satelites and a sub/amp... it just plugs through the computer..

isnt this the same thing, what im buying?
Click to expand...
What do you mean by pre-bought? do you mean used, or one of those complete home-theatre-in-a-box setups?

Otherwise i'd recommend the same equipment that others here have already:

A refurbished $99 2.1 or 5.1 receiver: onkyo, harmon kardon, etc etc, buy it direct or buy it from an authorized dealer on ebay. Mate it with that Athena subwoofer from amazon.com or a 10" or 12" dayton sub from parts express.

A home-theatre subwoofer will not amplify your polk R15's, you'll need a receiver for that.

Good luck and enjoy your new toys
 
are you asking what you sub you can buy to directly plug into your computer then plug the polks into?

you can not do this. most "computer" subs are made from logitech, klipsch, etc. and made to match the speakers made by the manufacture.

i am not aware of any sub that has the capability of being directly plugged into the computer and speakers. even if there is i would imagine that the sound wouldnt be good.
 
cant i jus buy a sub like from a z5500 set and replace the satelites w/ the r15?
 
what would be a good cheap receiver to get for these speakers if i dont plan to get a sub yet...

i'd only like the receiver/amp to be 2.1 channels and i'll add a sub later.... i hope that saves some money


looking around <75$
 
no you just cant buy a sub from a system such as the logitechs and hook up home audio speakers.

for a receiver around that price its either going to have to be used or a demo model. even at that you are gonna have a hard time finding one that low.

it sounds like you are better off selling the polks and getting a 2.1 system such as the klipsch promedias.
 
what about like 120 for one...


and one questions are amps or receivers the same?

if not then both would work to connect to bookshelves to computer right?

which would be cheaper and a recommendation pelase :D
thanks for the help i bet im frustrating you
 
a receiver already has an amplifier built in. people buy stand alone amps to supplement the receiver. an amp will not have the capability to connect a tv, xbox360, dvd players etc.

i have no experience with stand alone amp units, just receivers. i would strongly suggest you just go with the receiver.

for that range i would recommend a low end sony or onkyo receiver. www.shoponkyo.com

onkyo sells refurbed receivers that are backed with a 1 year warranty.

search for similar deals and you will find a deal.
 
most receivers have amps in them. You need both in order to get sound. Many subs have their own amp built into them because the amps in receivers dont have the power to drive a sub. These amps are designed only to power the sub and nothing more.

some people buy seperate amps that are of a higher quality than a reciever has built in and use their reciever in "preamp" mode where the reciever decodes the audio stream and sends it to the external amp so it can amplify the power and send it to the speakers.

Computer speakers are designed differently than home audio speakers. They are sheilded so their magnets wont damage your computer gear (more of a problem back in the CRT days) and in multiple speaker setups they generally have an amp built into the sub that will power all of the speakers THAT COME WITH THE PACKAGE. These are low power devices and not suitable generally to running home audio speakers.

in summary you have two choices when setting up speakers for a computer

1) buy a computer speaker setup

2) buy home audio speakers, a reciever, and a sub (with built in amp)
 
It seems like what he originally wanted to do was to take say... Klipsch Promedia 2.1's and replace the satellites with the Polk R15's. That way he could use the sub included and amp from the Promedia's to power the sats and sub.

Will it work though? Probably, although you'd almost certainly be better off with a receiver / sub than a multimedia setup. I also think the Promedia's amp is rated at 6 ohms, so you might get less power (or more) than you'd expect hooking them up to 8 ohm Polk R15's. I don't imagine it would cause a problem though. I've heard of people doing this with the Promedia's and replacing the included sats with the Klipsch RSX model sats.
 
well if u say an amp cant connect to the rest of those things...

it doesnt matter because i only want to plug it into my computer...

i already have a tv tuner and such so theres no use to connect into a tv dvd player ...etc

saying that ... whats a good amp? :D



and will the connectors of the promedia's 2.1 sub be compatible w/ the bookshelf i have?
 
you dont need an amp. Most companies dont make budget standalone amps simply because anyone on a budget is going to use amps that are built into gear they have to have.
 
well then what should i buy to connect these bookshelves to the computer...?

amp, receiver, or a sub?


whats cheapest..?
 
Bdeuce22 said:
no you just cant buy a sub from a system such as the logitechs and hook up home audio speakers.

.
Click to expand...


Actually you can. The Z5500 sub has standard connections to it and outputs 63w/channel which is more than you'd expect, considering the size of the satellites.
 
rontruong said:
well then what should i buy to connect these bookshelves to the computer...?

amp, receiver, or a sub?


whats cheapest..?
Click to expand...

What should you buy? A receiver and powered sub.

What's cheapest? A decent 2.1 multimedia setup and replace the sats with the R15's. I wouldn't go this route.
 
i'm planning to get subs later...

and theres many places you can buy just the sub ... as a replacement.. not just buy the whole system and then replace the satelites...


obi kwiet... are there any other subs that can do this that are easy to purchase standalone?

thanks
 
oh and if the difference between a receiver and an amp is just the ability to connect to tvs/dvd/so on... then i wouldnt need a receiver.. all i need is something to make it possible to hoook it to my computer
 
If you're going to get a sub later, just get a stereo receiver now.

Multimedia setups are designed to operate only with the speakers / sub included with them. You can't really guarantee performance by pairing the sub and control pod of a multimedia setup with the R15's. Receivers are designed to operate with speakers across the board assuming you match impedence, etc, though you can get pretty technical with it.

How much you lookin to spend (in case I missed it)?
 
unlikely to find a sub for that price little less both a sub and integrated amp,

you may be able to find an old vintage integrated amp locally off craigslist or at a pawn shop as well as a sub but i'd go with misterx's suggestion above and just hold off on the sub for a while
 
The amp suggested by MisterX is good. If component video switching doesn't interest you (from what you've been saying, I don't think video at all interests you), you might want to go with a little less expensive model in your price range:

http://www.shoponkyo.com/detail.cfm?productid=TX-SR303&modelid=51&group_id=1&detail=1&ext_war=1

At first glance, I believe the only difference between this model and the one suggested by MisterX is the component switching, but that was only at first glance.
 
downgrading to a 2.1 would hardly make a difference in price, unless you find one locally or at a garage sale.

go with the one from onkyo as shown above. you will be happy
 
really your best bet is just buy a 120 buck set of computer speakers and sell the polk or use them somewhere else.

an amp will run your 2 polks but if you want a sub later you will be out of luck.

Really quit trying to rig it up.. its going to sound like crap if you do.
 
rontruong, I use the sub that came with my logitech z560's and I have some Mirage bookshelf speakers connected to it and it sounds pretty good. The key thing to note here is that you are trying to be cost efficient. You may be able to spend $60 for the z560's and have a decent setup.
 
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