pushbacktosquare Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 These are specs for the Polk Audio Monitor40 Series II Two-Way Bookshelf Loudspeaker: Would these complement a turntable set up? Here's my set up thus far: Turntable: Stanton T55 Receiver: Pioneer SX 3800 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 I think people over think speaker matching at this low level of hi-fi equipment. Those speakers will work fine for your amp and turntable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pushbacktosquare Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 Cool, thanks man. These are by no means bad speakers though, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 I have no personal use with them, but I can tell you they will sound good to you. You're just starting off, they'll be perfectly fine. Also, you sure its not a SA-6300? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pushbacktosquare Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 Yeah, here's the link to these guys: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290202 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pushbacktosquare Posted June 8, 2012 Author Share Posted June 8, 2012 I have no personal use with them, but I can tell you they will sound good to you. You're just starting off, they'll be perfectly fine. Also, you sure its not a SA-6300? Sorry, I meant to type Pioneer SX 3800. Had a long day, ha. Fixed now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirdfromthesun Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 First off, Polk is a pretty good brand of mid-range speakers, so great starting point. As for all the info in the table, I'll do my best at explaining it. The first thing listed is the woofer size. This is what many people call 'a speaker'. Basically, it is part of what creates the noise that you will hear. In the majority of bookcase speakers, these Polks included, it produces sounds in mid-range frequencies. I'll go more in depth about all the frequencies later, just know that your woofer is what produces the majority of audible noise, which means it is one of the most important parts. These bookshelves have two woofers, something I notice Polk has been doing a lot lately. Some companies like to only put one woofer in, which is what I personally prefer. However both of the Polk woofers are 5-1/4" diameter. This is the minimum size you want in a bookshelf, so in that regard, you are good. Next up is the tweeter, which is what produces the high-frequency sounds. It's a single 1" dome tweeter, which is the standard for mid-range audio today. Most companies use a dome, whereas others, like Klipsch, use a horn. It's a personal choice, but I typically lean towards dome. Oh, and all those descriptive words about the dome and tweeter? I wouldn't worry too much about it. It just explains what type they are and how they are made. For your price range, every speaker is going to be made about the same way. Overall frequency range is a very important spec on features. When recreating music you want to be able to hear everything that was captured, and thus, want to hear all of the range. Humans have the ability to hear from 20Hz to 20,000Hz (or 20kHz), but many scientists now believe we can notice differences in sound all the way down to 17Hz and up to 23,000kHz. These Polks go from 47Hz to 25kHz, with an upper and lower -3db limit of 24kHz and 57Hz. The reason -3db is used here is because that is the difference that human ears can decipher. Now what about all the music I'll be missing out on between 17Hz and 47/57Hz you ask? Well that is a very good question. That is why we use subwoofers. They are made specifically for low-frequency sounds, normally 80Hz and below. If you will be using these speakers for home theatre as well, you may want to invest in one. However, if you're only using them for your turntable, you may be fine without one. If you at this chart here, you'll see very little music is below 40Hz. Recommended amplifier power is pretty straight forward. Whatever amp or receiver you use will put out a certain amount of power, normally measured in watts per channel. I think the average these days is either 50 or 75 watts. The recommended for these speakers is between 20 and 125 watts. If you don't have enough power, you won't get good sound, and too much power ends with you having blown out speakers. It seems like these will be fine with almost any amp you have, so no worries there. Crossover is the frequency at which the woofer stops making sound and the tweeter starts taking over. 2.3kHz seems like a good number, but honestly I can't remember what mine are. Efficiency and inputs I wouldn't worry too much about. If I recall, for bookshelves you want efficiency to be close to 90dB, 89 is close enough. Nearly every speaker you look at will have the exact same inputs too. Dimensions are explanatory, if it fits in whatever space you have, you're good. Rear panel vented means the air comes out the back instead of the front. This can create an effect of surrounding with music, however the speakers must be placed correctly then. For rear firing, I would recommend at least a foot of space between the back of the speaker and the wall it goes against. If you have rooms, this creates a much better sound. At the very least, do not put the speakers flat against the wall. The last major thing to note about the speakers is their weight. Back in the early days of audio, a great way to determine the quality of a speaker was to pick it up and see how much it weighed. Heavier weights meant two things: the company cared about its construction, and thus would care more about its sound quality; and two a heavier speaker meant that it couldn't be shaken as easily, and would create the best sound possible. A 5-year warranty is standard in the industry, but for the most part, speakers last a long time. In conclusion, I would say these speakers are a pretty good entry pair into the market. This pair will be better than the majority of speakers other people have in their house, despite what it may seem on here. However, I say that without ever hearing the speakers, and that is where you must truly make your decision; how they sound to you. If you can, go to a local audio store, preferably an actual audio store, not Best Buy or anything of that like. Most stores will let you take your own music or movies to test out, and decide then. If you are looking for any other recommendations though, here are a few I found in your price range. The Polk TSi200 and the TSi100, both with similar specs to yours, and with them also being Polks, they'll have a similar sound. They're available in cherry or black, but I personally love the cherry, albeit it is a bit more expensive. These Martin Logans look really interesting, but note that they are much smaller. I have also been hearing great things about Audioengine, and these would fit your budget. They only have a 4" woofer, but are front-ported. Another speaker you could look at that is a bit smaller are PSBs. Despite their size, they sound absolutely amazing. I almost just bought the Image B4s, but they only have a 4" woofer. The Alpha B1s are bigger, but are in the line below. I have personally heard these though, and believe that they sound better than anything in the price range. As I said earlier, the best thing you can do is go into a store and listen for yourself. The specs on those Polks are all there, but normally, there is something intangible about speakers that pulls you to them, not some asinine spec sheet. If I had to guess, they'll sound great and you'll be very happy with them. Best of luck in buying some new speakers, and hopefully I taught you a little something about speakers. konk and daysaves 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daysaves Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 I'm in the market for new speakers as well, and your post is going to be super helpful, thirdfromthesun. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirdfromthesun Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 I'm in the market for new speakers as well, and your post is going to be super helpful, thirdfromthesun. Thank you! No problem dude. I don't know every thing about sound quality yet, but for most people, I know enough about speakers. Do you mind me asking what your looking for or what your price range is? Maybe I could give you some suggestions as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pushbacktosquare Posted June 10, 2012 Author Share Posted June 10, 2012 Ended up buying these speakers, should be coming in on Monday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daysaves Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 No problem dude. I don't know every thing about sound quality yet, but for most people, I know enough about speakers. Do you mind me asking what your looking for or what your price range is? Maybe I could give you some suggestions as well. I think I've actually decided on the Polk Audio TSi200 bookshelves. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018QRO9A/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER But what you can help me with is speaker wire. I've never had speakers where I had to purchase separate wires and I'm totally lost as to what to get. I want something reasonable and simple that will get the job done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirdfromthesun Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Ended up buying these speakers, should be coming in on Monday Congrats man. It seems like you got a pretty good speaker for a great price! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirdfromthesun Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 I think I've actually decided on the Polk Audio TSi200 bookshelves. http://www.amazon.co...m=ATVPDKIKX0DER But what you can help me with is speaker wire. I've never had speakers where I had to purchase separate wires and I'm totally lost as to what to get. I want something reasonable and simple that will get the job done. Nice, they seem like a fairly good speaker. And you can later upgrade to a 5.1 system that matches it if you want, which is nice. As for wires, the main quantitative factor that determines the quality of a wire is the thickness. The thicker the wire the better. An 18AWG means it is a wire with an 1/18" diameter, while a 12AWG wire has an 1/12" diameter. So when buying speaker wire, the SMALLER the number, the better. There is a chart somewhere on the internet that explains what size wire you need depending on how long you will be running the wire, but I just typically go with 12AWG. It allows for expansion in the future, and isn't that much more. You also need to check how far away your speakers will be from your receiver or amp, but based upon the fact that you are only buying two speakers, I would say you don't need any more than 50 ft. Monoprice is the best place to buy any sort of wire or cable in my mind. The shipping is a bit expensive, but the wires themselves are A LOT cheeper. Don't worry about buying Monster cable or any other sort of brand that claims to be revolutionary. Wire is wire. There is no difference between $10,000 wires and $10 wires. Here is 50 ft of 12AWG wire from Monoprice. Another thing you may want to buy are banana plugs. With banana plugs, you put the wire into the plug, then the plug just slides into the port on the back of your amp. If your amp is super old or of really low quality, it may not have ports that work with a banana plug. If your ports look like something on the back of this Denon, you're good to go. The reason to buy banana ports is that it makes plugging and unplugging your speakers a lot easier, and I think it causes a little less stress on the ends or your wire. There are two main types, Open Screw and Closed Screw. I prefer Open Screw because it keeps your wires perpendicular to the ports on your amp and saves you a bit space back there. But it's totally your choice. For each speaker you want to hook up like that, you'll need two pairs. One pair goes into your speaker, and another pair goes into your amp. That's pretty much the exact same order I purchased from them last week. My only other suggestion would to buy any other cables or accessories you need, since they are a great deal, with shipping being the only bummer. Best of luck! daysaves 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daysaves Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Extremely helpful once again. Thanks! I'm going to go with the 12AWG wire with the open screw banana plugs. One last question... is it pretty simple to attach the speaker wire to the banana plugs? I can just see myself screwing it up, hah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirdfromthesun Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Extremely helpful once again. Thanks! I'm going to go with the 12AWG wire with the open screw banana plugs. One last question... is it pretty simple to attach the speaker wire to the banana plugs? I can just see myself screwing it up, hah. I haven't gotten mine in yet, so my memory may be a bit foggy, but here it goes. 1. Cut the wire to whatever length you need. 2. Strip about 1/4"-1/2" off both ends of the wire. 3. Twist the exposed wire in one direction so that all the individual strands are tightly wound 4. Slide that into the banana plug (I'm sure the plugs come with more detailed steps on how to do this) 5. Pop the plugs into the speakers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirdfromthesun Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Extremely helpful once again. Thanks! I'm going to go with the 12AWG wire with the open screw banana plugs. One last question... is it pretty simple to attach the speaker wire to the banana plugs? I can just see myself screwing it up, hah. Here's a video actually explaining it. You pretty much follow those steps for the speaker itself as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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