I've been out of the A/V game for about 5 years now and my, how the technology has changed!

I'm in between houses right now and will probably be in my apartment for 8-9 months while I look at houses. At my old place, I had a projector, 104" screen, towers, surround, the whole nine yards. What I'm looking for now is a inexpensive, temporary solution so I can still enjoy surround sound without pissing off the neighbors.

I've been looking at the Polk RM6750 for surround speakers and the Onkyo 308 and 508 for receivers. Any advice on this setup? I remember the Polks packing quite a punch for satellites from back when I was selling this stuff. Have they still held up over time? What about the receiver? There seems to be so much new technology involved in them now. What will the 508 do that the 308 wont? Does Onkyo still put out a quality product?

Keep in mind that a) I dont want to be that asshole neighbor who makes the entire building shake, and b) these will probably be flipped on craigslist within a year.

Most systems have a volume...so.....

I don't see the point in getting a "temporary" system. Unless you think you are going to do a lot of built in stuff in your new place. Or wall mounted, etc.

I think your best bet is to use what you were using before and just keep the volume at a reasonable level. And I'd go meet your neighbors. Invite them over for a drink/movie watching. Let them know to just shoot you a text/tweet or whatever if things are to loud.

Anything "temporary" would could bother the neighbors just as much as your current system. Use the volume, turn down the sub if you must...and you will be fine. Or as fine as with a temporary system.

Space is also a concern, so I dont want to have the towers. I realize I could turn the volume down, but the woofers still put out a decent amount of bass and thats what causes all the shaking. I know that in my old house, even with the volume at reasonable levels, I could feel it upstairs and that's what Im trying to avoid. I guess I could mess with the crossovers to cut out certain frequencies, but I think it would be easier to just use smaller woofers that still put out decent midrange.

And this is also the most unsocial place Ive ever lived. I'm the type of person who smiles and says hi to everyone I meet, but in this place people just walk around looking unhappy and stare at their feet in order to avoid eye contact.

I'm still not sure I'm following. You don't want to mess with crossovers or turning the sub output for fear of "losing" some quality but your want to buy an entire cheap system that will be of lessor quality than you have now?

Are all 5 of your speakers towers? typically only the front two are. So, why not just get a couple of new bookshelf front speakers and use the rest that you have?

Again, I don't see the point, but regardless.....

Yes, Onkyo makes a nice receivers. There mid/upper line are well reviewed have a nice following and lots of features for the money. But I would think overkill for what your want. I mean I don't know your current set up. Are you running multiple Krell amps and dual SVS subs or something? I'm not sure how much "less" of a receiver the Onkyo would be to what you are using.

Though you can get some inexpensive, low end crappy sounding HTiB from Onkyo.

http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-HT-S3300...1908446&sr=8-1

This might work for you. Under $300. Receiver, 5 compact speakers and sub. All you need is your DVD/Bluray player and TV and set to go.

But again, even with this $300 system, I guarantee you could "bother the neighbors" if you don't keep the volume and sub output down.

I'm just not looking for the "booming" sound that I would get with my current setup. If I went through the controls and set the crossovers I would effectively be only using the tweeters out of my existing speakers. With the Polk set, the woofers are only 3.5" so the amount of noise they put out would still be minimal compared to the dual 6" woofers that each of my towers have. I'm mainly looking for the surround effect without all the excessive vibration.

My receiver has a db adjustment for each channel. Maybe you can adjust yours to lessen the "booming" from the sub channel, yet retain the surround effect from the other speakers. Also my sub has a "volume" adjust knob on the back...so can reduce the "booming" effect that way too.

My first surround system was a cheaper HTIaB but the sub was still pretty substantial...so you would still have to adjust the sub's output.

Wait...so you don't even have a 5.1 set up NOW? Your not using a subwoofer in your current system? And you think ADDING a sub will bother your neighbors less?

What speakers do you have and what are you driving them with?

If your not using a subwoofer and using quality speakers, I say, turn the volume down.

But why are you looking at receivers if your concern is your "massive" dual 6" woofers your towers have? Just replace your speakers.

These are a really good deal. Excellent sounding. And with the sub probably give you more bass than you have with your towers. Tho I suppose you could not hook up the sub at all. Or turn the output down.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...=nosim/dvdtalk

Right now, I am using the TV speakers. My previous setup was a Onkyo TXSR800 with RTi70s, CSi40, FXi50s and a Velodyne 12" sub.

I assume the Velodyne is a powered sub? So it should have it's own controls. Turn the output down. That should take care of your boomy bass. Or are you saying you have NOTHING now? You no longer have the Velodyne, Onkyo and Polks?

Or just don't hook up the sub, and use a 5.0 system. Space and issue? Replace the front towers with some bookshelf models. Or another two of what whatever your using for surround.

But I guess what I'm trying to tell you is even if you went a 5.0 bookshelf system, you could still bother the neighbors. Heck, your clock radio to loud could do that. Vacuuming could do that.

If I have misunderstood and you no longer have any system available for use, than yea, I'd get mid level Onkyo and maybe those KEF I linked. Or perhaps Mirage. Or go Polk. But again, your still going to have to be careful with volume and sub output.

Lose the Velodyne, add a sub that has a flatter response and you can tune it better. You can still feel it at lower volumes without bothering the neighbors. I use mine (SVS PB2+) without waking my wife directly above my system in our bedroom.

And Spiky brings the RIGHT answer!!

Why waste the money on semi expensive equipment like Onkyo and Polk? Even if you resell it you wont get back nearly what you paid. Why not go pick up one of those cheap all in one no-name solutions at Best Buy for $100 if you'll only be using it for 8-9 months?

How gauche!

What am I missing here?

Is there a concern of the quality of the noise that bothers the neighbors? A cheap $300 or even $100 system will bother them with crappy sound unless you keep the volume down. His current system will bother the the neighbors with better sound unless you keep the volume down.

I remember working the California fires and staying in apartments. The neighbor came over and very nicely asked me to turn down the music. He said it was not overly loud but his wife wasn't feeling well and trying to sleep early. Of course, I said no problem.....

My system? My computer with JBL portable (but powered) speakers.

I'm sure there better insulated apartments against sound than other. But in the dozen or so I've been it, it sure isn't going to take much to bothers the neighbors. It's not the quality, its the volume. Sure if you got a sub you may have some other issues. But that should be easy to resolve.

And while I like Spiky's idea of upgrading the sub, you could probably just not hook up the sub and "suffer" thru 5.0 surround system for the short time there.

Here's my suggestions.

Get your speakers and sub as a set from PartsExpress.com. Pick up the Onkyo 508 reconditioned on the cheap.

Dayton 5.1 speakers with 10" Sub - $180 shipped
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=300-694

Pick up the Onkyo 508 from Accessories4Less.com for $200. It's reconditioned with a 1 year warranty (which will cover you until you plan to flip it).
http://www.accessories4less.com/make...eceiver/1.html

If you want something easier, pick up this Onkyo speaker + receiver set for $350.
http://www.accessories4less.com/make...od-Dock/1.html

I don't care if it is throw away system... plan to spend $30-35 on good speaker wire and some HDMI cables from Monoprice.

Maybe you should move to one of these for the interim:
http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-pho...id=FsbNPIJW7Se

This thread has gotten way off base from what I am looking for.

I do not have room for towers.

I am looking for something small, inexpensive that still puts out good SQ. I realize that you get what you pay for. I am asking if Polk still puts out quality speakers or if there has been a decline in quality in the past 5 year. I remember the old RM6700s sounding incredible for what they were (which at the time was a

I think this is why it has gotten off base. These points you have are not really meshing well. So, people are making jokes and throwing darts

Yes, there is something major you are missing out on, real sound since you are skipping the sub and keeping it extra low. That's ok, I'm not saying it isn't. But it's a little incongruous with your worry about sound quality.

So, here's a better answer, although it does fit with my first suggestion, too:
I would shop for Dolby Volume as a feature, if a good implementation of it is in the price range you want to use. (I don't have time to look that up at the moment) That will be more important to your temporary situation than the amp or codec quality. It should help even things out so you won't disturb the neighbors. It really is better than previous versions of Night Modes or whatever they have been called.

I don't think there has been a change in Polk satellite quality. If you liked/disliked it before, probably still the same.

If you don't like my suggestion about the sub (this is more for after this apartment hiatus), check into a Behringer Feedback Destroyer, around $150. It is a parametric equalizer that will do a great job of evening out one channel. It can probably help a boomy sub.

I'd just use the TV speakers in the meantime. Too much hassle and money for 8 months, imo.

Maybe we have different ideas of what we perceive as good sound. Maybe I should rephrase it as decent sound, and good for the money spent. I just want to hear damn guns going off behind me and sound effects that sweep the room; again, at reasonable noise levels. I realize my viewing experience will not be as heightened and I won't get the full range of audio, but I'm just trying to adapt to the new living situation.

Buy these and use them later with a computer set up. The volume module will also decode Dolby Digital and DTS (basic, non-HD). You can turn the sub all the way down, but you have to have it there because the speakers are routed through it.

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-THX-C...269172&sr=1-18

Do you know where you will be moving? Do you know what your main media room will be like when you move out of your apartment?

If the answer is no, than I wouldn't buy a new receiver now. Makes no sense to upgrade to a new receiver when you don't even know how much space you will be using or what your new set will be like.

I think the simple solution is to keep using your entire system. If no room for your front towers, get two speakers to replace them. I'd get them as close to what you have now in case you want to make the jump to 7.1 later (assuming your happy with your speakers). Than disconnect your sub.

In your new place, upgrade your sub to an SVS and upgrade your receiver to fit your needs in your new place.

No clue, but it will have a separate room for a theater. And then a bedroom, bathroom and a kitchen. Everything else will be a bonus.

Well IMO, it is not a good idea to buy things for a place you know nothing about.

Minor example, I built by riser for rear row of seats before I purchased seats or knew I would put on there. I bought theater seats and wouldn't you know it. The joists were about 2" off where they needed to be to mount the chairs. Oh I found a work around, but still.

I wouldn't buy a new receiver till you know how big your new place will be and what you options will be or what you might want.