Recommendations For New speakers

will leave your Polk set in the dust. Not even close. By a longshot.

You can try $450 or so for front three. Remaining budget on a great sub. As for the 4 surround speakers, use chump change on used speakers for now, to upgrade later, if 1k is the present limit.

well, just one good idea. many ways to skin a cat.

Sorry I should have said this earlier. My room is about 21'l x 12'w x 8"h. As far as speaker size, I'd like them to be under 12" tall, nothing that's too imposing or too noticeable

room is modest enough not to warrant mid to mid to hi end sub(s).

I still really like that Ascend 170 deal. You have 2 days left I think. Buy as many of them as you can afford. Whether 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7. 30 day free trial, 5 yr warranty. 12" tall. They looks sorta squarish a bit. Not the very sexiest, or highest WAF ever, but you're getting bang for buck. They were already considered sort of a steal before this $50 off sale.

Add sub, voila. Perhaps an entry SVS (there's nothing you can afford on their b-stock page for the moment). You can also consider Epik or Elemental Designs, but I warn you firstly that they don't look as good, and that they are dealing with growing pains. If everything goes smoothly, they do actually offer even better bang for the buck. If it was me, Id go SVS if just for the looks dept.

https://svsound.com/products-sub-box-isd.cfm

I would take that in a hearbeat over the Focal system, let alone the Polk system. Its up to you on how much sub you want to buy. The $429 unit is the entry level of who knows how many subs they make.

Lets see: 2 pair Ascend's shipped, minus rebate, + shipping = $636
SVS sub shipped should come in well under $500. (my 130 lb sub cost $50 to ship half way across the US). Say $1,100 total for a great front 3, perfectly matched, with ideal center channel performance that perhaps not a single cnet forum member even has,

and all this at an understandable budget.

if you buy 2 pairs, start with a 4.1 system, no center channel, but using "phantom center".

pair + one extra speaker, then use 3.1 (having the front 3-soundstage).

or you can buy 2 pairs, + one extra, for 5.1

or forget the sub for now, start 5.0

or ... you can begin in any configuration really. all you do is disable missing channels in the receiver, and all that info will go to remaining speakers. (outside of sub channel, but I spare you the technicalities).

Thanks for your ideas!
However I would prefer the full system right away as opposed to upgrading.
How's this SVS system?
http://www.svsound.com/products-sys-sbs_black.cfm

grc24 and hyghwayman. Other reports are positive as well.

Would I expect the Ascend speakers to be superior? Yes. That's would I do.

Then again, Im all about having the matching, correctly designed center speaker. I am not sure that you even understand this concept.

the SVS is easy, and its now. My main issue is the design of the center speaker. Otherwise, its less money, yep. I expect the Ascends to be truly superior, but you have to pay for that. Yep.

The "matching" SVS center is one of those ubiquitous horizontally arrayed M-T-M speakers. This means you WILL suffer lobing at any healthy angle. Say 15-20 degrees perhaps. The exact angle could be found if you ask the right people. That's what I did. Here's what one AVS member told me after asking about the idea of gettin a matching (horizontal) PSB center for my mains:

"josten,

I looked at the specs of the PSB image C40 and C60. A horizontal MTM speaker's lobing errors depend on 1) CTC spacing of two woofers and 2) crossover frequency. The C40 uses smaller woofers and as a result shorter CTC spacing. It also uses a lower xover freq, 2.2 kHz, than the C60's 2.5 kHz.

But even C40 has unacceptable horizontal lobing patterns in your situation. According to my calculation, 20 degree off axis is the exact position where one woofer is about 180 degrees out of phase with the other woofer, resulting a deep null at 2.2 kHz, at which two woofers' SPL sum is supposed to be only 6 dB down from the system SPL.

A well designed MTM speaker that can be used horizontally as CC should use 1.5 k to 1.8 kHz xover frequency and/or much closer woofers.

-jAy"

If people just got the same bookshelf, positioned upright, for a center channel, you can expect about 60 degrees of good dispersion. This Is A Fundamental Design Concept. This is why your mains look like they do.

And the best part?

The matching bookshelf is usually less expensive than the "center". AND BETTER PERFORMING TOO. BASIC DESIGN PRINCIPLE that was been compromised to fit above/below display.

Now, if you are within a small, small viewing angle, ok fine. The main point I always try to make is simply the concept of the design. Compromises are always made, I just want consumers to know exactly what they are.

Im trying to graduate to bona fide consumer advocate.

I completely understand your concept of another bookshelf for a center and that idea definitely makes more sense than using an actual center. However, I would not classify myself as an audiophile and I probly would not be able to hear much of a difference. I'm probly more of an "above average listener" and I don't need the best there is(or any very high quality products).
I am also only 16 years old so my parents are the ones paying for this. It is difficult enough for me to try and convince them to buy something like that $1000 SVS system when they see a smaller (and to them better looking) system in the polk speaker. They would think I am crazy if I tried to tell them that we should get multiple bookshelfs for $300-400 a pair plus the sub.
Once again, I still appreciate your ideas and will most likely implement them later on in my life.

Oh and by the way, I don't know if this changes anything but these speakers will be used for movies/tv/game much more so than music.

You mentioned that your parents are paying for the speakers. Are you going to be living with them with your new HT? Are they going to be on the same block even? Watching a movie with a good sub rumbling the foundation could be a bit annoying if you're not the one watching the movie. Especially for a parent. There really isn't a way to "Turn that crap down." with the sub firing. Parents just don't appreciate it. My wife was (Somewhat.) the same way as far as appreciating a good sounding system. Now she won't watch a movie WITHOUT the sytem. As was mentioned by a previous poster...I have the SVS SBS-01 5.1 system and upgraded to the 12" sub for a couple hundred more. I was able to take advantage of SVS's "Clearance sale" and got the silver 5.1 set with 12" upgraded sub for 1,042.80. That sale isn't happening anymore so neither here nor there. It is a great system and you deffinately wouldn't be dissappointed...but your parents might.

Good luck.

grc

So you understand my beef with the typical center. Well, if you go SVS, you should still be able to get an upright bookshelf. Just make sure you have the space. Otherwise, IMO, its a no brainer.

it doesn't change b/w music/movies. Well, you can argue both ways. For instance, in your case, I could say that you are much more likely to have a good number of viewers sit still for a couple hours during a movie than you could for music listening.

Like I said, had I bought the matching center for my mains, my woofers would be 180 degrees out of phase at just a 20 degree angle from the center speaker. AND IT COSTS MORE THAN THE BOOKSHELF!

Best wishes,

River.