Companies that make good speakers aren't usually known for making good subs. Likewise companies that make great subs rarley make great speakers. Perhaps check out the BIC America. They make budget 12", 10, and 8' subs for aout the same price. http://www.amazon.com/BIC-America-F12-475-Watt-Subwoofer/dp/B0015A8Y5M/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1334609297&sr=1-1-catcorr If you want a really nice musical sub that blends with your music check out HSU Research. The Cost is going to be more but there is a reason for that. http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/stf-1.html
I already ordered the Polk. It was only $90 shipped and had 5 stars on both newegg and amazon. I just needed something basic. My speakers aren't even that good. They're just an old set of Klipsch Promedias whose subwoofer amp had also died. I don't listen to music on the TV. I'm also not an audiophile. I can tell the difference between something that's crap and something decent, but beyond that I really couldn't tell you. Like I think my Sennheiser HD555s sound fantastic, but I'm sure an audiophile would poop all over them and tell me they sound terrible and I'm a retard for liking them. Besides, after this JBL and my Klipsch, I'm getting the impression that powered subwoofers all crap themselves after a couple years when the amps explode. I can't see spending any real money on one. The JBL wasn't cheap either. That was probably a $300-400 subwoofer, and it still exploded. I can see why JBL only does a 1 year warranty on the amp. When this $90 subwoofer invariably explodes in two years, I won't care. I'll just go on newegg and order another one. Edit: the Polk has a three year warranty on the amp. So not only is it cheaper than the JBL, but it has a better warranty.
Polk Audio has provided some of the best customer service I've ever experienced. I should preface that by disclosing that the products I've bought from them are more on the high/expensive end, so I suppose it could vary for someone who bought cheap computer speakers from Best Buy. Anyway, I had two separate incidents in which they replaced parts at no cost to me with practically no questions asked. A glass base on a VM10 surround speaker shattered, which honestly was probably due to the brutal treatment packages get in the hands of UPS rather than any quality control issues at Polk. Replacement shipped immediately without any charge or hassle. I also bought a subwoofer for half price that had one of the feet broken off. I figured ordering that peg and fixing it myself would surely cost less than the $200 I saved. I called and inquired about ordering the part and asked how much it would cost. They asked for my address and immediately shipped it free. I'd also add that they were very polite on the phone both times. After dealing with ATA losing my luggage, obnoxious telemarketers, and used car salesman, I didn't realize this type of customer service existed in the world. Those are the only two customer service interactions I've had with Polk, but they couldn't have been any better.
I'm probably also going to replace my center channel with a Polk CS1 or CS2 whenever I see one discounted on Newegg. The Klipsch are decent sats, but the center channel leaves something to be desired.
I've got a 20 metre ethernet cable running from the router in the living room upstairs to the Xbox in the games room. My laptop and ps3 don't seem to have trouble connecting wirelessly but the Xbox refuses to play ball.
I had planned to ditch the Klipsch entirely and get a set of Polks. I'm just not sure if I'm going to do it all at once, or do the center channel first and do the sats later. I was probably just going to go with a set of monitor30 bookshelf speakers since I don't want gigantic, obnoxious looking speakers cluttering up my living room. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290200&Tpk=polk%20monitor30
With speakers, I'd go as high end as you're willing to spend. Speakers tend to last quite awhile, and I don't care for long term ownership of mediocre gear. I'd personally build one piece at a time of nice speakers. Replacing and upgrading speakers frequently makes little sense. Get something you are really satisfied with because you will probably have it for years.
The subwoofer arrived and I'm pretty happy with it. It's subtle, puts out clean bass, and blends in pretty well with my speakers. I'll probably replace my satellites and center at some point but I'm not in any rush. I actually need an A/V cabinet more than I need new speakers. I've been to a few furniture stores, but save for an extremely expensive unit ($1700) at Pottery Barn, wasn't too happy with anything that I saw. Most of them seem like they're designed by people with no conception of how large an A/V receiver can be and how much space is needed for various components.
I found a decent stand that holds my TV, receiver, and rather large center channel for a few hundred bucks in an electronics store. It was on clearance because they were replacing it and getting new inventory. I'd keep checking around for a deal like that. I would definitely pass on the Pottery Barn's offer. You might want to check out newegg. I just glanced through their website, and they have some reasonably priced home theater stands. I can't say that I'm well versed on individual products or brands, however. A good bit of them appear to have free shipping, which is very nice for furniture, which tends to be rather heavy and bulky.
My wife wanted the thing from Pottery Barn. I thought it was nice, but massively overpriced. This subwoofer sounds great by the way, which I guess shouldn't be surprising because 5 star reviews on Newegg and Amazon have never really steered me wrong in the past. It's very clear and non-directional. I'm realizing that I massively overpaid for that JBL subwoofer, and that it really sounded pretty poor by comparison. It was muddy and distorted if you turned it up much at all, and the auto on/off feature on it never worked very well, so you would get an annoying clicking sound at inappropriate times. I bought it 7 or 8 years ago before I really knew anything about home audio stuff. I paid $300 for it if I remember correctly. I should have known better than to listen to the salesperson in the store. The Polk sounds better for a third of the price.
I lost the cabinet battle as well but it works great so I can't complain. Glad you're happy with your sub. You can get a sound meter from radio shack and use that to set the cross overs of the speakers and the sub so they blend well. A good sub shouldn't fart all over your mid range.
I guess I could try the sound meter. I just set the crossover by listening to a few Blu-rays with DTS and trying different settings until it seemed to blend in well with the speakers.
That works too. If you think you got it don't bother with the sound meter. Do you know what the frequency range is on your fronts? You could try to match to that as well. I need to sell my subwoofer. It's a pain in the ass. It's too big to put anywhere and it's a slippery 125lb bitch. I can't even move the thing without a dolly.
AV123 MFW-15 This one isn't mine but it shows how big it is. They should have built the thing with handles. These are my front 3 which are in boxes right now. Ascend Acoustics Sierra-1s
Looking at that top photo reminds me of how glad I'm am to have jettisoned my old hulking surround system...
If I were starting from scratch, I'd definitely go with the all in one/speaker bar option. Way less clutter.
The house I'm in now has built in surround sound but unfortunately it's in a different direction than the TV so I can't use it. Well I could use it but it would be weird.