We bought an elliptical for our basement and are picking it up today. The basement is not finished, and is used mostly for storage. Since we are getting the elliptical, I am going to setup an old 13" TV down there to have something to watch while exercising. This got me thinking in the car this morning....hmmmm, wouldn't it be nice to have music down there as well.

I have the M22/VP150/QS8/VTF-2 now with a Onkyo SR600, however, I have been curious about the M50. My thought was, if I got the M50's, I could put them upstairs, and move the M22's down to the basement. I have a B set of speakers I could hook up, so I could run them off the same receiver.

However, this got me thinking that I would need a way to control the receiver from downstairs. This brought the MX850 remote to mind. Doesn't this have some type of signal that the remote works from anywhere in the house? I am looking into remotes anyway and the MX700 was one of the potential options.

If I had a bigger HT room in the future, I could even take the M22 that were relagated to the basement and do 7.1 with them as the rears. Of course, I would need a new receiver to handle that, but that's down the road a ways still.

I've got my wheels turning on this one. I would like to hear the M50 first, but I don't think anyone near me has them. I could always do the 30 day thing, but I prefer not to. Anyone know of a speaker I could find in a store that the M50 is supposed to be similar to? Am I right about how the MX850 remote works? Any other suggestions?

Jason,

The MX-850 replaces the MX-700 (IR signal) and the MX-800 (RF signal). IR means line of sight, RF (radio frequency) means "no matter where you point it". Rf comes in handy when you have equipment out of sight or enclosed.

The way they have done it is to enable either signal to be transmited by a setting in the remote. If you plan to use the RF function, you will need to order the RF Base Station. Also, be sure your equipment is both IR and RF capable. Most everything handles IR; RF is a little more scarce.

I believe room-to-room would be OK, but upstairs downstairs might strain the RF capability. Let me suggest you give Mike a call at Surf Remote Control. He is an expert and very helpful to boot.

In reply to:

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Also, be sure your equipment is both IR and RF capable.

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That isn't necessary is it Ray? It just needs to be one or the other.....right? The RF base station takes the RF signal and converts it to the proper IR signal.

I think you just search the forums for anything that says MX700 Ray. I figured I'd hear from you on this one Thanks for the info.

You are welcome Jason.

Curtis - you may be right (and probably are). I know I had to setup my old SAT reciever to be one or the other and that's what got me thinking. I don't know if the remote sends both signals or only one when a button is pushed. Given the permutations and the expense of the remote, I though it might be prudent to check with the expert.

A lot of people, including myself, would not consider the M50 to be an upgrade from the M22, I have heard both and own the M22, I much prefer the sound from my M22's. The M50 have a more laid back midrange while the M22's have less bass. However, with a sub, the bass gets picked up by the sub anyways.

An upgrade from the M22 would be the M60 or M80.

Thbbt.

M22ti to M50ti isn't an upgrade or a downgrade...it's a different sound.

How big is your room upstairs that the M22's are currently in? If it's not that large, then perhaps replacing the M22's with a larger speaker wouldn't make sense.

If it is large enough for towers, and you really like the sound of the M22's, get the M60's and move the M22's downstairs.

If your current room is perfectly suited to the M22's you have now, I'd just get another pair of M22's for in the basement, or even a pair of M3tis's or M2i's. It doesn't sound like this basement setup is going to be for critical listening. Why spend more than you need to?

I've heard the M60 and didn't hear enough of a difference to think it was worth it over the M22. I am interested in what I hear about the different sound of the M50 though, and think that I would like it. My room is 18x12 upstairs.

No, the downstairs isn't for critical listening, so I could go with whatever down there. Moving down the M22 just gave me a reason to get the M50