Hunt

Just purchased a B&K ref 50 S2 to match my amp. Movies sound great, but music sounds horribly thin and anemic. I hope it is just set-up issues/calibration, as I have yet to work much on it. If anyone has one of these, perhaps they could PM me so I can pick their brain a little. I have my Rf-7's set to large, all else to small, crossed at 80. I've not used my spl meter to calibrate, but used my old settings from my Denon AVR for now. (probably a bad idea). What about those Notch filter things. Any way to turn those off? I've been focusing on Re-programming the remote for now. I will probably be listing my Denon AVR-2805 (7.1 channel) for sale on Audiogon soon. Set-up mic, original packing, box, remote, manual. Retail around $900, will likely offer around $450. (1 yr. old, in perfect condition). It is a great sounding AVR - let me know if anyone interested. Perhaps we can make a deal.

Tap, tap back. Colts/Giants game is on. U should be just fine with the synergy rears. Don't sweat it.

I would highly recommend them. Quick service and good quality at a reasonable price. I've ordered 2 subwoofer cables (40 ft. and 25 ft). I have a 40 ft. component cable, and I use their interconnects for SACD/DVD-A. I also have ordered their in-wall speaker wire. I forget what I ordered, but I recall it was a bit stiff to work with - although that can be helpful depending on your situation. The connector ends are a bit large - only a problem if you have a space issue behind your components. I pulled-back a few of mine to get them tucked in behind my equipment. I would say you could order with confidence.[]

When it was in INdy last year, I "snuck" in one of the doors that wasn't being watched to closely by the security guards. Walked around for hours and no one said a thing to me. It was pretty cool. Lots of free information, pamphlets, books, magazines, and lots of "eye candy." Even if you didn't get into the main showroom floor, there were plenty of booths that were open to the public.

Went to my local "Ovation" store last Friday to see if they were in stock. Nothing yet. Still closing out a lot of old stuff. I guess I've gotten spoiled. In the old days, I would walk into their "listening rooms" and be blown-away by all the fantastic gear. Now it all seemed to be a hodge-podge of mediocre stuff, and some guy older than me asking the salesman if he really needed 5 speakers to get surround sound. Went home and fell in love with my RF-7 system all over again. Moved my SV subwoofer to the rear-corner of my room, re-calibrated, and decided to save a couple grand.

Bill, Thanks for keeping us informed on the HD-DVD front. Much to my surprise, I saw the BB add this weekend, and wondered how they got their players to market without much "pre-hype" that ususally accompanies such a rollout. You are a brave purchasing soul - I remember feeling a bit that way when I purchased my DVD-A player last year. Oh the excitement - oh the disapointment to know that it is headed for the "quadrophonic" dinasour heep of AV equip. I am in the same boat as you (ie non-DVI, HDMI) and don't plan on changing anytime soon. As tempting as your puchase sounds, I will be fence-sitting for a while, but certainly like riding your wave of new excitement. Please continue to keep us updated with your helpful/knowledgeable reviews! Regards.

Greg, I went through the same debate last year as I was putting together my system. Ultimately went with on- wall (RS-7's) for side surrounds and the in-walls (RCW-5's) for my rear channels, in a 7.1 configuration. I believe the in-walls sound just as good as my on-walls, and for looks alone, almost wish I would have just gone in-wall route for all 4 surrounds. When I play DVD-A/SACD, the RS-7's are used. Many in this forum do not like them for that use. I typically just play music in "7-channel" mode, and believe my in-walls sound quite nice. Just be sure you don't have a common wall to a nearby bedroom or study room. Mine is to a garage. You can hear a fair amount of sound in the adjoining room when it is cranking. I personally do not think you would be giving up much sound quality if you use the in-walls for your rear surrounds. It is a very neat look for the room, if you don't have a dedicated HT room.

" If you are an audiophile you will without a doubt upgrade and rid yourself of -RF-7's. " Sounds to me like a dealer trying to sell some new speakers. You ever listen to the RF-7's with a proper amp?

I went to my local AV shop last week to demo them - just for the heck of it. They don't have any in stock yet. What is up with that? We are practically down the street from Klipsch hq, and no reference IV to check out? They did have a bunch of RF-7's they were closing out.

I use RCW-5's (older discontinued model) for my rear-centers in 7.1 and have been very pleased with them. While they are certainly not going to "knock your socks off" as some of the other reference line, they are more than adequate for movies, and I even like them for "7-channel music mode." I use my side surrounds (RS-7s) for SACD/DVD-A. I don't think you would be dissappointed with them if you have space/WAF concerns.

FYI- I picked up my SA-1's for $99 brand new for the pair, at Ovation in INdy. They run deals on discontinued items every once in a while. Might be worth checking with them. As someone else mentioned, the bass response is tremendous on these things. I can't imagine what the SA-2 or 3's would sound like.

I have their SA-1's outside for deck/pool area. They are plenty of speaker for outside. They made a bigger SA-2 and 3 at the time, but I can't imagine you would need them unless you had miles and miles of empty space around you.

Guess not. ...never heard them, but with the Klipsch name, I can't imagine they would be that bad. Go listen to them and decide for yourself, or at least compare to some other brands to see what you like and what you don't like. Good luck.

www.bluejeancables.com They are good -I'm using a 45ft. cable and watching the Superbowl in HD. Looks spectacular.

Put those rf-7's on small and crossed at 60. Had some friends over last night to watch Polar Express. Knew the train was rolling-in and cranked it up. Sounded like a freight train just ran into the house! Very detailed sound. The galley had speaker envy. One guy said: " my speakers don't soud like that at home." ...Nice to be a Klipsch owner...I may just leave them on small. Sounded pretty darn good.

I cheated and had my contractor install both my RS-7's and the in-walls. I don't think he did anything special on the installs of the in-walls, other than to follow the basic instructions. I don't have any rattle, but the cut-out in the drywall is so tight, that my grill fits a little too tight. Getting them pressed in all the way flush with the wall was a little tricky, without bending them or chipping off the paint. However, I guess it's better to have them tight then to have them a rattl'n. I just leave those grills on all the time and don't mess with them.

Yes, it definately is crossing electricity. I know because I ran the stupid wires. I had no choice as I ran if at least 40 ft , into garage, and back into house. It didn't buzz at all w/ receiver alone. Tomorrow, I may try switching those 2 channels and see if it moves or not. Thanks.

I added an amp and now have speaker buzz in 1 of my rear center speakers. (the rcw-5). It's not loud enough to be distracting when I listen to movies or music, only when I shut everything down for the evening. Anything I can do to eliminate it? It's not very loud, but I still know it is there - and that alone bugs me.

Raybart, I remodeled our HT room last year, and have finally upgraded to the point where I am happy for the moment. I went through a lot of anxiety because I used the RCW-5's for my 2 rear centers for 7.1(not knowing how they would sound until I bought and installed them). These are coupled with the RS-7s for sides, and RF-7's up front. Calibrated properly, I am very pleased with the performance of the in-walls. They are much better than I expected, and sound great to me. I would not do it differently if I had it to do over again. Then again, this is a family room coverted to HT room/ computer room, and I wanted to keep all the "big gear" at one end if I could. Our room is about 12' x 24', and I think you would probably experience similar results. Movies are my priority, but I also think they sound good when I listen to music in the multichannel mode/7 channel stereo. I might even consider doing in-walls for my side surrounds if I knew how good they sounded when I was deciding which speakers to go with. I went through a progression of RB-35's, RF-5's to RF-7's up front, so I know how bigger can sound better in the klipsch line. I listened to all the bookshelves except the RB-75's. Other than going with RF-7's all the way around ( I wish I had such space to do so!) I can at least say the RCW-5's do a good job if you need to make some WAF concessions (which is why I used the in-walls in the first place). Good luck and have fun.

I am so confused by this ongoing debate, that I switch back and forth from large to small about every month. I'm still not sure which sounds better, but lately I've been sticking to small (crossed at 80) for RC-7, RS-7s and my RCW-5's, with large on the RF-7's. This seems to work well for me, but I still love reading the pros and cons that surface each time this debate is resurrected. Keep up the good work guys! (I'm gonna try those rf-7s on small again, and lower that crossover to 60, just for the fun of it.)

Hey speedball, it's a 55" RPTV by Mitsubishi (i'm not clairvoyant, it's in his sig). Shop BB, and then buy somewhere else. I recently bought my amp from Ovation here in INdy - you likely have been there, since you are local. Well, Sunday I was programming a new universal remote and all my gear popped on at the same time, and tripped a circuit breaker. Got things running again, just to find that my amp would no longer turn on. I was feeling somewhat suicidal, thinking all the worst just happened to my new amp. Called the local shop, and they said to just bring in the fuse on Monday. (its is a slow-blow one that looks gray on the outside, so you cannot tell if it is good or bad without testing it, I guess. I've never seen one before, as I am new to the amp-world). Long story longer -- the friendly folks at Ovation flipped me a new fuse and said "here try this." To my relief, it is working perfectly again - free of charge and completely w/o hassle. I continue to be a happy/returning costomer and say support your local AV shop. (yes, I'm reprogramming that macro on the remote, so everything doesn't pop on all at once). Need movies or music - go to BB. Need AV gear - go to the pros - I think it will pay off in the long run.

I used RCW-5 in walls (2) for surround-back duty. They do a good job for movies, and I was pleasantly surprised by their performance. Better than what I expected. In fact, I almost wish I had used them for my side surrounds as well, instead of my RS-7's. I really like the RS-7's, but they do stick out like a sore thumb (WAF).[]

Thanks Bill. Sounds like a good plan. Also, gives me some time for the wife to forget about the last purchase!

Hey Mr. McGoo, you seem very knowledgeable about this stuff. I'm new to the amp world, as I have just lost money in the past by buying a new AVR every couple of years. I'm using my Denon as a pre/pro now with my new amp. Do you think I would appreciate any significant performance increase by getting the B&K preamp, or just stick with what I have for now and wait until my current AVR is obsolete? Any thoughts? Thanks.

Yep, I've done that with my sub before. When I turn on my outdoor speakers "B", I manually turn my sub off because it keeps playing inside. On a few occaisions, I've forgot to turn it back on when I'm watching a movie. Now I look for the little glowing green light every time I put in a movie!