Southern

For what it's worth, my son recently hosted a Chicago gathering for a headphone forum (headfi.org) that he is a member and one of the members brought a pair of custom 3's. I listen to them through a vacuum tube headphone amp (Doge). I felt that the clarity and efficiency had the Klipsch sound to them but I felt uncomfortable with the in-ear type of headphones, I especially liked the small diameter cloth cord. I do not listen to headphones because I like the feeling of the chest thumping bass so my review is based on other headphones I listen to (AKG, Sennheiser, Grado) and my Klipsch loudspeakers (Forte & RF-7). Since Klipsch couldn't make the Chicago gathering I had asked my son to ask Klipsch to send a pair of Klipschorns instead but they didn't make it either

Here is an e-bay link for a PDF of the service manual: http://cgi.ebay.com/Pioneer-Receiver-SX-1980-Service-Manual-and-Schematics_W0QQitemZ170190978429QQihZ007QQcategoryZ50594QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Great find. I own one of these beasts and I've seen them go as much as $3000 on e-bay. I even saw a mint condition box go for $300. Audiokarma.org is a great source for info on your Pioneer.

Which suburb are you refering to? The one in St. Charles has some klipsch speakers on the sides (don't know which ones but they are not Heresy's) however the sound is not that impressive.

How up to date is the theater locator or does it include "full blown" klipsch systems? I noticed that the local cinema by my house has klipsch surrounds (don't know what is behind the screen) but it is not listed in the theater locater.

Something to ponder when listening to music in your vehicles.

I also like the B&O/Audi system but I suppose that Klipsch didn't get into these types of car audio systems due to having to custom design a system for each car model. My neighbor has a pair of B&O Penta's that sound terrific but it couldn't keep up with my Forte's mated to my Dynaco amp. If I really wanted to I could take the rear seat out of my van and strap in my Forte's but I couldn't subject them to the extreem temperature conditons. The Quintent's would be duable as would the ifi but most likely it would be subject to a smash & grab situation. The Klipsch headphones would be a solution however it is illegal to drive with headphones. Maybe one day Klipsch will decide to get into car audio but for now I will be subjected to my cars Bose systems. []

Is there any plans for Klipsch to get into car audio? I enjoy my Klipsch speakers for my 2 channel & HT setups but I am stuck listening to Bose in my cars. I am tempted to order the Klipsch ifi system to put in my van but it would end up getting stolen.

SVS recommends corner sub placement, this is from there website: Where do I put my SVS subwoofer? You might have noticed. SVS subwoofers are sometimes big. There are a lot of very good reasons for this discussed above, but suffice it to say it's one of those instances when "size matters"). Still, most our customers find these subs very elegant, understated, and stylish. The svelte cylindrical design takes up little floor space, while our box subs require a bit more "real estate". Either shape can usually fit well in a corner or along your front "sound-stage".. And corners are where you want them. Many many theories abound regarding subwoofer placement. Deep bass is essentially omni directional, and with most setups, they are difficult to locate by ear. Yet for the lowest extension, and the greatest natural reinforcement of the bass sound pressure level (SPL) corner placement is usually best in most every shape room (and regardless of the brand of subwoofer). Wherever possible, avoid placement where the sub is adjacent to openings into other rooms such as hallways, and open doors. A closed corner, reasonably close to the prime listening position in your music room or home theater is nearly always ideal. Just be certain to recalibrate channel levels (set the playback volume) as you move your sub to different locations. Moving even a foot or two (say from a wall to a corner) can have a radical impact on how the bass sounds in your listening position. Just think of your room as another part of your speaker system.

I have my sub crossed over at 80 Hz and only have it activated for movies not music. My mains are set to large. Since the LFE signals are only sent to the sub I do not have any localization issues. The visual effects from the TV also distract where the speakers are located.

If your refering to the SVS subwoofer it will be too large to use as a coffee table, it is better suited as a lamp table. My room is narrow like yours and I ended up putting the subwoofer in the adjacent room which I have double doors which open up to it. In your case if you can't utilize it as a lamp table then I would suggest placing it in the left rear corner. You can always experiment on the location. Here is a photo:

I had this concern before I mounted my plasma above the fireplace and since it is angled down very slightly I do not notice that I am looking up a the TV. Since my family room is open to the kitchen it works out even better since I can watch TV from the kitchen as well.

I have a 50" plasma mounted above my fireplace and love it. If you have moderate size fires in your fireplace there should be very little heat up above the mantel. My fireplace has 1/2" face brick which I used a stud finder to locate the studs. I drilled a small pilot hole to verify that I was located in front of a stud before drilling a larger hole for the lag bolt. In your case I would drill small pilot holes to locate the studs but drill the pilot holes where the plasma bracket will coverup the pilot holes.

I also started with 2 mains (RF-7) and a center channel speaker (RC-7). I decided to add a sub before the surrounds (RS-7). If I had to do it all over again I would still purchase the sub before the surrounds. There is not alot of sound coming from the surrounds most of the time, mainly effect type sounds.

I have the SVS PB-12 +2 which has a 900W Bash amp but goes for over $1000. It has 2 downward firing woofers which makes them kid and pet friendly. What are you powering your RF-7's with? I am using a Pioneer Elite VSX-74VXTi which has the MCACC calibration mic which makes it very easy to balance my system to each other and with the room. Subwoofers with built-in equilizer and phase control also make it easier to match up with your main speakers. I have my RF-7s set to large on my HT receiver so the low frequencies (below 40Hz) go the the subwoofer. Because of this I don't really hear the bass from the sub but rather feel it. With the volume down low you can feel the presense of the low frequencies, with the volume up high on the receiver (the subwoofer volume set at 1/4) the entire house shakes. With that said I don't feel that you can avoid shaking your house if you turn up the volume on your A/V reciever with a subwoofer.

I have the RF-7s and use a SVS subwoofer that shakes the house. I don't use the subwoofer for music since the RF-7s have pleanty of bass to accurately reproduce most music recordings. I only find the need to use the subwoofer with movies (mainly action movies) to more realistly create the explosions. Unless your into cannon shots or deep organ music you may find that the RF-7's don't require a subwoofer for music.

My experience is that if you want to audition the premimum Klipsch line you have to go to a higher end store. The upper end stereo store (near me) which carries the RF-63/83's don't even stock the Klipshcorns. The local Magnolia store (upper-end Best Buy) doesn't even carry anything above the RF-82's.

If you like your music/movies at concert levels then I would spend the extra $ and go for the RF-63's. You need to listen to a pair of RF-63's to justify if the extra cost is worth it.

300 WPC into RF'7s, thats what I call serious listening! Obviously the neighbors weren't calling you since you couldn't hear the phone ring. I don't use my sub when listening to 2 channel music with my RF-7's but with HT a sub is really makes the explosions and other sound effects come to life. You know what I am talking about it's like pumping 300 WPC into RF-7's. BTW my sub almost got me thrown out of the house by my wife.

PVC columns, great choice. My first guess was that cardboard tube the use to fill cement for construction. I've read about people who filled their columns with sand to "deaden" the sound transmitted through it. 6 Forte's, 2 Cornwalls and a sub all in the same room, quite the Klipsch showcase. Where are the before pictures?

Nice looking stands you built. What is the round tube made of? I own a pair of Forte's and don't consider them "book shelf" speakers but if I was using them as a pair of surrounds I guess it makes sense to put them on pedestals. I would be afraid that the kids would knock them down.

I listen to my RF-7's (with DeanG x-overs) through my HT system. The RF-7s do very well with 2 channel as well as 5.1. I haven't had my RF-7's hooked up to my Dynaco since my Dynaco is sick at the moment. I can say that my Forte's mid's and highs sounded "cleaner" with the Dynaco but the low end punch was missing compared to my 270 WPC Pioneer.

I believe that I used the term output power instead of watts. If I drive a speaker (non bi-amp mode) with an AV receiver rated at 140 watts x 7 channels then the speaker will receive 140 watts. If I drive a speaker (bi-amp mode) then the lows will receive 140 watts and the highs will receive 140 watts which is a total of 280 watts delivered to the speaker. I'm only referring to the watts delivered to the speaker not the fact that the passive crossover will consume some of this before it gets to the driver. Since I am new to AV receivers I don't believe that they rate them the same way as 2 channel receivers so the AV receiver may not be capable of delivering the full 140 watts x 7 channels. Watts is misleading when it comes to sound level, in reality by doubling the watts to a speaker would only result in a 3 dB increase in loudness.

I have my RF-7's bi-amped but I did not do an AB comparison to hear if there was any difference without bi-amping. Correct me if I'm wrong but with bi-amping doesn't the main speakers receive twice the output power from the AV receiver since they are being feed from 2 seperate channels?

Youthman, You are better off e-mailing SVS about the two vs. one sub question. The SVS PB12+2 does have a phase control that I believe is to help with the standing waves. Since both woofers face downward it is both kid and pet friendly but the size does not make it wife friendly. My experience is that the RS-7's are a great match for the surround speakers, I have mine mounted on the side of the listening area. My family room opens up to the kitchen so my rear wall is very far away. Since my sub is so large I have it located in the living room which opens up to the family room. Attached are some pics, note that you see speaker wire to the RS-7's that is because the wife won't let me leave them up yet.