wuzzzer

My plan is to get some 2" for the walls and 1" for the ceiling acoustic wedge foam from www.foambymail.com. Some corner bass absorbers are also in the works. Total cost should be just over $50 and I think my game plan of installation should make my lively basement sound much, much better.

I've told my wife its a good thing we don't have a bathroom in our basement or I'd never leave! Between the computer, home theater and bar with fridge I live in the basement 99% of the time I'm awake.

Considering the fact that Klipsch speakers are more efficient than most other speakers out there, mix-n-match will be something to avoid if possible. What will end up happening is the Klipsch speakers will probably drown out the other speakers both in sheer decibel output and in overall clarity and detail. For many years I ran a Klipsch KV-1 center channel along with a Definitive Technology sub/satellite system. I hardly ever used the center channel because even though it was a pretty inexpensive Klipsch center, it really outdid all the other speakers I had.

I had a similar experience when I switched from my 10+ year old Sony dolby pro-logic receiver to my new Harman Kardon HK3480 2 channel receiver. Immediate difference in clarity, smoothness, detail. I still haven't had a chance to blast it really loud, but so far what I've heard I've loved. All at a cost of $175! I would imagine that in both our situations its a combination of a receiver that is more capable of driving the RF-7s and the fact that our old receivers probably have some pretty tired internals by now.

Do you guys think I should buy it? Its only an hour from where I live. If I get it, what the heck would I do with it?? []

Hmm, today's my day off...maybe I should contact the seller...[]

Dang, you beat me to it. I just posted the ad in the 2 channel forum. Think $250 is a decent price? I've been wanting to replace the Bose 401 speakers in our upstairs living room and those Quartets would look awesome with our wood floors.

A friend of mine has a Denon AVR-1802 with his RF-7s. Its the first time I heard RF-7s and they sounded awesome. I've seen those go for $100-150 on eBay, and they for sure have Dolby Digital and I believe DTS also.

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ele/199871618.html They've been posted a few times over the past few months. Seller started higher but has dropped to $250. Not mine, but maybe if someone said they were a good deal at that price I'd pick 'em up?

Honestly, reading that makes me want to get rid of the Monster Cable that I have.

The weakest link in my home theater is my DVD player ($30 Magnavox unit I won at a work party) Anyway... I'm wanting to replace my player with something that will go well with my current system. Options like HDMI and HD upscaling aren't really important to me. Just looking for something that sounds good and looks good. I've been looking at the harman/kardon DVD players that the h/k factory store is selling on eBay. Looks like they're selling anywhere from $50-$100 depending on the model for players retailing in the $299-$349 range. The style will match my HK3480. Are there any other brands or players I should be considering? Would brands whose receivers/amplifiers are considered 'warm' also be true with their DVD players? Oh, looking to spend $100-150 tops.

As far as differences in DVD players, someone on here recently reported on their findings of 3-4 different players. He found that the biggest improvement from an el cheapo ($20) DVD player to a $100 or so player was the sound quality. Better bass, better clarity all around. Stepping up from there, the $300 or so player he tried had a definite improvement in picture quality, but the sound remained the same. At the $500 or so level the sound quality was better but this time picture quality remained similar. I may be a little off on the above, but it was something to that effect. A new DVD player will be my next upgrade as it currently is the weakest link in my system. ($30 Magnavox player)

What Duke is trying to say is that at the output terminals of a receiver the speaker wire is receiving the full range of sound, 20Hz to 20kHz or some variance of that. You can connect 50 speaker wires to that terminal at the same time and every wire will be sending the same full range signal to the speaker. Wires do not have anything even remotely close to an internal crossover in them to be able to direct any frequences through one set of wires as opposed to another set. I use Monster Cables only because I bought them all years ago when I believed they were the best there was. Ironically I also used Bose speakers back then. I guess you can say I've come a long way. []

Its an exciting adventure when you're looking to get new gear. Take your time and make an informed decision. I reluctantly retired my Sony receiver because I loved the parametric equalizer and could adjust about 15 frequencies with it. Since I got my H/K I just leave the bass and treble flat in the middle and it sounds fantastic! I just saw the eBay auction of the AVR 70 you're looking at. I like how the guy props the receiver up with his foot for the pictures. [:^)] Looks like it has pre-outs for every channel including a subwoofer. If you can pick it up for around the minimum bid you'll always be able to sell it for what you paid for it. Great choice!

I'm not sure I understand exactly how you have it hooked up. Do you have the speaker wire going from the receiver and then the speakers and then the sub? Or do you have the speaker wire going from the receiver and then the sub and then the speakers? In any event, since your subwoofer does not have any outputs of any kind you shouldn't have it hooked up either of the above ways. The correct way to hook it up would be: Speaker outputs to main speakers ONLY, subwoofer RCA out on receiver to RCA input on subwoofer.

You are correct in your description of the '4.1' feature of this receiver. Unless you really need an equalizer, don't do it. They introduce a lot more noise and problems than they many times correct. If you look at the THD % and S/N ratio of most EQs its horrible! Better to look for a unit like my old Sony receiver that has a built in parametric equalizer or one that has separate bass, mid and treble controls.

I've been slowly replacing my components with better built and better reputation equipment and I've experienced the same things you have. My new receiver makes my Cambridge Audio CD player sound that much better. Right now my weakest link is the Magnavox DVD player that I won at a work party a few years ago. My Sony DVD player had just bit the dust so I was glad just to get something to play DVDs on. I have quite a few concert DVDs and the sound is much poorer compared to anything played on my CD player. I can't wait to get something decent in the way of a DVD player and hear what I've been missing.

Some say Yamaha is too bright, some say it isn't. I personally have only heard Sony, Denon and Harman/Kardon with RF-7s. The RX-V series seems to have quite a few fans on here.

That's the nice thing about going with pre-owned equipment. You can get some great deals on things that some would consider outdated, but if you don't need the 9.1 with hdmi/dvi/upscaling/quisinart features why pay for them? My harman / kardon 2 channel receiver is only a couple months old, yet I was able to buy it for $175 with MSRP being $450.

Be aware that the receiver does not have dolby digital processing, only dolby pro-logic and dolby 3 stereo. No matter how much they sold for originally, dolby pro-logic receivers are usually selling for very very cheap these days. So, when they say 4.1 what they probably mean is that since the rear surround channel is in mono it only counts as 1 channel, then add the front 3 channels and a subwoofer output and you have 4.1

MSRP was $1100! Got a 4.58 out of 5 on audioreview: http://www.audioreview.com/cat/amplification/a-v-receivers/harman-kardon/PRD_118581_2718crx.aspx?TabID=1 Nice thing about harman / kardon is they are very accurate about their stated wattage. When they say 80 watts, they MEAN it! As long as it has a remote, I'd say its a good start to a system you can build on in the future. Strengths (from audioreview): crystal clear sound throughout, Power. Sleek looks, Very good sound and stereo image, Crystal clear highs and sufficient lows. It easily powers a set of vintage Dahlquist AudioPhile speakers as well as all the surrounds and center and all that jazz. I have been nothing but impressed since I purchased this a few years ago. I was skeptical in buying this unit, but will never again buy anything without Harman/Kardon''s tag on it. Has undoubtedly been the best receiver I have ever owned, Crystal Clear Sound Stage and Incredible Response and Dynamics. Looks like a lot of people have enjoyed their AVR70!

Make sure you mate the speakers with quality components. The receiver/amp doesn't need to be a zillion watts, but whatever watts it does have need to be clean and real watts. The nicer your components, the better you'll enjoy the Klipsch experience.

I used to get some nasty hum from having all my cords tangled around each other, too. I solved the problem by separating the power chords from everything else as best as possible.

I just bought a harman / kardon HK3480 2-channel receiver on eBay for $175 in brand new condition. It has really smoothed out the horn of my RF-7s compared to the old Sony dolby pro-logic receiver I was using before. Great dynamics, very detailed sound especially when matched when a high quality CD player or other source. Denon makes at least one 2-channel receiver too that may be worth taking a look at. The HK and the Denon usually sell for around $250 on eBay unless you can stumble upon a great buy-it-now deal like I did!

R means its a Replacement woofer.