JeffDurbin

I went in the NFM to audition some Infinity Betas and when I saw the closeouts on the Klipsch I got very re-interested very fast. I am amazed that the eBay sales are going as high as they have. Not much discount off list and no warranty support.

I saw a $1,300 HK AV635 for $615 at amazon.com. It made me question my purchase of separates.

I have a Fosgate FAP-T1+ pre-amp I got for $805 from woot.com and a used Rotel RB-985 I got for $400 on eBay and I have to honestly admit that they really aren't going to be any better than a closeout $1,300 Harman Kardon AV 635 receiver on Amazon.com for $615. I bet I could still get close to $1,200 for my separates and redeploy into the receiver choice. Separates are critical for driving a tough (e.g. 4 ohm) load like Maggies but let's face it, Klipsch are pretty easy to drive - even with a high-quality receiver like HK, Denon or Outlaw.

Are you in Canada? MSRP on RB-25s is $400. I got three pairs of floor model RB-25s for $212 per pair plus sales tax.

I have seen the RB-25s for sale on eBay for over $300 a pair which makes no sense considering they retailed for $400. I got three pair of floor models for $212 per pair at Nebraska Furniture Mart. NFM is in Omaha, Des Moines and KC. I would recommend the 25s but I have never heard the 61s. The 25s did very, very well against Polks and Infinity Betas.

That's an understatement! LOL. Hurrah Klipsch! (Well Trey at least!) I can hardly wait to fire these puppies up.

Yeah but AudioQuest is one of the worst purveyers of 'snake oil' - correction, 'high-end' interconnects and speaker wire - and so you would expect them to spew that dribble.

Aaaaaargh! I have fantasized about those speakers since last Fall but I just settled for Reference Series last week. I suppose I could sell my Reference Series to a doctor buddy in FL that wants them and trade up (but in reality I cannot afford THX Ultra since buying a Vette in January.

When I was evaluating it, the reviews and comments at www.avsforum.com tended to focus on those two items: 1) Why DVI instead of HDMI? 2) Why is the Faroudja circuitry in the digital video (DVI) output path only instead of before the component / DVI split? I don't know why but I am sure that some of the Pannie supporters were influenced by those design decisions.

Those Panasonic models have a lot of supporters. I think their prices have come down more than the OPPO so now they are pretty close to the same price. As Westcott points out, the OPPO's Faroudja circuit is in line with the DVI output so if you are using component cables you will not have the benefit of the upscaling. But, if your HDTV has the ability to take advantage of upscaling then why would you use component cables? The HDMI output of the Pannies make it easier to use HDMI switching in a receiver. I am not aware of any AV receivers that do DVI-HDMI switching but there are plenty of higher-end receivers (and pre-amps) that do HDMI switching. Although the OPPO reviews have placed it at the top of the food chain (relatively close to $3,500 universal players) the Pannies have advantages that should be evaluated before rushing to the OPPO.

Actually, I need to be perfectly candid and admit that I am laughing at him.

I purchased three pairs of RB-25s and an RC-25 for a 7.1 speaker system last week. I already own an Infinity CSW-10 subwoofer. These are floor model purchases from Nebraska Furniture Mart. The RC-25 was missing one of the jumpers. I sent an email to Klipsch customer service asking if they have a spare jumper. I was hoping they would say 'sure' and drop one in the mail to me. I wouldn't have been that surprised if they had asked me to pay a couple bucks to cover postage. Instead, I get a 'we don't have those' response. That seems silly to me. This is a small copper strap. It's not like it's obsolete. It looks like all of the speakers of that size have the same design for their mounting post faceplate. My guess is that all of the jumpers on all of the speakers are identical. What do you mean there simply are none to be had? Makes no sense to me. I am particularly frustrated because when I purchased the floor model Infinity subwoofer it didn't come with the RABOS kit. As a result, Ultimate Electronics marked it down from an already low $396 ($1,000 MSRP) to $296 (70% off list). I sent an email to Infinity and they happily sent me a free RABOS kit. I expected better service from Klipsch than Infinity. No matter how much I dislike Jane Harman's politics, I have to admit that her husband runs a damn fine audio conglomerate. I wish I could say the same about the Klipsch. family.

I stopped at Nebraska Furniture Mart last week and examined some Reference Series speakers. Their pickings were slim. I settled on three pair of RB-25s and an RC-25. I had been shopping for a 5.1 system because I have a bay window behind my sectional and I thought it would be too obstructive to stick horizontal surrounds in the bay. We have a nice view and I didn't want to mess that up. The three pairs of RB-25s have a dual advantage. I can fit a rear pair between the rear window and the angled windows in the bay, another pair to the sides of the sectional and the front pair. What's more, I am sure they will be well-matched to each other. Now I need to purchase stands for them.

I have the OPPO and I love it. I am using it with a 61" DLP HDTV designed by InFocus and manufactured by RCA (InFocus 61md10). The OPPO upscales to both 720p and 1080i but since the native resolution of the InFocus is 720 I am upscaling to 720p. It also has an audio delay which is a nice feature because the audio delay circutiry of my pre-amp is a bit cludgy to work with. It replaces a pretty nice Toshiba model. I am using a DVI-HDMI cable to output the signal to my TV and I forget if I am using Toslink for the audio or coax digital. As I recall it has some SACD capabilities but check the website to be certain. It does have six RCA audio outputs which if I remember correctly are there for SACD so they don't have to worry about digital audio copying. I have not loaded the latest firmware and I should get around to doing that. I am really impressed with OPPO's willingness to continue to release firmware upgrades rather than sell a 'new and improved' model every year. My only nit with it is if you want to open the drawer you have to push and hold the button for something like a full second. I'm always giving it a quick push and then when nothing happens I have to push it again and hold it. Opens right away if I hit the remote button (which I frequently do when I really want to power off instead.) As for HD DVDs, I agree with the other posters that it will take some time for the dust to settle and there will be plenty of media out there in the regular format. Considering how cheap DVD prices are getting I expect they will practically be giving away SD DVDs in a year.

I recommend that you go to www.avsforum.com and hang around the Setup and Theory subforum for a while. They also have a Design and Construction subforum that has a wealth of data too. www.audioholics.com has some good information too, especially for the DIYer . There's a free analysis program in the Setup and Theory subforum. I have not used it yet. I am going to hire an acoustic engineer to evaluate my room acoustics.