paw10264

Hi Chris, I'm suprised no one has responded to you. Hope the thread is not too old. You have not mentioned your other speakers or amp so I will respond as best I can. Generally, bookshelf speakers like the rb51 will need to be set to 'small' in your amp setup. This sends bass below the crossover (say 80hz) to the subwoofer. The RB51s should sound ok if your subwoofer is decent. If you currently have the RF25s set to small, the difference in sound quality should be minimal. If not, the quality of the low bass will be determined by your subwoofer. For the higher frequencies, the rb51s have the new tweeter which in my view sounds much better than the old one you have in the 25s, but then may not match perfectly with your centre. The power handling of the rb51s is also reduced to 75W rms from the 25s 125W. A problem in a large room at high volumes, in which case the rb61 is needed. For the mid frequencies, I cannot comment as, unfortunately, I have only had the opportunity to hear the larger rb61s; set up with a good subwoofer, they sounded good on movies. Hope this helps.

Dolby Digital mastering expects a cross over of 80 Hz. Best to imitate it. The ear generally cannot distinguish the location of sounds below 80 hz. Setting the crossover higher than 80 Hz may locate sounds from the subwoofer rather than the correct speaker. Set it on the receiver. The subwoofer should then be set to something higher than 80 - should not matter what unless you are using the speaker connections for satellite speakers that are provided on most subwoofers. Selecting LFE + mains sends bass to speakers set to large as well as to the sub woofer. This can be better if you have a low cost subwoofer or fronts. This is because the bass is reproduced from multiple sources rather than one source, and hence generally sounds better. May also sound better if your room has lots of reflections by evening out some. Selecting LFE sends bass from speakers set to large to that speaker only. Using good quality fronts, this is likely to offer better sounding bass. I find that subwoofers (even good quality ones) are best left to handle the LFE only (and the bass from the centre and surrounds - set to small). As in all things, trust your ears.... the right set up for your room is the one that sounds best.

Hi from Australia. I have just set up RC62 centre, RF82 fronts and RC52 rears with Denon 2807 and a subwoofer (whatmough impulse) in a room of 260 sq ft. Awesome. Remember what you are trying to set up for - movies, music, sitcoms - because this should influence your intial choices. Most modern movies are Dolby Digital. A second hand amp that plays DD will do and should still have resale value in 12 months or so. The denon 2807 is great but not essential initially. Save up for it because the DTS format is really good. The RC62 is the best value for money centre I have found. Clear on dialogue and very natural sounding. Definate buy. You can do without a centre initially, lossing clarity on dialogue, which is a problem on sitcoms and non-blockbuster movies. If these are important, consider getting a centre (and forgo the subwoofer?). But if you do get a centre, don't compromise because you won't be happy for long. In a room of 200 sq ft you could use RF62 fronts (or bookself speakers if you prefer) crossed to suby at 80 Hz. This is also a good option if space is limited. But if you want good music (or don't have a good subwoofer), better going for RF82s as the bass extension is better. The problem with most avr's is that you can only set them up one way, so swapping the speaker setup from music to movies can be a pain. Unless you have a good quality suby, don't rely on the suby sounding as good as the RF62s alone on music. The suby. Well, it is the difference between a home theatre and a stereo. If you live for blockbuster movies, a suby is essential. The advantage of the RF82s over smaller speakers is that they can be set to 'large' and allow the suby to only reproduce the LFE and bass from centre and surrounds. The difference is better, tigher bass, but you may not think the cost of RF82s and a decent suby worthwhile together if you mainly watch non-blockbusters. So, for blockbuster movies it sounds like you should go for RF82s with a decent subwoofer (and some building reinforcement) and a second hand DD amp, followed by a RC62 center and surrounds when possible. Alternatively, for sitcoms consider RF62s and the RC62 (good front stage) followed by a suby and surrounds. Or if you have good stereo speakers, use them as fronts and go for the RC62 centre and a good suby and perhaps the denon amp. It may not be tone balanced but will do and by then the RF82/62s might be on the second hand market. Welcome to the madness.........

Thanks to all who have contributed to this thread. Having listened to many brands, price points and advice, I have now installed the RC-62 centre with RF-82 fronts and RS-52 surrounds powered by the Denon 2807. Needed a subwoofer that was smaller in size than the Klipsch so purchased the new Whatmough-Wise impulse (Australian manufacturer) which is just brillant with a 10" driver (quick response for music dvds) and such low distortion that it can be as loud as you like. The RC-62 centre is great - clear on dialogue and good tonal quality. The RF-82s could have been the RF-62s with no loss of enjoyment on movies but with better bass extension they are more suitable for stereo music, although the 62s with a good musical subwoofer (which generally means a 10" woofer) also sound OK. If only watching movies and music dvds, the 62s are fine. For the surrounds, I have found a trend for newer dvds to put much more information in the surround channels, so go as big as you can install/afford. I settled on the 52s as a compromise. Go the RS-62s if you can. For me, this is the ideal system for the family room 5.5m long and 4.5m wide. A door on the front wall in the right corner and a door on the side wall on the left rear makes speaker placement difficult. Non-Klipsch enthusists may be interested to know that while the old Bose cube system was easier to install, the new system is superior in all the important areas.

Thanks for the advice Lou. I have been busy reading up on the various models you indicated in your reply and now understand the model ranges a bit better. Cheers for now, Peter

I want a centre speaker that sounds natural on dialogue. The RC-64 centre seems OK on films. Does anyone have an opnion on the best centre for voice from film or sitcom type HDTV? Money is always an issue so I am looking at matching the RC-64 with RF-62s at the front. The RC-64 has a 1.25 inch tweeter and four 6.5 inch woofers. Will this be timbre matched to the RF-62 with its 1 inch tweeter and dual 6.5 inch woofers? Salemen (why are they always men) are pushing the older RF-25 fronts. The prices are about the same as the RF-62s. I am concerned that the older tweeters are crossed over at lower frequecnies and that this may mean they sound different. Again, anyone out their with a view? Its great to have a forum like this. I have enjoyed reading your comments.