MatrixDweller

A friend gave me some Monster speaker wire a while back. It was supposedly 14 gauge. The wire featured a plastic flux core...aka the wire was wrapped around a piece of plastic. I think their 14 gauge measurement was including the plastic flux core. I thought I heard a difference when replacing some cheap 16 gauge, but then again it was probably psychoacoustics. I think therefore I am?

I'm using bookshelves for Fronts and surrounds and am pretty happy. People say that if you use 5 identical speakers in your 5.1 set up you will get the best overall sound. If you look at Klipsch's THX Ultra 2 speaker system they use identical LCRs for the fronts and center and slightly smaller model for the rears. Since the bookself speakers lack a little on the bass side a good sub is a must. The RW12d and Sub12 output a little more and go a little lower than their 10 inch brothers.

Does anyone know why there might be a difference when hooking a splitter up on the L/R sub inputs? Could it be that my splitter is coloring the output?

On your budget I would consider two pairs of RB61's and a Synergy Sub12 or a RW12d. That will squeak you just under the $1500 mark. The RB81's, although very nice (I have them), would put you over budget. If you could find some Synergy B-3's they would do fine as well and are mated with the C3 normally.

If you were going to use a tower as a center you should stick to the RF-82 to have the perfect match. Of course placing a tower as a center could look funny unless it's behind a perforated screen. The RC-62 is the preferred center for the RF-82. I have one and it sounds incredible.

I'm using some generic 12 gauge oxygen free (OFC) wire to my surrounds and center. I've bi-wired my fronts with some CL rated 14 gauge OFC cable. I use gold plated banana connectors on all ends. The banana plugs just make things easier. I got a deal from a friend who works at an audio store so everything was practically free. I did notice a slight change when going from 16 gauge (crappy bargain cable) to 12 gauge on my surrounds (25ft). One thing you have to be careful about is whether the cable gauge is rated for one wire or both. I've seen some 12 gauge that's pretty thin and after measuring found it was the combined value. Really though, any (true) 14 gauge should be fine for most purposes.

At first I ran a single RCA to the left on my sub and it sounded great. I decided to try a splitter out at the sub end so the the single RCA split into the left and right. I, as well as a fellow audiophile, noticed a little bit of a difference for the better. I'm not sure why.

There's a huge difference in price but not necessarily sound. It all depends how big your room is and how big your budget. If you're on a fixed budget and will be sacrificing your surrounds and sub woofer to get the better fronts then you might want to reconsider. For home theater the center and the sub are about the most important I would say. You might want to consider the RF82 and RC62 (or RC64) combo followed up with an RSW10d (or RT10d) and some RB81's and/or RS62's. If budget is no concern then get the best you can afford the RF63 System is pretty sweet. As for listening level and hearing every nuance in your movies, both will do that. Use YPAO to set the speaker levels and things should sound just right. I have RB81's for Fronts and Surrounds a RC62 center and a RW12d sub. They fill my 12x20 theater room perfectly. Dialog is always sharp and crisp. Mind you, if I could have afforded the RF63's and RC64 I would have definitely went with them instead. On my budget however I would have had to axe the sub and surrounds to do so. What you will really have to do, and what everyone else will say, is listen to the different speakers and pick the ones that sound the best to you.

The thinkg to consider with computer speakers is their footprint. Typically you don't have a lot of room on the desk. If that's not an issue a nice pair of RB51's and a RC52 would sound excellent. The other option would be the RVX-42 LCR. You'll also want to pick out a subwoofer, RW-10, RPW10 or SUB-10 would be good choices.

I'd think minimum you'd want the RW-12d and more likely the RSW-10d. Really though for the best match on the RF-83 the RT-12d is the ticket. YOu could probably get a better Velodyne or SVS sub however for significantly less money.

Denon 3910 for under $500??? Where??? Gotta get me one. I was thinking the 2910 because it was cheaper but the 3910 has the Denon Link III that I want for my AVR3805.

I friend of mine installed ceiling speakers and thought they were awesome. I on the other hand thought they were complete garbage. In my opinion ceiling speakers are OK for ambient sound systems like those you hear in elevators and department stores. The imaging in ceiling speakers is very poor as they are pointing straight down. They might be ok to take the place of bi/dipolar speakers (RS10) mounted at the right position but definitely not for monopole. A good receiver or EQ system would even have a hard time trying to make them sound decent. In wall speakers are a bit better but for rear surrounds. You want them to be monopole and firing towards the front of the room. For side surrounds you want them at or slightly behind the listening position and a little bit above ear level. They should fire towards the listening position if monopole. As for room treatment the simplest will be to put a throw rug down. Another thing that passes WAF would be thick curtains. Curtains covering the front wall behind your AV equipment or at least in the corners would help out too. You could also check out Auralex or RPG or similar for other pre made treatments. AS for your speaker choices the RB61 is a much better animal than the 52. You have a decent sized room so I wouldn't go any smalle rthan the RW-10d. The RW-12d might do a little better job of filling your room with bass. What I would do for layout would be to keep the ceiling speakers as side surrounds, use RB61's or RF62's for fronts, a RC62 or RC52 for your center, and optionally go with one or two RB61's for rears. If you're on a budget then the rears can wait. There's not much content out there that takes advantage of the the rear surrounds yet. I would pre-wire for 7.1 while in the construction phase since it's a lot easier than fishing wire.

The Denon 2910 is on my wish list. It would make a good replacement for your Yamaha. The THD is a little lower on the Denon. You should see an improvement in video and audio with the 2910. If you can afford it get the newer 2930 for even better video upscaling.

I frickin love my RC62 as well. BTW: LOTR is a whole different movie when you have a good sub. In particular "The Bridge of Kazaadoom" will shake you out of your seat.

I've read on lots of sites that you should put the sub in a corner. I guess you would do that so that the reflections in the corner amplify the bass output. Of course I would think that could make it boomy and smear it a bit. The thing I always wanted to ask was if you have a bass trap in a corner, would the subwoofer be best placed near the trap?

I didn't mean to bash Klipsch. I am very happy with my 81's and the way they sound. I was just disappointed that my RB81's, which is flagship bookshelf speaker, didn't have better binding posts. I'm sure that the nickel plate is just fine but gold plate has become the standard on pretty much any audio component that is considered high-end, albeit sometimes just for aesthetics. The RB75 had gold plated binding posts and the RF83 and 63's do. I'm sure the added $5 in material cost would be very minimal when considering the RB81 retails for $450 each (CAD).

I would have thought Klipsch, catering to audiophiles, would have used gold plated copper binding posts and gold plated copper straps. I was unimpressed by the nickel plate and was hoping it was rhodium.

I have the RB81's which have the same dual binding post configuration. I noticed that the straps connecting the HF and LF posts look fairly low quality. The look like nickel plated something (hoping it was copper and not steel). Why would Klipsch use such junk on the flagship RB81. The RB75 uses something a lot better.

Kenwood has kind of gone the way of home theater in a box marketed to the uneducated masses. As for amplifiers I think the only make them for car audio now. They are ok at that and have a wide range of class D and AB amps.

I have RB81's for mains and surrounds and went with the RC62. The RC62 sounded a better than the RC52 I though and the power handling (150W/600W) is the same as the RB81. Their sensitivities are fairly close too. The RC62 also goes 10Hz lower than the RC52. a 57Hz low end for a center is pretty darn good. The flagship RC64 doesn't even go that low. Of course it would have been nice if they made a RC82 so that the drivers would match but I don't think it matters much. The RC62 seems to match my RB81's perfectly and sounds truly amazing. Remember that most of the movie's sound goes through the center channel so choose wisely. Another reason why I went with the RC62 is the fact that it's available in cherry woodgrain vinyl and the RC52 is not.

I have the BTech BT77's too for my rear surrounds (RB81's). These stands are extremely sturdy and can hold up to 55lbs. I was able to thread a bolt through the base to secure the speakers even more. They look really nice too.

sorry for the double post

If you were going to run wires or conduit through the wall or floor I'd future proof and go 7.1. If you're just tucking them under the baseboard or running them over the carpet don't bother and stick with 6.1 and put the money you save on the second rear speaker into a better sub, dvd player, etc. From what I could saw on the THX site about 7.1 speaker placement the second rear surround is almost pointless. They have them pretty close together ont he back wall which leads me to beleive your ears wouldn't be able to tell if there was one or two speakers there anyway. I think if you had a fairly wide back wall and spaced them out more it might be worth it.

The Denon 2930ci is fantastic and even better is the 3930ci. Of course they are 5X the price as OPPO. I have a Samsung HD841 upscalling DVD player. It kind of sucks in comparison to the other but it can upscale to 1080i over component (with remote hack). I find the picture is slightly better. but nothing to brag about. A lot of it does depend on the quality of the original image.

Thanks man!