BeeMan458

"Welcome to the Madness" Thanks! I notice from recent headings, the community extends further than just Klipsch. Very cool.

Thanks for the though Wuzzzer. The dynamics are too much for the neighbors to handle. Living in a duplex, our wall is their kitchen and when cranked loud enough for the center channel dialogue, when the action starts, it blows our neighbors away. Not very neighborly but you may be on to something as some can't deal with the full force of the soundtrack dynamics. Excellent point. I do have a sound attenuation setting (feature) for nighttime listening; something to consider when I have time to again work on sound pressure settings. Hmmmmm! Thanks for the age report Pat (Islander). I literally, haven't had the time to redial in the system but the info stream you guys are sharing is being helpful as the more insight I have, the more flexible I become to the matter which I posted to.

"Welcome to the Forum. " Thanks for the thoughtful thought. I'm just stopping by long enough to see if I can take advantage of "you folks" expertise in matters of this kind. When I get some free time, I'm going sit down and custom up my system and ignore the rules. I already have the receiver manual and sound pressure meter at the ready, now some time when the wife's not using the system and I'm available. I'll adjust the speakers, surrounds and centers, to their deficiencies by boosting the db in receiver menu by an appropriate amount; six plus db. The recommendation of having the crossovers replaced is intriguing but may be more hassle then it's worth and it'll be more efficent to simply replace the center channel (don't thing the timbre will be a problem in this case as the center channel isn't neutral and has a deeper pink noise hiss) and the RC-64 and RS-62 surrounds (new caps), digs deeper and flies higher as well as being a few db more efficient will be a better match for the Epic CF-3's that I'm running for mains with their 100db efficiency. Can anybody suggest who to contact in order to get the crossover networks replaced? That would be kind. Knowing that the DVD movie sound tract mixing pretty much sucks as to matters of this kind has been very encouraging and gave me the idea of custom setting speaker settings as opposed to doing a matched sound pressure setting. This is a good thing. Look forward to any additional input in regard to the original question of how long are speakers good for and the reply about getting the networks replaced/rebuilt. Thanks all!

It's become a bit distracting in that yes, I have to crank the volume in order to hear the dialogue and then, as stated, scramble for the remote to turn the volume down during action sequences. I don't remember this being a problem several years ago. Maybe as suggested, it's a Dolby Digital thing and not my aging ears. [8-|] I figure that after some ten years of solid, almost daily use in regard to the speakers (they've been out of the sun and high humidity), that something might have aged and now be in need of service. Maybe as suggested, the caps are worn and in need of replacement so the KV-4 has lost it's punch due to these worn capacitors. Hmmmmmm!

Hi Guys. First post here. Two questions: 1. How long are speakers good for? (Do they age and lose their ability to transmit sound clearly or are they a forever item?) 2. By upgrading the center channel to a RC-64, can I expect center channel dialogue to be easier for my and my wife's aging ears to understand? I'm 54. Her age, (diplomacy) shall remain unstated. [] Looking to upgrade my speakers. For mains, I have ten year old Epic CF-3's and a KV-4 for the center. Even with the center channel cranked up 6db so as to offset the difference in speaker efficiency via menu driven speaker setup in the receiver, the center channel dialogue can still be a bit difficult to understand. The receiver is a three year old Marantz SR-8200, DVD player is a Marantz DV-6200; also three years of age. System is dialed in with a digital Radio Shack sound pressure meter. System settings and sound pressure levels were checked just a few days ago. I have the speakers set to large and the bass rolled off to the two 12" subs at 80Hz. I'm looking to replace the current KV-4 center channel, with a RC-64 and later upgrade the rear KSP-56 surrounds with a pair of RS-62's. I'd like to be able to keep the Epic CF-3's with their ten inch woofers. [H] The sound, when set to multi-channel stereo, seems to come through fine for TV viewing purposes. For the most part I'd consider our hearing to be normal as to day-to-day situations; my wife's, as always, is better than mine, ("I heard that.") The spoken part of a Dolby Digital (5.1) sound track can seem to her, to be a bit muffled at times, yet the rest of the track; music, vehicles, echoes, surround, clinking glasses, background helicopter sounds or bullet casings clinking on the ground, seem to come through just fine. I'm happy to change out the center speaker and replace it with a RC-64, I just don't want to be throwing good money away if it's not going supply a solution. Thoughts or suggestions? TIA. Thomas