tragusa3

I would have absolutely no concern about the sound coming through the AT screen. If you were using measuring devices there may be a difference, but my ears sure can't hear it! I noticed a significant improvement in the "anchoring" of dialogue when the center was put behind the screen. Curious to see what you think. Tony

They came in, FINALLY! I've got such a busy day with work today though that I hope you guys don't mind me doing a copy and paste from my comments on another forum.... --------------------------------------- Today, 08:33 AM #365 | Link I had to keep telling myself to not set expectations too high, as I only have 3 pieces of the 9 piece system. And when firt turning it on and bringing my receiver up to my typical movie level of -7, I was very much underwhelmed. I expected that the higher efficiency speaker would be more dynamic and have more volume at a given point on the receiver. However, it was sort of flat and dead??? I ran through all my receiver setup again to make sure all was appropriate and it was... So I figured, what the heck, I may as well turn the volume up and see what happens. With the older speakers, I wouldn't dare turn it past about -4, as the speakers would really complain. I got to -4 and even 00 and these were starting to sound out pretty well and not complaining! So I moved up a little at a time until I hit +15 which is the max on the receiver. The room was filled with amazingly clear impactful sound. My ears were starting to ring and a headache was coming on fast, so I pulled it back to something more "normal" and left the room for a bit to let my ears "recalibrate" themselves. I got the whole family together that evening and we demoed a few passages of Indiana Jones (Crystal Skull) and Narnia (Prince Caspian). I was a bit concerned of my wifes impressions, as she had put faith in me to spend OUR money and I didn't want to disappoint. If she didn't see the value here, then my efforts to buy the rest of the system would have to be ramped up to a high level. I first played a quiet passage of IJCS so that she could get a taste of some of the more subtle improvements. It took her all of 10 seconds to put a smile on and give me the nod of approval! Job done! She then asked to hear some more action packed scenes. I played the ant scene at reference level (plus some). Again, it didn't take but 10 seconds for that big smile and an "eyes bulging", "OH MY" look! After a few different scenes, we paused and discussed. She commented (unsolicited) that it sounded like a commercial theater only better! She also recognized the shortcomings of our current sub and surrounds and asked me if I felt like getting the rest of the system now. It's awfully tempting, but I must refocus and channel the funds back into construction items....we have a long way to go still. In all, we are very pleased. I'm convinced that my wife makes a good barometer of performance. Sometimes we (home theater nuts) get too close to all the technical mumbo jumbo and we need an uninfected source to be our judge of value. For now, the judge is happy.

I've got the same material and can second everything bhendrix is saying! Great stuff. Doesn't make any noticable difference acoustically and the picture is great! My front row is 11' from a 14' wide image! Superb!

Roger, that sounds neat. I sent you an email. I'm planning something pretty similar. The equipment will all be in a cabinet at the rear of the room and I will have access to the rear through a hidden door in the room behind. I'll also be venting all the heat out of the cabinet into the adjacent room (storage room). Thanks dtel. Does Indy have any photos of his theater online? So I'm still tracking these Utra2's. I've had a terrible time playing the waiting game. I didn't even sleep well last night! But then, when you get to the last few days of a twenty year wait, it can be tough. Tracking shows them in Birmingham and sceduled to be here tomorrow! If they get to our terminal tonight I may just have to drive out and pick them up there! Got to get the stands built today.

I wouldn't argue the point the same way if I were a "2-channel" guy. I'm 100% multi channel theater, and my mains are not even designed as full range. I'm nowhere near knowlegable enough to have an opinion any deeper than what I hear is what I know. For my system I see the benifits of the subwoofer and the relief it puts on the rest of my equipment. I really should keep my nose out of the "techical" forum. [:^)]

Yet is seems to be so affordable and easy in a subwoofer. Just reinforces the point that splitting up duties is easier on all the equipment.

I haven't researched recievers in a while, but did a quick search on that one. I think that based on the efficiency of the Klipsch the 140watts/channel will be more than enough. Also you want to make sure the processor has all the latest surround formats, which it does. It also has all the video switching you could be interested in. It is a bit pricey, and you could possibly look at seperate amps and processors on the used market that will give more bang for the buck. However, you'll likely only gain a very slight edge in performance (and that's only if you select the right pairings). I'm going to be using mine with a Denon AVR3300 that I bought back in 2000. I'm sure it will get me by for some time before I'm going to go with seperates myself. I'm sure you will have issues related to the high ceilings. Go over to the avs forum and do some searching for acoustical treatment threads. You can build your own treatments that have a nice designer flair (that your wife will approve of). I can testify that I put about $400 of DIY treatment in my theater and it was a vast improvement. Oh yeah, put an area rug over the floors too (if approved) [] My 650's are in Jackson, MS on a UPS truck right now and should be to me by Tuesday. I've got very high expectations.

You don't waste time!!! I wish I could have found some used... Remember not to rush to early judgement if you run them without the sub. They are not full range, and need the sub for their "sound". That's exciting! How 'bout some photos?

That's exactly how I'm doing it. I'm only buying the front three right now. Next time I'll get the surrounds and the Third chunk will get me the subs. Probably a two year process for me. In the meantime I'm using surrounds and subs from my old system which do a reasonable job. I only mentioned the option because they met your criteria, not because everyone MUST HAVE the biggest baddest, etc. If you go this route, you really need to get a 650 for the center as well.

Chris, that is what I meant. Or the KL 525's or KL650's depending on your desires and budget. As said above, it's not incrementally better than your first choice, it's a whole new ballgame!

The Ultra2 LCR's would work great in this application. To fit in your budget, you could go with a cheap used sub and surrounds for the time being. (That's exactly what I'm doing...) At least this way, when the upgrade bug bites you then you don't have to replace LCR's just build on what you have. A little more up front, but savings in the long run. And don't be scared off by the high retail numbers on those. They can be had much cheaper. I see lots of posts about how they sound great and all, but geez look at the price! In actuallity, they can be had for not much more than a Reference system.

Thanks Roger! I appreciate it. After two years of pounding every nail myself, doing all the electrical myself, all insulation, all sheetrock, building risers, on and on.....It's nice to hear someone say it looks good. Even though the pretty layers aren't on yet! You got me thinking....I was originally either going to build shelves on the room wall, or attach shelves to the screen wall, but why not just build stands that are free floating so that I can adjust when and where I feel like? I think that's my solution. By the way....the darn Ultra2's just left El Paso last night. They sat in Phoenix for over 24 hours. This is killing me!!!

Acoustically, the whole space acts as one, so you in effect don't have the "square" issues that it seemed from your first post. Although, the space is actually larger than you're quoting, to the speakers anyway. But why am I chiming in? You're getting it right from a speaker designer. Those speakers just aren't designed to fill that space. I'm thinking I would balance your budget more towards speakers and less on the receiver. Maybe even start off with a used receiver. You could get a nice used receiver that didn't have the latest of sound processing and spend a few hundred dollars.

I did not order the subs. I'd sell it, what's cheap? [] Seems the 1500R is a decently regarded sub? I never realized that. It did do a wonderful job until my room got twice as big!

It was timely that this was resurected recently! I've had an F-1500R for about 8-9 years now and it has done wonderfully until moving into my new much larger room. The room is now 4500cf, and it still sounds fine, but doesn't have the ability to pressurize the room like it once did. I just ordered a THX Ultra2 setup and hope that I can limp along with this Velo until I can afford something like a Seaton Submersive or comparable. So do you guys think the Velo will be completely overwhelmed by the THX's? Also curious what value these have on the used market these days?

This is a curious topic for me as well, so would be fun to read some experiences and comparisons from people that have listened to all or some. I have a 100% dedicated room (may have seen my post and photos in the home theater section) and just placed an order for THX Ultras! Should be here by Tuesday. My room is 30'x17'x9', so fairly large. I can't wrap my mind around the rave reviews across the board for the THX's. The boxes are so.....well, small. How can they possibly live up to the adjectives used to describe the sound? I suppose I will find out. If we can't give good suggestions that are specific to the OP, can we just hear some experiences that others have had comparing them? By next week, I'll be able to compare the THX's to Khorns for theater use.

hmmm, for some reason it crops the width out of my photos. But if I hit the reply button I can see the whole photo in the reply window. ??? Anyway, you get the point. Question, you can see the space behind my screen. Would you tend to mount the 650's off the screen wall or off the back wall?

Let me see if I can get this to work...

Thanks for the welcome. As for gear, I will currently be using them along with a Denon AVR3300 (from back in 2000), the side surrounds are Paradigm dipoles, the rear surrounds will be my current mains, AR towers from the mid 80's, the sub is a Velodyne F-1500R (a 15" servo from the mid-90's that's still pounding away). That's it for audio. On the video side, I have a Panasonic AE900 and using it on an acoustically transparant 72"x 168" screen. As I said earlier, my hobby has been sacrificed for things like baby diapers, refridgerators, new houses, etc. BUT, GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE THAT WAIT !!! These KL-650's are the first piece to an entire upgrade to my equipment. And the good thing about this upgrade is that every piece of it will be no compromises, get what I need to get, kinda upgrades! Downside is, that the room is still under construction and money must pour into the room construction before I can do the rest of my upgrades. These speakers were bought out of sequence just to keep my morale up about the room build, which I'm doing 95% of myself (two year project so far). Some things I'm hoping for in the future. Obviously the rest of the Ultra2 surround speakers, at a minimum a pair of the Ultra2 subs (but I'm reserving the right to find subs that pound even harder). I will go seperates with the amp and processor but haven't begun to research that yet, as it is likely 4-5 years off. But I am going to give these speakers enough power (maybe 300watts to all 7). I'm thinking Bryston, Parasound, etc. My room is treated with Linacoustic over the entire screen wall and down each of the side walls up to a 48" height. Also have base traps in the front two corners of triangular OC703. Room treatment actually has made my old speakers sound 30% better! It was amazing. Roger, can't take photos of the speakers, they are somewhere between Nevada and South Carolina. I've got an extensive construction thread with photos over at AVSForum. Would be glad to post here though, or direct you to that thread (if thats cool). The system that I mentioned buying for my Dad last year was a RF62 based system, and I couldn't get the smile off my face after watching the Hell Freezes Over concert! So I can't wait for these. I suppose though that with only the front three I'll be lacking the punch for awhile....I'm hoping that it is still impressive? any thoughts? By the way, tracking on UPS says they'll be here on Tuesday. I was really hoping to have had them by the weekend. Bummer.

Like many guys, I've had hobbies come and go. But one hobby that has stayed with me for the last 30 years has been Home Theater. My systems were always made up of hand me downs, items from the used market, pieces that fit my budget but not my desires. Life had a way of timing things that I just never could justify spending money on the hobby the way that I wanted to. Heck, my system as of yesterday still included (as mains) a pair of AR's from a pawn shop that I bought back in the late 80's and have had reconed twice. I've always had friends that had Klipsch systems. A few with Heritage systems and a few lately with Reference systems. Just last year I helped my Dad put together a Reference system for his room. It was fun to spend his money, but painful that it wasn't for my own room. Yesterday, all that has begun to change. I placed an order for KL-650's for the front three mains. The day has finally come. My room is a dedicated room in the basement, 30'x17.5'x9'. They'll be placed behind an AT 2.35 screen of 168" horizontally. I'm hoping the big sound and big picture really pull the room together. I don't remember reading such steller reviews on a product in a long time and I'm confident they'll measure up.