JPahl

RPlace Interesting thoughts, thanks. I never thought about all Academy's in the rear. I am using a 70" RPTV currently so there is no room below the TV so an Academy is probably my only solution for a center. If it helps, I am using all Rotel amps for power. Have you ever heard a La Scala compared to a Chorus II ? If so what were your thoughts ? Either solution is reasonably viable, (La Scala's with Heresy all around or Chorus II setup). I have time to purchase equipment over time (when available on EBay !). You say you have two Academy's you might consider parting with ? Tell me a little about them.

---------------- On 4/5/2005 4:27:47 PM Olorin wrote: Two things -- You only need one Academy in the center. Academys and Chorus IIs go well together. Heresys and La Scalas go well together. Heresys and Academys do not go well together. It seems to me your optimal choices are A) Building on the Chorus II/Academy you already have by filling in with Quartets, Fortes, more Academys, and/or more Chorus IIs. Ditching what you have and moving to something built around La Scalas and Heresys. The choice is really a matter of taste. Some people prefer the original Heritage sound (La Scala, Heresy) while others prefer the extended Heritage sound (Chorus, Forte). Both series are excellent, but IMO they don't sound enough like one another to blend effectively in a home theater. ---------------- O - Thanks for the input. I didn't realize there were really two "types" of Heritage series speakers. Can you describe the basic differences ? Have you compared the two types directly ? I love the sound o the Chorus's, but since I heard the KHorns, well enough said ! I didn't mention KHorns, but rather the La Scala's based on available space. I have never heard the La Scala's but based on what I read they sounded like they owuld be very KHornish with less bass.

My current setup is Chorus II's in the front, Academy center, RS7's side surrounds and RB35's for back surrounds. Subs are 2 SVS 16-46's. It sounds good, but I want to go all Heritage, for the obvious reasons. Based on space, I have two options, but I don't know which way to go. What do you think would be the best setup of the two and why: Front - Chorus II's Center - 2 Academy's Side Surround - Heresy II's Rear Surround - Chorus II's Subs - 2 SVS 16-46 OR Front - La Scala's Center - 2 Academy's Side Surround - Heresy II's Rear Surround - Chorus II's Subs - 2 SVS 16-46's Thanks for any input.

Thanks for the advice, but those are both rather large speakers, probably too large to hang from the ceiling in the back of the family room, (low WAF) ! What about a pair of RB-35's ?

I need advice. First the particulars: System, 7.1, mains Chourus IIs, center-Academy, side surrounds-RS7s, rear surrounds, SS-1s. Room: Family room 25x17x19 and open to the kitchen. The SS1s are behind the main seating approximately 8 back , 15 up and are spread apart approximately 12. There is no room for floor standing speakers for rear surrounds and I cannot move the rear surrounds any closer together. The problem is the SS1s get buried when I get into any serious volume (cant hear them-when I should be), and because of the room/speaker configuration, when I calibrate the system, the Choruss are turned to there minimum and the SS1s are turned to their maximum, so Im losing a ton of volume from the rest of the system because of the SS1s. My question is, what do I do ? I know I need to replace the SS1s, but with what ? Another pair of RS7s, book shelfs, what ? Any input would be appreciated.

Skonopa, Thanks for the input. I never thought about putting a center(front) in the rear. Do you think the same would apply if I wanted 2 rear centers ? ShapeShifter, Thanks for the links, I will check them out. JP

Hi all, Currently my HT room is my family room. I have 18' high ceilings and do not have side walls available for surround speakers. My current set-up is Chorus II's for the mains, Academy center, 16-46(2) for subs, and SS-1's for the surrounds. Currently the SS-1's are behind the seating position hanging from the ceiling about 12' from the seating position (including height). I am considering going to a 6.1/7.1 set-up. My first question is, interms of placement, what do I do ? Do I move the surrounds and hang them from the ceiling to the sides of the listening area and put the rear surrounds, well, in the rear. Or can I keep the rear surrounds were they are are add the rear center ? Also what rear center shold I get ? Another SS-1 or an RS-3. Would two different surrounds degrade the sound ? Thanks for any help

speedbump, I am not an expert, but I would imagine you could replace the plate amp on the PC model, however I doubt you would need to. The CS model does give you some additional head room and more flexibility when adding an additional sub, but the PC model wins out when it comes to "Plug and Play". IMO, if you are considering adding an additional sub down the road, go with the CS series, if one will be enough, the PC series is for you. I would not worry too much about the amp's power, my understanding is that it is a well made German plate amp that makes complete use of the 190wpc. Once you hear (feel) the sub, you will know what I am talking about. Good luck. HornEd, I agree, I believe the CS-Ultra package will produce exactly what I (and yourself)are looking for, ~16hz extension with about a 6-9db bump. Although I shouldn't complain, I have measured 117db peaks with the dual 16-46 package (not at 16hz mind you !). I just needed to know about the custom ports. I will be very interested in your review of the Ultra package, has Tom given you any ETA ?

Speedbump, I don't have the PC series but I do have dual 16-46cs's with the the samson amp. The two are very similar but you will get a few more db's from the samson amp (350 wpc vs. 190 wpc). I have them matched to a pair of Chorus II's. First, these subs are everything you have read about, truely amazing. In terms of the 20-39's vs. 16-46's, yes the 16-46's are tuned lower (16hz vs. 20hz), but you also loose a couple of db's >30hz from the 16's. Here is my experience, hope it helps. I just recently purchased custom ports for the 16-46's they were tuned to 21hz. I bought these thinking I was missing out on the db's of the 20-39's and not really benefitting from the lower tuning point on the 16-46's. To make a long story short, I was dead wrong ! After replacing the ports with the custom ports, the subs were louder, but I lost the "feel" I was experiencing with the the 16-46's. In my environment, the 16-46's filled my room much more and gave me that whole house shake that I wanted. IMO there was a significant difference between the two set-ups. Also the 16-46's seem to blend much better with the Chorus's. Now, obviously you can't go wrong with either set-up, but for my money, there is nothing like a pair of 16-46's. Hope that helps a little. BTW, anybody want to by some custom ports !

If you can find one, an Academy is an excellent choice as well, I'm using one with my Chorus II's and they blend/match very well. Every once in a while you'll see one on e-bay.

Seb, Yes by definition, it does make the ensamble LOUDER. It will increase the SPL's within the usable range by 4 to 5 db. However, placing subs together does not change the inherent charactersitics of the subs themselves. If your subs rolloff hard at say 35hz but can play, although not discernibly, to 30hz, puting two subs together will make those points louder. As an example, if a single sub produces 90db @ 35hz and dives to 75db @ 30hz, with dual subs you should achieve approximatly 96db @ 35hz and 81db @ 30hz. But you will not get any lower than 30hz. Yes, you have more usable bass @30hz, but you will not achieve anything LOWER with this setup. That was my point.

t-man, I can't spew the specifics about the 25-31's but I do know that they are tuned to 25hz (the "25" in the "25-31"). Your best bet would be to get a hold of Tom at SV Subwoofers (svsubwoofers.com). He is one of the partners. He is going to ask you about your room size, listening preferences (what does your Dad listen to and how loud), and such. He will be very straight with you, If a KSW15 can outperform a 25-31, he will let you know, I rather doubt it however. I went from an SW12II to dual 16-46cs's - no comparison ! Good Luck.

I have dual SV 16-46cs's next to each other in the same corner of my room. The reason you put them together in a closed corner in your room is to increase the spl's, (approximately 5db increase), and reduce the possibility of cancellation. Adding additional identical subs will not make them go lower, just louder. If you want to be a bottom feeder then you have to use bottom feeders ! 16-46's are tuned to 16hz and can go lower than that (based room dynamics). My old sub was an SW12II, great sub but nothing compared to SV's.

Hookem, I too have a pair (1) of Chorus II's and an Academy center. I'm using an Onkyo DTR7 and love it. Some say the Denon line will "smooth-out" the Klipsch speakers. I don't find the Onkyo/Klipsch combo to be harsh at all. This is the third receiver from the Integra line that I have owned and I don't think I would own anything else, (within reason, of course). The performance and reliability have been outstanding. And I love the sound. Good luck.

Thanks for the reply PhilH. It sounds like the SB3's would be the better choice. They can be had at a reasonable price on ebay.

dougdrake, I understand that the KG3.5 will give me lower bass, but if I plan on using an external sub (SV 25/31cs), do the low frequency capabilities of the KG3.5's make a difference ? I would assume not. That would leave the mids and highs. Do you know if there is a significant difference in this region ?

Besides one being floorstanding and the other is a bookshelf, how do these two compare ? They would be used as main speakers in an HT set-up (power sub will be used as well). Any input would be appreciated

I second the idea of contacting TV (SVS). I have a pair of Chorus II's (Klipsch all around) and recently purchased a pair of SVS 16-46cs subs with a Samson amp (~$1250). I do listen to both HT and music. I told Tom and posted elsewhere that yes the subs a outstanding for HT, but I think I liked them even better for music. Extremely fast and smooth. A great blend with my Chorus's.

Dave, I have a similar sized room as yourself >10,000 cu. ft. I was using an SW12II but wanted to get more low end extension than the SW12 could produce. I auditioned several subs, including KSW-15, (family member owns one), in my house. It was a nice sub, but it didn't give me the sound I was looking for. to make a long story short, I ulimately bought a pair of subwoofers from SV Subwoofers, 16-46's. I know there is a bit of a price difference between these and the KSW15, but the smaller SV's are at a similar price point but can extend lower with higher SPL's, with absolutley NO boominess (is that a word ?). You can search here or over at Home Theater Forum for reviews on these subs. If you don't want to buy online, also check out the Paradigm PW220 or something from the Velodyne line -they are also HIGHLY recommended. Have fun.

Dave, I have a similar sized room as yourself >10,000 cu. ft. I was using an SW12II but wanted to get more low end extension than the SW12 could produce. I auditioned several subs, including KSW-15, (family member owns one), in my house. It was a nice sub, but it didn't give me the sound I was looking for. to make a long story short, I ulimately bought a pair of subwoofers from SV Subwoofers, 16-46's. I know there is a bit of a price difference between these and the KSW15, but the smaller SV's are at a similar price point but can extend lower with higher SPL's. You can search here or over at Home Theater Forum for reviews on these subs. If you don't want to buy online, also check out the Paradigm PW220 or something from the Velodyne line -they are also HIGHLY recommended. Have fun.

Sure Tom, here goes: Mains - Chorus II's Center - Academy Surrounds - SS1's (weak link ?!?) Subs - Dual SVS 16-46 w/Samson 700 Receiver - Onkyo DTR7 DVD - Panasonic A310 LD - Pioner M301 TV - Mitsubishi 70"-Not Digital Satellite - Dish Network HT Room (Family Room As Well !) 14,000 cu ft I've had the subs for about a week now. They are replacing an SW12II. The SW12 is a great sub but simply can't be compared the SVS's, and really shouldn't be. I really can't explain the type of bass the the SVS's produce other than to say they are the lowest , loudest and truest subs I have ever heard, (not that i have heard every sub !) I've read all the posts on the SVS subs (that's why I took the chance), and some are quite accurate others are a bit much ("imploding heads"). Initially I calabrated the subs and tossed in the usual test dvd's and got SPL readings in the 107db range, but the actual bass was very disappointing. A little sub reconfiguration and oh my, there's the bass ! I had them positioned one in front of the other and got alot of cancellation, side by side and WOW ! I plan on doing some more tweeking with placement this weekend to get some more accurate readings. I would be happy to post these findings if any one is interested. BTW I did get the chance to compare a single 16-46 against a KSW15 (brother-in-law just bought one), again - no comparison, SVS was much lower, flatter and louder.

I just recently replaced my SW12II, (teamed with Chorus II's),with a dual 16-46 SVS package. These subs are incredible. I would suggest the smaller SVS passive system, I think they are 21-39's. If you have an old reciever, you can use this to power the sub, or buy a CHEAP receiver from BB. The subs are priced well below there performance level.