belial

Thanks for the responses guys!

I know my RB5s need to have at least several inches of space between the rear port and the wall - is it the same for my rear-ported Klipsh sub? I have it in a corner and the closer to the wall, the more I can feel the bass, but I also wonder if I'm not smothering the sound somewhat that way.

I must have done that jeffgeorge because I have the KSW12 and I WISH I had an SVS instead ... lucky bastard! Oh well. I'm currently saving up for an HDTV, and after that - an SVS!

You're welcome. What's funny is, I don't even remember recommending this to you! Guess I should visit this site more often. Everybody at www.hometheaterforum swears by SVS. Let me know what you think of it.

I love Klipsch, but while they make great speakers, I believe you can find better subs for the money out there. SVS is one company that is highly rated by many users. For more information about subs or home theater in general, you might want to visit www.hometheaterforum.com Good luck.

Iftach - I also have the Denon 3802 paired with a KSW 12 sub. I had the 3801 on demo before that, and when I switched I also thought the sound dropped in quality - that the 3801 sounded better, particularly on midrange sounds. After much tweaking however, I am pretty happy with my setup (I also added external amps, but that is another story). Everyone here has given you excellent advice, to which I would only add two suggestions: One, I believe it is difficult to accurately measure bass sounds with the Radio Shack meter. It doesn't read low sounds to well. At least that has been my experience. I would suggest setting the bass level by ear, and using the meter to measure all other speakers. Second, I have read that it is better to turn down the volume on the sub itself, and raise its volume by turning up the sub output on the Denon. That's because the sub's volume will also raise the volume of any interference in the line, whereas the Denon's volume level will only increase the signal itself. May make a difference, may not. Good luck! This message has been edited by belial on 05-20-2002 at 01:10 PM

Thanks for the suggestions guys! I'll try them out. I think the real problem is that I simply want a better sub.

Uh ... Thanks, but I was hoping for something a little less drastic ...

I'm looking to improve the sound of my KSW12 sub for my home theater. Any tweaks out there you have found to be usefull? I know placement is important. I currently have the sub in a corner. If I put it closer to the corner, say just a few inches away, it seems to give the bass more impact, but it also distorts it somewhat ... In my opinion, the cleaner the sound, the better. Anyone know any tips at all for improving sub sound?

I LOVE Netflix! Sure Blockbuster has more copies of individual titles, but those are always the big Hollywood "blockbusters" that often make me yawn. With Netflix I can often find far more interesting movies on DVD, which my local video stores, including Blockbuster, would never carry. So without Netflix, I would never get to see them. It is annoying to have to wait for them to have particular titles available, but there are HUNDREDS of movies out there! If I can't get one I want when I want it, I'll just pick another one, no problem. I will tell you this: there is a secret to getting enough movies from Netflix even with the three-movie-at-a-time limitation. Want to know what it is? Just check the option for "delayed in the mail" (I think they changed it to "lost" in the mail, but it means the same thing) as soon--or even BEFORE--you actually drop a return in your mailbox, and they'll quickly send you another. By the time it arrives, you will have finished watching the first one and be ready for the next. Works for me every time.

My cat, 12-pounds, but only a year old, from the Humane Society, likes to curl up and go to sleep right next to my subwoofer. I have no idea why. He hasn't chewed through any expensive cables yet, thank my lucky stars ...

I've posted this before and had people say it shouldn't make any difference, but I swear putting a 14-inch ceramic tile under my KSW 12 changed the sound (for the better) than when I had it sitting on carpet ...

Thanks Shapeshifter (or wes?) for the answer. I have the radioshack meter and just picked up the new Sound and Vision Home Theater disc, so I'm good to go. Thanks again for your response!

I've been away and just wanted to say sorry for not responding to the new posts to my thead... You guys have pretty much convinced me to go with the RC-3. But there is only one problem--if I have the same speaker for center front and center rear, don't I run the risk of having them cancel each other out? Thanks again to all who took the time to respond to this thread!

Wow, thanks for all the replies, guys! boa, if they are a great match, then will it make that much difference if I use an RS-3 instead of an RC-3? shapeshifter, I don't think I made myself clear. I meant a rear center, not a front center. I currently use the RC-3 as my front center and it works great. I do have a crumby old Radioshack speaker used as the rear center right now and the rear track seems a lot like the side tracks, in terms of the nature of the sounds (mostly music, some localized effects). So why would it be wrong to use the same speakers I have for the sides, for the rear center? This message has been edited by belial on 03-04-2002 at 03:12 AM

I know that is the majority view, but I think I want something to match the sides, and I need something to hang from the wall...I think it would be very difficult to mount an RC-3...

As far as I know, Klipsch won't sell the RS-3 as a single (or am I wrong?) Since I only need one, are there any options available to me? Has anyone purchased a single RS-3 from an online dealer?

You could be right, boa, but don't you think sound waves would reflect off the tile differently than they would carpet?

In all the posts I've read here, I'm surprised no one has ever mentioned this tip before (I picked it up on another forum). I have the KSW 12. Placing a 14 inch ceramic tile UNDER the sub worked wonders for me. I like the sound of the bass much more than I did before. It seems much sharper and less muddy. So I do believe carpet affects downward firing subs. But you don't have to live with it, just buy a ceramic tile or piece of flat concrete from a hardware store. This message has been edited by belial on 02-26-2002 at 10:50 PM

I thought about posting this question myself at one point. No doubt I spend more time tweaking my system, and listening to the same sections of the same DVDs over and over, to see if I can tell the difference, than I do just listening for the sheer pleasure of it. Let's face it: for some of us, home theater is something of an obsession, or, dare I say it, an addiction (Hey, it's a lot better than heroin.) But I swear, when I get those new IRD monoblocks from Fed Ex, I'm just going to set them up, tweak my system one last time, and then leave it alone...for a little while.

I would suggest either soundpros or sounddistributors on the web. I have purchased from both with positive results.

Thanks to all of you for responding! I have a Denon 3802, driving Klipsch RB-5s, RC-3 center, KSW12 subwoofer, etc. I have pretty much narrowed it down to these two monoblocks: the nOrh Le Amp vs Marantz MA-6100 The Marantz puts out 125 watts into 8 ohms. The nOrh is rated at 100 watts. I know that information by itself is pretty meaningless. People who have them, really seem to love the nOrh. I haven't heard as much about the Marantz. I hate to say it, but in my personal opinion, the nOrh looks kind of silly. It has a big silver face plate that makes it look like a toaster, and blobby fat silver feet, while the Marantz would fit in a lot better with my all black HT setup...Maybe I could hide the nOrh, I don't know. In the end, sound should of course be the deciding factor... So--if you have heard either of these, please give me your opinion! And, even if you HAVEN'T heard them, but think you have something of value to add, well, I'll listen to you too...

I've got a Denon 3802 and the Klipsch ref. series. I'm looking to add a seperate power amp. Any suggestions, under $500?

I'll check into that, Talk to Keith. Thanks for all the responses, guys!

aab3rd--I tried that, but they seem too loose that way. Unless I screw the posts all the way down (putting too much pressure on the bare wire) they just fall off. Guess I'll just try it again, since that is the way they are supposed to go. Thanks for setting me straight! danbry39--there is no downside to biwiring that I am aware of. I have some nice 12 gauge wire for my left front, but I didn't have enough for my right, so rather than shell out more money I was just going to single wire, and use the extra wire from the left for the right. The real reason though is that the posts on the back of my Denon 3802 are just two damn close together and it would be easier for me to have them single wired, seeing as how I am frequently tweaking my setup and swear a blue streak every time I have to spend an eternity rewiring everything. Plus I want to go to bannana clips instead of the bare wiring I've been using, and biwiring with bannana clips gets to be a hassle, not to mention double the price of using clips with single wiring... When I first tried biwiring, I thought there was an improvement, but I have since decided it might be more psychological than anything else (the more I get into this little "hobby," the more confused I get!). Some people insist that it makes no difference from an engineering point of view, while others will swear they gain an improvement. To be honest, I'm still not sure myself. I'll let you know if I notice an obvious drop in sound quality. Although I hate to do this, in the end I'm just going to repeat what everybody else says: Go ahead and try it. If it sounds good to you, keep it, if not, at least you'll know, thanks to aab3rd, how to put the damn things back on.