My first post in the Klipsch community, so let me start by saying hello to everyone!
Quick story. I know nothing about audio hardware, but I recently decided to spend about $600 on a sound system dedicated to listening to mp3s in my home. I love the sound I've heard from the Bowers and Wilkens Zeppelin ipod speaker ($599). Just as I was about to buy it, a friend tore my credit card out of my hands and told me to go visit the klipsch website. My friend was adamant that I would get better sound at an equivalent price by going with an actual receiver and bookshelf speakers. He also said that I can get double duty from this setup by adding it to my Panasonic 50PZ800U plasma and thus creating a very basic home theater system. (I currently use the TVs built in speakers)
After grabbing a receiver, my complete budget for speakers is $350. Perhaps next year I can grab a subwoofer or center speaker. Currently I can get a VERY good deal on the Klipsch XB-10s, and couple it with a modest receiver like the Onkyo TX-SR308. I've seen numerous pictures of the XB-10s, and I really love the way the look and how well they would go with my loft and entertainment center. However, when doing my research, I noticed that the RB-51s on paper appear to be a better speaker. I just do not know how much better. I can get a pair of these for roughly $35 more than the XB-10s.
Unfortunately, I have no way to test these speakers, so I'm buying via a leap of faith. Would the RB-51s be considered significantly better than the XB-10s, or can the Icon speakers hold their own? These speakers would be in a room that is 12x14. It is a loft, so one wall is missing. 40% of the time would be high quality MP3 playback, 60% blu-ray/gaming. I live in a townhome, so the speakers would be never be played at some ear-splitting volume.
Visually I prefer the XB-10s, so if the RB-51s are wasted in the environment (and at the volumes) I just described, then I'll definitely go with the XB-10s. But if I learn that the RB-51 is significantly better across every spectrum, then I may need to reconsider.
Thank you for any suggestions you may have!