Daemon

I'm pretty sure it matters for dipolar speakers. The arrows must be there for a reason. If I understand correctly, dipolar speakers are wired out-of-phase, which means when the front driver pushes out the rear driver pulls in. Put another way, the front and rear drivers move towards the front of the room in unison. If this motion is not in phase with the opposite surround or the same-side front then there could be some cancellation, like what you would get if both fronts were out-of-phase. Both drivers in the cabinet are out-of-phase to create a null sound field, but doesn't the resulting sound field have a phase relationship with the sound from the other cabinets? Just a few thoughts, I could be wrong. Carl PS: Love 'em

How are you supposed to tell which way points front on the KT-DS dipolar surrounds? I saw a pair on e-Bay which had arrows marked near the inputs, however mine do not. Thanks, Carl

I'm have to go with 90 degree crossing being better than parallel. From what I remember of physics, current flowing through a wire will generate a magnetic field which envelops the wire in a radial pattern. By the same token, any other wire that runs parallel within that magnetic field will have a current induced into it, which is what we don't want. (Any engineers remember whether it's the "left-hand rule" or the "right-hand rule"?) If a line-level wire is running closely and parallel to an AC line, it would likely pick up a bit of current from the magnetic field surrounding the AC line. If they were crossing at 90 degrees, the area of influence is limited to the immediate area of the crossing, as opposed to the full length. The only stickler is that power and patch cables contain hot and return lines, and assuming the receiver isn't dumping current through ground the magnetic field should be the same intensity in both hot and return directions, cancelling each other out. (My brain hurts...) I say we go all-optical. Then all Klipsch needs is a self-powered line (ala M&K MPS-2510P).

Does anyone have any tips on refinishing your Klipsch speaker cabinets? I have the KT-series in black, and there are a few spots where they're showing wear. I'm not much of a wood-worker, but you gotta start somewhere. I also picked up a KT-LCR on eBay that needs a makeover, but I wouldn't know where to start. Is there a particular brand and shade of stain that matches the factory one? Carl

OK, this may seem like a stupid question, but I've heard pettier things from truer audiophiles. What should I be doing with all that extra wire behind my rack? I'm talking about the power cables, interconnects, speaker cables, all of it. It seems to me that coiling it up, for example, could cause it to act like an inductor with an air core, adding a bit of impedance. But doubling it up could be worse by introducing crosstalk (ever notice that telephone wire is all twisted to heck? That's why). Even if the effects are minimal, there must be one method that's better than the others. These are the things I think about when I'm behind a system. I figure the power cables would be fine as long as they're bundled separately. I'm mostly concerned with the speaker wire. I've always been of the idea that similar channels should have similar lengths (L=C=R and SL=SR), and I don't want to limit myself from future placement possibilities (it's a work in progress), so I'm stuck with at least a couple feet of extra speaker cable cluttering it up back there. The spiders love it. So what's better, coiled, doubled, or all in disarray? Carl Integra DTR-7.1 Van den Hul Clearwater KT-LCR KT-DS KT-SW MTC 21" TV (Woolco brand! )

What is the proper positioning for the KT THX series? I didn't get the manuals with them, so I have nothing to refer to. My theatre room is 11' x 22', and I sit roughly in the middle. How much does the distance from the front and side walls matter? This room is narrow, so I don't have much room to play with. I'm planning to mount the fronts on the side wall, angled towards my listening position. I'm not sure about the dipolar surrounds. Should I mount them snug to the wall? I also have about 10' open behind me - will that change how effective they are or where I should place them? I've heard they should be beside you, 2 feet up from your ears? Of course, my main concern is the subwoofer, which I have in the front corner. How far should it be from the front and side walls to get an even frequency response? The volume dial goes from 1-10, but it has a THX mark just past 10. What is that for? (It's way to loud to be normal). Something else about the sub: It has 2 RCA input jacks, but any receiver I've seen only has a single sub-out. Should I use an RCA splitter and use both jacks, or which should I use? I've found if I use a splitter I get an annoying 60-Hz hum from the sub, but I don't get it when using a single input. Thanks in advance, Carl

I recently moved and while carrying my KT-SW-II it fell apart! The entire back board that holds the passive radiator and amplifier fell to the ground. (See JPG attachment). It appears that the glue didn't hold. There doesn't appear to be any damage to the components and everything seems to work, however the box is obviously no-longer sealed, and I'm not sure what the positioning of the foam inserts should be. I bought this sub from a dealer over a year and a half ago and have never used it because I needed a new receiver (my old one was crap but I couldn't pass up on the deal I got). Needless to say, I'm a more than a little disappointed in the craftsmanship. What are my options? I don't know if there is an authorized repair centre in my area (near Kitchener, Ontario, Canada) and it would be difficult to get it there anyways. I really don't want to pay a whole lot to have this thing repaired either. Thanks, Carl

What would be a good rear center channel to match my KT-* THX series? I'm upgrading my receiver to an Integra 7.1 with THX-EX, so now I have another output to wire up (damn... hate when that happens . I'm thinking that an RC-3 or a single RS-3 would be the best choice for the application, but I'm not sure. Thanks, Carl