ldl01031

I'd been itching to upgrade the RC-62 for too long ... a new RP-450CA was delivered today. As for the calibration - I see this always. I have an sc-27 in my office. The LR speakers are just 6 or 7 feet away and that receiver sets them to -10 (its lowest setting). I've run lots of calibrations over time (and always from just the one listening position) and the center always gets set to minimum. I just assumed it is because it is only 6 feet away. I usually set it up one notch and adjust all the other speakers accordingly. By the way - that's another question. Is it usual for MCACC to set the volume on surrounds (and back surrounds) to lower levels than the front/center? I always have to punch up the surrounds - seems like MCACC should set them all to be the same level? Thanks for the feedback.

I'm back I've been enjoying my movies and my music but I thought that after almost 5 years, I deserved a small upgrade. That upgrade has, umm, snowballed a bit. So - by Wednesday evening, I'll have (in my main theatre - by the way, amusingly, the 'main theatre' is 13 feet by 15.5 feet - might I have more equipment than I need?): Center: Klipsch RC-62 II Front/Left: Klipsch RP280FA Front Wide: Klipsch RF82 II Surround: Klipsch RF82 II Surround Back: Klipsch RF62 II Subwoofers (2): Klipsch R-115SW Monitor: Pioneer Elite PRO-141FD Blu-Ray: Pioneer Elite BDP-88FD Receiver: Pioneer Elite SC-99 Amplifier: Emotiva XPA-5 Game: Xbox One Computer: Dell Workstation, 24 processors, 48GB RAM, 6 SSD Drives etc. Playing music on Ext. Stereo using all those speakers is ... sublime. Watching Mad Max cranked up in Atmos is absolutely amazing! Anyway, other rooms are almost as bad (I mean good!). Which brings me to a question: 1. In my son's room, we now have a Pioneer Elite SC-57 receiver, a Yamaha YST-SW012 subwoofer, and two Klipsch RB-61 II speakers (plus other stuff). Question: Would bi-amping those small RB-61 speakers make a difference? Or is bi-amping just useful when you're pushing large speakers towards their limits? (guess I should read up on bi-amping). 2. Given the diminutive size of my main theatre, does it make any sense to upgrade my center channel? The Pioneer MCACC calibration software already sets it to '-12' (the lowest setting) and calibrates other speakers accordingly. So - would it be simply wasteful to buy a larger center? If not, how about the RP-450CA? I'm not sure my receiver would let me run the RP-450CA and the RP280FA together. The Pioneer manual isn't giving me much help figuring it out. The Klipsch documentation isn't helping either. For example, - what is the configuration of that speaker - does the RP-450CA does have a 'top speaker'? - or no?). All the pictures show a monitor sitting on top of the RP-450CA. Bad marketing photos? If no top speaker, why call it a 'Reference Premiere Dolby Atmos® Center Speaker'? I'm itching to buy one, but if it is just giving me a hurricane to blow out birthday candles - well, I don't need to be silly about it. Looking forward to hearing from folks who know... Thanks, -ldl-

Now I'm wondering if I went a step too far. The unused speaker posts on the back of my SC-57 were as taunting as empty memory slots in a computer. But... For music, I most enjoy the 'extended stereo' mode which uses 'all' speakers without a bunch of surround sound processing. However, if the SC-57 finds front height speakers it uses those rather than the front wide. Obviously, I would rather hear the RF-82's than the RB-61's. So - I have to go through a bunch of menu options to turn off the front height speakers to listen the way I want to (and then reverse that process to watch a movie). And for movies - in order to use 9.1, I have to use 'Neo:X' mode. I've only watched one movie so far (Battle: Los Angeles) and in Neo:X the experience seemed subdued and the dialog was muffled (do I need that RC-64!? - just kidding). About 2/3 through I switched to 'Auto Surround' (5.1 for this blu-ray) and it sounded way better. Of course I'm still assuming that the Neo:X will switch between FH and FW as appropriate during the same movie. I haven't had time to confirm/disaffirm that yet. So - perhaps I should just take down the FH speakers (and have some really nice computer speakers)? I guess I should give it some time and experimentation. If anyone has experience with this type of thing or suggestions I'd like to hear about it. Thanks!

Do you think I need one? []

I refuse to calculate how much per day it has cost me since I joined this forum 7 days ago. It all started with the LFE post being flakey on my SC-27. I had the cable taped to the wall in a precise position. If someone slammed the front door, I lost the sub. It was livable, but annoying (and I couldn't bear parting with it for a week or two of repair). Then it dawned on me - I'll bet they have a new model out by now, and "if" it has two LFE posts, I'll get it (I didn't like running a splitter to supply two subs). Then I thought about my center channel and how in some movies it seemed so hard to hear dialog. If you turned it up enough to get good dialog, the music and sound effects had my neighbors convulsing in their front yards. I'm sure there were some actions I could have taken but the whole system had been through the automated setup so it should have been very close. So - perhaps I needed to get a new center speaker too. I've heard good things about Klipsch - let's see what they have. But of course the front three should match. And snowball it did. I had 4 JBLs, 3 Triads, and 2 subs. Here's what I've ended up with: Living room Monitor Pioneer PRO-141FD Receiver Pioneer SC-57 Blu-ray Pioneer BDP-09FD Amplifier Emotiva XPA-5 Front RF-82 II Center RC-62 II Front Wide RF-82 II Front Height RB-61 II Surround RF-62 II B.Surround RB-81 II Subwoofer (2)Chrysalis Photon-10 Monster Power Xbox 360 / Kinnect / Wireless Force Feedback Racing Wheel Denon CD Player / Toshiba VCR / Pioneer Turntable Comcast HD Cable Box Desktop computer connected to PRO-141FD Gigabit network running to Computer/Monitor/Receiver/Blu-ray Harmony 1100 Remote Bedroom Monitor Samsung Tantus 55” Receiver Pioneer SC-27 Blu-ray Sony BDP-S350 Front Triad Silver LCR Center Triad Silver LCR Surround Triad Silver Surround Subwoofer Triad Bronze Gamecube Comcast HD Cable Box The only good break I got (price-wise) was when I ordered 4 RF-62 II's but they only had 2 in stock. I was on the verge of waiting until the first of the year when the guy said "well how about if I upgrade two of the 62's to 82's - we have those in stock." I replied "Sir, you have my business." Merry Christmas to me! -- and to all. -ldl-

One note, in case you don't read through all the Amazon reviews - apparently, the wood screws that come with the kit are very cheap and strip on just about everyone. So - the advice is don't even bother with them, just run out and buy your own. Personally, I used metal hollow wall anchors, and I definintely didn't put the 'safety screws' into my speaker cabinets(!). I still have very solid platforms. I actually wanted to mount them side ways so I could move them farther apart. With good wood screws into studs, I'm sure that would have worked, but I didn't have the guts to try that in dry wall.

I just installed my RB-61s tonight. I had a few amateur trials and tribulations but they are up and solid. I believe the RB-15s are smaller/lighter in every way as compared to the RB-61s I just put up.. If you don't come up with another sstrategy, I can recommend these. -ldl-

If someone were, hypothetically, considering where they might get 4 RF-62 IIs at the best possible price (new would be preferred but not mandatory), where might they, hypothetically, look?

I currently have all Klipsch (L/R/C/W/H) (except for two subs which are doing fine). Except that my surrounds and back surrounds are 15-20 year old floorstanding JBL P50s. I'm now contemplating my next move (sometime in the reasonably near future). For the back wall I could easily go with WDST speakers. For the sides, I 'could' go with WDST but it would be a bit more problematic (mounting and distance). What I'm thinking is getting 4 RF-42 IIs to replace the 4 JBLs. But I also know about the benefits of WDST speakers in surround positions. Thoughts?

I'm glad I saw this so I can keep my eye out for it (my XPA should be delivered this week). I had hoped <sigh> to avoid any more insane/obscene cable costs. I found some 'monster thx' rca cables I had and had planned to use those. I think they were no more than $15 a cable. Can I expect those to be sufficient?

Thank you! I actually discovered that an hour or so ago. Your post would have saved me if I had not lucked into the finding. I've already cancelled the RS-42 order and placed an order for a pair of RB-61 IIs.

Check this out (I'm probalbly getting them myself): http://www.amazon.com/Pinpoint-AM-40B-Clamping-Bookshelf-Speaker/dp/B002UV03MW/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1323589515&sr=8-6

I ordered a pair of RS-42 II for the front height speakers. I'm done now. I swear. But - where should I place those puppies? The seating is about 8 feet from the wall. I'm a little confused as to how the recommended '45 degrees up' should be measured. I can place them anywhere up to 7'5" up (middle of speaker) but only at about a 20 degree angle (because of a window). If I place them at the ceiling (8'5" up, middle of speaker) then I can go out much wider. I've seen advice that they should go above the front speakers (30 degrees) but I've also seen an Audyssey diagram placing them between the fronts and front-wides (at 45 degrees). Should I go with 45 degrees but 8'5" up? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

This got me digging deeper into the SC-57 manual (I'll have it memorized soon). Apparently, I can have both 'operational' at the same time (it does have terminals for both). From the manual: "SP: FH/FW ON - Front height or front wide channels are added to the front, center, surround and surround back channels (maximum 7 channels) and a maximum of 9 channels are output. The front height and front wide channels are switched automatically according to the audio input signal." Assuming this does not mean that based on the source (a given movie for instance), one or the other is exclusively selected, then I guess this means <sigh>, that I have another two speakers to buy...

I have a Pioneer SC-57 receiver. The documentation states "It is not possible to produce sound simultaneously from the front height speakers and the front wide speakers." Does this mean I can hook up both - and the system will switch between them as needed for ambient sounds? Or does this mean I can only use one (FW) or the other (FH)? Thanks, -ldl-