andrewdestroyer

UMC, Thanks for the update on your system. I love the before and after pictures. Sounds like the SC-57 and the RF-7 II are a good match along with the RF- 64 II. I may have the save some more pennies or wait a little while for a good deal. I am glad to hear that you are enjoying your killer stereo while serving overseas. Thanks for your service.

USM, I am looking at buying a similar system including the Pioneer SC-57 and I was hoping you could tell me what you think of this receiver and also of the RF-7 II speakers with this receiver. I am considering purchasing RF-82 II instead of RF-7 II and RC-62 II instead of RC-64 II which will certainly be a step down in both cases but I am trying to keep overall system cost down. Anyway, I'd love to hear what you think about the sound quality of your speakers and receiver and also about your system in general.

Thanks everyone for the input and the good advice. I have spent a little time looking at separates but I think I moved away from the idea due to my lack of experience. I will take another look and see what I can find. Also, thanks for the heads up on the garage sale section of the forum and the Audiogon website. I don’t mind buying used as long as I have some comfort level that the equipment is in very good condition. I have gone round and round in my mind on the RF-7 II versus the RF-82 II. It is clear to me that the RF-7 II is a more desirable speaker than the RF-82 II but I feel like Klipsch is charging a premium for the RF-7 II or selling the RF-82 II at a bargain depending on how you look at it since the price difference between the two is substantial. Regardless, I am still leaning toward the RF-82 II since I think they will fit my living space a little better. I am interested to know if anyone is using the FLAC file format for audio playback and how they are going about it. Actually, I am interested to know how folks are playing digital audio files in general. Other than a high quality CD/DVD player like Oppo BDP-95, I imagine it may involve a separate computer with “server” capability but I really don’t know.

Well, I have been itching to buy my first stereo/HT sound system for several years since I bought an HD television (Panasonic 50" plasma) and I am looking to get some feedback from the folks who really know! I finally have enough cash and having a nice sound system with HDMI pass-through to go along with my HD television and PS3 is feeling long overdue. I have spent the past couple months researching various systems with a focus on performance and cost and I am now thinking that I want to buy into the Klipsch Reference II series. I would love to buy the RF-7 II for my fronts but I am not sure that I have the space and I am also not sure that my neighbors would appreciate hearing my sweet system since I currently live in an apartment. To save $1,000 per speaker and in part to keep my sound system from overwhelming my living space, I am thinking of going with the RF-82 II for fronts. If I buy a house which could be five years from now, then I would consider buying the RF-7 II for fronts and moving the RF-82 II to the surround channels. The center channel selection is a bit trickier. I was thinking of going with the RC-64 II which may be overkill considering I won't have the RF-7 II for fronts but I don't want to buy the RC-62 II and then down the road want to replace when I move/upgrade. One distinction between the 62 and 64 is that the RC-64 II can be bi-wired/bi-amped which I think is cool. After considering this for a period of time I am now thinking that the RC-62 II is the way to go if only for the cost break. As for receivers, I think I would rather buy one powerful receiver than buy a separate amplifier especially since I will only be driving three speakers to start. This may be just an aesthetic issue for me since I don't really want the extra component, maybe down the road I will change my mind. For a receiver, I like the Pioneer SC-57 since it has plenty of power and all the bells/whistles for a reasonable price. I know that it has class D amplifiers instead of A/B but the reviews have been pretty good for both sound and video. As for a sub, again I am worried about the neighbors so I will forgo for now. We'll have to see how the system sounds without a sub first before I would consider buying and if then probably just a small one until I get a house and I can let the system off the chain. Here is a cost break down based on Amazon prices: RF-82 II (2): $1,198 RC-62 II: $549 SC-57: $1,795 Extra Crap: $500 Total: $4,042 At the end of day with all the extra crap like component stand, wires, and power conditioner, I'd like to stay under $4,000. Let me know if you have any comments. I am certainly open to suggestion since the die has yet to be cast.