Jump to content

blpfr4

New Members
  • Posts

    3
  • Joined

  • Last visited

blpfr4's Achievements

Newbie

Newbie (1/9)

0

Reputation

  1. I want to thank all of you guys for your positive responses. It is nice to know that there are others out there who are as enthusiastic as I am about Klipsch speakers. I am hoping to post some pictures. I don't own a camera, so I'll have to borrow one. I am wondering if anyone here has the Onkyo TX NR809, and knows if it is a worthy purchase.
  2. Thank you, I'm hoping to post pictures soon.
  3. Hello everyone, I have been reading the many great posts and looking at the pictures of other people's Home Theater equipment for the past 2 years. So I finally decided to join and share my own experience. At around 15 years or so ago I was introduced to the new surround sound format that was available on the market. At the time I had a 2 channel stereo. Nothing special, I took what I could get. The speakers were hand me downs from my older brother who bought them used from a friend of his. I now realize they were actually pretty decent speakers. The brand was Precision Acoustic. Not a floor standing, but bigger than a bookshelf. A 3-way design, 12 inch woofers, solid MDF construction with real oak veneer. I owned them since I was a teenager. But they had become worn and tired. So I went down to the local audio store to see what was available. Now I must inform you that I was a complete novice at the time, and I remained ignorant for many more years afterward. This was due to the fact that I have never had much money to spend on audio equipment before or after this moment. At that time though, I had some, so off I went. The sales rep must have recognized my lack of knowledge and immediately steered me towards the newest concept in quality sound, the Amazing Bose Acoustimass. Such big full sound from such a small speaker. And just look at that high price tag! This is High End! Yea Right! Hey, my wife liked them. If I only knew then. I bought the Acoustimass 5's and the Acoustimass 7's (5 tiny cubes and 2 passive "Base Modules" also tiny.) I also bought a 5.1 JVC receiver to go with my new speakers. The whole package cost around 2,500 dollars. The JVC was actually pretty good though. 125 watts per channel, big and heavy. It had a optical cable input, a subwoofer out, and a rear channel out. I had no clue what these connections were for until years later. I was using the red, white, and yellow RCA connections from my DVD player to my JVC. I was using my Precision Acoustics on the B channel to help fill in for the overpriced and unsatisfactory Bose. A couple of years later I discovered on my own that I could use the rear output on the JVC and my old receiver to seperately amplify my rear speakers. This did make a noticeable improvement in overall sound quality. I could also adjust the volume on the rears to help even out the sound. I didn't know what a powered subwoofer was, I didn't care, because I had not 1 but 2 "Base Modules". I didn't know what the .1 in a 5.1 system stood for. I lived with this configuration for over 10 years thinking that it was better than average. I now move forward to just a few years ago. A divorce and the subsequent child support, coupled with low end jobs, had left me financially unable to consider any AV upgrades. I did obtain a computer, and with it, a whole world of information at my fingertips. I read about how my RCA cables were not allowing a discreet surround channel seperation. I went out and bought a fiber optic cable, hooked it up and !!HOLY S**T!! I was floored! I couldn't believe it. I thought I knew what surround sound was. But up until that point, I was clueless. I think that I actually cried. Not long after this, the center channel on my old JVC stopped functioning. Pawn shops are great. Especially when you're broke. Which I still was at the time. So I shopped the pawns. I saw a Pioneer Elite, but it was out of my price range. I couldn't understand why they had the price so high. It was used for Gods sake. I still didn't know much about power specifications. Before long I came across a JVC RX D412. This unit was much smaller than my old JVC, much lighter too. It is a 7.1 channel with HDMI connections. 110 watts per channel and only $250.00 Hmm, upgrade? I paid cash and took it home. It was supposed to have a auto calibration mic., but that was missing when I bought it. At least it had the remote. I hooked it all up. It took hours to figure out how to get the settings right. Thank god I had a computer, I found the owners manual online. I began to realize that something wasn't quite right with the sound though. Where's the BASS! It was as if the bottom end had just dropped out. I got online. I studied. As it turns out the RX D412 is 110 watts per channel, 2 channels driven into 6 ohms. Using digital amplifiers, thus the reason for the compact size and light weight. Dont you just love how they play around with the specs. The Precision Acoustics were long gone. I could no longer amplify the rears, and with the low sensitivity of the Bose cubes, it was no wonder. I quickly discovered What a powered subwoofer was for. I bought a Yamaha YST 150 at a pawn shop cheap. I finally got a better paying job. The child support was reduced. Kids do grow up. I had read the Intellectual.net article online about the Bose speakers. They had to go. I wanted something good, floorstanders. I'm online, Craigslist, Best Buy, Ultimate Electronics.I'm learning the different names. Klipsch, Polk, Axiom, B&W. All of it too damned expensive. I didn't want to pay retail anyway. I had to be patient. In the mean time I picked up a Sony Bravia 46" HDTV at a pawn for $600.00. It was only 1 year old. New ones at Best Buy were going for twice that price. I had hope. I walked into a pawn that I had been to before, turned around and my jaw dropped. Standing before me was the biggest, baddest pair of Klipsch speakers I had ever laid eyes on. I had read about the RF-7's, so I knew a little about them. I pulled the grill cover off of one of them. No copper colored Woofer, damn. 12" black woofers, 3-way design, they were KLF-30's. Never heard of them. I told the guy that I wanted to research them before I paid the $550.00 he was asking for them. I rushed back the next day after work, praying that he hadn't sold them. He also had a pair of RB-25's, and a RC-25. I bought them all. Had to put them on layaway. Took me 2 months to pay them off. Fortunately, I had help getting them into the house and down to the family room. God they're big. I had to move some furniture around so they would fit. I disconnected the Bose and tossed them aside. I got everything connected and turned on the receiver. OH YEAH!! Thats what I'm talkin about. The difference was night and day. So this is Klipsch? I'm hooked. The guy that owned these before me apparently took good care of them. No nicks, dents, or scratches. Grill covers in excellent shape. There are some screws in the back panels on both. No doubt the panels had come loose at some point. The repair was done carefully. It has never been an issue. I did detect a vibration in the midrange on one speaker. Turned out the driver had come unscrewed from the horn by about one turn. I tightened it up, replaced it. I haven't had a problem since. The Yamaha subwoofer couldn't keep up. I found a used RCA, 12", front firing. It actually works well. $50.00, I'm still using it. I found a pair of KLF-10's on Craigslist. He was in Grand Junction, Asking $400. We agreed to meet in Vail. A nice drive through the mountains. There was slight water damage on the bottom of one speaker. A few nicks and scratches, small tear in the grill cloth. I offered $300, he accepted. I brought these home and put them in the surround position. This was a noticeable improvement over the RB-25's. I started searching for a KLF C-7 to replace my RC-25. I quickly realized that these are rare and expensive. $500 to $600 on E-bay. I saw one on Craigslist for $300 once, but it was sold the same day it was listed. Then I remembered reading about how HornEd had converted one of his KLF-30's to a center channel. Ever since I bought the 10's, I wanted a pair of 20's. I could use them for surround, and use a 10 for the center! Hmm. Craigslist again. This time they were in Denver. A pair of KLF-20's in the same light oak finish as my KLF-30's. He was Asking $500. I drove up. Both grills were broken in several places. the cloth was ok. He indicated that he had carried them up from his basement by himself and didn't think to remove the grill covers first. There was a ring cover missing from one of the woofers. A few scratches, everything else was good. I pointed these things out and offered $400. I brought them home. Put them in place of the 10's. It took some work to get the center channel switched, but I was determined. Having the KLF-10 as a center channel works really well. It's like a C-7 on steroids. I've never heard a C-7 so I can only assume that the 10 sounds better. I didn't change the position of the drivers in the cabinet. I just laid it on its side. This works for now, I might actually convert it sometime. With the KLF-20's being in the same spot as the 10's, under the same conditions, a direct comparison can be made. The 20's sound better. Its as if a veil had been lifted off the mid to higher frequencies. The sound is sharper, clearer, more distinctive. A subtle change, but notable. This leads me to believe that a 3-way design is better than a 2-way. I can remember discussing this same subject over 20 years ago with those into Hi-Fi at the time, and they all agreed that 3-way was the way to go. But then, what do I know? I was duped into buying Bose Acoustimass. The family room where my system is located is small. The speakers are packed in pretty tight. The JVC doesn't produce alot of power. There are no pre out jacks on the back. My subwoofer is under the table. Never the less, I am still amazed by how it all sounds. Absolutely Awesome! Upgrades are on the horizon. I've had my eye on the Onkyo TX NR809 for too long now. After that the Emotiva XPA-5. So I can give these speakers the kind of power they were meant to have. I'm hoping to move soon. Give them a larger space. I've read about the Titanium Diaphragms and new crossovers. I'm interested in those as well. If the new place is large enough, I would want a 7.2 configuration. I would buy KLF-20's, Light Oak of coarse. Thats my story, Thanks for reading, Bill
×
×
  • Create New...