Thejtl

Set it up as 2.1 for now. Trying to figure out how to defeat the Ypao stuff on my amp. Will report more later. Can't wait for the 82s to get here.

So I'm reworking my media room in preparation for the arrival of the Reference rf-82ii pair I ordered the other day. My 5.1 system has been kind of cobbled together with a Yamaha center (cheap), b&w 685 fronts and Paradigm Atom rears. The rears aren't properly focused and I don't feel like they do a ton. Right now ha have a set of Reference r-62f towers I'm going to return to BB after the other towers get here. It's going to be a while before I can get more speakers to match what I'm getting. Would I just be better off running 2.1 rather than the cobbled 5.1 or should I just live with it until I can afford more?

Yes, I have used that with my wife before. There are a lot of things I could get involved in that are far worse than audio. I've been there too, accept it was often 4 or 5 am. I had a problem. This is better, but it comes from the same problem.

Honestly, its easier for me get stuff at bb without pissing off my wife. But I ran the gauntlet and got her to release the credit card. I bought the rf-82iis from ASD. She's not speaking to me now, but they're on the way. It's tough because she has no expensive habits. She doesn't buy clothes or shoes or accessories. She doesn't care what she drives. So, she hates living with me, but we've been together for 22 years.

My wife wants to kill me.

Crap, now I see that ASD has a pair of open box RF-82II for the same price as the BB models.

I think I've decided to step up to the 8" BB model. That will max my budget for now and I'll save for additional components. Ugh, this decision is tough.

Thanks for playing, Steve.

I could stretch my budget to get the Reference R-28Fs from BB, but not to go all the way to the RF-82ii. Decisions, decisions.

So, what are thoughts about 8" vs. 6.5"? I'm really liking these 6.5s but have never had 8" in my living room.

Wow, Chad. Did you really just gothere?

I haven't put them to the ultimate test yet: Beatles. But they're handling a wide range of stuff nicely so far.

Thanks, Ibiza! That's an awesome offer. I might just take you up on it sometime. I'm sitting here listening to the RF-26fs and I have to say they do sound really nice. Moderate volume produces a nice, wide sound field. Tempting to go for the better speakers for the Same money but these are a pretty nice speaker.

Wow, that's a beautiful array of speakers, Youth. Craigslist in my area's pretty barren of any good audio stuff. If you can't buy it around here, no one's selling it used. Which leads me to another random thought. I've sometimes toyed with the idea of opening a retail store for the stuff you can't get anywhere around here. I'm scared of whether or not you can't get it because no one wanted it or if it's because the people who ran those stores before the big box wars just couldn't adapt to the new market. Seems there should be a way to sell good stuff to people and make a modest living from it.

Iowa City, Iowa.

I have an old Yamaha center that I bought years ago. It was cheap then, but I still like the way it sounds. Probably time to upgrade, though.

Yeah, I don't use specs as anything other than one small way to compare. Ultimately, it's the collection of all the elements that make the difference. Aluminum vs. titanium, a few hertz here or there, different internals--that could all make a huge difference. I wish I could have both to compare. But alas...

I'm assuming it was a joke, but hey, I'm new here.

Just got a price from Mike. $749 shipped, which is probably less than what I paid at BB after tax. Let me play devil's advocate here, though. I just went to the Klipsch website and looked at the specs for the two models. Slight differences here and there. The low drivers for the RF-62II are Dual 6.5" (16.5cm) Cerametallic cone woofers , while the R26F are Dual 6.5" (16.5cm), copper spun magnetically shielded IMG woofers. The high drivers are 1" (2.54cm) Titanium diaphragm compression driver mated to 90 x 60 square Tractrix Horn compared with 1" (2.54cm) Aluminum diaphragm compression driver mated to 90° x 90° square Tractrix® Horn Peak power is not different by much. Crossovers are different by 300 Hz. The R-26 weighs about 8lbs less and is 1 in shorter, a little narrower, and loses a couple inches in depth. Sensitivity is the same. Now, I'm no acoustical engineer, and terrible at math, but on paper the two speakers seem pretty similar. All told, maybe the differences make a big difference, but I'm just curious, how much. I 'd be interested to know what folks who know these speakers well think about these specs in comparison.

As for Bose, I did listen to the Cinemate they had at the BB and it sounded good on display. That's one thing Bose does really well, they display well in stores and I think it pays off for them. When it comes to my use, I worry that the Bose HTIB would sound too processed for my listening taste when it comes to music. I wanted to run through the two different Klipsch floor standers they had in store, but the BB display was messed up, so I had to buy sound unheard. Not that it would have done any good. I've been in daycare centers that would be better for listening when compared to a BB.

So what's the break-in period like for Klipsch in general? I did some A/B listening last night between the B&W and the R26-F and at first it felt like the center was disappearing from the Klipsch when I was sitting in the listening position. But then I turned them in a little and the center seemed much more solid. Wondering if I should also consider break in before passing judgement? I'm also curious about 8" vs 6.5". I recently went from 6.5 to 8" in my recording studio and the difference was pretty significant. Would I possibly see the same kind of jump in the HT? I initially worried the 8" speakers in my space would be too overwhelming, especially since I was going with an 8" sub. I'm not a huge bass head. I prefer stuff to sound natural, especially when listening to music.

hey all, after reading through some of the forum maybe I'll get flamed for asking, but I'm currently shopping for new L/R fronts for my modest HT and I came across the new lower end Reference models at BB the other day. I know, I know, BB is what it is, but There are literally no hi fi shops within 2-3 hours of me, so I gotta work with what I gotta work with; trying and returning gear is a big part of how I outfit my stuff, so I tend not to order online. I read through the 9 page thread on the new Ref line and while there was a lot of interesting discussion, there wasn't much in the way of experiences with the new speakers. Here's my situation/setup: 60" sharp LED, Yamaha RX-V675 receiver, and currently B&W 685s as front L/R, a Yamaha center that's about 9 years old, Paradigm Atom rears, and a new Klipsch Icon 8" sub that I got cheap on clearance. I've been fiddling with my system recently because I just haven't been in love. I do some gaming, casual TV watching (sports during football and basketball season) and stream movies and TV shows. I don't do as much music listening in this spot as I'd like to, mostly because I have a recording studio and like listening there better. I'd like to have something comparable in the media room. The room is about 12x20 and the system is set up at one end along the long wall. I'll put up a cruddy picture to give you an idea of the set up. I thought about going more minimalist so I tried the Sonos Playbar and that was OK, but not comparable to my current set up. Still, the B&Ws did seem to be filling in the sides in a satisfactory way. I know that wall mounting isn't ideal for any speaker, but it was an attempted compromise with the wife. I returned the Sonos and saw the brand new Klipsch Reference series on display. Since it's completely impossible to demo anything in a Best Buy I decided to grab the R26F models and try them in place of the B&Ws. The results are definitely fuller, but I worry that I'm trading down and will be unhappy after the honeymoon period wears off. I really wanted to get the R28s (8" woofers) but was afraid to try to stretch the budget that far (although I did buy the demo sub that put the cost up there anyway). They also had the Icon KF-28s on clearance, but only one speaker. I could drive to another BB 45 minutes away and get them, but I'm wondering how the Icon series compares with the new Reference models. I'd also be curious to know if anyone with a set up that's the next tier above the new reference/Icon series has had a chance to listen to the new speakers and has any thoughts on how they compare. Also, should I live with the 6.5" R26Fs for a bit, bite the bullet and go for the 8" speakers? The icons are actually cheaper on clearance than the R26F. As much as I'd love to spend more, I can't. Any input would be really appreciated.