edc

Hey Veteran, between my audio knowledge and my hearing you would not want to listen to my advice on speakers . I did not find the RC-63 at the stores, I keep getting sent to RC-62 or RC-64. On my first thread "some basic questions" some forum members seemed to think the RC-62 was a better center for my Forte's than the RC-64, RC-63 was not discussed. I could go to one of the Ref Premiers I guess, I would feel more comfortable doing that if some of you forum vets based on your experience felt that the 440C or 450C was a better center for my Forte's than the RC-62 is. I am uncomfortable with making that call with my limited knowledge on speakers. Thks for the comments, Ed

Interesting suggestion Mustang Guy -- but somewhat scary. I have several on the forum suggesting that the RC-62 would be a decent center for my two Forte's, so to buy a speaker that none of you "guru's" have tried yet is a little risky. I assume the RP440C would be most like the RC-62. I do like the reduced height (5.67" vs 8"). The price mentioned is $550. I think so pricing is close (RC-62 is about $400). Interesting option. I think the listed sensitivity is 96db which is the same as my Forte's I believe. Doesn't bode well with my desire to stop the planning and start the buying and implementing. Any other opinions? Thks, Ed

In my first thread in the forum I asked a bunch of basic questions as surround sound is new to me. You all answered and I have formulated a plan. The old thread "Some basic questions" seemed to be getting kind of large so I started this new one. I now have a stereo amp with two Klipsch Forte speakers. I plan to: 1) buy a 70" Sony wall mount TV 2) buy a good surround sound amp (search and research in progress) 3) buy a klipsch RC-62 II and use with my two Forte's for an initial 3.0 config (to see how my dialogue issue does etc.) 4) later add some ceiling/wall speakers and possibly a subwoofer All of your advice helped to formulate the plan. I learned that another Forte for the center speaker would be ideal but I then would have to make some changes in my cabinet to use it and I would have to deal with ebay etc. to find a used one etc. It seemed your second choice was the RC-62 so that is the path I am on. (again one of my primary goals is to improve my ability to hear dialogue without blasting my wife out of the room). It now looks like Klipsch may be stopping production of the RC-62 as several suppliers are out of stock and not expecting any more. I am thinking of quickly buying one prior to them completely going away (other than used of course). Does grabbing an RC-62 while I figure out the amp sound like a good decision? Thanks, Ed

On center speakers. I want to get this right as I have read more than once that the center is critical. And, my primary goal is to be able to better hear and understand dialogue without blasting my wife out of the room. I have read several opinions on phantom vs center speaker. I am still somewhat confused on this as the opinions are varied and diverse (like religion and politics). For the moment I am leaning towards a good center speaker. I originally mentioned a Klipsch 52 center to go with my Forte's. Many of you suggested the 62 instead so that is my current plan. John, you mentioned the Academy (which I believe to be an older Klipsch model), do you think the Academy is better than a new Klipsch like the 62? What about the 64, is that even better? I also read that the center should be matched to the front L and R spkrs, does that mean my best center would be a third Forte? I would prefer a horizontal speaker to go on top of a cabinet but I guess at this point I can change anything. Any advice? Thanks

I hear the message "don't get whacked out on the 4K implications" and that sounds most logical to me. I spent my career in the computer industry and understand the implications of trying to chase evolving standards -- could be costly and unsuccessful. I need to look again at the TV implications and see if there is any return on going with the latest 4K sets, I know they attempt to do some signal upgrade on the 1080 content etc. It might be necessary to get the 4K in order to get other "latest technology". I probably should ignore the 4K topic in amp/rec selection. A few basic questions on speakers and surround sound amps: 1) Is there something in the audio content that defines which speakers (L, R, Center, etc.) different audio goes to? Or is it just determined by the amp/rec? 2)If there is something in the content that tells the amp to send audio to a specific speaker on a 5.1 system, what happens if I just send normal stereo music to the amp -- does it to to FL and FR only or to all speakers or? And what happens if I only have some of the 5 channels (e.g. 3.0) does all audio get spread on the 3 channels? 3)I obviously have some missing knowledge on the basic surround sound concept and design. Any suggested url's to go to to read about this? Thanks again to all.

Thanks. This is from the specs for the Yamaha A-840 "This receiver is not HDCP 2.2-compliant and will not support copy-protected 4K video content". Possibly it is wise to just ignore the upcoming 4K content. I am buying a 65-75 inch TV so it is probably right on the line where 4K is useful anyway. I think the timing is bad to assume that whatever components you buy now will be compliant with this still evolving standard. I typically keep TVs etc for 10+ years so I try to buy the latest and greatest so they stay somewhat on the curve over time. Supposedly the newer TVs do some upgrading to utilize some of the 4K capability with lesser content. And some TVs are compliant with HDCP 2.2 but it is a real limiter on picking a limitation on amp/receiver selection and being it is hardware it cannot be upgraded via software. Garyrc, your suggestion is interesting but kind of defeats the simplicity of using the receiver as the collection point for content with one HDMI to the TV. I need to rethink my plan that was coming together very nicely (and included buying more Klipsch speakers). Some options: 1) Leave 4K out of the plan, possibly even at the TV level. Proceed with everything else. 2) Stay with 4K, get whatever compliance I can now and hope for the best as this content evolves over the next couple of years. 3) Get a compliant 4k TV now, use my existing stereo sound system as TV sound, add my surround sound capability in a year or so when this HDMI/HDCP stuff gets better defined and supported.

Thanks for all the good comments. I was looking at the receivers today (online) and was leaning towards a Yamaha based on the good reliability I have experienced with their products. However I ran into one issue that is interesting (or maybe not worth considering). I am buying a 4K TV and want to be prepared for 4K content when it arrives. According to what I am learning, to utilize 4K content the receiver/amp has to have HDMI 2.0 and more specifically the chip set has to have HDCP 2.2 technology. Anything without the HDCP 2.2 will not be allowed to pass 4K content -- it is intended to prevent illegal use of the content or something?? The only receivers I have found that currently have this are a couple of Onkyo models. Not all TV's have these standards implemented either. Crutchfield has lots of info on this on their site.

Wow, thank you all for your time and information. You have helped me tremendously. I was asked if I planned to replace my amp. I believe that is the plan as I assume the new amps for surround sound have the channels needed to utilize the center etc. speakers. Another option is to just keep the amp and speakers that I have and hook my new tv up in a stereo sound configuration. That is what I am experimenting with now and other than one area it sounds good to us. The one area is the dialogue that I am struggling with (my wife does not have the problem). So my main goal is to improve the sound quality (if that makes sense) especially in the dialogue area if I go to the trouble and expense of upgrading my audio system. Based on your input, I will definitely go to the RC-62 center, I don't do this frequently enough to try to save a few bucks on the speakers. I will also get the best TV I can find (65 - 75"). I am undecided if I want a subwoofer for the room shaking thunder etc. We don't really care about that effect and my Forte's have pretty good bass already. I now have a Yamaha R9 (I think about 1985 vintage or so). It works perfectly and is a great amp and connection point for all my stuff. I especially like that it has three separate speaker outputs that allow using any or all at any time. This works well with my main speakers and two sets of outside speakers that I have. I hope to find a similar function in a new amp. I would prefer not to have a new amp and still use my old R9 just to power my outside speakers --- too much equipment in the cabinet. I have never been interested in home theatre/surround sound/dolby 5.1/etc. so I have a lot to learn (and I thought getting a new TV would be simple) and this forum has really helped. Also I could not find out how to add a picture and data to my profile. Not a big deal however. Thanks again, Ed

I am about to buy a 65 or 70 inch TV and setup some decent sound to go with it. I now have a home stereo system that is excellent but about 30 yrs old. For speakers I have two Klipsch floor standing Forte models (Forte-WO) is on the labels along with serial numbers. I bought them new about 30 yrs ago and they have been excellent for me. I have some questions for my move from this stereo system to the surround sound system. 1) Can I use my two Forte speakers as the left and right front speakers in a surround sound system? The sensitivity of these speakers is supposedly 94db. 2) I noticed on the Crutchfield website that Klipsch makes a speaker designed to be the center speaker in surround configs. I was looking at the RC52 II. It had 96db sensitivity I think. Would this speaker work with my existing speakers in surround config? I assume I can then add some rear speakers and buy a surround sound amp and setup my new audio world. 3) I do not watch a lot of action movies but most movies or reg TV shows I watch have dialogue that is difficult for me to understand due to hearing issues. Will this Klipsch center speaker (RC52) help to improve dialogue/voice sound from the TV? 4) Or should I move on from these old speakers and just get a sound bar (also offered by Klipsch) which is easier to do but maybe not as good of a result. I guess I asked a lot, any opinions or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank You, Ed Calkins