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Ian

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  1. Ian
    For Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and most newer 5.1-7.1 mixes (say from 2000 on), direct radiating speakers are going to more appropriate for most mixes and THX processing (if you have it) will help diffuse the sound a bit as well. For older films, particularly those mixed in Dolby Surround (the old 4 and 5-channel version, not the Atmos upmix processing) will generally sound better with dipoles. Newer films lose a lot of their directional impact with bipoles, though, so when I last bought new speakers, I went direct radiator. And since going from 5.1 to 7.1 with direct radiators, I find that THX and (the new) Dolby Surround processing do an excellent job with the older atmospheric surround channels by distributing the sound across the side and rear channels. So, in summary, as you've probably read, it's always a compromise. If you mostly watch older, pre-2000 movies, dipoles are probably best, but for newer soundtracks, I'd go with direct radiators.
  2. Ian
    I don't have Audyssey on my current pre/pro, but found it to work reasonably well in other units I've had. The Onkyo version I have now has been criticized but actually works fairly well in an untreated room. I have spent a good deal of time/money treating my room now and according to the measurements with my RTA, I get flatter response in most frequencies with it turned off as opposed to turned on, so I have disabled it. The most critical frequencies for equalization are below 200Hz and the Anti-Mode 8033 I have does an amazing job there and is well worth the fairly reasonable cost.
  3. Ian
    The part where the destroyers start shelling the ridge was pretty intense and the Atmos mix was really well done, too. My Blu-ray froze 40 minutes in so I had to get another one from Amazon and the week between viewings kind of spoiled it, but it's definitely a great movie and excellent demo material.
  4. Ian
    With modern receivers, it's hard to go wrong in terms of sound quality, and with those (and nearly all KIlpsch) speakers, wattage isn't an issue, either, as it takes precious few watts to hit ear-splitting volumes. I'd make your choice based on features and flexibility in terms of what you want to do with it now and later - i.e. how many channels, multiple zones, etc.
  5. Ian
    I was pretty happy with the Sanus Steel Series 18" center speaker stand that I purchased, so I'd recommend them on that basis. The only negative was the holes you used to fill the sand with sand (which isn't necessary, but why not...) were pretty small, so that was a bit more tedious than expected. There are plenty of good brands out there, but don't cheap out on them as they need to be sturdy. Here's the link to Sanus: http://www.sanus.com/en_US/products/speaker-stands/
  6. Ian
    They're designed to be used that way, which is why they have the mounting hole. I have them mounted that way for my side and back surround channels, actually, and it works quite well.
  7. Ian
    I have bought from them multiple times over the years and always had good experiences. I have talked to the owner a couple of times and he's been a reasonable and nice guy, too. The only bummer for me is having to pay Florida sales tax.
  8. Ian
    I have found that it depends greatly on the mix, but it's not quite as magical as I expected, either. In many movies and most of the Atmos demos (which are free on Vudu, btw, in DD+ Atmos format) it's pretty subtle and mostly for ambience (e.g. winds on Everest and rain in John Wick). Something like the first 5 minutes or so of the Diamond version of Gravity or the opening of Mad Max: Fury Road really show it off, however with voices panning or coming from all over the room. Terminator Genisys is a great mix as well, but so far Gravity seems to be the best. The Dolby Surround processing works surprisingly well, too, on 5.1 - 7.1 soundtracks. I usually prefer a straight decode, but Dolby Surround mode really does a great job. As for noticing them coming from the front, try using a handheld SPL if you haven't already. If the channels are too loud, you'll definitely notice them and the auto-EQ doesn't seem to do a great job with that. If you don't have one, the Dayton Audio iMM-6 Calibrated Measurement Microphone and an app like AudioTool for Android or AudioTools for iPhone work pretty well. I just picked one up and it's amazing what a $25 mic and your phone can do these days... Ultimately, however, it seems to be one of those things where you don't really notice it until it's not there, even going from 7.1.2 to 7.1.
  9. Ian
    Do you have elevated rows? If so, I can see that working well as you say. From all I've read, the home theater center speakers are usually designed for broad horizontal distribution, and less so for vertical distribution (Klipsch horn tweeters aside...), so that would make sense. Also, out of curiosity, how far apart are the two speakers?
  10. Ian

    Rp series

    Ian replied to Gname78683's topic in Home Theater

    I would get a sub unless you already have one. Bigger speakers won't give you nearly as much as getting a quality sub.
  11. Ian
    Jay, thanks for the reply and the excellent work on this speaker. I had heard you were using these for surrounds and was inspired to give them a try. I've got them for side and rear surrounds and front Atmos modules and couldn't be more pleased with them. I appreciate your reply and keep up the excellent work!
  12. Ian
    I realize you said you wanted to do this for fun, but why? Coming from a cinema perspective, multiple centers are sometimes used, but only in the most massive theaters to help people hear the dialog when they're seated off-axis. Sony's SDDS format and IMAX have used multiple centers for panning, but essentially gave up on that as the extra mixing wasn't really worth the effort and SDDS died off as a format. Atmos and DTS:X use extra center speakers in some cinemas purely for effects, but the home version (at least for Atmos, not sure about DTS:X) doesn't include those channels. Unless your room is incredibly huge and you have massive screen as well, it seems a bit pointless to use more than on center speaker. Center speakers are designed for broad dispersion, but even stereo speakers should have plenty of dispersion. The center channel was intended primarily for dialog so voices coming from multiple speakers are likely to sound odd as your brain is able to distinguish the point source in that frequency range. OTOH if you just want to have fun trying it out and have speakers and amps to spare, why not?
  13. Ian
    All, thanks for the additional details and I'm not sure how I missed that in the manual. I suppose I'll set mine to 150Hz to err on the safe side, but it seems that they are certainly capable of going lower than that from my rather crude tests.
  14. Ian
    Hmm, just found this: http://www.soundandvision.com/content/klipsch-reference-premiere-rp-140sa-atmos-elevation-module-review-test-bench Test Bench Elevation Module Sensitivity: 86 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz The RP-140SA’s driver-axis response measures +3.34/–2.72 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. The –3dB point is at 121 Hz, and the –6dB point is at 98 Hz. Perhaps a 120Hz crossover is more appropriate...
  15. Ian
    Auto-EQ is often pretty lousy with crossover points (and distances) and depending on your receiver or pre/pro it will set things too "large" or too low (in Hz). That's really what got me started with this conversation. While I think the standard / THX setting of small / 80Hz is appropriate in most cases, I was worried that these little speakers might need to be set higher, like around 100Hz to avoid damage. I have 200W RMS running to these speakers which are rated for 50W RMS / 200W peak, so I definitely wanted to be sure I had things set right. While I can't say for sure that they really go down to around 60Hz, I think/hope 80Hz or "Small" should be safe. Of course clipping with too little power vs. too much is what typically destroys speakers.
  16. Ian
    It is a bit of a mystery, but I certainly don't fault Klipsch. I'm sure they're just going by the terms of their agreement with Dolby. It's a bit frustrating when you're trying to set up your home theater and don't want to put too much strain on your speakers, however. I am impressed that the little 4" drivers in such small enclosures go down as low as they do, however, and they really make excellent surrounds.
  17. Ian
    Since no one has replied, I dug out my (old and cheap) RTA and did some very unscientific tests. Ideally this would be done in an anechoic chamber or at least outdoors to remove the room's influence. After shutting off all of my other amps and setting the Atmos channels to full range, I ran pink noise and sweeps at -20, -10, and 0 with a close mic. It looks like the frequency response (+ or - 3dB) is roughly 58-63Hz. I'm going to set my crossovers to 80Hz to be safe, but at least I have a better idea now.
  18. Ian
    Have you considered trying to repair it? I gave away a receiver one time to a friend who had it repaired for a pretty reasonable cost.
  19. Ian
    If you're using digital out (HDMI or SPDIF) to a receiver, pre/pro, or DAC, then any disc player will do. It's all 1s and 0s and while people obsess over jitter and other esoteric things, that's all they are. Same with lasers "optimized for ____ discs" and expensive digital cables. It's all a bit silly because as long as you are getting a clean signal, you're getting it. If you're using analog outputs, however, the DAC in the player is critical and the analog output stage can greatly affect the sound. Spending more and getting a dedicated will get you better sound in that case.
  20. Ian
    I have them mounted flush with the wall using the keyhole on the back and the angle points down at the listener. On the side surrounds the angle is just right, but in the back, the angle ends up being about mid-room. Because the dispersion is pretty broad (far more so than a bookshelf speaker) the angle doesn't need to be exact, though. I had purchased a pair for Atmos and then read an article about @Jay L using them as surrounds and thought I'd give them a try. Like I said, I really like them and they seem pretty ideal for a mix of old Dolby Surround (matrixed format) where dipole speakers used to be important, and the latest 7.1 and Atmos/DTS-X soundtracks where you want more localized sounds. Plus, they're small, relatively inexpensive, and use the RP horns so they match up well. The opening of Gravity (Diamond Edition) with Atmos really shows how well they match up as Sandra Bullock and George Clooney's voices circle around the room. The intense opening of Mad Max: Fury Road is also awesome with the voices all around the soundfield.
  21. Ian
    I have a smaller room (14x10) and use 3 pairs of RP-140SA - front Atmos, surround, and rear surround, and I think they work really well. As surrounds, they seem diffuse enough to build a nice soundfield, yet direct enough for spatial references. I spent many years as a projectionist / theater set up and calibration tech for a major theater chain so I have a pretty decent ear for what it should sound like.
  22. Ian
    I have three pairs of RP-140SA speakers in my 7.1.2 set up and I am having trouble with the crossover setting for the RP-140SA. According to the spec sheet, the frequency response for the speaker, "conforms to Dolby Atmos Specification." Apparently this is some secret thing because I can't find it anywhere, at least for home theaters. My pre/pro does the auto-eq routine but like most, it varies and sometimes the RP-140SA crossovers are calculated at 40Hz (yeah right!) and sometimes they are 120Hz + or - 40Hz. I don't know why it's some secretive thing, but it would be nice to know what the bottom range is so I don't over-drive them. Does anyone know what the low end of the frequency response is? I'm sorry to sound like this, but I just find it frustrating that this basic number isn't published on Klipsch's or Dolby's site.
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