cardsdoc

Upfiring modules need to be at or above ear level otherwise you get too much direct radiating sound from the speaker likely significantly detracting from the experience. If you buy with a good return policy no harm in trying but that much below ear level is not likely to work well.

Well no wonder the prior owner didn't like it.

I have found actual movie soundtracks are more subtle mostly adding more height presence with occasional discrete sounds from overhead. The best way to see what Atmos can do is with one of the Atmos demo discs. You can try and find one to download via a torrent and burn to disc or there are some sites that have some individual atmos demos to download (see below) as long as you have a way to play them and bitstream to your AVR. You can also find the demo discs on ebay. My favorite demos for height effects are 747 flyover, rainstorm, helicopter but those only seem available on the disc. https://thedigitaltheater.com/index.php/dolby-trailers/

I have the 450C and have not compared to any other RP center so can't directly compare. It's a terrific center as most user and pro reviews have said. It's paired along with RP-160Ms for L/R. I can say that while it's true the larger centers can give more output, more importantly there tends to be improved sound quality as you move towards the larger centers no matter the listening volume. More depth and fullness and better able to reproduce male voices even when not listening at high volumes. I certainly don't push mine close to reference volumes. Properly calibrated, the difference in sensitivity of the mains and center shouldn't be much of an issue. The 250C should still have very good intelligibility even if sound quality isn't quite as good as the larger centers. Surround effects drowning out center channel dialogue can also be a function of the source mix and is a common issue with some mixes. Not much you can do other than bump up center trim in those scenarios. If you have a Denon AVR you could experiment with using dynamic volume on "light" which will limit the louder volumes of some of the soundtrack and can make dialogue better when trying to keep overall volumes lower . It can also have a detrimental effect as well so you would just need to experiment but I find the light setting to work well for late night/kids asleep listening. If you can purchase a 450C and return easily I would just try it out now that you have room and see if you notice a difference. Only way you are going to be able to really know. If you have the room for the 450C which it looks like you do would probably skip the 440C and decide between what you have and 450C.

I don't think it's purely about output. In my limited experience and a lot of time spent over at AVS forums the larger centers tend to have better sound quality. Fuller with more depth and able to reproduce deeper male voices more naturally. When I have read comparisons by users of larger and smaller centers in a given line, Klipsch RP included, many tend to prefer the sound quality of the larger ones.

Aesthetically this is what 450c looks like with 160Ms.

Since the center speaker is responsible for 80-90% of content in HT the most common advice is to get the most competent center you can afford or fit. No expert either but I would tend to agree with that advice. Your avr will adjust trim appropriately for the higher sensitivity of the center relative to the RP-150m. They actually have the same size drivers so from a timbre standpoint should actually match rather nicely.

The larger centers are actually even more efficient than the bookshelves (which are already very efficient) so you should not have any issue driving them. Nice perk of Klipsch speakers. The RP centers are rear ported so ideally should not be in an enclosed space.

I have had issues in the past with decreased output from a speaker due to binding post connection not being tight enough. Perhaps when you switched wiring you actually just fixed the connection. Or maybe you have a bad wire and moving it around allowed a better signal at least transiently. I would re-try the way you had it to start now and see what happens. If issue still there would also try new speaker wire.

So I wound up going with the RP-150M as surrounds. See pic. My room (and wife) won't work well for true side surrounds so this placement is the best I can do even though they are really more in a rear surround position. I'm still wondering if I made the right choice. Again Klipsch support advised I go with the monopoles due to how far the speakers are from MLP but questioning that reasoning. Wondering if bipoles would fill in some of the sound effect I should be getting with sides. On the flip side monopoles may allow for more precise object placement with atmos content. Any more thoughts? If I stick with the monopoles should I keep them toed in as they are towards MLP? Would facing forward work better? I will say that overall the system sounds great. Still an enveloping sound especially with Atmos demos but I'm guessing some surround effect are a little misplaced in the sound field this way. With the cherry finish option the 150Ms do look nicer than I imagine the RP-240s would stand mounted.

That advise doesn't quite make sense to me. The RP-450C is very efficient with a sensitivity of 97 dB meaning you need very little power relatively to drive it. The specs say continuous power handling "up to" 150W, not a minimum of 150W. I'm using a Denon x4300h with 125w/channel but I'm sure I never send anywhere near that to my 450C as I tend to listen at lower volumes. Sounds great to me.

I think the wireless controller is designed to be used in lieu of an AVR. You could potentially use it as a really expensive HDMI switch but otherwise it's features would go unused as you said. That's what I see a a major limitation of a system like this. No room correction, no Atmos, inability to use other speakers. What would be ideal is if they incorporated the WiSA tech into a modern AVR allowing a mix of wired and wireless. I'm guessing it will happen eventually. Denon has their HEOS tech but right now their standard AVRs don't allow HEOS speakers to be used for surrounds even though their soundbars with HEOS do use wireless HEOS for surrounds.

DIY is certainly the best value for high quality subs. However it does require quite a time commitment as well as some woodworking skills. Neither of which I have so I personally stuck with commercial subs. Your setup must sound very good.

Advice that I had been given and seen on the forums is that the bipoles are actually better if you sit close to them so sound is not so directional. My surrounds are behind me and to the sides (farther behind than to the side) but at a good distance away (up to 7-8 feet) and Klipsch actually told me monopoles (used RP-150M) would probabaly be better in that scenario as the RP-240/250s would be too diffuse. So I think for you I would go with the bipoles.

A capable sub with good output below 20hz can be transformative for the HT experience. Your Polks or the 12" Klipsch can't do that. No reason to match sub brand to speakers and in general primarily speaker companies don't make great subs. Klipsch's 15" sub seems to be an exception to that. It goes for $800 but is sometimes 50% off at Frys. With the money you have invested in the rest of your setup I recommend a little more investment with high quality subs. You have a big room so will need some fairly capable subs. At a minimum for that size room. I would look at something like dual Hsu VTF-2. If you post over on the sub forum at AVS and include room size, budget, listening preferences you will get a lot of recommendations. Although be a little careful as they like to spend your money over there. I started with a Polk htib sub and it escalated quickly to dual SVS pc12-plus subs. But it really is so much fun having capable subs. It makes my system.

Wound up just ordering the RP-450c. Got a very good price so figured what the heck. Hoping to keep these a long time and will always wonder if I should have gone with the better center. We'll see what my wife says when I get it. If it goes back it's to avoid divorce. It's actually 1 inch lower than my current Polk center but 6" wider. The Polk does taper towards the back though. I'm hoping that since visually from the front it will appear shorter she won't complain. Would love to keep the grill off since those drivers are so pretty but I fear my 4yo twins fingers will find their way into it. Also doing RP-160Ms for L/R, RP-150Ms for surrounds and RP-140SA x 4 for Atmos that will be replacing my current Polk RTiA/CSiA setup. Have a Denon x4300H to to power it all and dual SVS PC12+ subs. Can't wait to get it set up.

So what about the 440c? Would a wider center with quad drivers potentially be better for multiple seating positions in our L shaped sofa? Any downsides to the 440c compared with the 250c? I do have a long room at 25ft and 15ft wide but no seating position is further than about 14-15 ft.

Here is a view from near MLP looking towards rear. The chosen surrounds would be stand mounted at about ear height in the corners where the wall mounted speakers are. Those wall mounted speakers (current surrounds) will be replaced with 140sa for rear heights and raised as much as possible. I can't do true side surrounds in this room. I actually also just spoke with Klipsch support and the recommendation was the rp-150m. He though because of how far behind MLP those corners are the dispersion would be too great. That's what I'm leaning towards. Other pros of that are cherry finish, cheaper, and would work ok with multi-channel music if I ever chose to listen that way.

Thanks. They won't be wall mounted. They will be stand mounted and placed in the corners. The fact that i can get the 150m in cherry is actually nice for the room aesthetics. I'm just wondering in a corner plus moving to atmos which depends a little more on accurate sound placement of objects if the more directional bookshelf would be better. If I wasn't doing atmos I agree I think the wider dispersion would be better especially since it's not an ideal location for what should be side surrounds.

Moving to an all Klipsch atmos setup 5.1.4. 160m fronts, haven't decided which center, 140sa x 4 for atmos. My surround placement is limited and a little suboptimal but will be in rear corners stand mounted. It's ~ 7 feet behind MLP but also off to sides so somewhere in between where rears and side surrounds should be but closer to rears. What would be better in a corner like that for surrounds in an atmos setup, RP-150m or RP-240s.

I have a similar question. Going to move from an all Polk setup to the RP line. Will be going with rp-160m for fronts, RP-240s for surrounds, RP-140sa x 4 for Atmos. Have dual SVS pc12+ subs. Room is sizesble at 15x24. My current center has dual 6.5" woofers. MLP is about 14ft from center channel. I typically listen well below reference but want the ability to play loud just in case. Having trouble deciding on center channel. Ideally would go for the 450c but it would be rather overbearing aesthetically in our living room. So thinking of 250c vs 440c and don't know what would be a better fit. What would be the pros and cons of dual 5.25" vs quad 4"? The low end is essentially identical (60hz vs 59hz). Haven't entirely ruled out 450c either just seems a little unnecessary for my needs and is huge. My primary goal is crisp/clear vocals/dialogue even at low volumes. Thanks.