daddyo

Talked with Klipsch tech support, asking about my focus on HT dialog improvement over Elac debut 5.2 center and they suggested the RP500c. This speaker meets my space requirements and I'd pair it with either the 500m or 600m bookshelfs for L/C/R. So my center selection has narrowed down to Ascend Luna Duo, SVS Ultra 3-way, Elac Carina, and the Klipsch RP-500c. My analysis/opinion is that the SVS Ultra 3-way is the best center of the group primarily because of the 3-way design and cross-over points outside of the normal dialog frequency range. But the intriguing option is the Klipsch 500c. It is less expensive, has the horn tweeter and can be easily driven by my current AVR (Yamaha Aventage RX-A660) but I am a bit concerned about its cross-over points and not having the dedicated mid-range driver. Comments ?

Just curious, you didn't state your goals for "upgrading". What are you hoping to achieve ?

Ok, now it is late 2019 and several things have changed for me. I am now in a new house, not the one that I expected from early 2018 but a newly constructed one more to my liking. HT room is an issue however. 14 x 14 x 9 sunroom with 2 window walls and 1.5 drywall and wood/concrete floor. Reflective or lively to say the least (working on this utilizing furniture and rug). Ended up with a 5.1.2 system with 2 connections for subs and in-wall/in-ceiling for surrounds and ATMOS. For a place-holder I bought Elac debut bookshelf B5.2 for L/R and C5.2 for cc. Elac's are good (great considering the sale price) especially for music but hearing issues still make movie dialog a challenge. Looking for the next step up for the L/C/R. CC needs to be less than 8" tall so that pretty much precludes matching 3 speakers across L/C/R. Narrowing the field down to Ascend (Luna series), SVS (Prime due to cc height), Elac (Carina series) and Klipsch (tbd). For Klipsch option, considering the RP series around a RP-404c. The 404 is a good size for me but I am concerned about the 500/1500 hz cross-overs. 1500 hz seems to be a bad frequency to be handing off between drivers when you consider dialog. Any comments or other recommendations ?

not much love for soundbar ??? on this site. I had a question about 2 weeks ago and zip response as well

Can I get better sound quality (esp dialogue) from a passive or an active sound bar ? Comments and recommendations ?

One other point, you might want to hold off on specific brand speakers until you get in the house and can hook them up. Most companies provide a 30-day return period and you can take advantage of this in order to try your selection out in your space. Chances are you will like them regardless but always good to leave an "escape" route if possible.

I'm in exactly the same boat with new home. The combinations for an audio setup are seemingly endless. Also, the technology changes over time and you'll want to allow for this, if possible, as well. For $10k you can do a pretty good job however and it sounds like your contractor will be able to help advise you. For now, just concept your future needs and use that to get your wiring right. Speaker placement is important and don't forget the control wiring too. You have an advantage of having a basement and you may also want to have a way to run future wiring between your basement and your attic (via a conduit). Make provisions to have wires (unless wireless) run out to your patio for at least two speakers, these are always difficult to run later. Then it's a matter of how many zones that you may want throughout your house (unless wireless). After all these decisions you can begin the search for the "right" specific speakers for your listening pleasure. By the way, Crutchfield has a couple of great listening rooms within about 2 hours of DC in Va. but there must be others closer to you as well.

BTW, my baseline is a Def Tech Procinema 600 5.1 HT in a slightly smaller space. Works ok for me but I'd like a bit more dialogue clarity (hi-freq) and hoping that the Klipsch horns would provide this. Similar sized drivers in the DT 600 but I would expect the Klipsch bipolar surrounds will be a big step up

Thinking about using a passive sound bar, Klipsch 440D, as the L/C/R for a 5.1 surround system in new house. 14x14x9 listening room with MLP about 9 ft from L/C/R. Bipolar surrounds. Hsu sub and Yamaha Aventage avr. Movies/TV about 80%. It seems that the tradeoff is L/R spacing and smaller drivers but benefiting from a relatively clean, neat front. The 20% music is mostly soft rock. I'm thinking that the 30 day return oprion gives me a chance to try it and if not happy then replace the bar with a proper L/C/R. Am I way off base with this approach ?

New home, new 5.1 (or 5.2) HT opportunity. Issue is that new L/C/R speakers must go into a built-in bookshelf surrounding TV. Speakers can be placed about 7 ft apart and at ear level but will be on a 12" deep shelf and surrounded by a cell with side walls and a top (some flexibility in cell size but not depth). Listening area is 15x15x10 and open to a larger space. Surround speakers will be in-ceiling. 80% HT, 20% soft rock music. Dialogue clarity is very important but loudness is not. Prefer to keep Yamaha Aventage 660 avr (80wpc). For this application, am I better off using the RB81's with the front ports or the RP160's ? Other tips ?

I agree, plus using them as designed whereas the BS would be less than ideal application. Also would be able to use identical L/C/R speakers. In all cases, surrounds will need to be ceiling but most in-wall manuf. also have matching ceiling line.

W - under construction but see below for similar concept. Mine will be narrower and deeper with side shelves about 10" wide. Another possibility is to box in the side shelves and install in-wall speakers and then use a similar box for the cc.

My new 5.1 setup will require front (L/C/R) speakers be placed in a built-in bookshelf enclosure around the TV. Not only will the speakers be on a shelf but in a "cave" cubicle. The cubicle will be approx. 18"x10"x14" (HxWxD) for L/R and speakers can be pulled out to edge. Should I only consider front ports for this application ? Would lining the cave with acoustic material help or using a bung on rear ported speakers work (I will use a sub or 2) as an alternative ? Front ported BS speaker options are somewhat limited but Klipsch does offer the RB's (61/81 II's). Are these a good choice ? Ceiling speakers or perhaps wall speakers in the same cave cubicles are other possibilities. Comments ?

I upgraded my dell OEM computer speakers to the Klipsch Pro Media 2.1 this year and am amazed at the difference. I always thought the dells were pretty good until I started using a headset with my computer. With the Klipsch, they match the head set pretty well. Even though it's a bit of apples/oranges that experience got me looking at the Klipsch line for our new house.

Great feedback on working the room for acoustics and I have more investigation to go in this area. I'm also a bit smarter on the logic of having 3 identical front speakers vs a center channel. 2-way vs 3-way is another consideration. What about tweeter technology ? ie differences expected in dialogue due to horns, domes, ribbons, etc ?