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I cross my mains over at 80Hz despite the fact that they're rated down to 35Hz for what it's worth... it's not really about "wasting the potential for good mid-bass from these towers", and more about how you'll get a more desirable frequency response in your room. As @wuzzzer says, different setups in different rooms will vary, so you need to either measure to see what's going on, or experiment until you find the setup that you like best. There's a few things you should keep in mind: While your R625's might be perfectly positioned for stereo imaging etc, they might not be perfectly positioned for the low frequency ranges where the room becomes the dominant factor. Whereas your three subs are most likely better located (or can be moved) to give you the best low frequency coverage in your room. Your subs are designed to operate with authority in this frequency range, so handing over to the subs earlier could give you more authoritive bass in this range and free up some headroom on your R625's at higher volumes. Below the transition, or in large rooms the Schroeder, frequency, which in domestic rooms is at around 200-300 Hz (but varies from room to room), the room dominates the quality of sound because of resonances. Taking the above variables into consideration, you can see why it is important to measure and/or listen to see what works best in your room, and if you can't measure or decide which is better, then crossing over at 80Hz is a safe bet 90% of the time... 🙂 I hope this helps... Brendon

I'm not going to lie to you, this is quite difficult to answer, because I went with a very structured Dolby Atmos layout from the get go (in-Ceiling speakers in the Dolby Atmos recommended overhead position), so I haven't experimented with different layouts or speaker types. But what I do feel is that this whole Dolby Atmos thing is pretty flexible and that there are many ways to achieve a pleasing result. So with that out the way... If you really want to upgrade your AVR right now and have already found the perfect model you want, then by all means, however, there's no reason you can't take this in baby steps, and test the waters as you go... thereby reducing your risk. Since you already have the RS-3's, I would figure out a way to temporarily mount them under the overhead shelf and test those in a 7.2.2 configuration. Just don't drop a speaker on your wife's head! 🙂 Then borrow or re-appropriate a regular direct radiating pair of bookshelf speakers to compare to the RS-3's to see whether direct radiating speakers are better. Once you've figured that out, compare the Atmos speakers hanging from your shelf overhead to the RB-5IIs set as Dolby Atmos front heights - all this is still with a 7.2.2 configuration. My gut feel is that you're going to prefer the Atmos heights mounted under the overhead shelf, and if that's the case, you either stick with the RS-3's if they worked well, or find a Klipsch bookshelf speaker that has the lowest possible box depth (to keep the front baffles as far above your head as possible). For example, the RP-600M's are awesome bookshelves, but their boxes are likely too deep to be mounted above your head below that shelf, and would likely be an eyesore. Then once you're happy with that set up, you can wait until the perfect time to upgrade your AVR and add your RB-5IIs back into the mix for a 7.2.4 configuration with over head heights and front heights for Dolby Atmos. Again, you only need to worry about this if you feel the RS-3's aren't doing you justice above your head, in which case I would look for the best direct radiating bookshelf speakers that have a relatively shallow box depth to keep the front baffles higher above your head... At the time I was deciding on my PRO-180RPC IN-CEILING speakers, Klipsch tech support assured me these speakers are designed for open baffle and don't need a box... so technically you could mount these into your shelf if you're willing to cut holes in your shelf and shelf is wide enough, but if it were me, I wouldn't want these speakers exposed to the elements above the shelf, so you could consider building a box around them on top of the shelf. But I personally think it might just be easier to go with your RS-3's or a pair of bookshelf speakers, and call it a day... Does that help your conundrum at all? 😉 I look forward to hearing the outcomes of your tests... Brendon

If you are 100% sure that both the TV and receiver have ARC, and that you've connected your HDMI cable to the ARC connections on both devices, and your HDMI cable can support ARC (should, but double check the specs), then in theory it should work. But as @wuzzzer suggests, using an optical cable to carry the sound from the TV will achieve the same goal and save you some frustration.

Lots of people ask and recommend SVS subs on the forum... I haven't seen anyone take issue with that, and I'm sure nobody would. We're here to help others, and I'm sure most Klipsch fans understand that Klipsch specialize in making great Speakers, but aren't specialists in the subwoofer market, and that companies like SVS who specialize, are able to produce a superior subwoofer. If the SVS is what you want, then by all means go for it. You can't go wrong with SVS subs - excellent performance and great customer service from what I've heard.

This might be a hot contested subject, so I'll proceed with caution here... it would probably be better to have matching subs, but I personally don't think it's a requirement. I started with a 12 inch sub (R-12), and then I added a 15 inch (SPL-150) last year. I still need to take the time to integrate them properly using my miniDSP UMIK-1 calibrated USB Mic and REW, but even without REW and the USB Mic (just using Yamaha's YPOA auto correct) they are working great. So in my opinion, if you're happy with the SPL output and frequency range of your current 10 inch sub, then by all means, just get another 10 inch like the one you have... but, if like me, you're realizing that you want your subs to dig lower and add more low frequency output, then get the largest sub you can afford right now. Later if you have some spare change, you might want to get a second matching large sub, but you can still continue using the 10 inch strategically placed to smooth out the bass in multiple listening positions. No point in wasting a perfectly good sub... unless you can sell it for a worthwhile price I suppose. What is definitely more tricky, is when you start mixing ported and sealed subs, although it can be done... but you'll definitely want to be dialing them in with REW and a calibrated mic, and you'd also probably need to run them through a MiniDSP as well. Disclaimer: Others might strongly disagree with all or some of the above, so I suggest you do your research, gather the various opinions out there, and then decide what would work best for you.

Multi-sub is always the preferred goal to strive for. The primary reason for this is to spread the low frequencies more evenly around your room. So yes, I would rather get a second sub than replace an existing sub with something larger. You probably won't notice much additional SPL, unless you add a larger more powerful sub. The exception to this would be if you stack the subs, which would create a coupling effect... but then you'd be sacrificing the actual benefit of multi-sub, which is spread the bass more evenly around the room. The only reason you might consider replacing the 10 inch with a larger sub, is if you require more SPL in the lower frequency ranges, or you want your system to dig lower in the low and sub sonic (20Hz and below) frequency ranges... but first get the biggest second sub you can afford before replacing the existing 10inch and take it from there... Brendon

I honestly don't think you can hear the difference between different cable products (although some might disagree). We're really just trying to minimize losses, so in my opinion you don't need to overspend on expensive cables. Just get good quality, oxygen-free, pure copper speaker wire. The Monoprice cables are highly rated by most and are good value for money from what I've heard, so you can't go wrong with @Sancho Panza's recommendation. I think this is exact cable I've seen many using: https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=2817 I've also heard good things about Blue Jean's cables (they measure well and are good value for money apparently), so you can compare their prices to Monoprice if you want some choice. I hope this helps. Brendon

Did you come right with the manual? In case you haven't, just looking at the photo you posted, I think the A in Front A is misleading, as I don't see a B anywhere... so just ignore the A. For a 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos setup: Front A = Front L & R (Mains) Center = Center speaker Surround = Surround L & R (ideally placed on the side walls to the side of the main listening position or slightly behind) Surround Back/Height = Your Dolby Atmos overhead height speakers I would go 12 gauge (or as as close to it as possible) for the speaker wires while you're at it and if you can afford it... just so you don't have one more thing that you might feel the urge to upgrade later... 🙂

I had a feeling that would be the case... and if you total the estimated costs with the RP-8000's instead, what do you get? Ah yes, that was a dumb oversight of mine... thanks for catching that @Ceptorman. For what it's worth, I agree with @tigerwoodKhorns regarding your budget. I would rather invest more in my speakers as they will last far longer, than in the electronics that likely need to be upgraded / replaced sooner. Also, consider a large TV instead of a full on screen and projector until you can afford a really good projector setup and rather invest more in your speakers. Not saying this is the right thing to do, but it's what I would do, as my priority lies with the sound more than the picture... Besides, a really good 4K projector will likely just about blow your entire budget on its own... 😉 I look forward to hearing what you decide on and how it all turns out... I'll be living vicariously through you... 😉

I'm sure that will work just fine. So you've got vaulted ceilings, right? RB-5IIs high on the front wall for Atmos front heights, and then I'd designate whatever speakers you mount under the shelf above your MLP as rear Atmos heights. I think middle Atmos only comes into play if you have a x.x.6 setup, but your receiver will clear that designation up. I'm not familiar with the RS-3's personally, but if you already have them, then use them... 🙂

Wow, this would be a dream project for me! I must be honest, I'm a little jealous... 😉 Firstly, I think Klipsch speakers are an excellent choice for this type of application... they can definitely handle the club scene in my experience, they excel in home theatre applications, and works great for the varied types of music I like... Now the question is which speakers to get. I'm not sure how this will fit into your budget, as I live in South Africa, but if money weren't an issue, I would go with the following: Front L & R: RF7iii x 2 Centre: RP-504C Surround: RP-502S x 2 Rear Surround: RP-600M x 2 Atmos Heights: PRO-180RPC IN-CEILING x 2 or x 4 Subwoofers: SPL-150 x 2 or x 4 (or if you really want to get that underground club vibe, consider the JTR Captivators or SVS PB 16 Ultras - point is you don't need to stick with Klipsch for the subs) The above list of speakers will be more than capable of providing a club like experience with excellent sound quality, especially if you power them adequately... I don't know what costs those add up to, but if they blow your budget, then you can swap out the RF7iii's for RP-8000F's, which are also excellent floorstanders at a much more friendly price. Now powering all of these speakers is probably where things are really going to blow your budget. You could use just about any good 11.2 or 13.2 receiver (depending how many atmos overheads you want), but if you really want to maximize the SPL these speakers are capable of, you should look into going with a processor and external amplification. As for the placement, the "Recreation Area" looks just fine. You just need to figure out how you're going to mount the surrounds and rear surrounds... or drop the surrounds and just do rear surrounds if you can only mount them on the rear wall. I hope this helps. Brendon Update: I should also mention that Klipsch have a Professional Grade Home Theatre and THX Pro line, but I don't have any personal experience with these, so not sure how they compare. I'll leave these lines to the other forum members to recommend.

While I haven't tried this myself with the types of speakers you are considering, I would honestly avoid doubling up on bookshelf speakers to try and match the output of your center. My gut tells me you're going to be opening a whole ugly can of worms with comb filtering etc, and depending on how you plan to wire them up to your receiver, you might end up overloading your receiver if it's not up to the task. I see you did mention that you'll be wiring them in series, which I almost missed when I first read your post. You probably know this already then, but just in case, remember that if you wire them in parallel, you'll effectively be halving the nominal impedance to 4 Ohms, and in reality it could dip even lower than that... you'll need a very capable amp to safely handle the resulting 4 ohm load. If it were me, I would rather go with one pair of RP-600M's, which I hear are very capable bookshelf speakers, and will most certainly be able to keep up with your 504C. I'm sure there are many other there that have paired the 600's with the 504C. This way you have excellent left and right mains, no unpleasant surprises or issues with comb filtering etc, and a safe impedance range that your amp can easily handle. Just my 2 cents... 😉 Let us know what you end up deciding on and how it works out... Brendon

So if I'm understanding your intentions correctly, it sounds like you would have two separate sound sources and amps driving your rear speakers, one from your home theatre system and one from your computer system. And while I understand that you won't use them simultaneously, I think the real problem is that you are essentially connecting the outputs of each amp to each other. So you're effectively adding a voltage across terminals and circuits that are designed to output a voltage but not the other way around. Keep in mind that you still need to keep the two sets of binding posts on your speakers bridged so that your tweeter and woofers are simultaneously powered... which is why you'll also effectively be connecting the amps in the two systems together.

Yeah, I didn't want to say anything because you'd already bought the 16 gauge wire, but I agree with @Islander that 12 gauge would be preferable. Everything will work just fine with your 16 gauge wire, but if you're going to a lot of effort to run the cables, hide them and connect all your speakers etc, consider upgrading to 12 gauge from the get go so that it doesn't become one more thing that bugs you and causes you to want to upgrade later... 🙂 But if switching wire gauge now isn't practical, then by all means, stick with what you have, because it will work, you might just have slightly greater losses on your longer runs.

Looking forward to hearing how it all works out. I'm sure you're very excited! 🙂

Yes, that all makes perfect sense. But you're still going to cross the height speakers over at 80+ Hz as I explained above, because you've got 2 x Subwoofers in your system. And if you're worried about timbre matching, then you could choose speakers from the RP range instead of the reference range, which will give you the titanium tweeters and Cerametallic woofers that your RP-8000's have. But if you don't have the budget for these, then I still think you'll be just fine with the reference range for your heights.

Well, you're going to be crossing your height speakers (as with all your speakers) over at a certain frequency to allow your subwoofers to do all the heavy lifting in bass department. With the R-41 and R-51's, going by the frequency responses you've quoted above, you can happily cross them over at 80Hz (I wouldn't go lower than 80 though). In the case of your current speakers that only go down to 120Hz, you'd need to set your crossover higher, but I'm sure they'll still work well. Taking into consideration that you're suspending your heights, I think either the R-41 or R-51's will be just fine. I don't know how the Dolby SA speakers compare in terms of specs (as Klipsch doesn't seem to provide a frequency response spec for them), but I don't see any reason to go this route, as they are primarily designed to bounce sound off the ceiling, even though you can also wall mount them. I hope this helps. Brendon

That's a killer system you are putting together, especially the front stage and low end... 🙂 Are you planning on doing in-ceiling speakers, or are you mounting satellite speakers to the wall near the ceiling or hanging them from your ceiling? I went the in-ceiling speakers route, and I love my PRO-180RPC in-ceiling speakers. These are an excellent match for the entire high-end range from RP like you have, right up to RF etc. Beyond that, I can't say more, as I don't have first hand experience with the R-41M or the HT-50 system. Brendon

Ah, thank you Bill ( @willland ) and @Ceptorman. It's great that we have this platform to help others that are just getting started with this awesome hobby / "obsession"... 😉 Is there a particular way to save the post that you had in mind? Or were you just saying that it would be nice if there was a way? 🙂 You are most welcome my friend! I wish you all the best as you embark on this exciting journey... you won't regret it. Brendon

Welcome to the forum @TnGuy, and congratulations on your purchase. I can see how the terminals on your main speakers will confuse you, but luckily there's an easy explanation... 🙂 Let's take the bottom set of terminals first: those are the terminals for the main speaker, and if you look carefully, you will see that the two sets of terminals are actually bridged together with metal straps. You can connect your front left and right channels on your receiver to either of these sets of terminals. I normally just connect to the bottom pair. So for the left Front channel, connect black from your receiver Front Left channel to black on the bottom terminal and red to the red, etc. Don't remove the metal straps, as these are bridging the tweeter and woofers together. If you wanted to power the tweeter and woofers separately, you could remove the bridging straps and connect an output from an amp/receiver to the tweeter terminal and then another output to the woofer terminal... but this is definitely not needed or recommended, and you don't have enough channels on your receiver to do this anyway. So leave the straps in place and just connect to one of the terminals. Now that you have your mains connected, let's look at the top set of terminals. These are for your Dolby Atmos height channels. The speakers are located on the top of the speaker box and are designed to fire up towards your ceiling and then reflect back down to your listening position, attempting to simulate overhead height speakers. This gets a little tricky, and I had to look it up in your owners manual to ensure I'm giving you accurate instructions. You need to connect the top terminals on your front (main) speakers to the terminals labeled "Surround Back" on your receiver. You will then go into the receiver settings and Set “Assign Mode” to “Front Dolby” in the menu for a 7.1-channel (front Dolby Atmos Enabled speaker) system. I hope this isn't too confusing, but here are some pictures from your owners manual to help explain the Atmos speaker setup: Example connections when using front Dolby Atmos Enabled speakers This 7.1-channel surround system is the same as a basic 5.1-channel system but with front Dolby Atmos Enabled speakers. Set “Assign Mode” to “Front Dolby” in the menu. link

Fair enough... I wouldn't want to be giving anyone misleading or incorrect advise. @powerplay007, I suggest you proceed with caution then and try and figure out which setup actually works better... at the end of the day you need to do what works best for your system, in your room and suits your preferences best. @HenrikTJ, I think you might be approaching this a little rigidly to be honest... firstly, I had this exact setup before I upgraded from 5 to 7 bed channels. In other words I had the receiver set to "Surrounds" as was recommended by Yamaha, but I put the surround speakers on my rear wall because it suited the room better at the time. I have to be honest, I never felt like I was missing anything or that anything was out of place or unnatural. When I eventually upgraded to 7 bed channels, with surrounds on the side walls and rear surrounds where my surrounds previously were on the back wall, I have to be honest, I hardly noticed a dramatic improvement to the experience. The ground breaking change only came when I upgraded to Dolby Atmos by adding the in-ceiling height speakers. @powerplay007, I suggest you run some tests with movies that contain a lot of rear effects (and multi-channel music) and try and figure out how your receiver handles the two different surround channel configurations. My gut tells me that the receiver is clever enough to mix both a 5.1 and a 7.1 sound track into both the surround and rear surround channels if you only speakers connected to one of those channels without throwing anything away, but if I were you, I'd want to make sure of that before designating your surround speakers as rear surrounds... 🙂 In my opinion, there is no good reason to throw away ANY sound effects, just because your speakers are on the back wall, so either it will make no difference at all, or you'd be better off designating your rear speakers as surrounds if the receiver is going to discard effects that aren't allocated to the actual rear surround channels... yikes, that was a mouthful... I hope this hasn't confused you more... 😉 PS: If you do run the above tests, I'd love to know what the outcome is, as I am curious myself... Thanks. Brendon

Yeah, I think you might have been looking at the 7.1.4 setup at the time, which does call for around a 45 degree angle to the Atmos front heights (and is the reason I thought I'd draw your attention to that): Atmos 7.1.4 setup: I'm not sure it's even necessary to go to those lengths of testing (for the Atmos height channels I mean). Just get the angles and alignment roughly right, factoring in any obstructions in and on your ceiling and then cut the holes and run the cables. They can be roughly above you or slightly forward of your listening position and then roughly in line with your mains (or a bit wider than your mains if yours are a bit close together, and you should have an excellent Atmos experience. All the best and enjoy! Brendon

Yes, I agree with @Khornukopia. In my experience, there is usually more sound mixed into the surround channels than the rear surround. You can put the surround speakers on the rear wall, but you should still set them as surrounds, rather than rear surrounds. 5.1 includes "surrounds" while 7.1 adds the "rear surrounds" in addition to the surrounds... your receiver might be clever enough to figure this all out, but I wouldn't take the risk of confusing the format if I were you... 🙂

Everything looks good to me to be honest and looks like a well thought out plan, maximizing the space you have available. The only thing I would consider (and it's hard to tell exactly from the photos), but if mounting the left surround on the wall just next to the window only puts it slightly behind the main listening position, then I would rather do that than mission with that hanging mount in front of the window. According to Dolby, the surrounds can be anywhere from 90 to 110 degrees to the side of the listening position, but there's really no reason they can't be slightly further behind than that if it would be more practical and make your life easier. From what I can tell, they'd still be far enough away from the back wall, and would offer more than adequate channel separation to the rear surrounds. And I think it would look nicer with them on the wall next to the window rather than in front of the window. It is a lounge afterall and not a dedicated home theatre, so we need to balance practicality with what the specs call for... 🙂 I also think the sound will probably more evenly match the sound on the opposite wall. Just make sure you mount the right surround directly opposite the left surround... 😉 From your plan, I can see that you've probably consulted the various 3D sound specs diligently... my last suggestion is just to make sure that you're putting the two Atmos speakers as close to the recommended spec for a 7.1.2 layout. It differs from the 7.1.4 layout in terms of angles etc. But it doesn't have to be exact... just in the right ballpark is more than adequate. 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos Layout: https://www.dolby.com/about/support/guide/speaker-setup-guides/7.1.2-overhead-speaker-setup-guide/ PS: I've seen very positive reviews for the Yahama RX V6A, so no issues there at all... I love Yamaha receivers for what it's worth.

I agree with @Khornukopia, if I understand your current setup correctly, you're running a 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos setup with the RP-600's set as surrounds (which means they are positioned correctly) and the SVS Elevations set as Atmos heights (which means the are fine where they are too). So to answer your question directly, you would connect the RP-600's to the "Surround" outputs on the Denon. The only time you would need the Rear Surround outputs on the Denon is if you upgraded to a 7.1.2 setup by adding additional rear surround speakers, but as @Khornukopia says, you don't need these, especially since you're sitting so close to the rear wall. I don't think you'd get much additional benefit from rear surrounds, and would rather invest in a second set of atmos heights when you start getting upgradetitus again... 🙂 If you do want to make a simple improvement to your current setup, I would consider ditching that side table in-between the two theatre seats, and push the seats next to each other (no gap). Then add two smaller side tables on the outside of each seat to replace the table you removed from the center. This might not give you the look you're going for, but would add a number of valuable improvements in my opinion, including: Putting the two seats closer to the center of the sound field and thereby closer to the sweet spot Moving both seats further away from the surround speakers and atmos heights The RP-600 surrounds might be able to be angled more towards the listening position and thereby serve both seats better from both sides (surrounds are usually next to or slightly behind the main listening position on the side wall, but where you have them is just fine as well) Easier to hold the wife or girlfriend's hand... 😉 I hope this helps... Brendon