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I agree with @wuzzzer and @jason str... I recommend you first do the subwoofer crawl to determine all the viable locations from an audio performance perspective: https://www.audioholics.com/home-theater-connection/crawling-for-bass-subwoofer-placement If one of your sweet spots happens to be right where that rack opening is, then great... otherwise scrap that idea and put it in the most practical of the sweet spots you found. You could also use a USB mic and the REW software to measure various locations, but the subwoofer crawl will be the cheapest and quickest route.

Yeah, so "WEAK" that it pulled one of his surround speakers off the wall within the first few minutes... 🙂

I'm very happy with my PRO-180RPC in-ceiling speakers: https://www.klipsch.com/products/pro-180rpc-in-ceiling-speaker I don't know if they make a line of in-ceiling speakers specifically for the heritage range, but according to Klipsch support, the PRO-180RPC were the best match for the Reference Premiere and RF7 ranges. The CDT-5800C are also a match for the RP and RF ranges, so if you specifically want tweeters that can be angled at the listening position, then go with these, but I personally don't think Atmos speakers need to be angled at the listening position, so I prefer the PRO-180RPC, which are also a much newer model.

Yeah, Atmos is definitely for real! And I'm referring to the real Atmos layout with in-ceiling speakers, not the reflective Atmos modules (which I haven't tried, and I think have their limitations). For me, I think the Atmos upgrade has been the single biggest improvement to my home theater in a long time, and I only added two Atmos channels, not the recommended 4). Just yesterday my girlfriend and I were watching Mission: Impossible 6 - Fallout, and we were both smiling from ear to ear... we both agreed that Atmos really takes things to another level! In those helicopter scenes (of which there are a lot), you hear the helicopters above you. There are of course many other examples of overhead sounds effects and "atmospherics". For that I recommend you watch the Dolby Atmos demo disk on a good Atmos system. I'm confident you'll be sold on it right out the gate. Now there are a lot of movies that have disappointingly little content in the Atmos channels, and there's a lot of debate and complaining about this online, but it goes beyond just overhead sound effects and atmosphere... I firmly believe the Dolby Atmos upmixer is vastly better than any upmixer we've had before... from upmixing 5.1 and 7.1 discrete audio to upmixing 2 channel stereo, the surround and height channels are way more active than with the previous upmixers, and exponentially more enjoyable... at least on my system. Lastly, the Dolby Atmos upmixer also does an excellent job with stereo music if you like listening to multi channel music like I do... So no, there's no snake oil for sale here, that much I can guarantee you! Whether you'll enjoy it as much as I do and many others do, that will depend on your tastes and preferences I'm sure, but you are definitely going to notice the difference, and I'm confident it will be worth the investment for you. But again, if you aren't sure, go and listen to a demo and decide for yourself. The guys in Europe are doing it like this so that their systems are primarily configured for Auro-3D, which is a competing system to Dolby Atmos but hasn't received widespread adoption yet. They swear it is better than Dolby Atmos, but I haven't tried it, and there isn't any content available for it where I live. So if you're setting up primarily for Atmos and DTS-X then go with Dolby Atmos's layout recommendations (in-ceiling), but if you're going for Auro-3D, then go with their layout, as Dolby Atmos will work fine with the height speakers in an Auro-3D layout.

I really like the Yamaha products, and have been incredibly happy with my RX-A2070 AVR over the past few years... love the looks and performance. As for the Aventage CX-A5200, I can only dream of owning one of these bad boys one day, but I can tell you that Gene from Audioholics bench tested the pre-pro and amp, and was very impressed with the build quality and performance: https://www.audioholics.com/av-preamp-processor-reviews/cx-a5200-mx-a5200 I think he also likes the Anthem, and owns one if I'm not mistaken: https://www.audioholics.com/av-preamp-processor-reviews/anthem-avm-60-network-preamp-processor-review And here's the CX-A5100 in case you are interested: https://www.audioholics.com/av-preamp-processor-reviews/yamaha-aventage-cx-a5100-preamp-processor-preview Let us know what you decide in the end and how it performs...

Glad you managed to find a solution. Does it sound great?

I see no reason not to include both side surrounds and rear surrounds in your setup, especially since 90% of your listening will be from the front row. I'm only about 1.2m from my rear wall, and my rear surrounds work great and i'm glad I have them. I have them a bit higher on the wall than the Dolby recommendations, but they work work well (and they're not pointed down to the listening position). As for exact placement, I would suggest you follow Dolby's 7.2 layout recommendations as closely as is practical in your particular room setup, and don't be afraid to go a bit higher than the "just above ear level" that dolby recommends, but don't go too high in case you want to add Dolby Atmos in-ceiling speakers later. 7.1 Speaker Placement: https://www.dolby.com/us/en/guide/surround-sound-speaker-setup/7-1-setup.html Setup Guides for Your Home: https://www.dolby.com/us/en/speaker-setup-guides/index.html 7.1.2 Overhead Speaker Placement: https://www.dolby.com/us/en/guide/speaker-setup-guides/7.1.2-overhead-speaker-setup-guide.html I hope this helps... Brendon

That was enjoyable to watch... not sure if it was the mic though, but the subs sounded a bit rough on my system... I'm sure it is impressive in real life though... 🙂

Well I'm not sure if this helps you at all, but I've had the Reference line (R-28F, R-25C, R-14S, R-14M and R-12SW) for 3 years now, and they've provided me tons of joy over the years. I can't really fault them in any way, although I probably don't have a true audiophiles listening ear. They provide more than enough power and dynamics (music on -20DB and movies on -18DB is about as loud as I can handle in my room (4.7 x 4.8 x 10.2 meters), although I have pushed the system to 0DB with base heavy electronic music in a test - no distortion whatsoever... not sure if the DB volume scale is anything you can work with, but that's with my Yamaha 2070 AVR. Point is the system has way more power than I ever use and I've never heard any component in it distort, and I think it sounds great! Having said that though, we always want to keep improving - it's a disease... 🙂 So when I added in-ceiling Atmos speakers, I went for Klipsch's top of the range PRO-180RPC IN-CEILING Speakers in preparation for upgrading the rest of my system when I can afford it. I haven't heard the new RP series yet, but I've only read and heard good things about it: https://www.audioholics.com/tower-speaker-reviews/klipsch-rp-8000f, so my next investment will likely be a second sub (15inch) or replacing my center speaker with the RP-504C. I'm not sure I will ever be able to afford a full RP range, but that's my long term goal... So my "unqualified" advise to you would be, if you can afford the RP range, then go straight to that one. It will be cheaper in the long run than upgrading from the Reference to the RP to the RF series, and I'm sure you won't be disappointed with the RP sound quality and performance. Update: I just re-read your post and I see you're in the same boat as me as far as being able to afford the RP series straight out the gate... mmmh, tough one... if you're patient and can handle the slow build route, then just invest in the RP range from the start as and when you can afford it. You'll waste less money that way. Not sure if this helps, but that's my experience to date...

I can attest this, as this is the exact setup I upgraded to so that I could move the center speaker out of my cabinet. This is the wall bracket I'm using, and it is brilliant! I can't be happier... it is rock solid and bomb proof, despite holding my TV half a meter away from the wall: Brateck LPA35-462 Aluminum Slim Sliding Full-Motion Wall Mount Bracket: https://www.amazon.com.au/Brateck-BT-LPA35-462-Aluminum-Sliding-Full-Motion/dp/B077PQXPSX Just check with Brateck if it can accommodate your TV as it says up to 70", but not sure if it's restricted to 70" due to weight or physical size. Otherwise you'll need to find a similar one that can handle a larger size TV. The result is a center speaker sitting on top of the TV stand, positioned right up to the front edge (so no cabinet interference) and the TV hovering directly above the center speaker... it doesn't get better than this I think...

Looking very smart my friend! Well done!

I haven't heard either models myself, but I've only heard great things about the 8000's, so I think you should be delighted with the upgrade. One of the main new improvements to the 8000's is that they've now vented the Tractrix horn-loaded tweeter and made it out of a softer silicone material, which has allowed for smoother highs. I've heard people say this has made a massive positive improvement. Here's an excellent review by Audioholics of the 8000's to put your mind at ease: https://www.audioholics.com/tower-speaker-reviews/klipsch-rp-8000f

Coming along nicely... Not sure about the appliques to be honest. I prefer a cleaner, more modern look, but don't let that deter you... 🙂

@maniekok3 Wow, the BEST of the BEST! I can only imagine what this must sound like... nicely done mate!

Thank you all for your valuable input and assistance with this... I greatly appreciate your time and efforts. Yes, I managed to find this product: https://meniscusaudio.com/product/wool/, but would mean I need to import it myself. Which I'm happy to do if this is the best product to use for my application described in my original post. But I want to be sure this is the best product to use before I go to that length and expense. I might be able to order from Parts Express if they deliver to South Africa, but I wonder how we would know if it's suitable for my cabinets... I'm not a speaker designer and didn't follow a very scientific process with these boxes... I just tried to make the boxes as big as possible since these speakers are designed for an infinite baffle as per Klipsch support... 🙂 Yes, I've been reading a lot of this too... but I think fiberglass and Melamine foam that are suitable for this application are beyond my reach here in SA. Or I just don't know enough about these products. I don't really need anything below 100Hz as my Atmos speakers are crossed over at 80Hz anyway. We don't have this in South Africa unfortunately, but I'd be curious to hear how it works once you're done. @moray james This is very interesting... I think I would have done something similar instinctively, but it is good that you drew my attention to this and gave me some very specific guidelines to work with. I assume the vent you are referring to is the port on a vertical standing floor standing speaker? I don't have any ports or vents in my design and the box is effectively lying on its front baffle orientation wise when comparing to a floor stander (see diagram in original post), as these speakers are on my ceiling. If you could describe the stuffing layout based on my speaker box orientation so that I don't get it wrong, I would greatly appreciate this. This is a sealed box btw. Thank you all. Brendon

I might be misreading the situation, but if you've added expansion gaps (with the paper spacers which I assume are temporary and will be removed), wouldn't this mean that each support brackets and the screw holding it in place is bearing the weight of its shelf? As apposed to the weight being transferred to the below supports and eventually to the base? And if this were the case, then perhaps an alternative way of catering for expansion without adding gaps would be to give the support screw on each support block a bit of vertical wiggle room (by drilling a vertically elongated hole) so that all the supports are still resting on the support below them, but can move up if expansion is required. I apologize if I've missed the mark entirely, but this what I was able to gleam from your description and photos... On a different topic, do you have any bracing/supports in place to prevent the shelves from sagging in the middle, or are your shelves strong enough that they won't sag under the given weights you intend putting on them? I suppose the good thing is most of the equipment will have wide feet that will rest close to your shelf support blocks so the weight will mostly be distributed close to the edges of the shelves.

...I learn something new every day... thanks for the tip! 🙂 The pieces are looking great so far. I look forward to seeing how it will all fit together. Brendon

Thanks for your input @Panelhead. I've searched high and low and even spoken to a few wool dealers in South Africa, and none of them are entirely sure what the audiophiles are referring to when they say Long Fiber Wool. The closest I could get to that here is the Karakul Wool I linked to above, but I don't know if this product would have the right acoustic characteristics. I did find this website last night: https://meniscusaudio.com/product/wool/ so at least now I know what it looks like, but this would require international shipping to South Africa. However if the outcome of this thread is that I should be using Long Fiber Wool, then I'll ask them what it would cost to send it to me.

I know this topic has been discussed on countless websites over the years, but I'm so confused by all the conflicting arguments out there, and not having access to all these products here in South Africa makes things even more difficult. I built a big ceiling cloud for my Atmos speakers (PRO-180RPC), overhead sound adsorption and lighting effects. Each speaker has its own sealed box within this cloud (see diagram below). Now I'm trying to figure out what absorption and/or filling to put inside these boxes. Each box is roughly 3.3 cubic ft. in volume. I've set the crossover settings for my Atmos speakers to 80Hz, so we're not dealing with subwoofer level frequencies here. I need a solution that is suitable for a sealed enclosure from 80Hz - 23KHz. I've read that the best stuffing would be Long Fiber Wool, however I cannot find this product in South Africa. The only remotely similar sounding product I could find is: Undyed Fibre – Karakul - http://woolcraft.co.za/shop/undyed-karakul/. And the only other product I can find here is Dacron stuffing (which I assume is normal pillow stuffing). I also have 25mm and 50mm thick mineral wool sheets left over from my acoustic treatment panels I built. I also think I recently heard/read somewhere that Klipsch used a combination of Dacron and Long Fiber Wool in a recent speaker line, but I might have gotten this confused... Please can I ask you guys to help figure the best way to dampen/fill these boxes, as I've invested a ton of time, work and money into these Atmos speakers, so I want to make sure I'm using the best material possible. Unfortunately I don't have the luxury of trying out different materials through trial and error, and I also can't measure the results etc. So it will just end up being a best effort. Thank you. Brendon

You should set this dial to 120, or the maximum frequency on the sub. That way you're letting your AVR do all the bass management, which will use the various crossover settings you've chosen for each channel. At least this is how I've been doing it over the years... I also recommend double checking that you've left a bit of headroom in your crossover settings. In other words, if your main speakers are rated down to 55hz, don't assume setting your crossover at 60hz will automatically be the best setting, I'd generally go with 80hz in this case, but as always, use these guidelines as starting points, and then test, test, test... 🙂

Looks like a real beast! The single 15 inch reviewed well from what I saw, so I can just imagine the damage that this bad boy can do...

I really hope it doesn't come to that... even if streaming does eventually get as good as Blue-Ray, I still like to own a physical disk. Even though Oppo and Samsung dropped out of the market, I don't think physical media will die out entirely... they might just limit production and fewer retailers will carry them, but there will always be a market I reckon.

I look forward to learning from your build for when it comes time for me to build my own rack... right now though, I need to build another wall cabinet for my Blue-Ray collection. My current one pictured below holds 400 Blue-Ray's but I passed that number 30 movies ago... LOL ...back in the day when there was still space in this damn thing...

Looking good so far! I look forward to seeing the finish product. Do you not run into problems gluing pre-finished parts, or are you only using screws and other forms of joinery?

Yeah, the RSW-15's look like a whole different beast... unfortunately they pre-date my time as a Klipsch fan and owner, so I wasn't aware of their specs or superiority. If there's one thing I've learned from participating in this thread, it's that Klipsch had killer subs, but now no longer have anything comparable anymore. What's going on Klispch? I almost missed it, but @Youthman's comparison to the Ultra 16 you shared above is the SB version, which is the sealed version. And while looking back at the original post, the OP does mention the SB version in his title, his post only refers to the Ultra in general, so this whole time I've erroneously thought we're comparing to the PB Ultra's (ported versions), which probably negates anything I've said previously, as I don't know much about the SB versions. Although I think from the various comparison videos available, we can probably safely deduce that any of the subs Klipsch currently have, aren't going to be able to match the SB Ultra's either.