Sam Marrocco

I have a Klipsch 504C Center Channel and RP-600m LR. When complete, I'll have 5.1 for home theater. Room is a particularly difficult arrangement and the surrounds will need to be approx. 6-8 feet directly to the left and right of the listener's ear. I can have them at ear-height, or raise them up to the ceiling but still directly L and R of the listener's head (a single couch)' What would be a good match for these speakers for the two surrounds, and would it be better at head level or elevated to the ceiling? The room is 15' deep (screen to back of room) and 20' wide.

I'm in the final stages of setting up a home theater, room is about 28 feet wide by 15' deep and 8' ceilings, with open areas to other rooms. I have a 504c Center Channel and I've purchased four RM600m's as two mains in front and two surrounds on the direct left and right of the viewer. Currently using an old Yamaha receiver and am considering options for a new Denon or Marantz. I'm a bit torn on a new subwoofer....I like the idea of the Klipsch 10 or 12" SPL model, either seems good for my room size (I can't fit two even if I wanted), but Klipsch Subs don't seem to get a lot of love in the review world compared to SVS and others. The newer SVS PB-1000 Pro and PB-2000 Pro seem pretty well suited for the the room and get very nice reviews. My goals are home theater use of 90% and music listening 10%, so the ported subs seems better suited. I don't need ear-bleeding volumes but watch a lot of 'splosions'-based films. I'm not a zealot about these things, so I'm wondering if that room size really needs a 12" sub and if the differences between the SPL120 and PB-2000 Pro would be that noticable to me. I'm also thinking about ordering one of each and returning the one I don't like, but would like to avoid that if there's anything obviously different. Any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks.

@everyone who responded.... Thanks for the feedback. I have had an opportunity to perform some tests regarding the 'doubling up' of speakers. @inMotionGraphics, to complete the thread with my test results.... My ultimate plan was to use my 504C centerchannel, two or four stacked 600Ms for mains, and two 600Ms for surround with a Reference 12" subwoofer. The room is approximately 30' wide by 15 feet deep. The primary viewing spot is12 feet back from the screen and center channel, with the mains just to the left and right of the center by a couple feet. The surrounds are directly left and right of the primary viewing spot, about 8' away from the viewer. Placement is something I have no options about. I was able to borrow from my workplace six R51Ms. Although these are not the 600Ms I am aiming for, it would give me a chance to stack speakers and observe the results. I made the comparisons with a pair of Left Mains and a Pair of Right Mains at the same time, and tried using the second Zone of my receiver to power the second pair of LRs. I also tried wiring them in series. Once I recovered from how different the Klipsch all sounded from my existing home theater setup, I came to the conclusion that doubling up the Mains was not worth the expense. I don't have a perfect ear, but I spend a lot of time in our million dollar audio suites so I am sensitive to differences. From what I could tell, the only real difference when the second pair of mains was active was that the sound was a bit 'fuller', and amplitude was a tad stronger. I expected much more volume being pushed because of the doubling of the speakers, but it was not much more than 15% at most, and almost all of it was in the low end of the spectrum. Flipping the speakers (to separate the horns) made no discernable difference to me, and even a couple feet between them was negligible to my ear. It was well worth the experiment as now I can avoid the purchase of the second set of 600ms. Now I need to decide on a 12" reference vs 12" SPL subwoofer Thanks to all for the suggestions!

@baron167: I'm currently using an old Yamaha RX series, but am planning to purchase a Marantz SR5115 or similiar model with the new speakers. I will also be purchasing a Klipsch subwoofer, probably a 12" reference or SPL model. I will be using the Audyssey system (assuming I buy the Marantz since it comes with that system). @zen: Interesting about the 'inversion' to prevent comb filtering. I'll look for that post.

I currently have a Klipsch 504C Center channel and am planning to purchase some L and R Mains. I currently have a single R51 as a left and a single R51 for a right. However, these are very 'weak' compared to the 504C center, and I am forced to turn down the output of the 504c in order to prevent it from overpowering the L and R mains. Although I would like larger floor standing models for the Mains, it is impossible due to floor layouts and cabinetry. Therefore, I am wondering if I could use a pair of RP500m speakers for Left and a pair of RP500m speakers for the Right, simply stacked on each other as a 'mini-tower' for each channel. At some point in the future, I would purchase another pair of RP500m to use for side surround L and R. My reason for using pairs of RP500m models is primarily so they will fit in the cabinetry space, but they do have the same size woofers as the 504C, so I'm hoping that the 'math' works out that the mains will be pushing the same amount of air as the center (essentially, (4) 5.25" woofers. There is the 'doubling up' of the 1" tweeters, but I don't know if I should be concerned with that. I would also be adding a 10" or 12" Klipsch sub woofer with the mains. Obviously I'll need to make certain my Amp can handle the 16 ohms of each main channel (in series). Is there anything about this scheme that doesn't add up or would lead to problems? All comments are welcome.

Hello, I'm planning to purchase a pair of Klipsch left and rights for my home theater system. I already own sn RP504C. I'm assuming that to 'match' that RP center I would want to stay in the same RP family? The room is 22' wide by 15' deep, with the viewers 12' from the screen, so the room is a bit small. I have to go with bookshelves as I don't have the floorspace for towers. Any suggestions for bookshelf L/Rs and a subwoofer for that size room and that existing center?

Thanks for the input, Henrik and Univek. Regarding the number of openings....yes, it's a home built in 1929 and every room is accessed from that 'family room'. It literally is the hub of the house. BTW, technically, it has *five* openings including the front door! Working within those confines has been difficult to be sure. At one point I considered in-wall speakers just to get better placement. However in another testament to old home construction, the house is all wet plaster and the spaces behind the walls a pretty filled-in. Univek--Those speakers you linked to seem interesting. I may have to re-explore in wall options. Cleaning out the areas behind and making certain they have enough cubic space behind them might be difficult but worth exploring again. Thanks!

And here I thought my ascii art was pretty hi-resolution! Here's is a pic of the locked-in place furniture and speaker direction to help. Interesting about the nulls....

Hello! I'm updating some of my old equipment and would welcome some comments on what I'm planning. I currently have a family room, 15 feet deep and 20 feet wide to which I am using for Home Theater/movie viewing and music listening. -I'd like to continue to use my older Yamaha RX-v795 AV Receiver unless it proves less than capable. It has been a rock and has had plenty of power (so far). It has no auto-calibration capabilities but I can handle that myself to a degree. -I'm retiring a pair of 1981 Cerwin Vega CV3000 mains and looking at a pair of either Klipsch RP8000F or RP7-III's. -I already have a Klipsch RP504c Center Channel. -No Subwoofer currently, nor Surround. The room layout doesn't lend itself to surround behind, nor does it allow L/R in front. The L/R are on the sides of the viewing area, about 5 feet to the left and right of the sitting area. Room layout looks like this (nothing can be placed where there are X's. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | DOOR-DOOR 65" Plasma XXXXXXX | X Center Open to another room Open to another room X| X| | X| | L VIEWING SEATS R | -----------------------------------|-----------------------WALL-------------------------| I've heard a few reviewers saying that the RP7 III's woofers are enough where you might not even need a Sub. Unfortunately I have no dealers with them near me for a comparison. The old Cerwin's have 12" woofers so they had that going for them, but not much else above the base in terms of clarity. I'm a bit concerned that I might be adding too much speaker with the RP7 III's for that size room and closeness to the viewers, and that the RP8000's might be more appropriate for my layout/size, but the reviews I've read seem to place the RP7 III head and shoulder's above the RP8000's. All thoughts on this are welcome, thank you.