redtop

Thought of another question regarding my last post. I'm getting ready to place the center behind an acoustically transparent screen and I have heard the term "comb filtering" used in some of those discussions. If my woofer spread is going to compound something in that setup, I would appreciate your thoughts on that as well. Sorry to get this thread a little off topic.

Interesting Dr. Who... I've never heard that reasoning on the woofer positioning and it sounds like good sonic science, but I could use some enlightening. Can you elaborate a little more? Is this a theoretical problem or something I can hear? Is is an issue just because the width of the speaker cabinet is abonormally large for a center? The reason I ask is, as I remember my KLF-C7's, the woofers are not squeezed up against the horn in the center. Thanks in advance.

gbrlex, I had KLF-30's as surrounds for several months before I "downsized" to C7's. The C7's are a great speaker and do a fine job as surrounds. As good as the Forte's are, the C7's will give you a better "voice match" with the 30's up front and therefore a deeper, richer, more detailed soundstage. Just my 2 cents...your mileage may vary...[]

The KV-4's are a very capable speaker and are quite rare. They were design to be the top end center channel for the CF series of speakers that were built from 1994-1996. If either of you decide to sell your KV-4, post it here on the forum first, someone will snap them right up!

I agree with Rich...[] Here's mine...

Billy, The cabinet shop is a good idea if you don't have the tools and/or the skills to be precise. The speaker cabinet must have a tight air seal except for the ports. If not, you risk ending up with a speaker that does not sound as good as your C7. You can also end up with a cabinet that makes "fart" type noises through the air leaks. (Sorry for the language Amy! [:$]) I run my center small, but the sub-woofer crosssover is at 90htz. The woofers are still quite active up to 700htz where the woofers hand off sonic duties to the mid-range horn. I trust the engineering at Klipsch and would be very careful about leaving out anything in their design.[]

Influx, I replaced the motor board with a new piece of 3/4" MDF and re-positioned the drivers. I left the ports where they were located on the back. If you needed to position a center closer than 5 inches to a back wall, then you may want to move them to the front. I had a thread (after the project was done) where this was discussed and the consensus was that it does not matter where the ports are located as long as the size is maintained. If I were doing it again, I would move them to the front, one at the extreme left and one at the extreme right of the motor board. That does offer the greatest flexibility for positioning the center channel. The hardest part was removing the old motor board. I found that after I removed the drivers, the best method was to gently tap a small pry bar (a flathead screwdriver would work as well) into the area where the motor board is attached to the cabinet. The motor board is just hot-glued to the cabinet, so you should be able to work it loose without destroying anything. Hope this helps.

Krispy, I "think" I've got the pic of my center channel where it will stick to this thread. Just to be sure I'm attaching it to this post. Enjoy!

My understanding of speaker cabinet design is that volume is the most important factor. The dimensions will be somewhat dictated by the size of the motorboard required to mount the 10" woofers. Keep your inside volume the same (with proper port sizes) and you should be fine. I would recommend a chat with forum member STL. He has a background in audio engineering and has done a couple of custom speaker cabinets with Klipsch drivers. Also look at 3/4" MDF instead of plywood. Klipsch used MDF on the Legend series (at least that is what's in mine) and I believe only uses plywood in the Heritage line now. Congrats on your bold decision. Keep us updated on your progress.

Regarding the P.S. in my last post. I was able to add the pic back IF I used IE instead of Firefox. Too bad this forum is not more browser neutral. Oh well, it's still nice to have a place to share and learn. Price is right too! Thanks Amy!

A 20 will not be that much different from a 30 when used as a center channel. The voice (mid-horn and tweeter) are identical to the 30's. However a warning...if you are one those guys(like me []) that will wonder about "what if I had a 30?", you are better off eliminating the doubt and holding out for a 30. If a pair of 20's were to just drop into your lap (local pickup, good price, etc.) then go for those. You probably could not hear the difference, especially since the center channel primarily handles mid and high range frequencies. P.S. Looks like the forum is not accepting images unless you host them yourself. Earlier this afternoon it let me upload a pic of my center in my post above. The pic is gone and now I'm prompted for a URL. Anybody else seeing this?

Krispy, I agree with you, a KLF-30 DOES make a great center channel speaker (see sig below)[] In fact your description looks something like this... Are you sure you haven't done this mod before? It's uncanny in that your description of changing the motorboard is dead-on! Wstrictland, Unfortunately, you may need patience...something few on this board have when they are ready to upgrade...[] The 30's don't come up on Ebay or audiogon much any more. I got mine from a forum member a little over a year ago, but that was just being in the right place at the right time. Put the word out occasionally here on this forum, watch Ebay and audiogon and your 30's will find you! Just my opinion, but your C7 center already has you 90% of the way to perfection. The C7's are no slouch. I have them as my surrounds now, but I started with 2 more 30's in the rear. It was great, but overkill for my 15 x 27x 9 room. Once you have a 30 made into a center you will hear a definate improvement, but don't let your imagination set your expectations too high. Just my 2 cents. Good luck with your search! Edit: here's the pic...maybe I'll eventually get this new forum software figured out!

Welcome to the forum JGordon. I was just down in your beautiful city for a vacation a week ago. The kids really love the historic district. My favorite part is the great restaurants there...[] Anyway...any of the KLF series will sound great. The 20' and 30's have a more detailed sound and if that is pleasing ot your ear, go for 20's and/or 30's. The Heresy's might sound "OK", but if you are looking for the best soundstage with minimal work and expense, there is nothing like the sonic quality of identical speakers across the front and in the surround positions. If you do a search for "timbre match" or "voice match" on this forum you will find lots of post on this topic. Also, do a search on this forum for "statesboro". There was a forum member with some KLF series stuff for sale earlier this summer. He might be able to help you out. Hope this helps.

Tom, First of all.... Welcome to the forum! Your question depends on what kind of setup your room can accomodate. The best sound match would be identical 3.5's in all speaker positions. I did this for my first 6.1 setup and it was fantastic. Sounded as good as speakers costing several thousand dollars. Voice matching your speakers is the secret to audio nirvana. When they all use the same "guts" it's very easy to achieve a seamless soundstage. I even converted one 3.5 into a horizonal center channel. Here's a pic without the grill... The 3.5's have a very good soundstage by design and with the port positioned on the front are very versatile when positioning in a room. They can be had on Ebay all the time(there are a couple of pairs there now) for $150-$200 pair. You can't beat that kind of bang for the buck! Good luck and if you have any other questions, ask away. The guys here are very helpful (when you are polite) and willing to share their experiences.

Still got and still love it...[] I'll probably not do any projector changes until I move in a year or so. For me it about bang for the buck and IMO the improvements in the 900 don't have me panting for a new one. But then, I haven't seen one yet either...[] If you do the upgrade, be sure to report back here. I sure want to know what I'm missing...

FYI... This is a link to an overview of projectors just announced at CEDIA this last weekend. Looks like there is something for nearly every budget...[] http://www.projectorcentral.com/cedia_2005.htm Enjoy (and drool!) []

Scooter, I have a 30' cable running to my sub. No problems. As I understand the the audio signal passed to your sub, it does not require any special treatment. I've seen posts on AVS with guys making 75-100 foot cables and they say no problem. No first hand experience with that length though. We probably don't see more talk of long lengths because the need is just a small percentage of the market. For what it is worth SVS sells lengths up to 50' on their website. The way they stand behind their products, I can't imagine those guys would offer something that exceeds ANY limits. Hope this helps.

Thanks STL and HornEd. The wall behind the center is a double 1/2" drywall with Green Glue between the two layers, so that should be solid enough... I just wanted to be sure that I didn't do something to inhibit the performance of the speaker once I had gone to the trouble of HornEd-ing the thing. For some reason I just can't visualize the concept of what a port does and how it's position on a cabinet affects the speaker's performance. Thanks to all who contributed to this thread.

STL, What I am considering, is moving the ports to the front so that I have more positioning options in my new HT. I am building a screen wall that is 28" into the 15' x 26' x 9' room from the front wall. With the KLF-30 being 16" deep I am concerned that the ports do not have enough room to breathe if left on the rear of the cabinet. It seems my two best option for positioning are above the screen (angled down) or behind an acoustically transparent screen. If I do another mod, I would leave the cabinet unchanged except for taking out and changing the motorboard and plugging the rear port cutouts if I moved the ports to the front. Hope that makes my intentions clearer. HornEd, Thanks for joining this discussion. Any pics or diagrams of your rear port reflectors? I am all for not re-doing the motorboard, if I can accomplish the above goals with adding a component.

Do a search on author "STL" (no quotes). He designed and built just exactly what you are asking for. He's also a very helpful chap (when you are polite). IMO you are beginning a journey were the destination is DEFINATELY worth the trip! Best of Luck. Redtop

HornEd, So glad to see you back on the forum and expanding our minds again with your innovative approaches to room and speaker design. I have missed your lucid wordsmithing and cutting edge ideas. (see..you are already raising my vocabulary a notch) Sorry, I can't help with specifics on the new theater room (I'm still an infant in the field of acoustic engineering principles), but I did want to express my gratitude once again for your past leadership in pointing me in the direction of "monopole magnificence". A journey I (and my family) have never regretted. So carry on old warrior, may your new ventures succeed and may you always remember you have loyal friends on this forum. Redtop P.S. Put me on your charter membership list for the new publication. Assuming I can afford the subscription fee, I'm sure it will be great.

Thanks for the calc offer STL. I'll take some exact measurements tonight and let you know. I just hope this is not a lot of work for very little benefit...

Mine is a scan of a caricature of me that was done when I was in college. It's about 25 years old, but it still is a good likeness (minus some hair on top ) No comments about the beauty of the likeness...if you please... Great thread...love the background stories.

3/4" MDF. Right off the shelf at Home Depot. The trickest part is cutting out the holes for the woofers. I used a router and a circular jig, but a steady hand on a jigsaw will work as well.

If it was me I would find another pair of 5.5's. They come up on ebay quite a bit in the $400-$500 range. Then you have a perfect match all the way around. It doesn't get any better than that!