Beer Kahuna

Arena, I couldn't agree with you more. I think they sound excellent for music. I might just buy an RSW12 for movies and hook that into the sub output of my receiver and hook the RP3's up using only the speaker level inputs and the bridge strap installed. Then just run the receiver in 2 channel mode for music. How are you hooking up your RP3's? Do you just use the speaker level inputs and if so, is the bass output to your liking? The other choice is to unhook the straps and then use the line-level for the rp3 subs. I've found you can only do it that way if you do not try to use the LFE input on the RP3's simultaneously (I get a hum when I use both the line level and LFE jacks together). One more question. When your speakers are in standby mode, do they make a hissing noise? I have to leave mine on all the time or the subs hiss. I don't know if it's my speakers or that they all do it. David

Trey, Would this hold true for RP3's as well? It is one (of the many) problems I've had since I got them. On loud LFE passages like bombing runs in Pearl Harbor I hear a loud pop which I associated with the driver bottoming out. I have played with the input levels but I can't get a happy medium from music to movies. David

The standby noise is hissing and is audible 10 feet away when everything is powered off. The loud hum was a very loud buzz/humm at lower freq. (60 ish Hz?). As far as ground isolation, RP3's only have a 2-prong polarized plug with no ground. Both speakers, and all my other HT equipment, are plugged into a Monster HT2100 home theater power strip on a 20 amp circuit. If my replacement cable indeed fixes the hum, it must have been grounding out internally in the cable or at one of the ends. It's weird though because it started all of a sudden with no changes to speaker placement or touching any of the cables.

I have my receiver set for 60 hz.

Sorry, hit submit before I was done rambling. I at the point I'm probably going to get rid of the RP3's and get RF3II's and a RSW12 sub. If you can swing the cost, the RS series of subs is excellent. David

With everything unhooked but the power cable I have "white noise" from the sub. It sounds the same regardless of which wires are hooked up when in standby. When I got home yesterday, my daughter told me the right speaker was humming again so she unhooked all the cables and it stopped. I moved my tv and replaced the sub/LFE interconnect cable with a "known good" cable and it hasn't acted up again (in 12 hours). I'm assuming I had a bad cable as all the connectors were tight. Very strange though. Any other ideas for the white noise?

I've been struggling with my RP3's since I got them. I really liked the idea of not having to buy and place an external sub and the fact that there are 2 per pair. In practice I've found there to be an annoying background hiss when they are in standby mode (from the amp/crossover setup?) and they seem to lack the travel of a long-throw sub like a RSW10. As far as the KSW10 goes, I had one for a loaner to use with my old floor standers when I had my RP3's repaired under warranty. The Bass was "different", seemed not as tight, but would play louder without bottoming out on LFE material like the bombing in Pearl Harbor. My RP3's play bass and LFE material sonicly better (tighter, less muddy) than the KS but they crap out sooner. You can actually hear what I think is the woofer hitting the end of it's travel during louder passages. I wouldn't recommend making a sub using the sub guts of an RP3 for that reason.

While at lunch I tried to think of anything else to help diagnose my problem. The right speaker (the one with the hum) is hooked up using two 6ft RCA cables joined together with a coupler and the left is hooked up with 1 6ft cable direct. Could I be getting some sort of electrical interference or something at the coupler? Is it possible it's a little loose and that is causing it? Tonight I'll pull out my RPTV and check the cabling. Other than that I'm stumped. Anybody have a thought?

I have RP3 floor standing mains with built in powered subs in each speaker. At 3:00 this morning I was awakened to a VERY loud humming noise. I went downstairs to find my right speaker buzzing from the sub. I usually leave the subs on all of the time due to "white noise" from the sub when they are powered down manually or go into standby. I thought it was a design flaw as both speakers do it. Now I'm not so sure. I turned both speakers of (and they both started making the subtle hissy white noise) at the speaker as they are too hard to un plug. The entire system was powered off so I know it's the speaker. This morning I turned the speakers back on and the noise was gone. Does anybody have any ideas? Also, when in standby should they make noise of any kind? I have had midrange driver failures and also hookup related problems and incompatabilities (see other posts). I'm about ready to throw them out!!! HELP!

Do you hear it with just the LFE hooked up and the binding post straps installed or using line input with straps unhooked and no LFE input? All I can hear with the former hookup is my PVR & HDTV tuners hum, no noise from the speakers that I can discern. LFE is more important to me at this point so I'm not using the line level input. The strange thing is, we both have the same main problem and my speakers are demo floor models also. On top of that, both of my 6.5" drivers failed in a month (thanks in part to my 11 year-old son and his lack of "counter-clockwise" understanding in this digital age). It took 3 1/2 months for my selling dealer to get me replacement parts.

Do you hear it with just the LFE hooked up and the binding post straps installed or using line input with straps unhooked and no LFE input? All I can hear with the former hookup is my PVR & HDTV tuners hum, no noise from the speakers that I can discern. LFE is more important to me at this point so I'm not using the line level input. The strange thing is, we both have the same main problem and my speakers are demo floor models also. On top of that, both of my 6.5" drivers failed in a month (thanks in part to my 11 year-old son and his lack of "counter-clockwise" understanding in this digital age). It took 3 1/2 months for my selling dealer to get me replacement parts.

My RP3's do the same thing when using LFE AND Line level inputs. I have a Sony DA5ES Rcvr and thought it was the problem. As far as I know, I can't choose LFE only for DD 5.1 movie playback. I guess I too can re-hook the "straps" and ditch the line input but it really does sound better for music using the line level in for the bass info. I just can't find a happy medium. Also, to maximize the sound quality for different sources (cd or DD 5.1 movies), it would be necessary to change my speaker settings from small to large and vice versa when switching from one source to another. How can I get the best of both worlds? It would seem to me they shouldn't hum! As far as eliminating the ground, RP3's don't have a ground prong. I have also tried a "power conditioner" and seperating the subs from the receiver amp by plugging into a different electrical circuit. Now what? Can someone from Klipsch support answer the humming question? The owners manual implies that you CAN use both inputs simultaneously?

I'm trying to get to a happy medium concerning the correct hookup and settings (both at the speaker and in the Receiver setups)for using RP3's as main channel speakers for both DD5.1 and 2-channel music. Specifically, when I set everything for the best 2-ch music sound it sounds awesome and then if I watch a movie the internal powered subs are over-driven to the point of annoyance. It seems directly related to the LFE output from the recvr. I guess my real question boils down to this. There are both "Line Level" and LFE inputs for each sub. What's the difference? How should I be hooking them up? Line Level or LFE inputs?