RB-61 Set but no space for surrounds - help!

[cardminger]

Hello,

I am getting ready to purchase the RB-61 set shown here: http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/rb-61-home-theater-system.aspx

The problem is I don't have room for the surrounds as I really need to put all four speakers in the four corners of my room (to make the wife happy!).

Could I get by without the surrounds and just getting 4 of the RB-61 bookshelves? One for each corner?

Also - how much better do you think the RB-61 would be vs. the Cinema 8 setup? Is it worth the price difference and problems with the bookshelves vs. surrounds?

Thanks for the help!

Kevin

[jamesV]

Welcome to the forum...

What size room are these going in? Where is your seating located within the room? What is the ratio of music to movies for this setup?

If you do go with the (4) RB-61 you will have a more directional setup that some people like but others don't. That will be a pure judgment call only you can answer.

I have not heard either, RB-61 or Cinema 8, myself but I would say the RB-61 are the better speaker. Do you have a place near by to be able to listen to each set of speakers?

James

[cardminger]

James,

Thanks for the response! The room is about 1,000sq.ft. with wood floors. It also contains the kitchen and dining area.

The system will be used about 85% of the time for movies / tv. The couch is on the left side, rear of the room.

I am not an audiophile at all (I love my BOSE iPod player if that tells you anything!). I am going back and forth between the SVS SBS-01 system, the RB-61's (with 4 bookshelves) and the Cinema 8 system.

Smaller size would be nice but I also want it to sound great! Any further help would be appreciated!

[jamesV]

I just think that with the RB-61, since they are directional speakers it might be harder to hit the couch if it is close to the wall.

Maybe start off with (2) RB-61 and place them were you can in the rear and see how you like them. If they sound good pick up the other pair and be done. Any chance you can get a pair of the RS-42, since those are the matching rear speakers, to try out also? That way you can either take back the RS or keep the RB and RS setup. Plus MSRP shows the RB and RS as the same price.

James

[slumberer]

Sounds like you're trying to decide if a 5.1 system with speakers in the corners will work. I get flamed when I suggest a 5.1 placement with surrounds behind the listening position, but I'm going to go ahead and do it again. With directional bookshelf speakers (such as the RB-61 and SBS-01) acting as surrounds, I like to have them behind and elevated. WAF will probably come into play with this placement, but I used to own the SVS system and I mounted the surrounds on the wall behind the couch with excellent results. This was a standard configuration before the advent of 7.1 and works well with directional surrounds. If you don't want to put holes in your wall, you could try some tall stands. The front tweeters should be at or slightly below ear level and the surrounds above a good distance. If you get the RS-42, these will be more conducive to the side placement in a 5.1 configuration. Only recently has the idea that your surround speakers MUST BE ON THE SIDES EVEN IN 5.1 been conventional advice. If you look at speaker placement guides in manuals from old 5.1 gear, there are many instances where the rear placement is recommended; older Rotel processors being one. When I received my SVS SBS-5.1 system (very early production) it's manual included a rear surround placement recommendation as well. For mostly movie and TV watching, the SVS system offers tremendous value and of course their subwoofers are excellent. Good Luck! Edit: For the size of your room, I would recommend against getting the Cinema Reference system. There's just not enough displacement there for a powerful movie watching experience IMO.