rf-62's? Directional?

[smcilwaine287]

I have the same reciever and fronts as you so here goes. Pull speakers away from wall and toe them in. Mine is a foot away from the wall.When I ran auto set-up it was all wrong except for the distance. Page 85 on manual. Get into manual set-up. #1: Basic Menu. Size: set all speakers to small, bass out sub only , crossover to 60hz. SP level: Set fronts to 0, center to 3, surrounds to 2 or 3 maybe, sub at 0 or1. Your distance is probably fine if you ran auto set-up. Test Tone off. #2: Volume control. Adapive Dynamic range control OFF(very important).Adaptive DSP level OFF. And then #3 is Sound Level and it gets into the equalizer. I strongly recomend getting a SPL meter and running it no matter what speakers you end up with and a test tone like Pink Noise. One other thing, on the back of your sub set your gain to about 11 o'clock and your crossover on your sub all the way up. Listen to music in 2 channel or Straight Enhancer. Pure Direct doesn't sound too good for me. I have my fronts bi-amped but it takes away from the surrounds so I'm going to order a Emotiva XPA 3 and use my 663 for the surround and as a pre-amp. The 663 will make a very low cost pre-amp. Good luck my friend, I hope this helps.

I will try this tomorrow then the wife is at work. But I know she won't let me have these speakers pulled out too far. (I actually just watch forgetting sarah marshal, this subwoofer rocks I love it). Is there a cheap place to get an SPL meter because unfortunately they are too expensive. What is radio shacks return policy? Maybe I will buy it and return it?

Pure direct is decent. I have crossover at 80, but I will try 60 tomorrow. Thanks for your help.

SO with an spl meter, I am basically looking to have all frequencies of all speakers at the same level correct? what's a good level to have it at. Thanks guys

[colterphoto1]

with those small surrounds I would NOT lower the crossover frequency. I do not believe that is the cause of your difficulties.

Have you ever listened to stereo with the Yammie in DIRECT mode? That bypasses all the digital stuff and just outputs straight to the mains speakers. Or use the STEREO mode with the sub turned down a bit-now does it sound more balanced and even stereo field?

Turning your sub down a bit for stereo listening might also help you by not pumping so much sound from that L corner. The tendency when first getting a system is to use much too much sub.

[peshewah]

SPL meters. Know thats something I'm not good at. The last time I ran it I lucked out and really improved my dialog and everything else as well. You need to start a new thread. You can download Pink Noise off the internet and there is a correction chart as well that you will need. But I believe you start at 75db to start with(thats were I have trouble) and try to keep everything at that range. But make sure you take all your speaker level to zero before you start. This was my wifes last day of school and I'm getting alittle fuzzy so I will sign off for tonight. Good luck

[koloa]

hi all,

i may be purchasing these speakers today. i hope you resolve your issues. when i heard the 62s at the audio store, i was really impressed. i am new to audio. from reading about your issue, you have problems with blending the left and right speaker noise together and that the left speaker sounds louder? other than that issue, are you happy with the sound?

[koloa]

also, why get the rc52 as suppose the rc62? if the 63 is too loud, couldnt you just calibrate the center to lower the volume?

[smcilwaine287]

hi all,

i may be purchasing these speakers today. i hope you resolve your issues. when i heard the 62s at the audio store, i was really impressed. i am new to audio. from reading about your issue, you have problems with blending the left and right speaker noise together and that the left speaker sounds louder? other than that issue, are you happy with the sound?

I got the rc-52 because the rc-62 wouldn't fit.
I am having the issue due to my listening area being so wide, and having the entertainment center in between. If you like what you heard get them, personally I wish I didn't get them as I think there are some better speakers out their for the same price. (based on what i've heard in demo rooms) I have never had the sound right in my home.

[smcilwaine287]

Heads up to everybody. I toed the speakers in a bit more today (literally as much as possible) I also pushed them out from the wall about another couple inches (they pop out about 1.5 inches from the entertainment center)

So far sounds much better. Not as easy to identify which speaker is playing outside of perfect listening area, but you can still tell. It not longer seems like all of the volume is coming from the left. Here's to hoping the wife doesn't figure out I did this... She didn't notice I changed my center so how could she figure this out? we'll see.

[kelA]

Well at least your on the right track. Once they are set up properly, you may just rethink your comment about wishing you bought other speakers. I know how it is when a person gets frustrated with something. Keep plugging away. Unfortunately, Klipsch are not speakers that you can set and forget right out of the box. However, I think all the playing around is the fun part and then you get to truly enjoy your setup. Hang in there, nirvana is around the corner...

[Youthman]

When I had my entertainment center/false wall completed and put my speakers behind it, for 2ch, I was disappointed in the sound because I had to move my speakers closer to the side wall than I would have liked and could not toe them in as much as I expected. After a few days, I had a crazy thought. Since I could not toe them in more towards the primary listening position (center seat, front row), I moved the rear of the speakers about 1" away from the side wall. This slight adjustment (for whatever reason) made a huge difference in the sound. I now have a phantom center as well as a large soundstage. It still sounds best if you sit in the back row for 2ch listening but now the front row sounds much better and is definitely enjoyable where before, it was not. Small tweaks can make a huge difference in how your speakers sound.

Good luck with the wife. I did that one time and she said, "Those aren't going to stay there are they?". LOL.

[colterphoto1]

hi all,

i may be purchasing these speakers today. i hope you resolve your issues. when i heard the 62s at the audio store, i was really impressed. i am new to audio. from reading about your issue, you have problems with blending the left and right speaker noise together and that the left speaker sounds louder? other than that issue, are you happy with the sound?

I got the rc-52 because the rc-62 wouldn't fit.
I am having the issue due to my listening area being so wide, and having the entertainment center in between. If you like what you heard get them, personally I wish I didn't get them as I think there are some better speakers out their for the same price. (based on what i've heard in demo rooms) I have never had the sound right in my home.

A few issues are at work here to create this level of dissatisfaction:

The main speakers are too far apart (and distant from the TV) to create a realistic sound field in stereo or home theater modes). Colter's rule of L/R placement is to start at a point 1/2 the screen width away from the screen, that would be about where your extra double CD cabinet is. This is why there are only two 'good' seats.

The center speaker is undersized for the mains speakers and sits too low in the cabinet.Tilting it up is a good move.

The entertainment system, although lovely, seems too large for this setup. Unfortunately, this is what happens when aesthetics are considered primary and acoustics secondary. The cabinet appears to have been purchased without concern for the size and position of the center speaker and without taking into consideration the entire home theater layout. Lessons to be learned here.

With those same speakers located just one-two feet wide of the screen, and with an RC 62 properly place just under or just under the screen, this system would work very well in your room, you'd hear better sound field from more seats, etc.

I challenge you to do just that. It'll only take one evening. Put the center speaker on a box JUST UNDER the screen. Move the L/R mains IN FRONT OF THE CABINET and centered on where the stereo rack (wide) shelves are. Move the sub out from the corner, you can leave it tucked in the left
cubbie area for now but get it away from the direct corner.Rerun YPAO. I bet you love this immensely better than where things are now. A cabinet with single rack for components and with maybe a single storage bin would have allowed you a narrower setup, gotten the sub out of the corner, and your main speakers much closer together. NOW how does it sound? Move around the seats- it's pretty good everywhere but the far right, isn't it? Stereo sound good, surround is more believeable when action is panned hard across the sound field.

Different brands of loudspeakers should exhibit the same issues in your current setup. It's not the speakers.The listening rooms at hifi dealers are very well thought out and probably don't suffer from the acoustic issues you're having.

[Youthman]

Acoustics and placement play a HUGE role in any speaker setup. Unfortunately, unless you are building a dedicated space from scratch, we often have to either work around our limitations or modify our space (arrangement of furniture, placement of speakers in less than ideal locations etc). My rear speakers (like you) are much higher than I would like but I don't have any choice since one of the speakers is above a door and cannot be lowered. Keep playing and tweaking. You are on the right track.

[smcilwaine287]

hi all,

i may be purchasing these speakers today. i hope you resolve your issues. when i heard the 62s at the audio store, i was really impressed. i am new to audio. from reading about your issue, you have problems with blending the left and right speaker noise together and that the left speaker sounds louder? other than that issue, are you happy with the sound?

I got the rc-52 because the rc-62 wouldn't fit.
I am having the issue due to my listening area being so wide, and having the entertainment center in between. If you like what you heard get them, personally I wish I didn't get them as I think there are some better speakers out their for the same price. (based on what i've heard in demo rooms) I have never had the sound right in my home.

A few issues are at work here to create this level of dissatisfaction:

The main speakers are too far apart (and distant from the TV) to create a realistic sound field in stereo or home theater modes). Colter's rule of L/R placement is to start at a point 1/2 the screen width away from the screen, that would be about where your extra double CD cabinet is. This is why there are only two 'good' seats.

The center speaker is undersized for the mains speakers and sits too low in the cabinet.Tilting it up is a good move.

The entertainment system, although lovely, seems too large for this setup. Unfortunately, this is what happens when aesthetics are considered primary and acoustics secondary. The cabinet appears to have been purchased without concern for the size and position of the center speaker and without taking into consideration the entire home theater layout. Lessons to be learned here.

With those same speakers located just one-two feet wide of the screen, and with an RC 62 properly place just under or just under the screen, this system would work very well in your room, you'd hear better sound field from more seats, etc.

I challenge you to do just that. It'll only take one evening. Put the center speaker on a box JUST UNDER the screen. Move the L/R mains IN FRONT OF THE CABINET and centered on where the stereo rack (wide) shelves are. Move the sub out from the corner, you can leave it tucked in the left cubbie area for now but get it away from the direct corner.Rerun YPAO. I bet you love this immensely better than where things are now. A cabinet with single rack for components and with maybe a single storage bin would have allowed you a narrower setup, gotten the sub out of the corner, and your main speakers much closer together. NOW how does it sound? Move around the seats- it's pretty good everywhere but the far right, isn't it? Stereo sound good, surround is more believeable when action is panned hard across the sound field.

Different brands of loudspeakers should exhibit the same issues in your current setup. It's not the speakers.The listening rooms at hifi dealers are very well thought out and probably don't suffer from the acoustic issues you're having.

Ok, so say I do this... it will help me how? I mean lets be honest, even if it did (i'm sure it would) sound good. I would like an idiot set up my living room, clearly no one in the right mind would set their speakers up like that... What if I had a projector screen? you're telling me the soundstage for 2 channel would be better if I had a bigger screen makes no sense. Maybe for movies, which isn't the issue here.

[JSChapman]

Ok, so say I do this... it will help me how? I mean lets be honest, even if it did (i'm sure it would) sound good. I would like an idiot set up my living room, clearly no one in the right mind would set their speakers up like that... What if I had a projector screen? you're telling me the soundstage for 2 channel would be better if I had a bigger screen makes no sense. Maybe for movies, which isn't the issue here.

I think you should carefully re-read Colter's post. He is simply trying to help you by making suggestions too working around what you already have.

[Zen Traveler]

... What if I had a projector screen? you're telling me the soundstage for 2 channel would be better if I had a bigger screen makes no sense. Maybe for movies, which isn't the issue here.

I think what he may be trying to say is that the size/weight (i.e., substance) of your nice entertainment center is sonically different than a thin screen where your speakers could easily sit out from. He is trying to help you, but it doesn't appear that you have much room to move your speakers to the sides, but if you could move them out (and I still think trying the center channel above and angling it down) you could get better results.

[peshewah]

Colter pretty sharp. I've gotten good advice from him more than once.