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What do you guys think?


freestyle

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I'm thinking of mounting my XBR4 on a swivel and extention mount and moving the RC-64 to the top shelf. Will moving the center higher result in a noticeable sound difference? I'm also thinking since the center will now be on the top that I can move my PS3 and cable to the middle shelf and get an Emotive XPA-5 and use the Sony as a pre pro. Thinking that will give me a killer sound.

Anyone using an XPA with RF-83's? Right now I have...

  • RF-83's

  • RC-64

  • RS-62's
  • SVS PB13 Sub
Will adding the amp be overkill since the 83's are so efficient? Upgraditis never ends!...haha...I've attached a pic of my setup.

post-31505-13819525645598_thumb.jpg

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Everything you mentioned will lead you in a positive direction as far as performance and sound quality.

1) Center speaker moved higher will put it closer in line to the drivers in your RF-83s (A very good thing)

2) Emotiva amp = big-time upgrade. Honestly, the UPA-5 will serve you absolutely fine and save you a lot of money. My Forte IIs are 99dB sensitive. There was a quantum leap in sound quality at ALL volume levels with my Emotiva UPA-2 that I just got last week.

If the top shelf of your TV stand can support the weight, just set your TV on top of your center speaker. Otherwise if you do the wall-mount idea for your TV, think about getting a small stand that will have your RC-64 sitting up another foot or so right in line with the drivers in your RF-83s.

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You will love what an Emotiva XPA amp will do for your system. I have the XPA-3 running my front 3 speakers and use my receiver for the surrounds and this works excellent.

You have a nice set-up. While wuzzzer usually gives great advice here I disagree with his recommendation to raise the center channel in your system, yours looks great now. In order to raise your center you would also need to raise your display and yours is an excellent height now. I would keep it just like that.

Edit: Sorry after reading your post better (I guess the pic distracted me [;)]), you will be fine moving the RC-64 to the top of your stand and doing as you planned.

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I would think that the best upgrade to your sound would be to place the RF-83s further apart.

I had the same thought. Sometime just a bit more separation can make a nice difference. It looks like there's some room there for some experimentation with that anyway.

Gorgeous room, it looks like it's got so many reflective surfaces though.. the windows and the hardwood floors. More curtains and throw rugs would help too. Look at the size of those windows! Is it a restored industrial building? Here in the Northeast many have been turned into beautiful condos and thats what that looks like.

I'm jealous!

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Beautiful setup. My Idea would be to move the little cabinets close to the TV and spread out the RF 83's farther apart. The only change I believe you'd hear moving the center would be that you would need to redo the Audusey setup program to achieve the proper balance in DB ratings.......

You also might want to look into Mounting the TV on the Wall and placing the Center speaker on the top shelf of the Speaker stand.

JMHO.

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Hey guys thanks for all the kind words and responses....Much appreciated!

Wuzzer, glad to hear the XPA is great at all sound levels. I was thinking of just doing what you said and put the TV on the center, but I would have to get a block of wood to put behind the center as the TV stand is deeper than the center. Can the center hold up a TV with no problem? It's dam solid, so I guess it can.

Why I want to move that center is because it seems to be pointing at knee level. I've angled it up as much as possible but that isn't really a lot. Right now the bottom edge of that center is 13 inches. If I put it to the top shelf the bottom edge will be 25 inches high.

When I first got the 83's I had them farther like you all said. With the cabinets next to the TV that was too far. Now they are about 7 feet apart, if I put them on the other side of the cabinets they will be 10 feet apart. That seemed a little too far apart.

Yes, my place is a renovated building turned into condos. Good eye Steve!

Who has mounted their TV? Is it a pain to mount?

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When I first got the 83's I had them farther like you all said. With the cabinets next to the TV that was too far. Now they are about 7 feet apart, if I put them on the other side of the cabinets they will be 10 feet apart. That seemed a little too far apart.

If they sound/feel too far when they are 10' out, you could turn your 83's inward. Sweet room and setup!

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When I first got the 83's I had them farther like you all said. With the cabinets next to the TV that was too far. Now they are about 7 feet apart, if I put them on the other side of the cabinets they will be 10 feet apart. That seemed a little too far apart.

If they sound/feel too far when they are 10' out, you could turn your 83's inward. Sweet room and setup!

groovy pad and a very nice setup. toeing in the speakers is generally recommended for proper imaging and sound. It's hard to tell from your pic ..where is the primary listening/watching position?

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Hey guys, thanks for the kind words!

Normally my viewing position is right at the end of the coffee table in the pic. I tried toeing them in but, it didn't seem to help in my room. Especially since guests will sit on the couch.

I'm super interested in seeing how much difference the XPA-5 will make over my Sony ES3400.

Hoping it's a noticeable difference if I go through with all this...haha

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Who has mounted their TV? Is it a pain to mount?

It's a 2 person job but it's pretty easy to do. In my previous place I mounted my 50" in a corner on an articulated wall bracket. Makes a big difference to your choices of equipment (or furniture) directly underneath.

As for the 7' v 10' separation, in my current place my Cornwall IIIs are 15' apart (centre to centre) up front with a Heresy III in the centre. The CIIIs are toed in a little. That's basically the same distance from L/R - C as you have from L - R. Works just fine. In fact, I'd like to move them even further apart but walls get in the way. Looking at your image I find it difficult to see how you would get good separation and envisage a 'smeared' point source for L + C + R. Everything's so close, thus making it difficult to get any real 'surround' effect.

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Hey Wuzzer, yeh I'm hoping I won't want to return it!.....It's funny though, family and friends are all like..dam it sounds so good now, why do you need an amp?....lol

Hey laager, Yah, right now my stuff is a bit cramped in my current condo and my rears are actually behind my seating position instead of next to me on the sides like they should be. Plus now I have the SVS13 in the right hand corner, didn't have it yet when I took that pic.

I'll have to get someone to help me mount the bracket, can these brackets go into metal studs? Or does it not matter?

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Thanks Jacksonbart......Well now, I found out I have metal studs on that wall so it's not recommended to put the mount on metal studs.

I'm thinking though that I can just use an amp stand and add the XPA, put it where the plant is on the left.

Now I'm just trying to decide on just the XPA-5 or an XPA-2 and 3 combo. Or a 5 and 3 combo...lol

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What size is your flat panel TV? I don't know if you have more $$$ to spend but here is an idea. You can accomplish all goals(raise TV, raise center channel, room for amp) with this. I have a BDI Deploy stand that I am using a 45lb amp and a 28lb receiver on bottom shelf. Mine is just like this one but is one tier shorter.

http://www.tvstands.com/Walker-Edison-V60MWF-WLK1104.html

Add this for your amps if you still can't decide.

http://www.tvstands.com/BDI1-9621-BD1165.html

Bill

http://www.tvstands.com/Walker-Edison-V60MWF-WLK1104.html'>

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