7.1 Klipsch Setup upgrading to 9.2 Klipsch Setup?? Some amp & wiring questions..

[petemeat]

Hey everyone,

WOW! May I first and foremost say that I'm totally hooked on this forum!! I was up til about 2:30am last night on a Saturday night reading on here... LOL yes I Know, VERY NERDY, but whatever, I'm a GREEN NOOB and soaking up all this stuff is TONS of fun & helps me plan my dream theatre!!

So I'll get the small stuff out of the way!!

Please forgive me, I have just started getting into audio for about 1week now and I'm reading as much as I can, but here's the stuff I've bought so far,, and I have a long way to go until I'm done I think....

Current equipment:

2x Klipsch RF-63 (cherry)

1x Klipsch RC-64 (black)

2x Klipsch RB-61 (black)

2x Klipsch RS-52 (black)

Paradigm Seismic 110 Subwoofer (850w RMS) Also known as the BULLDOG

So in essence I now have a 7.1 Klipsch Setup, I bought it all used, but the previous owner had bought them less than a month ago at the time I bought it from him??? And I got all the receipts totalling around $6000 CAD, and I bought it all for less than half that AND they all LOOK BRAND NEW and the RB's were even sealed in their boxes still... I'm pretty happy to say the LEAST )))

Anyways, this leaves me some ($$$ wise) room to move up to a 9.2 Setup and I was thinking of perhaps getting some RF-83's for my fronts and moving the RF-63 to the back surrounds location and in doing so also moving the RB-61's to the front stage but in the corners of the ceiling. And also adding another Paradigm Seismic 110 Bulldog to make it a 9.2 System. (additional cost: $2000?)

OR

I could use the RB-61's as back surrounds and purchase something small like RB-10's for the front stage ceiling corners and this way I'd have a 9.1 system as well.... (additional cost: maybe $200?)

Thoughts??? Questions??? Ideas...???

I'll explain why I'm thinking of doing a 9.2 System.

A) I got the current setup at a RIDIIICCCULOUS price.

Future Proofing

I'd say my listening habits would probably be 50/50 - HT/MUSIC. The room is 20 x 24. And here's the kicker... I live in an APARTMENT )))) hehe and yes I love cranking my SNoop Dogg & Ludacris & my Electro/House, watching badass action movies that are somewhat brain numbing )) , But I also LOVE serene classical music at very low/moderate volume.

Don't worry, all I have now are speakers. I still need to get power amps, pre-amp, a power conditioner and cables to run this whole setup.

For amps I was wondering what your experiences are with these guys,,

1. Outlaw 7700

2. NAD T-975

3. B&K 200.7

for a power conditioner I was thinking of getting the APC S20... what are some of the best & most complete power conditioners you guys have come across that has every feature conceivable??

thoughts??? ideas??? questions?? ))

Cheers!

[Youthman]

Hey Pete, looks like you scored a very sweet system that is surely to bring you enjoyment for many years to come.

Here are my thoughts, take them for what they are worth (might not be much).

Anyways, this leaves me some ($$$ wise) room to move up to a 9.2 Setup

For now, I would stick with a 7.1 system. Most blurays are not even encoded with 7.1 much less 9.2. Yes you are adding more sound, but with more sound, can also create more acoustic problems.

If I had your system and I had some money left over, I would purchase the following:

1) Acoustic Panels - Proper room treatments can add more sonic value than additional equipment

2) Amp - This will bring your system to life, especially in the bottom end as well as add additional clarity and separation of musical instruments

3) Interconnects - Don't waste a bunch of money buying high end cables. Check out Monoprice.com. Very high quality cables at crazy low prices.

4) Add a second sub if you feel the need for some additional gut wrenching bass

5) Earplugs for your neighbors. []

[InVeNtOr]

pete,

welcome to the forums man!

okay, my advice is a little consecrative. just because you have the money doesn't mean you should waist it on stuff that might not help. Youth is right, more isn't always best.

okay, so you got the speakers and sub. stop there. if you really want to power those bad boys to the extreme, here is my advice. buy an Emotiva UMC-1 (processor), Emotiva XPA-3 (amp for the front 3 only), Emotiva UPA-7. here's why. the umc-1 is probably the best processor for the price out there. then when you want to upgrade your processor (we all do in time), your next emotiva processor will be 40% off, then you can sell the old processor and it will even be cheaper. the reason for the amps is simple. you usually try and have the same power for the front stage. some people buy a xpa-5 for the front 3 and 2 surrounds and then a xpa-2 for more rears, i think that is backwards. let a dedicated amp worry about the front and be done. now the upa-7, you just said you want "front stage" speakers. the umc-1 doesn't have that option (yet). so if you buy the upa-7 now you have plenty of channels to power your 4 rears and 2 left over channels to power your front stage speakers later. those 3 items will cost $2067, right in your range. (ask for B stock and you will save even more). i just bought a B stock xpa-3 and it had to be brand new. not even a scuff.

speakers is always the best bet to spend money one because they hold their value, but in your case you already have a 7.1. now if you invest in the processor you will have one for ever and updating won't be as hard as buying some other brand. ask around, you will see guys pay $2k for a receiver and 2 years later sell it for maybe $500.

that's my advice for your first move with a 2K budget.

i would then go to monoprice for now, and get all the cables you need. later on when you have done more research and have more cash you can experiment with power cables, RCA cables, and other DIY build stuff (upgrading crossovers).

enjoy man and have fun!

[InVeNtOr]

just re read the last line of your post (sort of). if you want something that will hold all that gear (emotiva line up) you need to get a furman 20pfi and be done. yes it costs some money, but there is no other power conditioner that can do what it does and supply you with 55 peak amps, for when your gear goes through those big sound effects moments. trust me, get the furman and be done. other products do work, and some work well, but the furman is the top (i guess that's my opinion). let me leave you with this, if there were other better brands, then why for the last 30 years ALL the major concerts use only furman equipment? when it counts, thats who everyone in the audio industry uses. give them a call, talk to Rob, he's awesome, and soak up more information. you will not go wrong.

[petemeat]

Thanks Youth & Inventor!!!

Some good advice there! I'll definitely be going the separates way, and the Emotiva way seems VERY attractive!! and earplugs for my neighbours or getting them to make some popcorn and come over seems very likely lol!!

However I'm stuck in a bit of a dilemma... I realize Emotiva and Outlaw are Internet Direct companies and all, but how can people go for the UPA-7 for ~$700 and others go for the Outlaw 7700 which goes for ~$2100. As much as I TRULY have tried to find out which is better head to head, there are no such comparisons out there, also, the Outlaw 7700 seems to be EXACTLY the same as Lexicon RX-7. I read a review on the Lexicon RX-7 and once the reviewer had finished doing all their analytical tests, they called Outlaw and asked for their 7700 and the president of Outlaw Audio I guess knew this person would do a head to head comparison and declined the reviewer a test amp.

I have saved up enough for a $2000 POWERAMP and $2000 for a processor/receiver, and another $2000 for speaker upgrades but you guys are saying don't do that. I'll be using the speaker upgrade money and get into the Furman like you suggested THANKS!!! )))Nice Furman Elite you got there Inventor!! I was looking at the same item!! ))

Now I'm a bit of a computer buff, and websites like tomshardware.com seems to review ALL computer hardware,, how come I can't find an equivalent website that tests mostly everything on a technical basis?? Which websites do you guys use for technicalreviews?? Not just the regular "oh I turned the amp on, and my sound stage turned into A COLOSSEUM, and the dynamics were ASTRONOMICAL, and the clarity was CRYSTAL etc..." I would actually like to see some technical reviews.. Don't everyone agree?? Or is it just me?? "The Matrix shooting scene sounded like I was in a blitzkrieg" omg shutup! lol it all sounds like advertising almost!!! UKH and I'm allergic to commercials!!!

Thanks for the tip on monoprice.com!!! I defffinitely shall be buying my cables from there... )

Also, bi-amping & bi-wiring,, what do you guys think... is it a dead horse or will it make a difference on the Klipsch Reference lines??

Thanks a 'BILLIE' for all your help lads!!

[Youthman]

Also, bi-amping & bi-wiring,, what do you guys think... is it a dead horse or will it make a difference on the Klipsch Reference lines??

Lots of debates on that. I tried it, didn't hear any difference myself so I do not see the benefit. Many have suggested that in order to take advantage of that setup, you would need to bypass the internal crossovers in your speakers and use active crossovers instead.

[InVeNtOr]

i have bi-amped. i would say i noticed a little but i don't think i noticed enough to deal with double the speaker wire. if you are dead set on doing it, i have the bi-amping cables you would want. they are custom made and pretty much the best you can buy. again, most of us that did bi-amp or even bi-wire, i don't think any of us (in HT world) did buy the extra equipment to have active crossovers. so in the end you are really doing nothing.

there isn't much debate about outlaw vs. emotiva. they are pretty much the same. i think outlaw has more expensive amps but cheaper processor and emotiva is just opposite.

you have to remember something about tech reviews when it comes to home audio. at best, they are just a guess. the power ratings and some stuff like that you can look at, but all the company's you are looking at have all the same values. in home audio, it comes down to what you hear and what you like to hear. every room is going to sound different. most gear is going to sound different too. then you have to be conscious of synergy between all your cables, speakers, and gear. that has a determining factor for the end product too.

i jumped on the emotiva line because i think it's a smart move. i also did it because a fellow forum member has my same speakers and one of my same amps. he said the change over was really worth it. so i took his advice and did it. of course i added an extra amp in the mix because i had the room and liked how it looked in my ET center. (i designed an et center and didn't think of having 2 amps. so when i got rid of the AVR i had a huge hole where it went. the emotiva processor fits in one of the smaller spaces in my ET center so adding another amp fills that void).

you certainly have a great set of HT speakers, and enough of a budget to buy what ever you want. i believe if you go with emotiva, you won't be dissatisfied.

good luck with all of it and let us know how it sounds when you are done!