Surround Matches for Academy Center

[peerch]

Hi,

I have an academy center channel I purchased from a person on this forum and am looking for recommendations on fronts and surrounds. Right now I have a pair of KG4s and my surrounds are SC-2 in walls. Due to space my surrounds really should be in-wall, but I'd rather have the best experience. I have a dedicated home theater and listed mostly to movies. I am looking for the best solution possible, regardless of price. I have also been looking at the THX Ultra 2 system and was looking for some guidance.

[RichardP]

The Academy is the matching center for Fortes, Choruses, and Quartets. Some others on this forum say it sounds good with other models, but they are often settling for the Academy because their existing mains do not have a matching center. Surrounds are less important, as long as they are somewhat similar in design to the fronts and center. A good small speaker for surround duty, with the mentioned fronts, is most models from the KG series, such as the KG 1.2/1.5, or 2.2/2.5. These were generally contemporaneous with production of the F/C/Q line. The 1.2 is a substantial but small bookshelf speaker.There is a KG .5, but it is very small (5" woofer) and may not be able to handles loud passages. Given your set up, your KG 4s would be great as surrounds, but as you mention, space is an issue. Others here may know of other matching surrounds.

[peerch]

Thanks Richard. What do you think of the THX Ultra 2s? I have never heard them but have seen good reviews. In your opinion do you prefer the older models you mention above or find the newer models a strong product as well? Also, of the Fortes, Quartets, and Choruses, which would you recommend the most?

[oldtimer]

How big is your ht room?

[Stolenrs]

I really like the sound of Forte II's with the Acadamy center, but decided to sell my set and went with Chorus I mains and Chorus II's for surround. I have been really really happy with how it sounds.

~ross

[peerch]

My ht is 12 x 19 ft.

[RichardP]

People here put a lot of emphasis on timbre matching in an HT situation, meaning that the front 3 speakers should be matched on the specific sound quality, sometimes termed "voice," or timbre. This is a function of the specific drivers, primarily the tweeter and midrange. The Academy was designed as the timbre-matched center for the Q/F/C line. The Q/F/C were sold for many years before the Academy was added to the line, then Klipsch discontinued that line. That makes the Academy hard to find for the many buyers who initially had Q/F/C in a stereo set up, but then wanted to make a 5.1 or bigger HT system. For many of us, the sound of those models is so good that we don't care about changing to any newer model lines, and are fully satisfied. It is possible that a company makes an incredible sounding model, but decides to replace it with something newer, although "newer" might just mean cosmetics or more marketable because of something other than sound quality. New models are clearly great sounding, but the Academy will not closely match their timbre.

You have the much sought after Academy center, and Q/F/Cs are relatively easy to find, as they were quite popular while in production. You can exploit the used market niche comprised of those poor souls who think they can now get a great HT system with tiny cubes, and sell off their giant "intrusive" wife-unfriendly [6] speakers. You can fill a normal listening room with any of the Q/F/C line. There are second versions, Forte II and Chorus II, which use a different midrange, although many of us do not hear a critical difference compared to the older version I's. You should be happy with any of them. .

I got the chance to buy my Ultra 2 subs 2nd hand at around 50% of retail. I almost had a major problem a year later when the amp had no output. Fortunately, the problem resolved itself, but learned in the meantime that Klipsch offered no support of any kind on used equipment. I think they are overpriced new, and you always take a risk buying used. If I had not bought them, I know I would be very happy with any of several subs, especially the SVS line.

[HudsonValleyNoah]

Hi peerch,

I'm glad the Academy is going to get some play.

The Quartet is the smallest of the matching fronts and would do a good job for you.

The Forte or Forte II is the next larger and would do that much better for you.

The Chorus or Chorus II is quite large and really does HT very very well.

I am into the chorus and Chorus II for HT (I use 6 of them for my fronts with quartets as surrounds.)

If you can deal with the size, bigger is better (IMHO.)

As to the THX units - that's a whole different sound and would not match well with your academy...

Noah

[peerch]

Hi Noah,

Yes, the academy you sold to me is and has been working very well for me. Thanks for the information regarding the Fortes, Chorus' and the Quartets. Regarding the THX units, my intention was to never combine the academy with new speakers. I was purely weighing all new versus all heritage.

If anyone runs into any Chorus or Fortes they want to sell, I may be interested.