Impressions of RB-61 II Speakers

[jjennings2510]

I may get on your level one day. You have a ton of stuff don't you?

A ton of speakers , yes, but for Ht only Fortes and a Yamaha receiver and a sub and all the speakers are from the late 80's. And a few other 2 ch setups with barely enough electronics to run them.

Not by choice but I had do do it a little at a time also when a good deal would come up.

Yes I totally understand. You said speakers from the 80s in such a casual way. Those seem to be the cream of the crop (according to the hardcore Klipsch fans that stopped liking Klipsch with the release of the Reference IV series) so don't try to downtalk them. lol. But imma just be patient and build up my rooms piece by piece. I've been looking for deals on a center speaker. Can't find any even though I find some 82s I wanted in the garage sale section. I have to stay away from that part of the forum because I love deals and if I see the right ones imma jump on them without even thinking twice, lol.

[Fresh123]

Rc 52 open to offers

[jjennings2510]

Rc 52 open to offers

Oh cool. How old is it? do you have any pics? (i know i know, i still have to post my pics. I'm getting there, lol)

[Fresh123]

2008

[Fresh123]

grill off

[Fresh123]

close up

[Fresh123]

back

[jjennings2510]

ok. I may be interested in it. Let me see what happens with another center. My friend may also have a center (RC-62) I really wanted to get the biggest center that would fit in the bedroom but I know the 52 is good too so if I can get a good deal on it or if I can't get this 62 then I may have to settle. I will let you know though

[Youthman]

Klipsch suggests the RC-52 to match the RB-61's even though the RC-61 IMO is a much better speaker. Guess it depends on whether you want to go with Klipsch recommendation and what the price difference is as well between what you can get for the RC-52 vs RC-62.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

[jjennings2510]

This is the speaker with the grill on....

Alright here are pics of my setup. Wow i didn't realize how junky it looks. Alright as you can see I have a PS3, Polk Center with dual 5.25" Woofers and a dome tweeter, a XM Radio Receiver and the cable company DVR on top and a Pioneer Tivo DVR on the bottom (thats everything on the second shelf left to right) On the bottom shelf I have a hard drive where my Xbox 360 used to be (it kept getting the 3 red lights of death. This last time was the 4th time it broke. I was tired of sending it in so thats when I converted to Playstation. I do plan on buying the "new" 360 soon....got sidetracked by my home theater upgrades, lol. Next to that I have a Samsung Blu Ray player on the bottom and a digital cable box on the top. The box feeds the signal to the Tivo....I had to turn it because I don't care what I did to block the IR window my remote still controlled both cable boxes so the only way to keep it from being affected by the remote was to turn it on its side.....Next to that is my Onkyo Receiver. On the top shelf I of course have the RB-61 IIs and my Samsung TV. I said it was a 42" but its actually a 40" Nonetheless as you can see the speakers makes it look like a 13" TV....On the left is a Roku box. On the right on top of the speaker is a bear purchased by the significant other for me. It helps with the WAF, lol. On the floor on the left is an APC Battery backup with AVR. If the power goes out I can safely shut down my DVR and save my game and shut down my PS3. It also comes in handy for protecting against brownouts etc. We had a few of them this summer. I would've lost more than a few games if the battery backup hadn't saved me. Behind the TV i have some random stuff.....the Tivo wireless adapter, XM Antennae, Digital TV Antennae, (in case the power goes out and I need to quickly check the weather or something I can watch the local channels and see whats going on. At least until the battery goes dead.) Micro Fibre cloth for cleaning the TV and two charging stands. One for the PS3 controllers and one for the 360 controllers. I also have pics of the 61s compared to my old Sony Bookshelf speakers. And I have a pic of the speaker with the magnetic grill on it......I hated it at first but I guess I had to get used to it? It doesn't look bad anymore. I sorta like that laid back "classy" look......but I love the aggressive manly look without the grill.....also have a pic of my Sub 10. yes I know its dusty. I've been so busy at work I haven't had a chance to dust it lately. I'm going out of town next week but when I get back I think I may take a mini vacation and relax at home.

Now as you can see my Polk center has dual 5.25 woofers in it. And overall its about the same size as the RC-52. I know the 52 will sound better than the Polk but the more I think about it, the more I'm leaning towards the 62....I know Klipsch recommends the 52 (thanks for pointing that out to me Youthman) but I just feel like if I'm gonna spend the money to upgrade I might as well go up in speaker size and get the biggest center that will fit on that shelf (the 64 won't fit of course, lol) The Polk is no slouch but at times it does seem to have a hard time keeping up with the 61s....I know the Klipsch will be Timbre matched but I'm worried that the 52 may end up the same way. I feel like I'll have more wiggle room with the 62 but I don't want it to overpower the 61s (but I do like the fact that all the woofers would be matched at 6" and I think the tweeters would be too) As far as surrounds I have some small HTiB surrounds on my side walls. Those will be the last speakers I buy and I may go cheap and get the RS-42s......or the 52s....the 62s are too expensive....especially considering the size of my room. Now when we start looking at a new house I will make sure the man cave is bigger. So maybe I should overspend right now....just in case we find a house with a huge man cave. lol. (I gotta have a man cave because for some reason I feel like once I get the main sitting area setup the boss is going to take over the area while she's at home so she can watch Divorce Court and Lifetime Movie Network....ahh the agony of hearing that stuff play through my Klipsch speakers. They may go on strike, LOL.) But I just wanted to post the pics of my beginning setup. I will post more pics once I straighten it up. And yes thats wrapping paper in the corner. It never made it up to the attic. Lol.

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[jjennings2510]

Thank you and I agree. The 61 seems to be the much better speaker for the setup. And I have some crazy news. I know it hasn't even been a week yet but I have been playing movie after movie on my 61s.....which has led to some long nights and some sleepy days at work.....but I have to admit. The highs seem as though they have settled down a little. Not that they were bad before. The crossover of these speakers impressed me right away.....but the highs seem to be a little warmer now. Thats the best way I know to describe it. A little warmer and settled......now is this speaker break in.....or have my ears become accustomed to the horns? I really don't know either way. Maybe I've lost a little of my hearing from watching so many movies. But I just wanted to give that update. I also posted pics of my setup. They look terrible but I wanted to post them since I said I would. They should appear once they are approved. (i didn't realize they had to be approved. When I posted a reply with the pics in this thread it said my post would show up once approved by the moderator. So I guess that'll be Monday) so hopefully Monday you guys will actually be able to see my setup. But I'm about to watch another quick movie and then read Home Theater Mag.....I just subscribed to them and Audiophile and Sound and Vision to read up on the latest and greatest speakers. A lot of that stuff is going into 5 digit territory as far as price but I can dream can't I? lol.

[RockOn4Klipsch]

if you decide on a PB13 U you will more than likely upset the wife, if you think the RC 64 looks big in a picture and bigger when you get it home, wait until you see a PB 13 U delivered to you.

When the delivery guy showed up and I saw the box, I litterally was scared what the wife was going to due to me. I was telling myself "o sH*#" she's not going to let me keep this thing.

I think the trick it to work up to larger speakers.

[jjennings2510]

Lol yes I know its big. Because the people that are on youtube showing it off have set it up next to other subs that I thought were big...and the SVS makes them look like a small HTiB sub. Plus its delivered on a pallet right? The thing that worried me was not the size but the weight. Its over 100lbs but I'm the type of guy that likes to try to setup stuff on his own. Hooking everything up, adjusting the picture, experimenting with speaker placement to get the best sound etc but with that beast I'll probably have to get help or just move it once and leave it. I know they have a bass processor thing on the sight that will do an auto optimization for your room (and it was co-developed by my fav auto setup company Audessey) so I may just purchase that instead of moving that thing around. But if the pics and videos still don't do the size of the sub justice then.....I'm a little worried because I sorta wanted to get two of them. I've been reading up on sub placement and most folks recommend at least 2 subs....some even recommend 4.......2 will be enough......but I don't want them to be the only furniture in the room. I guess I should just get one and see how I like it. How do you like yours? Is it in a corner? What bass mode are you using? 15hz? 20hz? Sealed mode? Did you get the Sub EQ thing? How easy was it finding the optimal spot? I was just wondering bc the EQ thing is an extra 750 bucks so if the sub is easy to setup without it then I'll probably skip that purchase.

[jjennings2510]

When the delivery guy showed up and I saw the box, I litterally was scared what the wife was going to due to me. I was telling myself "o sH*#" she's not going to let me keep this thing.

Haha classic statement. Normally when I'm not sure I try to hide stuff and ease it on her but I guess there's no hiding that beast, lol. She's been pretty accepting so far....even though the prices of the equipment gets her going at times. (you spent how much on that? do you need it? The other one sounded fine) but thats just a part of it. When we actually get married hopefully she won't become stricter.

[dtel]

The crossover of these speakers impressed me right away.....but the highs seem to be a little warmer now. Thats the best way I know to describe it. A little warmer and settled......now is this speaker break in.....or have my ears become accustomed to the horns? I really don't know either way. Maybe I've lost a little of my hearing from watching so many movies

That's funny

I noticed the same thing when the Cornwall lll's were new, break in probably only takes a few minutes or hours but it's probably our ears adjusting to a new sound more than anything.

That was just a guess, I have no clue really, but they did sound different somehow ? Even my wife noticed it, she was the first to say something about it.

[RockOn4Klipsch]

Lol yes I know its big. Because the people that are on youtube showing it off have set it up next to other subs that I thought were big...and the SVS makes them look like a small HTiB sub. Plus its delivered on a pallet right? The thing that worried me was not the size but the weight. Its over 100lbs but I'm the type of guy that likes to try to setup stuff on his own. Hooking everything up, adjusting the picture, experimenting with speaker placement to get the best sound etc but with that beast I'll probably have to get help or just move it once and leave it. I know they have a bass processor thing on the sight that will do an auto optimization for your room (and it was co-developed by my fav auto setup company Audessey) so I may just purchase that instead of moving that thing around. But if the pics and videos still don't do the size of the sub justice then.....I'm a little worried because I sorta wanted to get two of them. I've been reading up on sub placement and most folks recommend at least 2 subs....some even recommend 4.......2 will be enough......but I don't want them to be the only furniture in the room. I guess I should just get one and see how I like it. How do you like yours? Is it in a corner? What bass mode are you using? 15hz? 20hz? Sealed mode? Did you get the Sub EQ thing? How easy was it finding the optimal spot? I was just wondering bc the EQ thing is an extra 750 bucks so if the sub is easy to setup without it then I'll probably skip that purchase.

The Pb13 U is almost 200lbs, and I hurt my back moving it myself. I'd like to get 1 more pb13 U but we'll see. I don't have it in a corner, i get better punch and definition placed along the long wall next to my left front, you reall don't need the boundary gain the corner provides. Right now i have it in the 20 Hz mode for added SPLs when running it with the La Scalas but the 15 Hz mode is actually the smoothest in my room. I don't have any sub EQ.

Placement is difficult, trying to find the best location that goes with the room and other equipment. My only complaint with the PB 13 Ultra is that there are no High Gain inputs, which I would like so I could run them in stereo.

[jjennings2510]

The crossover of these speakers impressed me right away.....but the highs seem to be a little warmer now. Thats the best way I know to describe it. A little warmer and settled......now is this speaker break in.....or have my ears become accustomed to the horns? I really don't know either way. Maybe I've lost a little of my hearing from watching so many movies

That's funny

I noticed the same thing when the Cornwall lll's were new, break in probably only takes a few minutes or hours but it's probably our ears adjusting to a new sound more than anything.

That was just a guess, I have no clue really, but they did sound different somehow ? Even my wife noticed it, she was the first to say something about it.

Well if even your wife noticed it then there has to be something then. Its good to know I'm not imagining things. I guess thats why a lot of people strongly believe in break in. I still don't know what to call it. On AVS some folks even stated that the woofers don't need break in but the titanium tweeter does. That is the part that settled down but like you said it could be our ears adjusting since the tweeter is one of the most noticable things. Either way it sounds better.

[jjennings2510]

The Pb13 U is almost 200lbs, and I hurt my back moving it myself. I'd like to get 1 more pb13 U but we'll see. I don't have it in a corner, i get better punch and definition placed along the long wall next to my left front, you reall don't need the boundary gain the corner provides. Right now i have it in the 20 Hz mode for added SPLs when running it with the La Scalas but the 15 Hz mode is actually the smoothest in my room. I don't have any sub EQ.

Placement is difficult, trying to find the best location that goes with the room and other equipment. My only complaint with the PB 13 Ultra is that there are no High Gain inputs, which I would like so I could run them in stereo.

Yes I bet you did with it weighing that much. I thought it was only a little over 100lbs. Thats cool that the 15hz mode provides the smoothest bass though. Since you seem to be satisfied with it I guess when I do get it I'll try it without the eq first and then see how I like it. The bass eq is so tempting though because it uses audessey and the flat bass curve was amazing (according to their tests) but yeah I don't see too many high gain inputs on subs once you pass a certain price point. I guess they figured people don't need them if you pay a certain amount? But I'm glad you're enjoying yours. Hopefully I will start saving on mine really soon. But with the holidays coming up soon I may be delayed.

[jjennings2510]

Just wanted to give an update guys. My speaker countdown is down to 2. I just need to get my surrounds and my room will be done! I'm pretty satisfied with the performance of my Onkyo 507 so I'm not in a rush to upgrade to the 808. Maybe santa will bring me one? But I ordered a center channel today. Found a RC-35 for $160. Its in great condition. Do you guys think I got a good deal? I think so considering its the older equivalent of the RC-62. Do you guys think it will blend in with my other speakers pretty good considering its a couple of generations older (and so it has that "in your face" sound. I will finally get to hear what folks are talking about) But the stats are comparable to the RC-62 and something I saw that was pretty cool is the fact that the center can be bi-amped. I doubt I'll use that feature for my center but hey its there. So I can't wait until the 35 comes in the mail. See how it sounds to have a complete front Klipsch setup. The Polk has been doing a decent job though. I must say I'm impressed with how it matches. Unfortunately I'm going out of town next week so I won't be able to setup my center until the week after next [] but i will be sure to post an update on how everything sounds.

OAN how long does it take for pics to be approved? I tried to post some to this forum on sunday but it said they had be approved. I'm still waiting so i was just curious. Thanks

[Youthman]

Congrats on the new purchase. The good thing is if you are unsatisfied with the RC-35, you can sell it for what you have in it and get something else. My guess is that although it's not timbre matched, it will do fine in your system. Your ears are all that matters so if it sounds good to you, keep it.

As far as pics, it sometimes takes awhile. You might can send Amy Unger a PM asking if she can approve the post. For future reference, limit your photos to less than 10 per post and you should be ok without having to have it approved. When you post that many external links, the forum thinks you might be spam so it has to be sent to the moderators to review.