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Which Surround Pair...


Kouin

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Hello folks, new here to the forum, but certainly not new to the Klipsch experience.

Up until recently I have been using a mixed bag for my speaker set on my primary home theater setup, this included a blend of Klipsch and Jamo speakers. Well, I finally got the money together to begin phasing out the Jamo's as a second home theater system and am now in the process of upgrading the speakers in their place.

My current setup is:

  • Yamaha RX-V2500 A/V Receiver
  • Klipsch RF-3 II front speakers
  • Klipsch RC-52 II front center channel
  • Yamaha YST-160 Subwoofer
  • Jamo Surround 150 surround speakers (L/R)

I currently don't have the financial boot to take care of the subwoofer, but do have the cash to take care of the rear speakers, but am torn between the RS-52's and the RS-42's. I understand that the 52's will pair with the center channel, but my primary concern is getting as far as I can with my dollar, without the worry of blowing speakers, or having my front channels roll over the rear.

Any advice on this?

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Buy used...i got my RS-3 II surrounds for 200 on craigslist and those mate perfectly with the RF-3 II's. Also depends on where you want speakers and which sound you prefer. If you prefer the Wide Dispersion Technology then the Actually surrounds will do you better but if you like it directly radiating then bookshelfs would suit you better. Just my .02

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Thanks for the reply.

I've heard the RS-3's when I purchased my RF-3's, loved them then, but then just recently have heard the RS-42's, and they seem to have a better sound distribution than the RS-3's did. That's generally why I'm looking for either the 42's or the 52's. Then again, if money turns up particularly short, I have no problems using the 3's, they still sound better than the Jamo's! :)

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if you are placing speakers far enough behind you get bookshelfs IMO. If you have short depth behind your seating area or plan to have the surrounds towards your sides get actual surrounds, that should help with the sound dispersion.

The rs-42, rs-52 and rs-62 are obviously designed different than the rs-3's are so you would get a different sound from them. Its all personal preference in the end.

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I find that surrounds are very ancillary in a surround setup. They are used about 20% if at all. Much of what comes out movie and tv wise under use surrounds or not use them at all. Dolby Pro Logic II is great at decoding and using the surrounds. Out of the other sound fields i have tested, Pro Logic II uses it the most. If i am watching a blu-ray i typically let the decorder choose what to use especially with new movies that are just out because alot of them use DTS Master and its the way its meant to be heard. On other various dvd's and blu rays i enable dolby pro logic II as my preferred soundfield.

With that said you dont need to go crazy with your surrounds. My listening space isnt ideal for surrounds but i make it work. The biggest thing i notice with surrounds is the size of the sound. Smaller speakers sound small to me. The best surrounds i ever tested were RB-5's and they matched the RF-3's Perfectly, o i was in heaven, they had a big sound and were just what i was looking for. I prefer the direct sound of bookshelfs but alas, my listening room doesnt permit such large and obtrusive surrounds, the rs-3's however sound disperse effectively for their size and the timbre match to my rf-5's and past rf-3's are perfect.

One other important tip i can give you is that you buy klipsch surrounds or other speakers with higher sensitivitys that are comparable to the other speakers within the system You will most likely have to calibrate the gains on the surrounds so they are at the same level as everything else and with less efficient speakers you may not be able to achieve that same level you are looking for. I know you are getting klipsch but i thought this tidbit might be of some help. As is, i have my rs-3's turned up by about 6-7db so that i can actually hear sound out of them and not have them over shadowed by the rest of the system.

If you are trying to do it the perfect way, you want to timbre match the surrounds so its a fluid sound field. Some other models of klipsch speakers will sound fluid with the system even if they werent intended to be a matched set. Outside of that factor, timbre matces can be perfect, less than perfect or so noticable it wil bother you. Some people are more picky than others. I have RB-10's as my previous rears and they sounded small, that was my only gripe, the timbre being off didnt really bother me. Having the rs-3's i can really compare them and notice how the timbre match was off.

Check out ebay and audiogon in addition to craigslist. If you get the newer model surrounds the larger models will most likelyt sound more coherent than the smaller ones. But again, money permits you to buy this or that and how much you care in the end.

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