mr_q73 Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Hello all, i'm in the process of setting up my first home theatre audio setup and i've hit a roadblock i'm hoping you guys can help me out with . First some background: I used to use Logitech z5500s which i liked overal, but i wanted something that had better sound quality and better speaker balance that was more adjustable/customizable so i decided to buy a receiver and speakers. I purchased an Onkyo TX-SR608 receiver last week as i caught it on sale and it seemed like it would do everything i wanted and it had what appeared to me to be good stats for my price range. I also purchased a klipsch SW-350 sub with it as i didn't think i could use my z5500s sub with the new receiver. I'm currently using all the other satelite speakers (left,right,center, sur right, sur left) from my z5500s with my new receiver and sub. The room i've them in is around 16x24, three of the four walls are exterior walls and the fourth wall is an open wall into the kitchen area. I'll be sitting (guessing) around 12 feet or so from the TV/center speaker. Ok, so now that you know that, on to my questions. 1). I've been reading/searching/etc on several different things and everyone seems to agree that you should buy the biggest speakers you can afford. So knowing that i've been looking at the R52 series left/right tower speakers for front left and rights, the RC52 for the center, and the RS52s for the surrounds. My first question is, i noticed that for about $90 more on each front,$20 more on the center, and $90 more on the surrounds i can get the "series II" of the speakers. Is that worth the extra money??? I also noticed that I can get the 62 series for about the same price as the 52 II series.....Not sure if that's better or not. I'm almost stuck in the infinite "its only a few more dollars" loop 2). My second question is, i've read that you try to get the best center speaker you can get, so i'm wondering if i decide to purchase all 52 regular series speaker and the II series center speaker (since it's only $20 difference), if it will sound OK with the older version speakers? I also considered buying the RC62 instead and using it with the 52 series speakers, but again i wasnt sure if that would sound bad since they arent in the same speaker line. 3). I had originally planned on buying some corner shelves and sticking my surrounds in the corner but after doing some research it sounds like thats a bad idea and i should try to position the surrounds directly to the left and right of my seating area. Is that correct? That would put the speakers maybe 2-3 feet away from the corner, is that too close to a corner or is that OK? Any input would be appreciated, sorry for the giant wall of text but i wanted to get my point across Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJCarney Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Lots of questions here. First let me congradulate you on your decision to go with Klipsch. I have had many levels of Klipsch products and I have loved everyone. 1. The ii series has a different crossover. What that means in terms of sound I do not know. someone else will have to chime in on that. They also have slightly different dimensions. 2. Getting the series ii rc 52 is not gonna be an improvment over the regular rc 52. You will here 100 times that you should just get all the same series so they can be "timbre" matched. I don't exactly believe in "timbre" matching exact lines but people will tell you that. I have owned the rc 52 ii. It was not impressive. In fact I went from the synergy c-3 to the rc 52ii hoping for improved sound and I just didn't hear it. I only kept it a few weeks before I sold it and upgraded to the rc 64 ii.From what I have read you are going to be advised to go with th rc 62 ii as your center because it is a big improvement over the 52 ii. IMO you absolutely can use the rc 62 with the rf 52's. I say get the best center channel you can first. You will get the bug and want to upgrade at some point and your center channel won't need to be touched if you spend the money now. 3. straight from THX.com here is their reccomended speaker placement. My advice to you is to not become a slave to specs and advice. Listen on your own. play with the speaker placement. Use the audyssey function on your receiver and set it up the way it sounds best to you in your room. Choice of sub and sub placement in your room can make a huge difference as well so don't overlook your sub. the spot THX.com places the sub in the above photo is not the norm on this forum. Actually I don't recall seeing any home theatres on this forum with the sub placed in the middle under the tv or screen. Ussually they are in the corner or behind a couch. If you ever see them in front under the TV you are going to see 2 subs flanking the center channel. At least from what I have seen on this forum. The center speaker appears to be above the screen in this drawing as well. Some people go above the monitor and some go below. The key is to angle the speaker up or down accordingly to get a straight shot to your listening position. That is the key with all your speakers really. Your fronts should be toed in towards your listeningposition and your surrounds should be poited directly at you from the side. High surrounds or rear surrounds in 7.1 are a little different. Of course as I wrote earlier....it's what sounds best to you. Period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornfedksboy Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 JJC gives a lot of good advice. I am a fan of timbre matching on the other hand, but I am not currently running a timbre matched system so you can take it for what it's worth. If you're buying a full system from scratch, I think you should try and match your front three. I've listened to the 42 iis and the 52 iis recently, and I was quite impressed. I think these speakers are ideal for smallish living rooms, and are more than enough speaker for the vast majority of casual theater listeners. For your specific room, I've been using the RF-25s (equivalent, but 1 generation back of the RF-62s) and an RC-3 (10 year old version of the RC-62) in our family room. This room is 14 X 24 with the back wall open to the kitchen and dining area. This would be quite similar to your configuration I believe. That really is a large area to fill with sound and I would recommend that you get the RF-62s. No reason to get the 62 iis if the the 62s are still available. Add an RC-62 and Save the cash. For surround speakers, I think Klipsch recommends getting the RS-52s, but many, many folks have purchased the smaller RS-42s and they have been more than enough (espescially at 4-5 foot from the listener). I find timbre matching with surrounds to be the least important part of the equation for what speakers to choose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_q73 Posted April 9, 2011 Author Share Posted April 9, 2011 Thank you for the advice so far. I was looking at the 62 series and they all appear reasonably priced compared to the 52 series except the surrounds. The RS62s are $230 a peice more than the RS52s... From the sounds of it most people think even the RS42s are pretty good, so i think i'm going to go bite the bullet, save up the extra cash and go with the RF62s for front left/right, the RC62 for the center and then put two RS52s in the back for surrounds. I'm sure i'll be happy with whatever i get considering what i'm upgrading from, however, i wanted to get some input on it first so i didn't later find out i should have spent the extra $90 or whatever the II series All well, we will see! Thanks for those of you that have replied so far, if anyone else has any input i'm open to more advice, it's going to be a long while probably before i start purchasing them so i'll check this every so often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
senmurv76 Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 I recently auditioned both the RF-52 II and RF-62 II and decided on buying the 62s .. soundstage appeared much more open when comparing the two in the showroom .. I felt the additional expense was justifiable .. My 62s will be delivered tomorrow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornfedksboy Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 The RS-62s are an upgraded surround designed to be paired with the RF-7 iis I believe. I think you made the right decision by going with the RF-62s and RS-52s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJCarney Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Some is selling an rc-62 in the garage sale section of this forum $350 I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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