Speaker Selection Help

[nitro230]

Hi, I am looking into upgrading from my home theater in a box speakers to something a little better. After some searching i stumbled across this brand of speakers and liked what I saw. I do however have a few questions and was hoping to get help with choosing the right speakers.

My room size is 17 x 12 x 9 and I am going to be getting an Onkyo 709 receiver, Emotiva Ultra 12 Sub and Axiom QS4 or QS8's for the surrounds.

As for the Fronts and Center speakers, that is where I want to go with Klipsch and have a few different options.

Option 1 (slightly under my budget): RF-52 II Floorstanding Speaker with RC-52 II Center Speaker

Option 2 (hits my budget): RF-62 II Floorstanding Speaker with RC-52 II Center Speaker

Option 3 (slightly over my budget): RF-62 II Floorstanding Speaker with RC-62 II Center Speaker

I will be using this setup mostly for movies (blu rays) and games. I guess my question is how much better the 52's are from the 62's and if it is a bad idea to mix them as I did in option 2.

Thanks in advance!!

Edit: Sorry, for some reason none of my paragraphing is showing in the post

[JasonJCarney]

Welcome to the forum. I'll give you my opinions and you can take it from there. I have owned the rc52ii, rc3, and rc64ii in the reference series. Honestly the rc52ii was the worst of the bunch. I was using the rc52ii with the rc62ii fronts and it was just way underwhelming. I realize the rc64ii is out of your price range right now so we gotta go another direction. I have not personally owned the rc62ii but I have read many reviews on it in this forum and on AVS forum. All reviews were very positive. The center channel is the most important speaker is in your system (along with the sub). I would spend any extra money I have on improving my center channel. So in the end I suggest the that you get the rc62ii (unless you want to wait for the rc64ii).

The fronts are a huge debate on this forum. You have those that say get rf7ii's because they are top of the line. Can't really disagree with buying top of the line but most people have budgets and Klipsch is not cheap so let's examine a couple of the lower end speakers. Your room is really close in size to mine so I can make almost direct comparisons.

Rf63 (own right now) these are from the last rf line from Klipsch. They don't make a direct copy in the rfii series. I love mine. Great clarity and nice bass. Kinda a mix between great bass and a 1.25 inch tweet giving you awesome clarity. Real wood veneer as well not vinyl. The only issue I have is they are 19.5 inches deep and my room is so shallow (11feet). In a perfect world I need a speaker that doesn't stick out so far into my room. Not sure if depth will be an issue for you though. These are a used find only as they are not made anymore. Tough to find but I think there are 2 sets for sale right now on this forum. $850-$1000 is a good price. These will outperform the rf82ii's according to reviews I read. From my personal experience I can tell you they out perform rf62ii's as well.

Rf82ii (have not owned). 8 inch woofers and 1 inch tweet. I have owned the synergy version of these and they did provide ample bass however being from the synergy line the clarity was not great (not bad but not up to RF standards). Can be had for about $900-$1000

Rf62ii (owned) Used as my fronts and my surrounds. Very clear and can be played very loud. Good price ($600 pair) and good size for the WAF. 6.5 inch woofers provide decent bass providing your not crossing your AVR over at 80 hz (which I find ridiculous).

Rf52ii (have not owned) I have only heard these in a store. compared head to head with the rf7ii's and the rf62ii's. They are clear and could play loud.....just underwhelming as far as bass goes. 5.25 inch woofers don't provide much bass at all. Can't remember the tweeter size but it seemed small (soundwise). Probably a good speaker on it's own in a small room. side by side with the 62's it just didnt stand out. t would be fine if you wanted to mix the rc62 center with the rf52's...going to sound finetogether.

You could go with rb61ii's which is basically a bookshelf version of the rf62ii's. 1 tweet and 1 6.5 inch woofer. you'll get the same good tweeter but only 1 woofer which means you'll be getting less bass. These can be had for $350-$400 and I would still suggest the rc62ii center.

I can't comment on your surrounds as I don't know what they are. I won't say you have to match your surrounds either as I know 3 people that have nice systems with unmatched surrounds. I will say that I have heard great things about the rs line of Klipsch surrounds and the rs41ii can be had for $230 a set. If you decide to go with regular bookshelf style klipsch surrounds (with your perticular system) I would suggest rb41ii's, rb51ii's or rb61ii's. Basically 4 inch through 6 inch woofers and priced from $250-$400.

For a subwoofer I would suggest going with an internet direct company like emotiva or elemental designs. I have 2 elemental subs that are awesome. They sell a sub that produces alot of spl and they say is their best bang for the buck sub in their entire lineup A2-300. It is $400 or so shipped. There is a guy on this forum that has the emotiva ultra 12 but he has 2 of them. Not sure your going to be happy with 1 ultra 12 in your room. For movies I like my bass to hit hard. I would look for subexero's review on his dual ultra 12's before I order it. Also check out reviews for the A2-300 as it is cheaper than the ultra 12 and gets great reviews.

Hopefully you have not ordered your AVR yet. If not then go to accessories4less and check out their factory refurbished AVR's from Onkyo and Marantz. If your not running 3D then you can go with a model 2 years old from Onkyo that is on par with the 709 or better for half the price. Check out the Onkyo HT RC-180 for $350 shipped. Network connectability, RCA preouts, and Onkyo has a nice sound (IMO). I have used this AVR and my friend has it right now. It's basically a carbon copy of Onkyo's nr807 for comparison sake. Of course that is not the only AVR they sell but just gives you an idea of what you can get for a great price. BTW factory refurbished means PERFECT condition and comes with a 1 year warranty (at least from accessories4less)

Wiring can b had cheap at monoprice.com

16 gauge speaker wire at least is my suggestion.

[BigCliff]

Here is a thought. Buy the RF-62s set them up with a ghost center. By ghost center I mean to set up your system with no center. Program your Onkyo

to show no center which will send the center channel signal to the left and right speakers. Then when you get enough money get the RC-62II. Good Luck and

happy listening.

[JasonJCarney]

That could be a good option if your budget is crunching you. One thing you'll read on this forum alot is to wait till you can afford the speakers you want rather than buying an entire setup of lower end stuff. In order if you were going to buy 1 thing at a time I would go like this:

1. AVR and front's (or you can buy your surrounds and use them as fronts until you get the fronts and move your surrounds back)

2. Center

3. Sub

4. surrounds (or fronts now if you bought your surrounds first)

[nitro230]

Thanks for all of your help!!

Where are you able to get the Rf62ii's for $600 a pair (a quick google search is coming up with $440 each)? If that is the case than I can easily get the rc62ii center with it. If not than I may do what BigCliff suggested and just get the Rf62ii's for now and use a phantom center until I can afford the rc62ii center.

I was planning on eventually getting a matching second sub, but the single sub will have to do for now.

As for the receiver, I was actually looking to get one with with HDMI 1.4a for its 3d support, but i will definitely use that website to save some money.

Thanks again.

Also, can anyone tell me why my line spaces (paragraphs) are not showing up in the post??