Option5 Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 I'm not very fluent in audio terminology so please bear with me. Over the past several years I've managed to piece together a little 5.1 system. I currently have RF-3 mains, RC-3 center, SS-1 surrounds, and an Outlaw LFM-1 all powered a Pioneer vsx-1014tx. I've been very pleased with the way it has preformed with the exception of vocals during movies. I dunno how to describe it other than they seem to get lost on the way to the listener. They are always quiet even after bumping the center output level. Its not that you can't hear them, they just seem to be drowned out by the rest of the setup. I hope this makes sense. I have a feeling the speaker is working properly and that I either don't have it configured properly or that the room is just too much for it to handle. The room, if you can call it that, is simply massive at roughly 7500 cubic feet. Would upgrading to a newer/larger center help with this problem? Something along the lines of an RC-62ii or RC-7 maybe? Thanks for reading, J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornfedksboy Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Welcome to the forum. I would bet that your room is too big. The reference series is designed for a room of no more than probably 3000 cubic foot. I don't know that a different reference center would do the trick in such a large room, but I could be wrong. Unfortunately, for a room that size, I can only honestly suggest that you need to upgrade your entire system to high end Heritage speakers. They are designed for large spaces and will fill the room with sound, but it is a significant increase in cost. Perhaps others can be more helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Option5 Posted July 29, 2011 Author Share Posted July 29, 2011 That's pretty much what I figured. When bought the front 3, I was in a smaller apartment. The room in my current place is 44x17x10. The developer thought it would be a great idea to have the kitchen, dining room, and living room all be one continuous space. Right now the whole setup is perpendicular to the long walls, about 28ft down the room, with about 7.5ft from the center channel to the main listening position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brunt Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 What about sitting closer to the screen/speakers? How far are you now from the center channel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Option5 Posted July 29, 2011 Author Share Posted July 29, 2011 The RC-3 is about 7.5 ft away, its sitting right bellow the TV screen. Here's a blurry photo of the setup. The surrounds are off screen on the wall behind the sofa facing the TV. I know its hard to tell from the photo but the middle seat of the sofa is dead center with the RC-3 and the center of the TV screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornfedksboy Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Did you have this problem in your old place? It looks like you have solid floors. Of course those will cause echoing problems, but you do have some rugs down to help. Is the center pointed up slightly? You want it to hit you in the chest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Option5 Posted July 29, 2011 Author Share Posted July 29, 2011 I don't recall having the issue in my old place or really when I first move here, but I didn't have a TV back then. I was using them with my computer at the time so the center was right in front of me. I have little pegs(~1/3") under the front feet so it is angled up but I don't know if its enough. You also couldn't be more right about the echo. The floor is concrete so it pretty much reflects everything. I honestly don't know if I could have set it up in a worse room but its the only one I have. Also thanks to all of you for the quick responses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJCarney Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 The rc3 can take 150 watts. For under $100 you could add an audiosource ma100 amplifier and bridged it will give you 160 watts for your rc3. I think adding power to it will bring it to life. Also you can bump up your DB rating to the center channel so it will stand out more over the R/L. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBXeRo Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 i can vouch for that setup as being very clean and clear, the rc-3 so far is one of my favorite centers. My big concern here is this, what is the media that you are playing though it? My rc-7 sounds shitty with certain types of sources. Some movies just have crappy sound recordings and just dont sound good while others like dolby DTS on bluray are impecably clean and clear. I have, in every setup i have had, had to turn the center up atleast 1.5-2.5db. I find this helps to keep a separation from the l/r and surrounds and keep things easy to hear without sounding out of place. Also, with the RC-3, i had my crossover setting at 60-65hz, i found that anything below it sounded muddy. I think i had it at 65hz. My rc-7 can go down to 44hz i think and i have its crossover at 55hz because it just started to sound muddy and brash with male vocals. You may want to angle your center up a bit. I actually put erasers onderneath the front to prop it up, ghetto but it worked. In your situation that would most likely be a good way to test. You can also set your speakers to large if you wanted or small, each works fine and is a personal preference. In your case your speakers can handle the large setting well. Sattelite speakers need to be set to small since they are usually so small. Your surrounds could handle large but may be better if set to small. Also, your soundfield mode as in dolby digital or dolby pro logic, neo:6 etc. I prefer Dolby Pro Logic of all of the sound fields barring Dolby DTS which isnt an option usually unless its on a bluray. I checked out your specs and face value says thatit should have sufficient power to run everything. Even with a conservative bet that you are getting around 50-70 wpc, that should still be enough for things to sound good at normal volumes with your left and right towers on full range. You could always set a cutoff for them at 40-60hz if you want. I had the rf-3 II's and it hought they performed great on full range. Another great feature is that your pioneer offers preamp outs (yay!). This means you could always get an outboard amp in the future if it tickled your fancy. It gives me peace of mind knowing i have a ton of power under the hood. It's also great to know that at low volumes i will get that responsive bass from the towers. Power amps are a splurge and many of us will say that once you go amp you never go back unless having separates doesnt fit a particular situation. My last though, try moving your sub to your front stage instead of having it firing at the wall and bouncing back. This may be affecting how you hear things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brunt Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 The rc3 can take 150 watts. For under $100 you could add an audiosource ma100 amplifier and bridged it will give you 160 watts for your rc3. I think adding power to it will bring it to life. Also you can bump up your DB rating to the center channel so it will stand out more over the R/L. +1 to this...I am running the above amp through the RC-3 alonside a pair of RF-62's and in my 21x12x8 room there are ZERO output issues...although the OP's room is drastically different so I'm not sure my statement brings anything to the table... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJCarney Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 The rc3 can take 150 watts. For under $100 you could add an audiosource ma100 amplifier and bridged it will give you 160 watts for your rc3. I think adding power to it will bring it to life. Also you can bump up your DB rating to the center channel so it will stand out more over the R/L. +1 to this...I am running the above amp through the RC-3 alonside a pair of RF-62's and in my 21x12x8 room there are ZERO output issues...although the OP's room is drastically different so I'm not sure my statement brings anything to the table... It may not but that hand rolled cigarette in your mouth certainly does! Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brunt Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 The rc3 can take 150 watts. For under $100 you could add an audiosource ma100 amplifier and bridged it will give you 160 watts for your rc3. I think adding power to it will bring it to life. Also you can bump up your DB rating to the center channel so it will stand out more over the R/L. +1 to this...I am running the above amp through the RC-3 alonside a pair of RF-62's and in my 21x12x8 room there are ZERO output issues...although the OP's room is drastically different so I'm not sure my statement brings anything to the table... It may not but that hand rolled cigarette in your mouth certainly does! Lol Effin' A man...Effin' A! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJCarney Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Brunt.... What would u do if you had a million dollars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brunt Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Brunt.... What would u do if you had a million dollars? 2 Chicks at the same time, man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Option5 Posted August 4, 2011 Author Share Posted August 4, 2011 Thanks for the input. Right now the center is raised in the front and just eye-ballin', it seems to be aimed at shoulder height when seated on the sofa. Its also +3db over the RF-3s. Currently the sub fires into the floor. The reason it's near field is two fold. The most important being that when I had it further away I could hear it but I couldn't feel it. The second being that the wall I had it on, the one behind the TV, is the bedroom wall of the unit next door. I will check the cross-overs tomorrow. I'm not certain the receiver can do per channel but if it can I will definitely try. I'll also look into that amp. As far as sources go the first that comes to mind is Band of Brothers on Blu-ray. I dunno why but the vocals just seem soft. Maybe I'm going deaf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJCarney Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Brunt.... What would u do if you had a million dollars? 2 Chicks at the same time, man! You know not all chicks dig dudes with money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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