Recommend 3 front speakers

[AYP]

Hello guys,

Sometime ago i posted about HD500 and onkyo receiver but after reading reviews small vs large speakers i decided to increase my budget and wait.

Following bookshelf speakers are under my range

RB41 II or

Synergy B20

and center channel

C10

Rear Surrounds

I already have Sony mini hifi speakers which are 8 ohm 140watts RMS/speaker, they have 5.5 inch woofer and produce room filling bass enough for my taste and neighbour. here is sony i have http://img3.tokobagus.com/28/43/2840433_11246061_detail.jpg

I always wanted to have good dialogue performance as it lacked in mini hifi connected with dvd player with stereo input

Do you think it is good idea to mix Klipsch + sony speakers and use with ONkyo 609 receiver without sub?

Entirely different option:

following 5.0 speaker system from JAMO

Jamo426 or Jamo506

[SuBXeRo]

I would not mix anything with the sony speakers you have shown. If you are going to mix and match atleast have the sonys as rear channels. As far as bass is concerned, you arent going to get any really from the rb-41's. The 4.5" cones are just too small.

I need some more information from you.

1. What is your full budget (please separate receiver cost and speaker cost)?
2. What size room do you have?
3. Are you in an apartment/condo or house (i assume you're in a condo/apt cause you have neighbors)?
4. If subwoofers are not an option, would you consider larger bookshelfs?
5. Are you looking for full surround or just a front soundstage (center and left/right)?

[AYP]

Yes using sony as rear channels is my plan till i am able to retire them and get better.

1: 600-700 USD for Speakers

2: Receiver has separate budget

3: room size 10x16 feet

4: I have separate house, but houses are very close just like in our part of world walls are shared with neighbours

5: i am dropping sub because of budget so small budget bookshelves + subwoofer in range will do

6: I am looking for full surround system

thanks

[JasonJCarney]

The $600-$700 budget...is that for the front 3 or just 2?

I have 2 options for you. These are bookshelf options if you want some floor stander options I can look those up for you as well.

1. Pair of RB61ii's and the RC52ii for $610 shipped brand new. Use your sony's as surround

2. 2 Pairs of RB61ii's for $660 shipped brand new, run 3 of them across the front and the 4th as a single rear channel. Use your sony's as surrounds.

I would suggest you go to accesories4less.com and check out their refurbished AVR's. If you get last years onkyo model or the year before you save big money vs the 609 brand new. Not sure what price you were seeing on the 609 though.

[SuBXeRo]

you will find different prices depending on where you shop. I have used vanns.com before and they are very reputable. The RB-61 II's are better to get and then get the RC-52 II to match but at vanns's that pushes you over your budget. If you wanted to skimp and get the RB-51 II's you could do that and get the center, unfortunately its still over budget by like 50 bux or so i believe. If your speakers will be going in a cabinet or on a shelf, the RB-61's are better since the port is front mounted, if ifs not going in either of those, the rb-51's would be good (ithas a rear firing port. The specs pages for the RB-51 says it has keyhole mounting ability for on wall use. Usually it comes with little rubber feet you put on it which gives it some breathing room away from the wall. In practicality, either speaker would work in cab r out of cab or on a shelf/bookcase. I think that would be a really solid start.

I had the RC-10 which is the predacessor to the rc-41 II and i thought it was a fantastic speaker, so much clearer than the tv or anything else. The rc-52 II should be even better and more lively for you. The rC-41 II has a different size tweeter in it so it doesn't match as well to the rb-51 or rb-61's.

[AYP]

Thanks guys for the help.

I went to only shop which carries some hometheater setups in my city, auditioned Quintet II and Jamo E660, though i was expecting better performance from Jamo as they were towers + bookshelf but Quintet was much more clearer to my ears (this is 1st time i heard Klipsch or Jamo) does that mean i am Klipsch guy? (i heard some people saying you love or hate horns).

I also think Quintet II were awesome for my taste, they crossed my expectations but they cost same as pair of C10+b20 without sub here. I hope bigger klipsch will be even better, i cannot audition anything before buying

pooling finances

[JasonJCarney]

Trust me. You will love either of the options I gave you.

[AYP]

Okay sorry for this but i miss understood option 2

You recommend get 2 pairs of bookshelf speakers and use bookshelf as centre. will that give matched sound with fronts ?i heard if not using appropriate centre it can cause uneven sound.

[psg]

That would give you the best possible match up front, actually. Different center speakers are a trade-off and not a good thing.

[Music Luva]

While I don't have the technical savvy as some on the board, I do have experience building a budget system while giving me the top end performance I crave.

My angle on this conversation revolves around one question: Do you have to have newer/current speakers?

If you spend enough time around the forums you'll find there is a large collection of members who use older speakers for all their listening needs. There are various reasons why, but there is a common love for very good reasons. The classic Klipsch products age very well and do not lose their sonic abilities. Also, some of the fun of owning these older speakers is the "journey" of finding, buying and sharing the enjoyment. You get lucky some times and find your speakers in the hands of music and Klipsch enthusiasts who enjoy buying/selling/trading equipment. It's more than a hobby for them.

That said, I understand your approach of buying as you can. The biggest mistake you can make is not having an overall plan. What do you really want to have in 5 or 10 years? If you don't have a plan, you will have a mix/match solution that constantly keeps you replacing speakers and missing the satisfaction you're hoping to achieve.

From personal experience, I've learned that the ultimate HT setup is to have the exact same single speaker model on ALL channels. Having the same exact speaker on all channels gives you the emersion HT is all about (aka "voice matching"). And while voice matching typically refers to tweeters and midrange speakers, to get true emersion you want the same woofers in each channel too. But we all can't buy 5 or 7 of the speaker we really want. So, you have to make sure to voice match the same areas appropriately. In 5 or 7 channel performance, both have the same 2 areas: Front (front and center channels) and Surround (side and rear channels). In 6 channel, you want to match the rear center with the rear surrounds.

For your $600 budget, I would highly recommend you look at the Klipsch KLF and KG lines. The best center channels (that are not duplicates of the fronts), have 8" woofers. In HT, nearly 60% of all of the information comes through the center; including explosions.

Klipsch's most renown center channel speakers are the older models KLF-C7 (KLF series, with KLF-10, KLF-20 or KLF-30 fronts), KV-4 (Epic series, with CF-2, CF-3 or CF-4 fronts) and the Academy (The Heresy series with Fortes or Heresy's as fronts).

Of these 3 series, the KLF series is the most readily available and cheapest to acquire. But I will tell you, imho, the KLF line is the best all around performing for HT and music. The KLF-C7 and KLF-10s have fast attacking woofers that grip bass and truly pound. They'll make you forget you don't have a sub.

KLF-10s go for around $300 - $500 a pair depending on condition. KLF-C7 goes for around $200 - $375 depending on condition.

I mentioned the KG-5.5s, as well. As you can see by my signature, I have them as surrounds. The KG series didn't have an equivalent center channel to match the KLF-C7s performance. You will note several conversations on this board about the mixing and matching people have done with the KG-5.5s and a candidate center channel. The KLF-C7 isn't a perfect match, but is does offer good matching. AND, since the KG-5.5s are cheaper to acquire, you could get a pair of them now for your mains, then demote them to surrounds later when you can acquire any of the KLF towers (10s, 20s, 30s).

KG-5.5s go for around $200 - $350 a pair depending on condition.

Therefore, you could start with very great condition KG-5.5s and KLF-C7 for your budget amount. You would be acquiring very nice speakers that would become the foundation to your system that you could add as your budget allows. And you wouldn't have to replace them in the future. Money well spent.

The KLF, KG and Epic series speakers were all made in the 1990's. Therefore they have the same finish offerings (for the most part). The Black finish is the most common and easy to acquire. Craigslist, eBay, Audiogon and, you guessed it, the Klipsch Garage Sale Forum are the best sources. If you're patient, you'll want to look for only "local pick up" items in driving distance to save on shipping.

Keep in mind, people that enjoy HT and home audio over time, tend to go through selling and acquiring phases with some trading mixed in. So, this is where the patience comes in. Just when you settle for a lesser condition KLF-C7 for $250, you'll find that "cherry" KLF-C7 a few weeks later that is flawless for $300.

I am currently in an acquisition phase. In the past few months, I've acquired CF-3s, KG-5.5s, a 2nd amp and 5.1 preamp (was a throw in for the amp).

I spent $500 on great condition CF-3s from a guy in Florida on eBay. He met me (KY) in Tennessee at his 2nd house. He hauled them from Florida FREE OF CHARGE. He had a listening room in his TN home that had several vintage speakers and many tube amps. I spent $350 on immaculate KG-5.5s on Craigslist that I drove an hour to pick up at the guy's house; great and friendly Klipsch guy. And $300 on a Sherwood Newcastle AM-9080 and AVP-9080R in very good condition from a guy in Florida on Craigslist (I got the lead from a fellow forum member!). I had to pay for shipping/packing on those, but was well worth it for me.

What I got for my money can't be matched. I would have had to spend nearly $3000 - $4000. I'm stil looking for a 7.1 preamp and a 2nd KLF-C7. I've had my KLF-10s for over 15 years, the KLF-C7 and first AM-9080 and AVP-9080R were bought at the same time over 8 years ago.

I highly recommend you plan out what you want (driver size, number of channels and sub/no sub). Another idea to consider, ALL center channels (buy 3 now and keep adding when you can).

Good luck with your endeavor and sorry for the LONG post. Just wanted to present you with an alternative. Sometimes, we don't realize we're in a box until we stand outside of it.

[Ironsave]

Waaz makes many excellent points.

I too bought every speaker I own used. (and my receiver)

HIs $250

SS-3s $120

KV4 $165

HK AVR 7300 $225

JBL L36s $6.99 each +30 for refoaming

Infinity Interlude 120s $120 (Another 12" sub)

Definitive Technology Supercube III $50

Speakers that family now owns:

KG 2s $80

KG 3s $80 (I think, do not remember)

The only speaker I bought new was my Emotiva Ultra 12 sub for $359 new.