boomer76 Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 Hey, I need some help from you fine people. I purchased an Icon system from Best Buy in 2009 got the surrounds instead of bookshelfs for a 7.1 setup, used a pioner av receiver. Well, I liked it at times, I wasn't super impressed to be honest, didn't know if it was just the system or the room it was in, fairly open living room. Needless to say I was happy to sell the system with my house, In fact, its was the main selling point to the buyer. I let him hear it before I sold him the house so I could in good concious sleep at nite knowing he was fully satisfied. He was and boom the house was sold. Now, I have bought a new house in edmond, oklahoma, with a bonus room upstairs I didn't get to pick the house for the "man cave" but i get full say in how i set it up!! I want to get the best system for the price, but I'm not apposed to spending cash over time (buying pieces over time) to get the right system, The budget varies depending on the speed in which i purchase each piece but i can envision spending at least 3k to maybe 6k+ It is soley going to be a movie and sports watching room, What do you all suggest I need to go after. I am pretty newbish as it comes to these things but am eager to learn and to hear your input!! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utard Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 I have been very happy with my setup in my sig. If you are not opposed to used you can get some really good deals on the Reference II line of speakers. Check Craigslist or a local online classifieds. There are some web sites like newegg.com that have great deals on new stuff. I ended up getting my subs from them for $300 each. If you are going to do more movies than music then the RF 82 II's with lots of subs works great. Or if music is more important then the RF-7 II Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 Checkout the garage sale section. There are many mint condition speakers and systems there for a fraction of the cost of brand new gear. You would have to give a little more info on the room for solid recommendations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomer76 Posted July 28, 2012 Author Share Posted July 28, 2012 Checkout the garage sale section. There are many mint condition speakers and systems there for a fraction of the cost of brand new gear. You would have to give a little more info on the room for solid recommendations. thx for the tips, The Room is upstairs so one side of the wall is angled in starting at 4 ft up to 7ft high. the area i'm going to be placing these speakers is roughtly 20 x 12 with a nook to the left of the tv 4 ft deep x 8 long,, 2 windows opposite wall of the TV, the angled portion of the wall going to be where my TV is to placed, 73 inch mitsubishi for now, may opt for projector to roll down in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhetor Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 Boomer . . . Do you want to go vintage or contemporary? If vintage, find a great pair of pre-owned La Scalas as fronts and build from there. If contemporary, a pre-owned set of RF7s . . . And one center channel to match the fronts and a strong sub . . . Of course an AVR. From there, you can build on. For HT, the most important part is the front stage and thump (fronts, center, and sub) . . . The next four speakers in a 7.1 setup are sound accents. Start with the garage sales and alerts here and your local Craigslist. If you get the fronts right first, the rest is tweaking. Sure, you can go with Belles, but they are harder to find, and I am not sure if K-horns would fit your slanted ceilings. A pair of La Scalas are much easier to find and more affordable and are a great HT size, not to mention sound amazing when in spec. Or who could argue with a pair of RF7s!?!? Good luck . . . I remember getting to start over after having my first awesome Reference setup. Loved my first Reference 7.1 setup. Now enthralled with my Heritage 11.1 setup (soon to be 11.2 when I find the right second sub). This is an exciting time for you! I almost envy you getting to start over . . . Well, maybe not . . . Too many great Klipsch choices! Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivanhurd Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 I am fond of my system and you can read my review in my sig. My only advice is when you figure out what you want, if you are going to go new, check out all of the online dealers listed on this site and call all of them to get the best price. I did this and was able to afford way more speaker than I had originally thought. Every place lists MSRP, but if you call you can get a way better price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Since you have been on this forum and seen people talk about various setups: you know that there are many great choices. What size speakers do you want, large vs small, modern vs heritage? Which of the Klipsch line of speakers appeal to you? Then we can help you put a great system together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomer76 Posted July 29, 2012 Author Share Posted July 29, 2012 Thanks for all the responses so far...... I want Large size speakers... I don't mind the idea of going Heritage but I wouldn't know how the sounds quality would be in comparison to the modern lines.... If I had to choose right now, I would go with the Reference line..... thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Android Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Boomer did you get my P.M.? Please don't make the mistake thinking a speaker made in last 4 years sounds better than speakers built in the 70's ,60's, 80's, 90's or even before these times. In my opinion you get more for your money with older used classics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomer76 Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 I think I saw it... If I were to go vintage, what do I do for my surrounds, and for that matter , what do I need to look for first, price ranges I should be buying in.... Thanks for your input Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivanhurd Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 There is also nothing wrong with going for modern speakers. The reference line sounds great. I would like to hear a Heritage setup tho. Anybody around NM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmassey Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 If you go reference, I would look at RF-63's, RF-83's, or RF-7's in no particular order. They are usually considered top of the reference line, and are usually cheap enough that they should fit nicely into your budget. I believe a forum member here got a pair of RF-63's for about 600 from acoustical sound design, which I thought was a steal, so if you are able to check around every day, there are fantastic prices out there. It's very possible you will end up spending less on this system than you did for your icon setup from Best Buy. Instead of getting a receiver, have you considered getting separates? A good processor and an amp can usually give much better sound quality than a AVR. If you do get an AVR, my only suggestion is to get one that has preouts so you can add an amp later. While not necessary, an amp is usually a very good way to really open up your speakers without breaking the bank. As always, keep an eye on the garage sale thread here, the classifieds on avsforum.com, Audiogon, and ebay if you are feeling brave. A brand that I like to watch out for is Emotiva, and a lot of people really like Outlaw too. Edit: I just noticed on Audiogon, it looks like there is an entire RF-63 setup with the matching center and surrounds for sale with 3 days left. The price is okay now, but I would keep an eye on it in case the seller decides to drop the price further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomer76 Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 thanks for the input, I will keep my eyes open on all the places, found a local guy selling forte 2's for $600 but don't know if thats exactly what I'm after, I would definately be open to going the processor route with amps, need to research it as I'm completely green when it comes to amps etc. I only found a pair of rf-63's for 999 so maybe that deal was already sold on audiogon. I would love to be able to hear a vintage setup in person, maybe I can youtube it or something.... thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Android Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 600$ for Forte 2's is a high price. Please don't think i''m not a fan of the reference line. Those are very good speakers for HT. The older 3-way heritage are better for music in my opinion, and used RF-82's are around the same price as used Forte 2's , and after asking around the majority voted Forte 2 over RF-82. Plus I never saw RF-82's under 500$. I'v seen Forte 1's and 2's for 300$ a steal!!! on craigslist, but very hard to find and retrieve. As it took me 3 years to get a good deal in my area.. The RF 7's are the flagship for the reference and I suggest if you get an RF front, look for those used!!!. I have never heard a bad thing about them. As far as amps go, getting a separate pre and power amp setup will net you better sound at a higher price, usually. It is easier to get an AVR and.....usually cheaper at a cost of less sound quality................ But as you are new to this .................I don't think for a second you will be disappointed with the sound of a good AVR.................. The pre/pro setup will also keep it's value for longer if you decide to sell it, you will get more money back from the pre/pro than a AVR. It's very hard to tell you what to buy, it all depends on the deals you can find. It just takes time to figure out what good used prices are on the stuff you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomer76 Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 Good to know about the Forte 2's... I think I definately want to go with the pre/pro setup... I am keeping an eye out for some rf-7's, does it matter if its rf-7 II or rf-7, I would assume either is great rf-7 being a better deal since its the older of the 2...... It was suggested to look at emotiva or outlaw amps/processors, does anyone have any suggestions which models to keep an eye on or what seems to be getting the best deals?.... Thanks for all your input.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 A lot of people mod the older 7's to make them not quite so harsh. The newer ones are supposed to be a bit more refined. I have only heard the newer ones and I think, at least on the receiver and source I heard, that they are just not my style. I have the exact setup that is for sale on Audiogon and payed about the same for it and I wouldn't trade it for anything right now. The amps made a huge difference as well. I really want to hear a heritage setup but my only issue is you have to have a little larger space for those larger footprints on scalas and heresy rears. But I am sure they sound better with music being a 3way speaker. So my vote would be to keep an eye on the set in cherry on Audiogon. And then snag you budmans cherry svs pb-13 ultra and never look back. Game over after that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmassey Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 There is a UPA-5 for 425$ shipped on the classifieds section at avsforum.com. I don't remember what they used to retail for, but it seems like an extremely good deal.< br/> Also see an XPA-5 on the garage sale thread here for 700 if you are near Wisconsin. The XPA-5 is 200x5 and UPA-5 is 125x5. Both should be sufficient at powering RF-7's. The XPA-5 might give it a little more breathing room, not really sure how much of a difference you would hear though. As Scrappy said though, the RF-7's might seem a little harsh. It depends on how you hear, so you might do well to see if there is a place near you where you can demo something similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomer76 Posted July 31, 2012 Author Share Posted July 31, 2012 I see a lot of people going after the SVS sub.... I assume you are talking about the rf-63's? seem to be priced pretty well, did you have to mod them in any way?..... Also, can someone explain exactly what audio components (amps, processors etc) I need to get to push an rf-7 or even the rf-63's.....or link an article that explains what i need and why it makes a difference/how it makes a difference in pushing the speakers......I know people say its all about preference, but when I watch movies, I like hearing and feeling powerful sounds with my movies... thanks again for all the input Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 A lot of people mod the older 7's to make them not quite so harsh. The newer ones are supposed to be a bit more refined. I have only heard the newer ones and I think, at least on the receiver and source I heard, that they are just not my style. I have the exact setup that is for sale on Audiogon and payed about the same for it and I wouldn't trade it for anything right now. The amps made a huge difference as well. I really want to hear a heritage setup but my only issue is you have to have a little larger space for those larger footprints on scalas and heresy rears. But I am sure they sound better with music being a 3way speaker. So my vote would be to keep an eye on the set in cherry on Audiogon. And then snag you budmans cherry svs pb-13 ultra and never look back. Game over after that I think the harshness that some have experienced the the older 7's and other Klipsch speaker has a lot to do with setup and the room. I definetly would not skimp on the avr or pre-amp. This is the brains of the system and sometime we think only in terms of which speaker or how much power to push. I think rom integration is 50% to achieve a good sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Svs subs are the bees knees in m opinion. And the 63's are my favorite speaker I have heard to date. You need either an avr or a processor/amp combo. I have a very beefy 130x7 all channels driven receiver and the difference made when moving to the xpa-5/xpa-2 comboe would be as follows: more tight clean bass, bigger soundstage, more warmth than from my onkyo, more detailed highs, the extra headroom you want in home theater, and most importantly for me, the dynamics at lower volumes. And what I mean by that when you your stereo up really loud your speakers get more dynamic. Well with more power, you get that at lower volumes as well. Which is nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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