eagle98 Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 First time posting. I'm new to the forum but have a question about a system I'm building (7.1 surround home theater) I'm trying to build a Klipsch reference series system. In order to cut down on cost a bit and have as good a system as I can get, I'm combing craisglist for some deals. I bought a RC-64i for around $440 used and it sounds pretty awesome. I'm debating on what type of subwoofer to buy. I'm primarily using the system for home theater and have a dedicated room about 14' wide, 16'long, 9' ceiling. I found a price for a old Black RT-12d for around $500. I want a real nice subwoofer, and I don't want to spend any more than $1000, so I'm trying to decide if I can get a better subwoofer for my budget. The reviews weren't stellar for the RT-12d, but it's also originally a $2000 subwoofer based on what I've seen online. I won't be able to afford $2000, so I'm trying to decide if the RT-12d is a good deal, or if I can find something better for the same price or around $1000. Is $500 a good deal? Like I said, I want movies and video games to sound awesome and I'll eventually end up putting a projector screen in the room (maybe the new Epson 6020, unless someone has some better suggestions) Also, for this setup, I was thinking about buying either some new RT-82s IIs or something used (under $1000). Based on what I've heard, I think this would be good combo. I'm also not sure about the side speakers and rear speakers, whether I should go budget or new. Probably want to keep these 4 speakers under $1000 Also, any suggestions on a receiver to power the system would be greatly appreciated. (Probably under $1000 too) So to summarize: - Need advice on either a $500 Klipsch RT-12d or a new sub under $1000 that would be better. - Need advice on some front speakers to go with the RC-64 I bought - Any advice on the sides and rear speakers for the size room I have - Need advice on a good receiver for the speakers and room you suggest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Eagle98, Welcome to the forum. I think the RT-12d for $500.00 is a good deal. Some will say that it will not dig that deep but 20Hz audible is plenty good for most movie soundtracks. The RT-12d is a very musical sub and has onboard auto EQ which will help any minimize any sound issues with your room. For $500.00, it is a great choice, for $1000.00, you can find better. Since you already have the RC-64, look for a pair of RF-63's or RF-83's and you will have an awesome front soundstage. The RF-82's will work but just will not be a "perfect" match. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 There is a pair of rf-63 in black with a rc-64 on Audiogon right now. Not a bad deal IMO amd you could sell the black rc-64 from it. and welcome! This is a great place! ALSOnotice the first two to chime in are recomending rf-63's to match because they are outstanding speakers. And with an outboard amp they will blow your mind (or your eardrums) but the sound is just a whole new level over any avr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagle98 Posted September 19, 2012 Author Share Posted September 19, 2012 Thanks for the advice on the RF-63s or RF-83s. In the size room I noted, 14'x16', do you think the 63s or 83s are more appropriate. And for the RT-12d, would I feel the boom like I'm in a movie theater with it or will I be looking to upgrade after a year? Is there a sub that anyone would recommend for this size room under $1000? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Also you can use search tempest and search all of America for a pair of rs-62's. Can prolly get a pair for around 500, amd then a pair of rb-61's is what I went with for around 200-300. You will be surprised how many people will ship. Just look for original packaging. And make you use FedEx. Too many people have issues with ups. As for an avr I would reccomend maybe the emotiva umc-1 with an emotiva xpa-5, or an avr with pre outs is a must then at least add an xpa-3 to your front soundstage for a whole new level of what an avr can offer. Amd for 500 if the sub is in good-great condition I would go for that price. Where are you located? Maybe we can all help find you some deals. That's what we are here for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 If you wanted something that would dig deeper for that movie explosion feel then something like the epik empire or a svs subwoofer. Maybe the pb12-nsd. Or maybe you could score a used pb-12 plus or get real lucky am score a pb-13 ultra. No room for upgrade after that. And I can vouch for that one personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted September 19, 2012 Moderators Share Posted September 19, 2012 Welcome to the forum. In order to cut down on cost a bit and have as good a system as I can get, I'm combing craisglist for some deals. I bought a RC-64i for around $440 used and it sounds pretty awesome. CL is a great place to pick up some sweet deals on used gear. Definitely nothing wrong with that. I'm primarily using the system for home theater and have a dedicated room about 14' wide, 16'long, 9' ceiling. Similar to my 13' wide x 19' deep x 10' ceiling room. I found a price for a old Black RT-12d for around $500. I think that is a great price on a very nice sub. I've heard the RT-12d and it's very musical and digs down pretty low. Not the lowest but I bet it would be enough to make you smile during explosions. [] Need advice on some front speakers to go with the RC-64 I bought RF-63 or if you can, the RF-83's. I wouldn't go with anything less since those are the proper matching fronts for your center. I highly recommend the RS-52's and you might even be able to get away with using the RS-42's. The RS-52's are more than capable for my room and absolutely have no problem keeping up with my RF-83's. For movies and gaming, I owned the Yamaha RX-V1800 and it was fantastic! Just not so wonderful with 2ch listening which is why I sold it and moved to the Emotiva UMC-1 Pre/Pro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted September 19, 2012 Moderators Share Posted September 19, 2012 Eagle, do you have enough depth in your room for a 7.1? My room isn't long enough for it and it is 19'. Tried it, didn't work so well in my setup. If I only had one row of seating, it would be fine but my back row is against the back wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted September 19, 2012 Moderators Share Posted September 19, 2012 In the size room I noted, 14'x16', do you think the 63s or 83s are more appropriate. I think either one would work great for that size room. Willland's room is MUCH more wide and deep than my HT and his room even has an open floor plan and his RF-63's sound fantastic. Never once thought they were inadequate for his size room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo81 Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Just wondering where you are located....... I have a pair of rf 63 for sale in south Florida. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagle98 Posted September 20, 2012 Author Share Posted September 20, 2012 I live in the Houston area. I'm guessing that shipping costs with the size and weight of these speakers would probably break my budget unless someone has a sweet deal with a shipper. How much should I expect to pay for a used pair of 63s? On another note. Why doesn't my formatting show up sometimes? Is there a forum setting I need to change? My original post wasn't one long continuous paragraph, but it showed up as one after posting. (so does this post, but my previous post has breaks in paragraphs) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagle98 Posted September 20, 2012 Author Share Posted September 20, 2012 I'm not sure about it being deep enough. I just have one row of seating. How do I determine if my room isn't deep enough to get side center speakers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Formatting is weird on this site must do a less than sign then a p then a greater than sign. And I payed 1800 for my 63/64 shipped to me. 280 of that was shipping so I would say if you could find a pair for 1000 or less snag em! I'm sure you can. In fact I know an audio shop down the street has a pair of black ones. I could inquire about them amd see what I could do for shipping if you'd like. and as for the depth of the room. If your only rom is right against a back wall then you don't need 7.1. But if you have room behind then your 5.1 channels go beside you and 7.1 behind you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 I live in the Houston area. Even though I think the RT-12d will be plenty good for your room, you might want to look into this subwoofer. http://houston.craigslist.org/ele/3236090585.html Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo33 Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 If you're mainly into home theatre and are willing to spend up to $1000 for a subwoofer then my recomendation is buy a new Epik Empire for $799. I am willing to bet that no Klipsch subwoofer in existence can ever hope to even meet the performance of (let alone beating) the Epik Empire for the money. Paying more for less and especially paying high price for a name makes absolutely no sense! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted September 20, 2012 Moderators Share Posted September 20, 2012 and as for the depth of the room. If your only rom is right against a back wall then you don't need 7.1. But if you have room behind then your 5.1 channels go beside you and 7.1 behind you. That's what I was trying to say. Scrappy is right on. As you can see in my setup below, since I have two rows, my back row is right against the back wall. My back surrounds could only be mounted really high and were pretty much useless up there. I didn't want them sitting right up against the back of the chair either so they just were not a good option for my setup. The HGS12 that Bill pointed you to is a great sub...just realize it is a 10 year old sub. I have no problem using older gear. My HGS15's are 10 years old as well as my Parasound amp. They are still going strong. For another $150 though, the Epik Empire might be a better option. Larger 15" driver, lots of great reviews, and a warranty. Lots of great options out there, you just have to decide what would be best for your setup and budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmassey Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 I think 500$ for an RT-12d is a great price. Sure you can do better, but you will likely have to wait quite a while and the difference will likely be negligible. I have an RT-12d in a similar sized room and find it more than adequate. With the extra 500$ you'd save, and in that size of room, your money might be better off spent somewhere else. Maybe with that extra 500$, it will allow you to go right into an amp and pre/pro instead of a receiver. If you do get the RF-83's or RF-63's, you will probably want an external amp anyway. If you do get a receiver, I would be sure that it has good room correction (Audyssey xt32 is best) and pre-outs for adding an amp later. That should keep you pretty future proof and allow you add an amp later when you see fit without having to swap out or buy any other components. As said before, if you are going 7.1 with RF-83's or RF-63's as your fronts, a pair of RS-52's would be more than capable of keeping up for the sides, and you will probably want a pair of RB-61's for the rears. You should have no problem keeping it under your desired 1000$ for surrounds going that route. It sounds like you have a very good budget for what you are looking for and you have found some terrific deals already with the center and sub if you get it, you should have no problem finishing out the rest of system without going near your budget. Best of luck, and if after taking everyone's advice you do decide on what components you want, there are some excellent deal finders here that love to shop with other's money, myself included. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagle98 Posted September 20, 2012 Author Share Posted September 20, 2012 A Awesome advice guys.If you guys think an Epik Empire would beat out a RT-12d and only cost me another 299 clams, I'm thinking that would be the way to go.Would I have to go to a dealer to buy one? Any good discount websites for that sub?I am a bit skeptical on older audio equipment since you never know how good a device is taken care of and fixing a preiviously $2000 sub might end up costing the same price as the used sub to begin with.That said, the reviews on the RT-12d were good, but not stella and I'm definitely not opposed to getting used since I can probably get better stuff used than brand new lower end items. I have to say that I'm a bit of a newb when it comps to amps and pre-amps etc. I'd like to educate myself on the benefits of doing that versus a receiver. Any advice?Thanks again everyone.Everyone is so helpful here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted September 20, 2012 Moderators Share Posted September 20, 2012 I believe Epik is an ID (Internet Direct) company meaning you can only purchase them new through them directly. I am a bit skeptical on older audio equipment since you never know how good a device is taken care of and fixing a preiviously $2000 sub might end up costing the same price as the used sub to begin with. I love buying used if I can get it at a steal of a price. That way, if it breaks, I'm not out too much and is much easier to replace. You tend to get more for your money buying used but again, there is always a risk. I have to say that I'm a bit of a newb when it comps to amps and pre-amps etc. I'd like to educate myself on the benefits of doing that versus a receiver. Any advice? There is plenty of info on the and here are my thoughts when I added an external amp to my setup (prior to adding my pre/pro). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage_Head Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 If you're mainly into home theatre and are willing to spend up to $1000 for a subwoofer then my recomendation is buy a new Epik Empire for $799. I am willing to bet that no Klipsch subwoofer in existence can ever hope to even meet the performance of (let alone beating) the Epik Empire for the money. Paying more for less and especially paying high price for a name makes absolutely no sense! Huge fan of the empire but I have read they are having problems at epik. People are waiting 3weeks just to get chad or anyone on the phone. After what just went down with ED I would be nervous to go that way right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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