New to klipsch looking for AVR Advice

[Psylo717]

I have owned Klipsch computer speakers in the past but am new to the HT world (non HTIB). I recently picked up a full kf-28 7.1 set of the Icon series at Black Friday in addition to the Denon x2000 receiver and am looking for some assistance on whether this receiver is powerful enough to power the speakers. I have done a fair amount of research on both the speakers and the receiver, but am concerned that the front speakers are being under powered or the receiver is being over worked and may become damaged.

In a perfect world, I would like to run the full 7.1 setup. Although I am unsure as to whether I would benefit more on running 5.1 and bi-amping the front speakers (pardon lingo if it is incorrect) and returning the other two rear ks-14 speakers. Any assistance is greatly appreciated! The specs of the system are below:

Speakers:

• (2) KF-28 Floorstanding Speaker - 150W RMS / 600W Peak
• KC-25 Center Speaker - 100W RMS / 400W Peak
• (4) KS-14 Surround Speaker - 50W RMS / 200W Peak
• SW-450 Subwoofer - Self Powered

AVR:

Denon x2000 - 95w @ 6ohms, 125w @ 8ohms

Room Size:

20x21 with a corner tv/front sound stage setup

[Scrappydue]

pm sent check your inbox

[Youthman]

First off, welcome to the forums and congrats on your first Klipsch HT. Your receiver is 95 watts / ch and fortunately, Klipsch speakers are very efficient. Your mains are rated 98db which means they will hit 98db (stinkin loud) by feeding it 1 watt and placing a microphone 1 meter from the speaker.

Typically the more speakers you add to a receiver, the more taxed the receiver will be. You will in no way harm your Denon by running 7 Klipsch speakers. If you decide down the road you need more power, I would suggest buying a receiver with Preouts and adding a multi-channel amp. I am feeding my 7.1 system 200 x 7 which some might feel is overkill (none from this forum though ) but more power allows the sound to be cleaner, more controlled and the sound never sounds strained even when driven at very high volume.

If it were me, I would sit back and enjoy your new toys. If you hang out here long enough, you will find that the majority of us are infected with an audio disease called upgradeitis and if you hang out here long enough, you are VERY likely to become infected yourself. So YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! Stay at your own risk.

[SuBXeRo]

your receiver will do just fine but there is no substitute for a good power amp. For the time being, have fun with what you have.and welcome to the family.

Most media is dynamic barring test tones so your power requirements will constantly change. Sometimes you'll be using 1 watt while others you may be using 50 watts. Most receivers suck on power output and I do mean the vast majority especially when you pit it against a power amp of "rated" output. The receivers that seem to bench test best are class D receivers but few manufacturers make them (pioneer has their SC line) but for the most part they are class AB amps within the receiver.

I fancy Denon, i think they make a good product. My favorite is harmon kardon, they were also the company that made the first real true receiver as a side fact. Onkyo/Integra is good too and pioneer seems to be the best bang for the buck. After having gone the processor/power amp route, there are manufacturers now who make some slimmer amps and processors that are basically the same size as the majority of receivers which is what i would choose but i am spoiled now and have a bad case of upgradetitus.

Enjoy!

Edited December 4, 2013 by SuBXeRo

[derrickdj1]

Welcome to the forum and nice system!!! Enjoy.

[Psylo717]

Wow people were not kidding when they said that this was an active forum! It is great to there are others out there. So far I only have had time to setup the fronts, sub and center channel - finishing off the surrounds this weekend after running some wire and hanging them up on the walls. I will post back my experience after it is fully setup. I appreciate everyone's comments and look forward to hearing the system.

[billybob]

Bet is will sound good. No doubt good advice and welcome.

[akdave]

First off, welcome to the forums and congrats on your first Klipsch HT. Your receiver is 95 watts / ch and fortunately, Klipsch speakers are very efficient. Your mains are rated 98db which means they will hit 98db (stinkin loud) by feeding it 1 watt and placing a microphone 1 meter from the speaker.

Typically the more speakers you add to a receiver, the more taxed the receiver will be. You will in no way harm your Denon by running 7 Klipsch speakers. If you decide down the road you need more power, I would suggest buying a receiver with Preouts and adding a multi-channel amp. I am feeding my 7.1 system 200 x 7 which some might feel is overkill (none from this forum though ) but more power allows the sound to be cleaner, more controlled and the sound never sounds strained even when driven at very high volume.

If it were me, I would sit back and enjoy your new toys. If you hang out here long enough, you will find that the majority of us are infected with an audio disease called upgradeitis and if you hang out here long enough, you are VERY likely to become infected yourself. So YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! Stay at your own risk.

+1 - beware the upgradeitis! Beware!!

Your set up should rock your world for a first time HT! Congrats and enjoy every minute!

[Hutch1814]

I have the exact same setup minus the sub, I went with the SW112 instead. Felt it was better for my needs. I love my setup, I could always upgrade but with a 2 1/2 year old I'm not trying to dump money in something that I can't get the full use out of it yet. The only difference between our setups is the sub and AVR. I went with the X1000 instead. Don't need the 7.1 and recently bought a new home and don't have room for 7.1. So far I like the Denon sound over the Yamaha but haven't set it oh at the new house just yet. Going from hardwood to carpeted floors so I'm sure it'll sound different

[Scrappydue]

The x1000 would be a better receiver if you end up with 5.1 instead of 7.1 as it has audussey xt which is far superior to regular audussey.

[InVeNtOr]

i know with the holidays the wallet can be taxed. i'll be the first to suggest, the Emotiva line. right now it's too good to pass up. the deals are increadable. get the UMC-200 and either the 5 or 7 channel amp. not going to suggest a specific amp, just go with the one your wallet can afford. you will never look back! check the emotiva forums for the "For Sale" section, and you might even get a better deal. watch out for shipping though. emotiva has free shipping sometime.

UMC-200

UPA-700

OK, i know i said i wouldn't suggest one, but this would be great. that's $928 (FREE SHIPPING TOO!) and you would have a 7.1 set up and would almost "never" need to upgrade. if you are being adventurous you can scope out the 40% off coupon from emotiva (you have to find someone like me who bought the upa-1 and received the 40% upgrade card....no i am not offering me! lol) and buy it from them. for you that would save you $200. not sure if someone would sell theirs for $100, but you never know. i am waiting to use mine on the XMC-1 which would save me $800!

anyways, welcome to the forums and i hope you enjoy the gear you have.

[Psylo717]

I have heard that the Emotiva amps are rock solid, def an upgrade from what I purchased. Similar to Hutch, I have a youngster in the house and didn't want to invest in more than I needed. I wanted to hit that sweet spot of beginner pricing and quality. Now I just need to tweak the calibration - the bass is underwhelming on the slate floor in the finished basement at mid to high volumes. My guess is that I have the cross overs for the sub poorly set, going to spend time on Friday going through and re-calibrating. To be honest I ran audyssey on the fronts, sub, and center channel only so the system is far from fully calibrated and I have only put about an hour into it. Wont have time to setup the rest until the weekend.

Regarding Scrappy's comment on the xt audyssey, I also went with the x series just to get this as everywhere I was reading the same comments on how it was far superior to the E-series grade below. Hutch, I am interested in hearing your experience once you get fully setup.

And thanks for all the welcome greetings!

[Scrappydue]

Man I though I read somewhere the x2000 didn't have that. Huh. Well glad that all the x series does. That's how it should be.

And hate to be the bearer of bad news bro. Bass is gonna be underwhelming in a basement. At least until you get AMPLE amounts of it. I had my Svs dual PB-13 ultras upstairs and holy cow. Never needed anymore bass than that. Then I was forced to move to the basement. BOOM 4,000$ subs completely underwhelming. Had to go DIY and build my current sealed 18's. Far less money and way more output. Now I am happy with my bass on the concrete slab.

[Hutch1814]

I have heard that the Emotiva amps are rock solid, def an upgrade from what I purchased. Similar to Hutch, I have a youngster in the house and didn't want to invest in more than I needed. I wanted to hit that sweet spot of beginner pricing and quality. Now I just need to tweak the calibration - the bass is underwhelming on the slate floor in the finished basement at mid to high volumes. My guess is that I have the cross overs for the sub poorly set, going to spend time on Friday going through and re-calibrating. To be honest I ran audyssey on the fronts, sub, and center channel only so the system is far from fully calibrated and I have only put about an hour into it. Wont have time to setup the rest until the weekend.

Regarding Scrappy's comment on the xt audyssey, I also went with the x series just to get this as everywhere I was reading the same comments on how it was far superior to the E-series grade below. Hutch, I am interested in hearing your experience once you get fully setup.

And thanks for all the welcome greetings!

Sorry, I should've been clearer. I haven't yet moved. I'm still set up at my old home. I went with the X1000 over the X2000 just from scrappys suggestion and some forum surfing and realized the X1000 was better for my needs. I have a little hunger for some more bass and I have plenty of sub for what I want but just don't really want to tweak anything with it until we move cause it'll take me forever to hit that sweet spot. You'll enjoy the icons. I have and have decided to start throwing cash back towards a set of reference series. Plan is to have reference in the living room and move the icons to my game room when I'm finished

[sully141]

Welcome to the forums. I have the Icon klipsch setup also except their from 2 yrs ago. I have a Onkyo 809 and right now I'm debating on buying a pioneer elite sc75 or just buying a emotive xpa 3. They sound good when the volume is up high, you might catch yourself wanting more power down the road. I found out the hard way, wishing I would of bought a pioneer elite, my best buy didn't have a magnolia section so the guys that helped me didn't know anything. What blu ray player did you end up going with because a good player goes a long ways also. You have a good eye, wish I would of bought mine on black Friday.

[derrickdj1]

Buying a Pioneer Elite may be one of the best moves for improving your system. I use an SC 35 and have brought and sold 4or 5 amp and changed other gear but, selling the Elite has never crossed my mind. I also have some Icon VF 35 speakers upstairs and love them.

Edited December 6, 2013 by derrickdj1

[sully141]

derrickdj do you feel the pioneer puts out 140 wpc and its enough for those klipsch icons, or did you feel a amp would be needed.

[dimanata2007]

derrickdj do you feel the pioneer puts out 140 wpc and its enough for those klipsch icons, or did you feel a amp would be needed.

I have 150W rated F-3 and 110Watt per channel Pioneer 819H and 9x12 room.

when I feel "wild" and turn volume to 75-80 in stereo mode it still sounds extremely clean and crisp and breath very easy without any stress on woofers.

but even at 50-55 it getting so loud that most people run out from the room. in 5.1 mode receiver pumping out a bit lees watts, but loudest I ever went when we were watching movie was 45 and usually volume stays around 37-38.

I also seen some tests (posted links somewhere here on Klipsch forum) showing that Pioneer one of the most honest companies about output wattage and Pioneer output rating is pretty close to what receivers pushing out in reality.

[Psylo717]

Last night I hooked up the surround speakers and re-ran audyssey (finishing the final 2 rears in the 7.1 tonight) and the room really came to life. I only had time to watch a few different clips but the detail was amazing. I had to make a few tweaks to the auto calibration based on other posts that I have read such as turning Dynamic Volume to low/off and changing the front L/R to "small" so that the cross overs push everything below 80hz to the sub, and turned the sub's low pass filter to bi-pass.

I was able to turn it up to 90 without any distortion but was also comfortably listening at volumes as low as 25 while watching netflix on the ps4. 90 was too loud for regular listening even if it was an action movie but I wanted to see what the system could do. The room size is 20x21 (slate floor and drop ceiling so not the best acoustics).

[Scrappydue]

You should go into the menus and find an option to change the volume from absolute to relative. That way it will turn from -80 db up to 0 (reference) and above. Then if you watch a movie at -10 It will actually be 10 db below reference. That is what most people use I believe.