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RS 52 II with RB 61 II or RB 81 II


sevkpaul

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Hi guys :)

Long time lurker here. I started getting into "HiFI" about 2 years ago when I bought my RF 82 II. Had them for a year and actually sold them for a profit and upgraded to the RF 7 II. Bought a SW 115 and a RC 62 II with the 82. Upgraded to the RC 64 this year. I'm based in Switzerland so everything is a bit more expensive here and I'm still going to college so I always have some time to think between purchasing the next part.

Now I want to go from 3.1 to 5.1 or maybe 7.1 right away. Due to room constraints (width) I will have to go with the RS 52 II as sides. Seeing that Klipsch sells the Set with the RS 62 kinda bums me out that I won't sound good but that's probably just in my head. My question is about the rears. I've read recommendations to go with RS speakers for both sides and wides but my rears will be a bit further away (rectangular room 40 sm, sitting in the middle of the room, rears all the way to the back) so I feel RB will be a better choice, also: looks. I could fit and afford the 61 II aswell as the 81 II. What is there to consider? Is it pointless to get the 81 with the 52? I'd rather get the 61 due to size/style.

I'd appreciate any help. :)

Regards

Sev

EDIT: By room constraints I mean the following. My living room used to be two rooms so theres two doors. The wall between those doors is the only place to fit the speaker. I could fit the 62 but I will just look really crappy.

Edited by sevkpaul
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Welcome to the forums Sev.

Seeing that Klipsch sells the Set with the RS 62 kinda bums me out that I won't sound good but that's probably just in my head.

It's totally in your head. I ran RS-52 with my RF-83 / RC-64 for over a year and it sounded awesome. I never felt it was "lacking" in any capacity. I found a sweet deal on two pair of RS-62's and sold one pair and ended up upgrading from the RS-52 to the RS-62 for $75 out of pocket. It was a no brainer to upgrade. I did hear a bigger presence from the RS-62 but it definitely was not night and day.

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Hi YouthMan

Thanks for the quick response. Yeah that's what I keep telling myself so I've sort of accepted the RS 52. What's your opinion on my RB 61 / 81 situation?

EDIT: Seeing as your running a 200w Sherbourn, will I be alright running the 52 with a XPA 5, or could I blow the speakers at high volumes?

Edited by sevkpaul
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I've owned both of the 61 and 81. The 61 I did not have set up for big room so I'm not sure how well it will do if it's a long ways away from you. The 81 will definitely have no problem filling the room. I'm not sure which would be better the 81 or the 52 for your surround back since it's so far away I can understand your logic of the direct firing 81 might be better for your situation

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I've owned both of the 61 and 81. The 61 I did not have set up for big room so I'm not sure how well it will do if it's a long ways away from you. The 81 will definitely have no problem filling the room. I'm not sure which would be better the 81 or the 52 for your surround back since it's so far away I can understand your logic of the direct firing 81 might be better for your situation

youth what can the 81's be had for brand new? Like 650-700$? You really think they are that much better than the 61's?

You too Derek? I thought the 61's were the better bang for the buck.

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youth what can the 81's be had for brand new? Like 650-700$?

Not sure, I sold my RB-81ii for $560. They are $850 retail so I would think you should be able to buy a new pair between $700 - $750.

You really think they are that much better than the 61's?

I didn't say that they were.....my comment was that I only had the RB-61 in a small room. There is no doubt the RB-81ii can handle a larger room. My guess is that the RB-61ii will be just fine.

Looks like Johnny has a pair in Cherry that would be worth checking into.

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Get the RB 81's and don't look back. Also, welcome to the forum.

+1 I have the iv versions of both and the 81's seem to me to be much better as surrounds in 5.1 in back of my 13x23 room. 61's are no slouches back there, but the 81's fill out the back better here.

I scored my 81's for 150$....absolutely love them! They did a great job replacing my RF35's as L & R as well.

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Ive got a pair of like new mint cherry RB-81iis Im considering selling. Original boxes with all paperwork so i can ship them to you no problem.

Thanks very much for the offer but I'm looking for the black version. But even if they were black shipping costs are killer. :( It's actually what keeps me from ordering my Emotiva gear.

If I import the RB81 pair from Germany I'm able to get them for about $680 which seems to be a good price I realize now. RB 61 pair would be about $350.

Seems like you guys are leaning towards the 81 but the 61 will be fine. The sub/crossover argument makes a lot of sense. I'll probably get the 61 first. That way I can still move the 61 to bedroom and get the 81 later on. :)

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Well then maybe I should start by getting the 81 and see how they are in the bedroom. I plan to add a small sub to the bedroom set up so it wouldn't be just the RB. I'm just worried that they're overkill since I'm using one of these:

222020d1399454848t-apogee-symphony-i-o-h

It's made for Audio production (i just use it as a regular desk) so the speakers are quite close when sitting at the desk. Could this be a problem?

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The RB-61 sound fantastic and have a surprisingly amount of bass for a small speaker. Either speaker will be great.

Here is a thought....you could buy the RB-61 and see how they sound as surrounds. You can also see how they sound as bedroom speakers. Then if you will know if you need the RB-81 for either application.

If you have a killer setup in the Living Room, you wouldn't necessarily need the huge RB-81's for a small setup in the bedroom. The RB-61's would do just fine there.

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  • 2 weeks later...

So I just installed the 52s and I'm already very happy with the result. I do have a followup question about the RB 61/81. My 52s are about 40-60cm above ear level. Now for the rears I have read recommendations for both set them at ear level and set them at the same height as the surrounds so I'm not sure what to do. In case of ear level I would also need to order some stands. Visually I would prefer at ear level on stands but if same height as the surrounds is clearly superior I would probably hang them on the wall. Any input is appreciated.

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People do it at ear level, above ear level and near the ceiling for me. The volume can be adjusted to balance out everything so, it come down to preference and what will work in the room. I have alway used all surrounds up high, they never get bumped, knocked over, or scratched. They are also out of the way from other things.

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I have a "like new" pair of RB-81's in black, and would prefer cherry. Johnnydrama has cherry, and Sev wants black and he is in Switz. Logistics...is there an economical solution? I am near the IL/WI border. Do you ever get near Chicago Johnny? Are shipping costs from the midwest paletable Sev? Who's on first?

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I have a "like new" pair of RB-81's in black, and would prefer cherry. Johnnydrama has cherry, and Sev wants black and he is in Switz. Logistics...is there an economical solution? I am near the IL/WI border. Do you ever get near Chicago Johnny? Are shipping costs from the midwest paletable Sev? Who's on first?

I have decided to stick with mine at this time, however I tend to change things up quite a bit, especially when I find a deal I can't pass up. But right now I'm trying to focus on other areas of improvement for my space.

I just so happened to fly out of Chicago on Tuesday and flew back into O'Hare yesterday. Not sure when I'll be back, but it's only 2 hours away so things can be arranged quite easily. Meeting halfway would be preferred as driving in Chicago is a PITA.

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I have a "like new" pair of RB-81's in black, and would prefer cherry. Johnnydrama has cherry, and Sev wants black and he is in Switz. Logistics...is there an economical solution? I am near the IL/WI border. Do you ever get near Chicago Johnny? Are shipping costs from the midwest paletable Sev? Who's on first?

It doesn't matter from where you ship within the US, it matters that you're shipping from the US in general. It's best to use UPS or Fedex because when using USPS (if even possible) the shipping is more likely to get spammed with lots of additional taxes etc at customs. Both UPS and Fedex are crazy expensive. Another thing is Switzerland is one of the few countries that has a weight tax. A weight tax is an absolute horror for somebody like me who's interested in speakers subs and amps. There are "intermediate" shipping companies but I haven't found a good one that's actually cheaper than UPS etc.

So thank you very much for trying but unfortunately there is no way to do it. I could almost buy a pair of RB 61 for the shipping costs.

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