Can Klipsch make a better center speaker than RC-64 II for the Referene II line?

[Paducah Home Theater]

I don't know about timbre matching, but I know of a DIY kit with dual 8's that is horn driven, that might be able to keep up with the RF-82 II's. It's called the 88 special, and it was designed to be a center in a theater setup.

http://www.diysoundgroup.com/home-theater-speakers/88special-kit.html

 

For the cost of about $350 you might get a center that would keep up with your RF-82 II's and give you that nice mid-range voice you are looking for. It has dual 8" woofers and a 15" horn driven SEOS waveguide.

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/155-diy-speakers-subs/1533068-88-special-center-channel-build.html

I would highly recommend NOT doing this. Reason being, I just finished one of these a few nights ago and tried to run it with my RF-7ii's. Save yourself the time and money and don't even attempt this. They sound nothing alike, the Klipsch is much warmer and laid back, and unless you are at head level taking a straight shot from it on the same plane it sounds very shallow and just not right. I'm sure you could get them sounding good but they need to be matched with some Tempests or other 88 specials.

As for keeping up with RF-82ii's, it would rip their heads off. They are way more efficient than my RF-7ii's. I don't like mine for concert blu rays at all but a set of them for normal movies would probably be nice. Metallica on the 88 special is simply painful even at low'ish volumes. The horn by itself may be nice but I don't like the woofers much. I highly prefer my RC-64ii, although I might change my mind if there was a whole room full of SEOS stuff. Trying to integrate one center with an otherwise full Klipsch setup sounds like garbage.

Edited February 9, 2015 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters

[Scrappydue]

Man it's weird you say that. I have heard the seos stuff is much smoother than klipsch. I can't wait to come hear it.

[Paducah Home Theater]

Man it's weird you say that. I have heard the seos stuff is much smoother than klipsch. I can't wait to come hear it.

 

If it was all SEOS and set up properly I could see it, but I didn't enjoy mixing them together at all.  They did in fact make the Klipsch sound kinda boring comparatively though, I was shocked at some of the details they brought out.  I told Erich that it made concert blu rays sound like live sound is supposed to sound.  This was my somewhat meaningless mini-review I sent to him after dinking around with them for a couple of hours:

 

 

The good:

1.  I did like the pro audio setup for concert blu rays.  The definition of bass guitar really came out with these.  The snap of kick drums was incredible.  Electric guitars with distortion was just screaming, blistering, whatever you want to call it but it really cut through the mix and was punchy, the distortion takes on a different tone with these and sounds more like a real amp does in person.  Basically they sounded like live music is supposed to sound on instruments. 

2.  These things are LOUD!    WAY more efficient than what I'm used to. 

 

The not so good:

1. They weren't nearly as warm as my Klipsch RC-64ii or RF-7ii which was surprising.  Blues guitar for example was nowhere near as full, rock singers didn't have as much growl due to this.  I'm assuming the Tempest is better about this. 

2. They don't seem to be as forgiving when placed down low as a center.  The tone seems to change significantly if you have it below the screen facing forward vs. getting down in the floor where its firing right at you.  It sounded significantly fuller when I did this.  I tried to tilt them back and towards my head which helped but it still wasn't as full sounding as an RC-64ii.  If it was elevated behind a screen at ear level it would probably sound better.  

 

 

He basically said they sound less warm because they are crystal clear, and the low forgiveness due to positioning is by design.  I can understand the horn dispertion pattern but didn't quite get the crystal clear part, I felt they were simply lacking in output down low.  

Edited February 9, 2015 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters

[twistedcrankcammer]

Hi all, i'm a fan of Klipsch HT. My 5.2 sys consists of RF-82II for mains, RB-61II for surs, 2 subs Velodyne EQ-max 10 and i ve just upgraded my center speaker from RC-62II to RC-64II for a few weeks (all driven by Emotiva XPA-5, Pre is Ya A2010).

 

The thing is that the RC-64II sounds not as good as i want it to be (i bought it online because there is no Klipsch dealer in my area for me to demo it)

 

Actually, i'm really satisfied with the new horn tweeter of RC-64II. Its sound is big, less fatigue and way more dynamic than RC-62II.

 

However, the bass of four 6.5" woofers of RC-64II sounds nearly the same as RC-62II IMHO except louder and less distortion when i crank it up. Yes, the mid may have a wider sweet spot but its bass and low male voice is just not what i am looking for.

 

I tried to disable my old RC-62II from manuel set up so that my sys became 4.2 and can hear the pair of RF-82II handling the job of a center speaker. The low male vocal of RF-82II (let's say it is 80hz-160hz due to my crossover being set at 80hz) is much smoother and clearer than the RC-64II. And the bass of RF-82 from the range 80hz-160hz is much heavier, fuller and punchier than the RC-64II.

 

My reason to upgrade to the RC-64II is to improve the low male vocal and the bass of the range 80hz-160hz. And i am really disappointed.

 

I think, just my subjective thinking, that this is due to the size of the RC-64II 6.5" woofers.

 

If Klipsch made a new Reference center speaker consisting of a 1.75 inch tweeter just like RC-64II and two 8" woofers just like RF-82II, that's would be great and perfect across the frequency above 80hz.

 

Any ideas will be appreciated.

 

 

qtg90,

 

You have not stated where you are from, possibly you live close to a member who has a RF-7 that you could compare to what you are using now?

 

It is a shame that for some reason, you don't want to buy used speakers, because it sounds like new Heritage may be out of your price range and used LaScalas will dust what you have now, both for music and movie vocals.

 

I

f you cannot be talked into better sound for the same or less money because the speakers are used, I would suggest either an RC-7 or buying another RF-82II and having a custom motor board made for it to put the Squaker in the middle and a woofer on either side so you can lay it in a horizontal fashion. I own both an RC-7 and an RF-7 with a custom motor board that has been made into a center channel for the RF-7 setup I put together for my parents.

 

Roger

[garyrc]

Edit: Did your Yamaha YPOA set up your old speakers, and did you re-calibrate for the new speakers?

+++

 

I would suggest doing some EQ on that center, and maybe some EQ on your mains which support the center, and see if that helps. Your AVR should be able to EQ each of your speakers.

 

Here is the graphic chart on where instruments/voices show up in frequency.

 

 

The chart depicts fundamental frequencies of each instrument only.  The violin, for instance, has overtones that go way up, theoretically all the way to 20K Hz.  A boost or cut above 4K (through, maybe, 15K to 20K) will make a big difference in the sound of a violin, even though the chart doesn't go that high.

[moray james]

take a look at what Bob Crites has to offer. http://www.critesspeakers.com/csc-1-center-channel-speake.html

[Bubo]

take a look at what Bob Crites has to offer. http://www.critesspeakers.com/csc-1-center-channel-speake.html

 

 

Wonder how it voices with Cornscalas.

[Paducah Home Theater]

The chart depicts fundamental frequencies of each instrument only.  The violin, for instance, has overtones that go way up, theoretically all the way to 20K Hz.  A boost or cut above 4K (through, maybe, 15K to 20K) will make a big difference in the sound of a violin, even though the chart doesn't go that high.

This is true, there's a reason why there's tweeters on many bass guitar cabinets, and its not because the highest frequency it can generate is 440 hz.