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Just joined the club! Happy new owner with a couple of questions.


PaulV

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Hi all!

 

After a couple of months searching for an entry level 5.1 HT setup I am happy to announce that I am now the proud owner of a Klipsch Reference II system. Really happy to have joined the club!

 

For full disclosure, I have been listening to music, watching TV/movies and playing games using a (rather crappy) HTIB purchased 8 years ago. The centre channel was no longer working so I thought it would be about time to upgrade. I don't know why it took me so long but since I'm new here I hope that you won't hold that against me for now.  :blush:

 

What I do know is that I can't wait to get my new kit:

  • Pair of RF-52 II as fronts
  • RC-52 II for the centre channel
  • Pair of RB-41 II at the back, sitting on Atacama Moseco 7 stands
  • A single SVS SB-1000 as the subwoofer
  • All of the above powered by a Sony STR-DN1050, which I can get with a 40% discount

Over the coming months I'm considering to add the following:

I think that what I have already purchased will be sufficient for the time being. Going forward, I might want to run a 7.2 setup in the living room or, perhaps more likely, put the surrounds there and move the RB-41 II speakers to my study (Zone 2) as a 2.0 set up for music. I'll see how that goes and, if I may, keep you all updated.

 

Just in case this helps, the system in the living room will be used for:

  • Music (20%): Spotify/AirPlay streaming and very occasionally CD
  • Games (30%): PS4, PS3
  • Video (50%): Series and movies using Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, HD cable service, DVD and Blu-Ray. One or two football (soccer) games per week.

The two questions I have are pretty basic but I'd greatly appreciate your advise:

 

Question 1:

Should I keep the RC-52 II centre speaker or should I really have it swapped for the RC-62 II instead?

Reading through the forum I seem to have picked up that the RC-42 II and the RC-52 II are relatively similar but the RC-62 II is a real step up in terms of sound (dialogue) clarity for movies. Taking into account what I had (or in this case actually, since it wasn't working anymore, didn't have!) the HT setup I purchased will already make a huge difference so I'm considering keeping it all unchanged... unless you insist that I should really shell out a bit more cash and change the centre channel to the RC-62 II.

 

Question 2:

Can I find any use at all for any of the HTIB components or should I just chuck them in the bin and move on? This is what we're talking about (click here if you must see how that looks like):

  • Sony STR KSL40 amp
  • 4x Sony SS MSP50 satellite speakers
  • 1x Sony SS CNP50 centre speaker (not working)
  • 1x Sony SA WMSP40 sub

This is probably nothing worth hanging on for much longer, especially now that the amp starts buzzing every time I crank up the volume just a bit. Actually, that's primarily what convinced my wife that an upgrade was "needed"!  :)

 
I'll be receiving everything listed in the first set of bullet points between over the next 10 days or so... can't wait to connect the system, configure it and start getting the neighbours to wonder why London suddenly became a seismic area.
 
Thanks in advance!
 
P.S.: It got pretty late here in the UK so I'll go to bed and, if needed, respond to any questions you might have for me tomorrow. Good night!
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Welcome to the club!

 

I have a few suggestions for you:

1. Get an RC-62 II instead, your ears will thank you.

 

2. Don't bother with the R-14S - they're not the same line as what you have.  Look for a pair of RS-52 II's instead.

 

3. Seek either a Sony ES receiver, or alternative, such as Pioneer, Marantz, Denon, etc.

 

4. A second SVS sub wouldn't hurt!

 

I'd sell the Sony stuff you have now, wouldn't mix them with what you have, as everything you have coming will blow away all of the Sony stuff.  Sell them, and make some of your money back, or use it to upgrade to a 7.1/2 setup instead. :)

 

Have fun!

Edited by IbizaFlame
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A few suggestions also. And of course totally contradicting to Ibiza. Lol.

First off, rc-62ii. Better center? Absolutely! However if you plan to keep the rf-52ii keep the center. Better to have matching setup for front three. If you can take all three back then do it and buy rf-62ii and rc-62ii. Not sure where you bought them. Where did you buy? Are you sure you got the best price possible?

Second suggestion, he is right about surrounds. Not matching set. If your room isn't huge and you stuck with what you have the rs-41 or 42ii will be plenty. The rs-52ii would be completely overkill for the rf-52. Not sure why anyone would spend the same amount on surrounds as they did on their mains. Now if you upgrade the front three as I suggested then the rs-42ii would be as small as I go. 52's would be best match.

As far as adding another sub i would down the road. But I'd sort out the above first.

And sell your other gear. Never throw stuff away. Someone out there would love it I'm sure.

Welcome to the club

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A few suggestions also. And of course totally contradicting to Ibiza. Lol.

Booooo! lol :)

 

Second suggestion, he is right about surrounds. Not matching set. If your room isn't huge and you stuck with what you have the rs-41 or 42ii will be plenty. The rs-52ii would be completely overkill for the rf-52. Not sure why anyone would spend the same amount on surrounds as they did on their mains. Now if you upgrade the front three as I suggested then the rs-42ii would be as small as I go. 52's would be best match.

I actually meant to list the 41 and 42's both as suggestions but totally got sidetracked. :ph34r:

 

As for the center, I'm of the flavor that the center should be the strongest of the three.  Hence my recommendation of the 62.  However, I bow out to scrappy - he has far more experience and knowledge than I with setups.

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Second suggestion, he is right about surrounds. Not matching set. If your room isn't huge and you stuck with what you have the rs-41 or 42ii will be plenty. The rs-52ii would be completely overkill for the rf-52. Not sure why anyone would spend the same amount on surrounds as they did on their mains. Now if you upgrade the front three as I suggested then the rs-42ii would be as small as I go. 52's would be best match.

I actually meant to list the 41 and 42's both as suggestions but totally got sidetracked. :ph34r:

 

As for the center, I'm of the flavor that the center should be the strongest of the three.  Hence my recommendation of the 62.  However, I bow out to scrappy - he has far more experience and knowledge than I with setups. (Ibiza)

+++

 

I too agree a lot with Mr. Scrappy Doo, but Ibiza you are giving up too easily!  I think the centre speaker is the most important one, and even if the centre is bigger than the mains, I really think that's the way to go.

 

Another vote here for the RC-62ii.

Edited by wvu80
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You guys are right center is the most important but I am a very firm believer in matching the front three. Hence my home theater since I tried three rf-63's a while back.

I vote for the 62 as well but I was also trying to talk him into returning the front three and get all three 62 series as they are more than twice the speaker that the 52 series are. Huge difference. In center and in towers. Trust me you will be glad you did it.

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I vote for the RC-52. And for surrounds, RS-52s while you can get them on clearance.

 

I would've steered you towards a complete 62 set-up, but it seems as if you've already bought the 52s. I say 52s all around should work out just fine. I don't like the RB-41s for the rears, though. They should be 51s.

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Guys,

Thanks so much for the advices and feedback, this is great! I had a bit of a long day (not even finished yet!) but I've read your replies and will get back to you all properly in a couple of hours.

So far I'm leaning towards keeping the RC-52 II bit I'll tell you more a bit later. I received the RB-41 It's this afternoon and haven't even had the chance to get them out of their box properly.

I'm getting the floorstanders tomorrow, the sub the day after and the centre will be here on Monday. A bit of a setback for the speaker stands but I'll have a question for you about that. I'll also have a question re: the receiver of you don't mind.

Thanks again!

P.

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Guest Steven1963
As far as adding another sub i would down the road.

 

Don't lie to the lad, he just joined.  What you really meant to tell him is that you would add another 3 subs down the road. :ph34r:

 

Welcome to the forums PaulV.

Edited by Steven1963
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As far as adding another sub i would down the road.

Don't lie to the lad, he just joined. What you really meant to tell him is that you would add another 3 subs down the road. :ph34r:

Welcome to the forums PaulV.

ok I won't lie. Sell that piddly 12" sub and buy 4 18's. Cause that is the only place to be in bass land. Lol
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  • Moderators
After a couple of months searching for an entry level 5.1 HT setup I am happy to announce that I am now the proud owner of a Klipsch Reference II system.

 

 

Welcome, and you did much better than an "entry level" setup, very nice. :emotion-21:  

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Hey Paul...Forget audio -- you’re from London.  Now THAT’S cool. Hope you stick around here--although your time zone doesn’t help…being in southern california, most of this forum is in bed by the time i get around to logging on. You’re probably just getting up and heading to work.  Hope you enjoy your Reference system.

Edited by BigStewMan
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Alright, it got super late for me again yesterday and this follow up post became absolutely enormous! You'll find a TL;DR at the end though.  :D
 
To go back to the choice of models within the Reference series, I actually did want to get 62s for the front three but, alas, budget ended up being a bit of an issue. My living room is not huge either and I don't really intent to crank my music up all the way to 11 that regularly.
 
When I first started this adventure, I was really only meant to get an AVR and floorstanders to begin with but obviously had to have a complex discussion with myself before hitting the trigger. It went more or less like this:
 
- PaulV, seriously, why don't you put a bit more cash in that bag and get a proper HT set. Or is it that you're scared?
- Listen PaulV, firstly, you don't talk to me like that; it's not like we grew up together or something so I demand some respect! Secondly, apart from rats, heights, my wife, the darkness of the sea when you're swimming and don't see your feet, llamas and losing my phone I'm not scared of anything!
- Oh yeah? Prove it.
- Ha! You'll see.
 
And that's how I ended up setting up a budget of about £1,000 ($1,500) to enjoy Vikings, Real Madrid games, Grand Theft Auto 5 or the White Album in their relatively full splendour. I guess I also had a silly point to prove to myself too, right?
 
As you can see below, I ended up spending "a bit more" than what I had originally budgeted so going with 62s for all my front speakers would have put me in some trouble. It took me several weeks already to find and negotiate the right deals for the set I had selected, and I must admit that I did pretty well considering that in the UK all that stuff is way more expensive than in the US (lucky you!). Check out that RRP vs what I ultimately paid for each of those items and let me know if something seems out of place though.
 
post-60439-0-89100000-1420735187_thumb.p
 
I could have waited a couple more months and saved enough to stretch to the 62s and maybe even get that second sub (third?). However, I was also thinking that since my place is not particularly huge and I don't intend to play my media at the loudest levels very often I didn't feel I'd need an even bigger upgrade. More power might always be better, granted, but all things considered I suppose I just wanted to start somewhere relatively soon. You'll see below a rough outline of how my living room is set up, which should hopefully give you a an idea.
 
 
The main issue with my living room is that it's an open plan with a third of the space under a tall glass roof ceiling, while the remaining two thirds have a low ceiling (2.2m <> 7.2 feet). As a result, I'm not sure the acoustics would be great for the higher models in the Reference series unless I start putting acoustic panels all over the place. Those things tend to be expensive and I suck at DIY, but since I don't need to fill a huge room full of sound I thought I'd keep it all relatively sensible.
 
I might still need to look into some kind of acoustic solution but will need to research on that a bit more. Incidentally, our company owns a few audio recording studios in Europe and the US so I can get a lot of advise from our guys directly, but to be honest we only use high-end acoustic treatment solutions which are way over any kind of sensible budget and probably a bit of an overkill for me anyway. I thought about getting a nice Persian rug in the living room to reduce reverberation (floor is all hardwood at the moment) but guess what: these are freaking expensive too!  :dry:
 
Happy to know your thoughts on this in any case as I may just be overthinking this.
 
Regarding the back speakers, after hesitating a long while between surrounds of bookshelves I eventually settled for bookshelves to have the flexibility to recycle them for another purpose at a later stage. Setting them up in my (small) home office or using them in a 7.2 system would be a good example of the type of flexibility I'd initially be looking for, but this is definitely a "further down the line" scenario. Since I'd be using those bookshelves initially in in a 5.1 configuration I wanted something with a bit more power/versatility than actual surrounds, but I'm also aware that the speakers sitting at the back in a surround system are not necessarily the most important ones... hence the 41s. No-one here seemed to suggest I should do otherwise in my case so I guess I got that right.  :smile:
 
Actually, is it just me and my noobility or do the RB-41s not take banana plugs?
 
I also wanted to pick your brains regarding a small set back for the speaker stands I got for the 41s.
 
In brief, I ordered a pair of Atacama Moseco 7, which are 715mm (28.1”) high excluding spikes, to ensure the speakers are roughly at ear level when sitting in couch. For reference, our ears' would be somewhere between 31" and 35" from the ground in most cases when watching TV/movies, playing games or listening to music while reading/surfing the web...
 
Problem is that the retailer doesn't actually have the Moseco 7s in stock and will need 10 days to get them to me! He did offer to send me the Moseco 6s instead, which he does have in stock right now. They are cheaper but also smaller: 615mm (24.2”) without the spikes.
 
Do you think I should just go ahead with the 6s or is it better to either wait for the 7s from this retailer or get them somewhere else for an extra fiver (£5)?
 
Lastly, I wanted to get your opinion on the AV receiver I have selected. I guess most people in this forum tend to prefer Onkyos, Marrantzs, Yamahas, Pioneers or Denons and that apart from the ES series Sony gets little love. I don't intend to argue that this or that brand is better as I'm quite brand-agnostic and have no experience with Hi-Fi or HT hardware/components. I'll therefore simply list what I'm looking for and see if you have any other recommendations that would fit my requirements:
  • Under £400 ($600). Reminder: I'm in the UK!
  • 7.2 and no less
  • Must have Spotify Connect, AirPlay, TuneIn radio
  • Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
  • Minimum 6 HDMI 2.0 inputs
  • 4K upscaling and 3D/4K passthrough
  • Second-zone capabilities
  • Good user interface
  • Good audio calibration
  • Good musical performance
  • Good reviews

The STR-DN1050 seems to tick all those boxes and since I can get it for about £300 ($450) I think it represents the best value in the universe. What does your universe have to say about that?

 

All clear on the (future) surround speakers too... We'll see if I don't end up replacing food with audio gear by the time we get there. I'll soon be moving on to the Premiere suite anyway, right??  :laugh:

 

A big thanks to IbizaFlame, Scrappydue, wvu80, derrickdj1, K5SS, mattSER, Steven1963, eth2, dtel and BigStewMan for the warm welcome, advice and contributions!

 
TL;DR:
  • Acoustics solutions for my living room. Is it an absolute must or will I be OK as is?
  • No banana plugs on the RB-41 IIs or am I just stoopid?
  • RB-41 II stands: do I wait get the taller ones or will I be OK with the smaller version?
  • Any specific recommendations for the AVR?
  • Thank you all for the warm welcome and the advice. You guys rock!
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As far as adding another sub i would down the road.

Don't lie to the lad, he just joined. What you really meant to tell him is that you would add another 3 subs down the road. :ph34r:

Welcome to the forums PaulV.

ok I won't lie. Sell that piddly 12" sub and buy 4 18's. Cause that is the only place to be in bass land. Lol

Amen. Also matching the front 3 I believe is better than just upgrading your center. If you do upgrade to the rc62ii then ID match your front towers to it keeping the tweeters across the front identical I can't tell you how important this is

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