Diagram of my HT, suggestions?

[jwadd21]

http://www.geocities.com/jwadd21/room.txt

This is a diagram of everything in my room. The light gray objects are moveable, the others are not. The speakers are in black. I only have the RF-3's right now, but will be getting the rest of the setup shortly. I was just wondering how these positions look for placement.

[tripod]

I'm no expert, but it seems to me that you might want to relocate your left rear surround. Why not put it above the spot where you have the sub drawn in? That way it would have the same general orientation as the right rear surround. If it's a foot or two farther from the couch, you can compensate for that with your receiver.

[HornEd]

Wow, that room layout is challenging, jwadd21... and you have done well. Here are a couple of suggestions you might consider.

1. Put the Left WDST Side/Surround on the left wall with the woofer facing the couch. That will allow you to hear the under 2000Hz portion as direct radiated sound. The over 2000Hz portion is expected to be bounced around the room for better ambient sound. (tripod has the right idea... and posted it while I was writing this reply.)

2. With two RS3II's already bouncing ambient sound around the room, I would use an RC3II as a Rear Effects speaker rather than a third RS3II. Putting a full-range speaker in the rear center replaces some of the desired directionality in the rear array scattered by the WDST speakers above 2000Hz... and add a measure of timbre matching to better balance the room sound.

3. Personally, I would modify another RF3II Main to play horizontally (as I did with the KLF-30 in the photo) to provide a smoother, timbre matched sound across the front array. Remember that upwards of 75% of the total sound of a DVD movie comes through the Center speaker... so it is the MOST important place to have a Main! Try your rig with the "Phantom Center" setting and you will hear a better example of how a Center should sound.

4. The SVS should be in the corner equidistant from the walls if possible... that gives you your maximum "free boost" from the walls (about 6 dB). Experiment with wall proximity by testing an inch or so at a time... the difference can be amazing!

May your Klipsch time bring you joy and respite from the work-a-day world. -HornED

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Photo update soon! -HornEd

This message has been edited by HornEd on 08-06-2002 at 09:23 AM

[jwadd21]

Thats pretty sweet. How did you modify that center channel?

- Jason

[HornEd]

Jason IMHO, two things make HT the best it can be for what you have. 1. Making a center channel out of a speaker that matches your mains. 2. Having an adequate bass that can go down to 20Hz with SPLs and handles both music and sound effects.

Converting a vertical main loudspeaker to be used horizontally is really not that difficult. Actually, PWK had that done by changing the motor board on the Cornwall so they could be on their sides as a center channel.

I have other more detailed posts for this conversion in the Klipsch archives. It's a fairly straight forward process. Remove the grill. Remove the speakers from the motorboard. Klipsch motorboards are usually fastened with Liquid Nails... so I reach in the open speaker hole and tap out the motorboard with a rubber mallet (I use a "Dead Head" mallet) and, for me, the motorboards have come out in one piece.

I then use the old motor board as a template to center the horns, then flank the woofer openings on each side. I cut out the holes with a jig saw and then use a router to cut the flanges... in the same manner that it was done on the original motorboard. I then give the outside of the new motorboard several coats of flat black paint to protect the new motorboard and cut down reflections that might otherwise show through the grill cloth. You will find that Klipsch has sufficient wire length to hook up the speakers in their new locations.

Factory motorboards are made of 3/4" MDF... and the material is available from Home Depot or Lowes costs less than $20 for a 4' x 8' sheet. If you are not handy with woodworking tools, usually you can find a friend who is. One caution, you should wear an inexpensive dust mask while cutting MDF because it creates a very fine sawdust.

Once you hear the full range sound of three identical mains across the front, you will never be happy with scaled down center speakers again. The difference on 5.1 DVD movies is nothing short of dramatic! With the SVS in the corner... you are on the right track on the bass department as well.

The full size center will be particularly dramatic in the room that you have to work with. Go for it! -HornED

[jwadd21]

Oh, I see how its done. But what if I cant put together a motorboard as well as the people at Klipsch? THat would be a sweet looking setup with a 38.5" center channel though.

This message has been edited by jwadd21 on 08-07-2002 at 03:06 AM