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Newbie Assistance with speaker set up.


bwakula

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I am looking to upgrade my existing Klipsch Bookshelf Synergy B-20's- substantially upgrade. I currently have a Denon AVR-S500BT, the B-20's and a Audio Technica LP-60. I'm keeping the receiver and upgrading both the speakers and TT. The new TT will be a Denon DP 300-F. I'd like to hear from Klipsch veterans regarding the investment into a new pair of Reference/Reference Premier with a sub or just going vintage with an older pair of Heresy I/II's or Fortes. The set up is in a 13x13 room and will eventually have more speakers (in wall) located in various spots on the first floor of the house. The new or vintage pair will be my main speakers. Budget- $800 or less

 

Any thoughts or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Edited by bwakula
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Guest Steven1963

Hi! Welcome to the forums!  You are going to get a wide variety of responses to your questions.  All of them viable and certainly worthy of consideration.

 

I am just going to save you some time (about 2 years worth) and some money (thousands over the 2 years?). Go straight for either Cornwalls, lascalas, or if you have good corners skip even that and just get a couple Klipschorns. Done and done!

 

See, I just save you all the hassle of getting a good pair of Klipsch, being bitten by the bug, upgrading, finding you want more, then upgrading again, and again. 

 

Do it now.  Save time and money. :lol:

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I'm not sure Khorns would be a great match for a 13 x 13 room.  I had them in my home office when I lived in TX and that room was about 12 x 12 and were overpowering for that size.  Now, in my 22 x 20 living room, that was another story....except for not having 2 corners.

 

How far back will you be sitting from these speakers?

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Very wise suggestion. I think you could find some Cornwalls for that budget, not sure about the others. Now if cosmetics dont bother you, you could potentially find some Scallas for that budget. FYI. I paid $ 500.00 for some Scallas but they were used for gigging/performing and they showed the signs of being on the road. But for $ 500 it was worth it. I have them in my garage so cosmetics didnt bother me at all. Depends on your WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor).

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Guest Steven1963
I'm not sure Khorns would be a great match for a 13 x 13 room.

 

Well, I didn't have the heart to tell him that if he did get Khorns, he'd be wanting a new house with rooms large enough for them to sing!

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If your budget is $800 and you're considering a Heresy or Forte pair, then you should be able to easily find a decent set. Those pop up pretty frequently in the Garage Sale section and Craigslist/eBay.

I'd personally recommend the Forte II (with a tractrix midrange) as it's a great all-around speaker and value (money wise). And you could find a really nice pair in the $500 range... while using the extra $300 to potentially update the crossovers and/or tweeter diaphragms if desired.

You might also consider the Chorus II and the KLF 20/30 series. All would generally fall within your $800 budget... though the KLF30 would be near that upper limit and is harder to find.

All of those, including the Cornwall that was also mentioned, would be a substantial upgrade from what you have now.

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No one is mentioning going the new speaker route? Are the vintage that much better?

As far as what I mentioned... I've owned Heresy, Heresy II, Forte II, Chorus II, Cornwall and still own KLF20's (all are 3-way speakers). So I'm very familiar with all of them. And since the KLF30's are similar to the KLF20's, and I've listened to them a bit, I can offer a decent opinion on them as well.

The new Reference Premier series are brand new and I've never seen or heard them. The smallest, least expensive floorstanding model, RP-250F is right at your budget limit... $800 a pair.

The older Reference II line has been discontinued, though you can still buy them directly from Klipsch and several other dealers, if they still have stock. Of those, all of the floorstanding models, RF-42II,62II and 82II are currently within your price range... though the RF-82II's are $800 a pair on Klipsch's website. Other than brief listens in some stores, I can't really offer a detailed opinion on how they sound.

The one thing I can say about the Reference Premier and Reference II lines, is that they are all 2-way speakers. And based on comments I've read here in the forums, many people like them. BUT, if you're used to a 3-way speaker, some people have mentioned that the sound is different/unique. Whether that means the 2-way is better or worse to a specific individual, is something I can't answer.

If someone offered me a choice of Forte II, Chorus II, KLF20/30 or Cornwall versus any of the comparable Reference Premier or Reference II lines... I'd take the vintage stuff every time. But that's just one person's opinion.

Of the Reference II line, I'd say the RF-82II's and the RF-7 (which is way above your budget) are the only models which could compete against the vintage models I listed above.

Again, that's my opinion based on my listening experiences. Others may agree and some will not.

Edited by GPBusa
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with vintage or used Klipsch you'll rip benefit of best sound within your budget. If you look around, Klipsch Heritage line of speakers holds very high value in terms of producing the quality sound. If you're interested in RF series then, I'd seen RF-82 pair for $400 in Chicago area in Garage Sale thread.

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Of the Reference II line, I'd say the RF-82II's and the RF-7 (which is way above your budget) are the only models which could compete against the vintage models I listed above.

 

This is my opinion also.  The vintage gear offers great bang for your bucks and great sound. 

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The Vintage are definitely a better all around speaker for music. If however, you are going to install ceiling speakers, I would say something different than everyone else.

 

I'm assuming you will be listening to music as well as HT, otherwise what's the need for in walls/ceilings. If this is the case, you can get a full Synergy/Icon/Reference (Best Buy) set up with the towers,a center channel, (you'll have surrounds with the B-20's), and a nice sub.

 

I would run a 12" sub, 2 of the Synergy F-3 (30) or Icon KF-28, Synergy C-20 (center) and that will give you a nice 5.1 set up. That size room will fill up nice with those speakers. They aren't Heritage, but they will match up better if you decide to do in walls/ceilings. If you do add the wall/ceiling just subtract the surrounds.

 

Just my opinion and a different view. Monetarily you should be able to get the towers for less than $250.00, the center for about $100.00, and a sub for about $150.00.

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I'm not sure Khorns would be a great match for a 13 x 13 room.  I had them in my home office when I lived in TX and that room was about 12 x 12 and were overpowering for that size.  Now, in my 22 x 20 living room, that was another story....except for not having 2 corners.

 

How far back will you be sitting from these speakers?

 

I once had Klipschorns in a 9' x 11' 4" room, and they sounded great.  I should point out it had a high ceiling, though.  The only real problem was that the "sweet spot," image-wise, was just one chair wide.  The sound was still fine over a three chair width, but in the side chairs, one side predominated.

 

They do sound even better in my current room which is about 17 x 25, with a high ceiling.

 

Square rooms are not ideal.  The OP might want to use some room treatments, or a tuned bass trap, or Audyssey, or all of the above.

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What about keeping my existing bookshelfs as L/R and using a single Heresy III as a center?

Ditch that idea....pronto!!

 

IMHO, a 13x13 room is a bit too small for La Scala's, Cornwall's, or Chorus II's.  Just because the room measures that doesn't mean your effective listening area is that size.  Did you plan on standing on the back wall?  I didn't think so...Personally, I would give consideration to Forte II's, KG4's, or a pair of Heresy's with a sub.  You're going to want a sub with your HT eventually, so there you go.

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Welcome to the forums!  As you can see, you will get a variety of opinions. 

 

I'm not an expert on anything but I have owned my share of Klipsch speakers.  ;)

 

Below are folders of photos I have taken of the many speakers I have owned since January of 2008 (most of them being Klipsch).  The Palladiums listed were not mine, I photographed them at a guy's home I demoed them in.

 

speaker-list-03-26-2015.jpg

 

 

My original goal was to own and demo every Klipsch Reference speaker in my own home connected to my own gear and then share my experience and photos here on the forums.  I think I've come pretty close to that goal.  LOL

 

Honestly, the only Klipsch speakers from that list that I personally did not care for were the KG 1.5, KLF-C7, Academy, RW10d & RW12.

 

IMO, just about any of the speakers listed above could make a fantastic HT, especially since your room isn't huge.

 

The best advice I can tell you is to try and demo as many Klipsch speakers as you can.  This is the only way you will really know what your ears prefer. 

 

There are tons of deals out there in the used market.  Purchase a Craigslist app and use www.searchtempest.com.  Keep that $800 aside so that when that sweet deal does come up, you have the cash to jump on it.   Almost every speaker I've owned was purchased at extremely low price through Craigslist.  My personal philosophy is I ONLY buy speakers that I know with 100% certainty if I had to sell them tomorrow, I would easily get back the money I have invested in them.  This has given me the flexibility of buying them to see if I like them more than what I currently have without losing money every time I want to upgrade. 

 

With all of that said.....I personally would keep my eye out for the following Reference Series, Heritage, CF or KLF series...

 

Reference Series:

RF-7 / RC-7

RF-5 / RC-7

RF-82 / RC-62 (Great bang for your buck and sound fantastic for HT)

RF-7ii / RC-64ii

 

Heritage:

LaScala (Absolutely amazing speakers)

Forte

Chorus

Cornwalls (Never owned them but heard them at a forum member's home.  They sound great but too large for my personal taste)

Heresy

 

Various Other:

KLF 10, 20 or 30 (Owned the 30's and they sound incredible with TONS of slam)

CF-4 / KV-4 (CF-4 have TONS of slam, very similar to the KLF-30)

 

Bookshelf:

RB-61, RB-81, and especially RB-75's would even do well in your size room with a quality sub.

 

 

Several of the higher end Heritage speakers have better midrange than the Reference Series due to being 3-way design and the horn midrange.  Typically the bigger the horn, the bigger the sound.

 

Ask all of the questions you want....we are here to help and will gladly assist you in spending your money.  :lol:

Edited by Youthman
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