cbope Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 I currently have a 5.1 home theater setup with the following: RB-51 II L/R fronts RC-52 II center RB-41 II L/R surrounds Dali 12" sub (Klipsch subs not available where I live) I use the system for music, movies and TV. Movies are either upscaled DVD's or Blu-ray. My music library is lossless FLAC ripped directly from CD and played back using a custom-built Kodi HTPC with an HDMI connection to the AVR. Everything is driven through a Sony ES series AVR. I'd like to upgrade to larger L/R fronts and at the same time expand to 7.1. I'm looking at either the RF-52's or the new RP-250's to replace my RB-51's, which would then move to the surround position and the RB-41's would move to the rear surround position. Price is not really an issue, the difference is fairly small. My question is how well will the new RP-250 blend in with the older Reference II's in discrete surround mode? Based on what I've read, the RP's should be an improvement in sound quality over the RII line and this would improve music playback (stereo 2.1 mode) compared to the RII's. But I'm worried the RP's will sound "different" enough to the rest of my RII system that the immersion in movies will take a hit. Should I go for the RB's or pick up the RF-52's while I still can and pocket the small savings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipschsonian Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 The RF-52's should blend nicely. The newer reference RP-250's might overshadow the rest of the system. Probably could play with the speaker configuration for them on your receiver to help with blending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 The reference premier stuff is laid back in comparison. If you enjoy your sound now grab a set of rf-52ii while you can. And if you said price isn't an issue and you really want to upgrade cause rf-52ii will only be a little better than the bookshelves. I personally wound try and snag an rc-62ii which is a MUCH BETTER center and a set of rf-62ii. Reason they sound much better is they have a much larger horn than the rf-52 and rc-52. Trust me I have owned rf-42 ht, rf-52 ht, and rf-62 ht all at the same time and done side by side listening. The difference is astonishing how much better and bigger the jump from 52 to 62 is. The difference from 42 to 52 is only slightly better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbope Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 (edited) Thanks for the recommendations. Upgrading to RII 6x isn't an option, the store doesn't have them any more. There is exactly one pair of RF-52's left... and then only the new RP's are available. I'm quite happy with my 5x RII series. That's interesting about the jump from 5x to 6x, because when I bought my system a couple years ago, I heard the jump from 4x to 5x was bigger than the jump from 5x to 6x. The only thing I don't like about the 5x is that the bass port is on the baffle rather than the back. I don't think the difference in horns would matter much in my room, which is deeper than wide and not all that big to start with. Edited March 27, 2015 by cbope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbope Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 (edited) Well, the store just made the decision for me. After I refreshed the item page, they marked the RF-52 as closeout and knocked 100€ off the cost of each speaker. Sold! Edit: And not sold. It appears the store has only a single speaker left in stock. Edited March 27, 2015 by cbope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipschsonian Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 That is a great deal. Be glad you held off just a little longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Hold on.....what do you mean port is on the baffle? 51's and 52 are both rear ported. Not till you get 61's do the become front ported. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbope Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 Hold on.....what do you mean port is on the baffle? 51's and 52 are both rear ported. Not till you get 61's do the become front ported. Sorry, my mistake, you're correct. The 51's are rear-ported. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Thanks for the recommendations. Upgrading to RII 6x isn't an option, the store doesn't have them any more. There is exactly one pair of RF-52's left... and then only the new RP's are available. I'm quite happy with my 5x RII series. That's interesting about the jump from 5x to 6x, because when I bought my system a couple years ago, I heard the jump from 4x to 5x was bigger than the jump from 5x to 6x. The only thing I don't like about the 5x is that the bass port is on the baffle rather than the back. I don't think the difference in horns would matter much in my room, which is deeper than wide and not all that big to start with. my rooms are always deeper than wide. Trust me when I say the 62 horns WILL make a huge difference. Like I said I've owned them all. Two room they have been in are 11x17 and the other is 12x23. Big difference. Both rooms. See if there are any other dealers in your area. If you wanna upgrade this is the only way Id go. Otherwise you could step to the RP-260f and 450c. I just had that combo and it's good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbope Posted March 28, 2015 Author Share Posted March 28, 2015 Thanks for the recommendations. Upgrading to RII 6x isn't an option, the store doesn't have them any more. There is exactly one pair of RF-52's left... and then only the new RP's are available. I'm quite happy with my 5x RII series. That's interesting about the jump from 5x to 6x, because when I bought my system a couple years ago, I heard the jump from 4x to 5x was bigger than the jump from 5x to 6x. The only thing I don't like about the 5x is that the bass port is on the baffle rather than the back. I don't think the difference in horns would matter much in my room, which is deeper than wide and not all that big to start with. my rooms are always deeper than wide. Trust me when I say the 62 horns WILL make a huge difference. Like I said I've owned them all. Two room they have been in are 11x17 and the other is 12x23. Big difference. Both rooms.See if there are any other dealers in your area. If you wanna upgrade this is the only way Id go. Otherwise you could step to the RP-260f and 450c. I just had that combo and it's good. Unfortunately, the only other dealers in Finland sell at full retail. The place I normally buy my home electronics (and Klipsch) is like a Best Buy on steroids. It's actually the largest discount electronics store in Europe. Unfortunately, they don't always have the complete line. For the new RP's, they have only the floor-standers and bookshelf models, the new centers are not even listed yet. And the RII's are all gone, except a lone RF-52. I guess now is not the right time, I'll wait for a while before considering an upgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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