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My First Impressions of Adding a 3rd RSW-15 to My HT


Youthman

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A few weeks ago, I picked up a 3rd RSW-15.  The week was busy and I didn't have a chance to play with it.  I brought them inside, washed the grills in the bathtub with laundry detergent, wiped the speakers down and took photos of them (my normal routine). 

 

Earlier this week, I hooked it up and it had a terrible hum and wouldn't play.  An electronics repair friend came over and we discovered that one of the two jacks on the RSW-15 is bad.  Simple fix....use the "RCA Out" jack instead of the "RCA In" jack. :D 

 

Klipsch-RF-7-Cherry-RSW-15-2.jpg

 

 

 

So the week has been busy and my wife was out for a bit getting groceries so I had about 45 minutes to see how adding a 3rd RSW-15 would sound in my setup.

 

For now, I placed the RSW-15 between the left and center LaScala in front of my false wall.  The other two Maple RSW-15's are in the front corners behind the false wall.

 

I didn't re-calibrate since I may move the sub around a bit.  I simply set it at the same volume as the other two RSW-15's and tried a few movie demos and a few songs with bass. 

 

I never dreamed that I would one day be sitting in my own dedicated home theater with nine (6) 15" woofers and (3) 15" passive radiators.  I am ever so grateful to live in Florida and to have Craigslist.  Without both, I would only have a fraction of the three setups that I have.

 

Needless to say, this is what my face looked like after adding the third RSW-15.    :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D 

 

There is a VERY noticeable difference in the amount of bass and impact during both music and movies.  I can feel the dual RSW-15's but I can REALLY feel it when I turn on the 3rd.  And to think the third RSW-15 is pretty much out in the open, not getting any boundary gain from the front wall.  It is about 4' closer to the center theater seat so being closer likely helps with the tactile feel from it.

 

Here are a few photos of it in it's new home.

 

klipsch-rsw-15-and-lascala-trio-1.jpg

 

klipsch-rsw-15-and-lascala-trio-2.jpg

 

klipsch-rsw-15-and-lascala-trio-3.jpg

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Haha....a 4th RSW-15 would be great but I already had to move my electronics from the bottom center cabinet (the one behind the center LaScala) to the bottom right cabinet so that my Harmony One could IR control my system.  If I put a 4th RSW-15 in between the other two LaScalas, I would no longer be able to control my gear nor easily get to the bluray player.

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You are  officially inducted into the League Of Bassoholic's.  No tweleve step program can help at this point, lol.  I bet the HT sounds great!  I would love to hear the LaScala front trio.  It would be a nice comparions to put that front trio up agianst the Cinema, Reference P, and some of the pro style setups that some of the guys are running for fun.  I am sure all would sound great but, we like having some fun with our speakers.

Edited by derrickdj1
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You can see in this photo how it would bock all of the bottom cabinets if I had dual RSW-15's in front of the false wall. 

 

klipsch-dual-rsw-15-2.JPG

 

 

One day, wakejunkie will be able to finish the new front wall and I could then be able to have the Maple RSW-15's in between the LaScalas and the Black RSW-15 could go in a corner behind the wall.

 

final-rear-wall-1.jpg

 

Final-HT-8.jpg

 

 

 

 

klipsch-ht-with-150-inch-screen.jpg

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You are officially inducted into the League Of Bassoholic's. No tweleve step program can help at this point, lol.

That was funny Derrick. :lol:

 

I would love to hear the LaScala front trio. It would be a nice comparions to put that front trio up agianst the Cinema, Reference P, and some of the pro style setups that some of the guys are running for fun. I am sure all would sound great but, we like having some fun with our speakers.

That would be some fun comparisons but we would have to do it at someone else's house....I'm kinda running out of room in mine.  haha

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Needless to say, this is what my face looked like after adding the third RSW-15.  There is a VERY noticeable difference in the amount of bass and impact during both music and movies.  I can feel the dual RSW-15's but I can REALLY feel it when I turn on the 3rd. 

 

 

 

helps with the tactile feel from it.

 

 

Michael,

 

The funny thing is that is exactly what I experienced when I added my SVS SB-13 Plus to my existing RSW-10d and Revel B15.  The two by themselves were excellent for music but lacked that "tactile feel" most desire for HT.  The third sub added that pressurization the room was lacking.  I was able to feel the impact that I did not before.  Now with the twin RT-10d's and the 13" and 15", I feel the impact even more.

 

Glad to know adding that 3rd RSW15 was worth all the "trouble" it took for you to get it. ;)  :D

 

Bill

Edited by willland
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derrickdj1, on 29 Aug 2015 - 1:18 PM, said: You are officially inducted into the League Of Bassoholic's. No twelve step program can help at this point, lol.

 

That was funny Derrick. :lol: [/quote

 

Yeah, but that 12-step program is not what you think it is.

 

Thanks to your last purchase, you are now up to Step Three

+++

 

I'm a little lost as to where your subs went. You have the black one between the LS's, and the other two are in the corners behind the false wall?  So that would make those two slightly above the LS's, or directly behind the LS's?

Edited by wvu80
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I'm a little lost as to where your subs went. You have the black one between the LS's, and the other two are in the corners behind the false wall?

Yes, the Maple RSW-15's are in the corners, directly behind the L/R LaScalas.  They are behind the tall "doors" on the sides of the false wall.

 

Here is a photo with the doors off showing the "space" behind the door.  The RSW-15's are where the RF-83's were.

 

Room03.jpg

 

Room04.jpg

 

 

Output & extension must be effortless now.

Yes sir.

 

No HOPE (Pun intended) left for you any more Michael!

As my son always says, "Dad...go BIG...or go HOME!"

 

You are HIGHLY infectious at this stage in the disease process now! ;)

I'm sorry I'm a bad influence on you guys.  I thought by having my audio friends "online", it wouldn't spread.   Sorry that I was wrong. 

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Great for you finding all these great deals!

 

Do you think the extra bass you heard was due to more even coverage or simply louder output?

If you dialed down the first two subs a bit to match up the level by the third sub, would it sound the same?

I guess you'll find out when you recalibrate.

 

(Someday I'll build a second sub just to even out my coverage)

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Do you think the extra bass you heard was due to more even coverage or simply louder output?

Seems like louder output but that makes sense.  You gain 3db by adding a second subwoofer.  I would think the same would be true by adding a third.  I did notice that when I do test tones from Sub 1 to Sub 2, the left subs are louder (makes sense).  I might have to set Sub 1 (single sub) at say +3db and Sub 2 (dual subs) to 0db that way all three are playing at the same volume?  Just a guess since I have not used my meter with the new sub connected.

 

If you dialed down the first two subs a bit to match up the level by the third sub, would it sound the same? I guess you'll find out when you recalibrate.

That's exactly my thought.

 

(Someday I'll build a second sub just to even out my coverage)

You will get that but you will also appreciate the extra impact you get from adding a second sub.  It was super noticeable going from 1 to 2 subs....and equally from 2 to 3 subs.

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