GatorBrad Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 Hello all, I am deciding on my first system and would love some input from those who have gone before me! Yes, another "hi, I'm new, please help me pair my speakers with a receiver" thread I have drooled over klipsch speakers since high school and am incredibly excited to be joining the Klipsch family very soon! I have already decided to get a pair of RP280s and have been shopping around for receivers. My goal, for now, is to have just a 2.0 system and try that out for a few months before I decide if I want to add a sub and potentially a center channel. I'd like to get to 7.2 eventually, but that is a ways down the road. Re: adding a sub, I am an average bass guitarist and do enjoy the low end (my bass rig is an 800 watt hybrid SS/tube amp through a 410 cabinet \m/ ), but I am fairly confident that the 280s will do the trick for me - I have always been satisfied with my dad's 2 channel system without needing more bass and his speakers aren't anything extraordinary. Please let me know if I'm wrong and you think I will be left wishing I got the sub right away...Basically, my attitude is, if I want my chest rattled, I will play some bass and rattle it myself! I would like to stay under $800 for the receiver, and after reading a lot of reviews of various receivers in the 500-1000 range, I have my eye on the Onkyo TX-RZ800, which I would likely buy from accessories4less with an extended warranty (thanks to reading this forum for the recommendation!). http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/onktxrz800/onkyo-tx-rz800-7.2-atmos-thx-certified-a/v-receiver-wi-fi/bluetooth/airplay/1.html#!more Please let me know your thoughts, or if there are any other specific receivers in this price range, either new or refurb, that I should be considering. And any wire/plug recommendations are welcome too, I am still pretty new at this. Thanks in advance! Brad 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted March 25, 2016 Moderators Share Posted March 25, 2016 (edited) Welcome There are many other people here who are much more knowledgeable than me about HT so they are better to help. Just wanted to say welcome. Edited March 25, 2016 by dtel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 Welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 welcome! how far down the road is the other stuff gonna be added? if a long time, maybe just a nice integrated amp right now. seems like music is high priority. a nice integrated amp will almost always be better for music than a surround sound receiver. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 25, 2016 Moderators Share Posted March 25, 2016 Brad, welcome to a great community. Not only are we friendly, we enjoy helping others spend their money. My goal, for now, is to have just a 2.0 system and try that out for a few months before I decide if I want to add a sub and potentially a center channel. I'd like to get to 7.2 eventually, but that is a ways down the road. Although I have owned almost every Reference Speaker Klipsch has made, I have not heard the new RP series myself so I cannot comment on them. From what I have read from other owners, they are indeed great speakers. There is nothing wrong with slowly building your system. You will find that the journey is often times as rewarding as the end result. My system has evolved over the past few years and is continually growing. I started out with a 3.1 system, then moved to a 5.1, then 5.2, then 7.2, then 7.3 and this week it is now a 7.4 system. Please let me know if I'm wrong and you think I will be left wishing I got the sub right away My previous speakers were RF-83's (three 8" drivers). They can absolutely slam, but honestly, when it comes to movies, it is my personal opinion that any system will benefit from having a subwoofer. It can easily take your system from sounding great, to "Feeling" amazing! I would like to stay under $800 for the receiver, and after reading a lot of reviews of various receivers in the 500-1000 range, I have my eye on the Onkyo TX-RZ800, which I would likely buy from accessories4less with an extended warranty (thanks to reading this forum for the recommendation!). Willland stays pretty current with receiver offerings and has purchased as well as recommended accessories4less. I personally have no problem with refurbs. Same warranty as new and saves you some money. And any wire/plug recommendations are welcome too, I am still pretty new at this. Thanks in advance! I purchase all of my cables and interconnects from Monoprice. Very hard to beat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted March 25, 2016 Moderators Share Posted March 25, 2016 Welcome Brad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorBrad Posted March 25, 2016 Author Share Posted March 25, 2016 welcome! how far down the road is the other stuff gonna be added? if a long time, maybe just a nice integrated amp right now. seems like music is high priority. a nice integrated amp will almost always be better for music than a surround sound receiver. Likely within a few months of buying my first home about a year from now. I've got a plan! And priorities...speakers before house Usage will be about 60-40 favored towards music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TasDom Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 Welcome aboard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 25, 2016 Moderators Share Posted March 25, 2016 And priorities...speakers before house That's smart because once you buy a house, you may not have the funds to buy speakers, especially until you get settled in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 Welcome Brad, it sounds like your priorities are all in order. The RP280s are a good choice, many good reviews on them, and they're easily matched with the rest of the HT speaker line for future purchases, when you go from 2 channel to 7 channel. At some point you will want at least one sub, almost a must have for movies, and a very nice addition to 2 channel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorBrad Posted March 25, 2016 Author Share Posted March 25, 2016 One thing I am wondering about and haven't seen a consistent response is matching wattage between the speakers and receiver. The RP280 is rated at 150 continuous, but I haven't seen a receiver at 150wpc that is within my price range. I had a little chat with support the other day and after mentioning a few different amps the rep essentially pointed me towards the one that was a perfect match on wattage.The Onkyo RZ800 is listed at 135wpc, albeit that measurement is only 2 channels driven. So I acknowledge I am slightly underpowering the speakers... Is it by an acceptable margin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusaDude Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 (edited) You're much more likely to damage a speaker (usually the tweeter) by overdriving a low powered amp into clipping... Rather than pushing it past its thermal limits with a high powered amp. And with most Klipsch speakers it will be ridiculously loud in either case before it happens. Though if you don't listen to music/movies at very high SPL's, then it really won't matter. But if you're fond of turning it up on occassion then it's better to have a bit too much than not enough. 135 wpc or higher will safely power the 280's to ear splitting levels. So you shouldn't have any problems. Trying to do the same thing with a 30 wpc amp or budget AVR is more likely to cause a problem. Edited March 29, 2016 by GPBusa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorBrad Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 I'm planning to keep my listening at comfortable levels for the most part. I do enjoy turning it up on occasion but not to the point that I'm hurting myself. Having played and listened to music in uncomfortably loud live settings more than a few times, I know my limits! Would a 100wpc receiver such as the Pioneer Elite VSX90 (heavily discounted from $700 to $430 this week at Best Buy...) do the RP280s justice, or should i try to definitely stay in the 120+wpc range? I'm trying to avoid having to upgrade the receiver as I incrementally add speakers over the next year or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete H Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Welcome to the forum! Accessories4less has been a pleasure to deal with in my past experiences. Just another way to look at this because you are looking to progress in your system, you can go with one of the HT receivers and it will serve your purposes for now or you could look into the used market at a pre/pro and an amp that's 5.1 or a beast 5.1 HTR that would have cost thousands when new, but because of the race for "new and better" there's not much of a market for. I think you would be surprised to find out how many people have never hooked up and run a full 7.1 or above system, but bought equipment that will do it. If you buy right used, you can just flip the gear as your journey continues, while at the same time, purchase way above your current budget for performance in 2.0, 2.1, 3.1, 5.1 Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Just looking at specs, the receiver is Certified 4 ohms. This seems to indicate it will handle a speaker presenting a 4 ohm load. This is good because a lot of Klipsch speakers do have input impedances down there despite such language as "8 ohms compatible" or a label on the input cup saying 8 ohms. From time to time on the forum we get questions from fellows: They've bought new amps or speakers and the amp shuts down, probably because of an internal current limiter. IMHO, this is because of the 4 ohm issue. I don't think you'll be underpowering your speakers. WMcD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorBrad Posted March 29, 2016 Author Share Posted March 29, 2016 I joined this forum and now can no longer recall what my original budget was 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusaDude Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 (edited) I joined this forum and now can no longer recall what my original budget was Budget? You mean we should limit what we spend on audio related endeavors? Back to your question... The difference in total output between a 60 wpc AVR/amp and a 120 wpc AVR/amp is 3 decibels. If you double the power again (240 wpc) then you get another 3 dB in potential output (if the speakers can handle it). The difference between 100 wpc and 120 wpc is less than 1 dB, meaning you wouldn't likely hear it. If you're going the AVR route, then make sure you get the features, inputs, etc. you want and not be too concerned if one has 10-20 wpc more or less than the other. Personally I'd stay in the $500 and up range as you'll generally get all the basic bases covered. That particular Pioneer receiver does seem to have most of the basic "bells and whistles"... But, it DOES NOT have separate pre-amp input jacks. So you wouldn't be able to add an outboard amp(s) in the future. So if you wanted more power, you'd have to move to separates (amp & pre-amp) or buy another, higher powered, AVR. Edited March 29, 2016 by GPBusa 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthews Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Welcome Sir Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronB123 Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 (edited) I'm planning to keep my listening at comfortable levels for the most part. I do enjoy turning it up on occasion but not to the point that I'm hurting myself. Having played and listened to music in uncomfortably loud live settings more than a few times, I know my limits! Would a 100wpc receiver such as the Pioneer Elite VSX90 (heavily discounted from $700 to $430 this week at Best Buy...) do the RP280s justice, or should i try to definitely stay in the 120+wpc range? I'm trying to avoid having to upgrade the receiver as I incrementally add speakers over the next year or two. Welcome to the forum! I actually just purchased that receiver about a month or so ago and am extremely pleased with its performance! I use it for 5.1 as of right now as well as 2 channel for music and it's been amazing. I would highly recommend it! I can't say how it would run on your particular speakers but I am running Klipsch Chorus I's as mains that are rated at 100rms 1000max wattage and I can tell you that it pushes them extremely well crystal clear sound at all volume levels. Edited March 29, 2016 by AaronB123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronB123 Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 I joined this forum and now can no longer recall what my original budget was Budget? You mean we should limit what we spend on audio related endeavors?Back to your question... The difference in total output between a 60 wpc AVR/amp and a 120 wpc AVR/amp is 3 decibels. If you double the power again (240 wpc) then you get another 3 dB in potential output (if the speakers can handle it). The difference between 100 wpc and 120 wpc is less than 1 dB, meaning you wouldn't likely hear it. If you're going the AVR route, then make sure you get the features, inputs, etc. you want and not be too concerned if one has 10-20 wpc more or less than the other. Personally I'd stay in the $500 and up range as you'll generally get all the basic bases covered. That particular Pioneer receiver does seem to have most of the basic "bells and whistles"... But, it DOES NOT have separate pre-amp input jacks. So you wouldn't be able to add an outboard amp(s) in the future. So if you wanted more power, you'd have to move to separates (amp & pre-amp) or buy another, higher powered, AVR. YES make sure this isn't an issue for you because this is actually a big issue I fell into. Being new to the high end audio game I though all AVR's had that and almost went out and bought an external amp a couple months ago until the fine members of this forum informed me that my AVR did not have pre out's! From what I have seen however if you'r looking for a AVR with Pre outs that's got all the latest bells and whistles your going to be looking at an extremely expensive one. I know Pioneer doesn't give you that option until you get to the SC-95 which has an MSRP of $1,600 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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