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Initial Thoughts of the CA-800T Pro Outdoor Speakers


Youthman

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First impressions.....extremely unimpressive.  :huh:  I purchased these as they are what appears to be the top end of the Outdoor Speakers in the Klipsch lineup.  They have a better tweeter and a larger woofer than the smaller AW-650. 

 

The first thing I notice is they are WAY less efficient than the LaScalas or the RF-7ii.  In the HT, I typically listen at -15db.  I had it to +10db and it still wasn't super loud.


Moved them into the living room and connected them to the Acurus A200 (200 x 2) amp and once again, I had to crank them up WAY up just to get them to a descent volume.

 

So after a few minutes of streaming music through my phone....I realized my phone was at about 1/3 volume.  :D:D:D

 

Fast forward a few hours later and I can say I'm very impressed with them.  Granted, they do not have near the sound of a floor standing speaker but bass is very full, highs are clean (even at pretty ridiculous levels).  I think these are going to do very well for the back yard living area.  Now I just need to figure out placement for them.  I know I want to put them underneath the covered area and probably mounting them horizontally so I can easily angle them up or down to get the best sound coverage.

 

This video will give you a better idea of the space that we are working with.  All suggestions welcome.

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately I won't be able to use the Zone-2 from my Onkyo in the HT like I thought I would be able to because apparently Zone-2 can only be used with an analog source and my AppleTV is completely digital.  So right now, I'm thinking of buying a speaker selector for the living room to be able to switch between the RF-7ii inside and the CA-800T outside or play both at the same time.  The only problem is how do I run the speaker wire?  I have a wall that separates the living room and our bedroom.  I would love to somehow be able to fish the cable down between the wall behind the entertainment center, then through the attic to the outside.

 

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34 minutes ago, Youthman said:

I would love to somehow be able to fish the cable down between the wall behind the entertainment center, then through the attic to the outside.

When there is will there is a way. I of course don't know your house but it seems like this should be doable.

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16 hours ago, Youthman said:

So after a few minutes of streaming music through my phone....I realized my phone was at about 1/3 volume.

Don't feel bad, I've done that before. Next time I'll save myself an hour and check that first before trouble shooting. :blush2:

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On 1/13/2017 at 9:18 PM, Youthman said:

The first thing I notice is they are WAY less efficient than the LaScalas or the RF-7ii. 

Regardless of your phone volume setting...this is going to be a given, as almost everything on the market is less efficient than the La Scala or the like.

 

They'll spoil ya' like that. :D

 

For your zone 2 issues, I second the DAC suggestion that was already mentioned. :emotion-21: No ideas on the wiring though. :mellow2:

 

As far as placement, it'll be all about putting the sound on target (ie. keeping it out of the neighbor's chili). Tucked up in the corners to maximize bass output, angled in and down 45 to cover the entire patio (above the flower pot and above the traditional door if there's room up there). Another option is to place the pair above and directly flanking the hot tub as that's the greatest source of noise (unless it has its own stereo).

 

Although it's tempting to believe you might need to cover the entire back yard with audio. In reality you'll really be better off keeping an area "with sound" and an area with "little to no sound".

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Thanks but I'm sure my neighbors wouldn't enjoy it as much as I would.  LOL.  They actually have a good amount of bottom end on their own....which is why I went with 8" woofers instead of the AW650 with 6.5" woofers.

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On 1/15/2017 at 1:43 PM, Quiet_Hollow said:

Regardless of your phone volume setting...this is going to be a given, as almost everything on the market is less efficient than the La Scala or the like.

 

They'll spoil ya' like that. :D

For sure.  I just finshed listening to them in the theater room and I had to turn the volume on the Yamaha up to 0dB (which I NEVER get to with the LaScalas.  I even went up to +10dB with them to really get them cranking.  My ears would have started bleeding at that level with the LaScalas.

 

On 1/15/2017 at 1:43 PM, Quiet_Hollow said:

For your zone 2 issues, I second the DAC suggestion that was already mentioned.

I think this would be the simplest and cheapest route.  That monoprice DAC is only $20.

 

On 1/15/2017 at 1:43 PM, Quiet_Hollow said:

Although it's tempting to believe you might need to cover the entire back yard with audio.

That's exactly what I was thinking of doing.  LOL 

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On 1/13/2017 at 8:18 PM, Youthman said:

Unfortunately I won't be able to use the Zone-2 from my Onkyo in the HT like I thought I would be able to because apparently Zone-2 can only be used with an analog source

 

Have you thought about using an external DAC ? That would allow you to use the analog Zone-2 inputs.

edit: I see this was already considered.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On Friday, January 13, 2017 at 11:18 PM, Youthman said:

Unfortunately I won't be able to use the Zone-2 from my Onkyo in the HT like I thought I would be able to because apparently Zone-2 can only be used with an analog source and my AppleTV is completely digital.

 

 

I got pretty ticked when I found out the Zone 2 on my Pioneer VSX49-TXi HAD to have the same EQ settings as Zone 1. So much so I just bought Zone 2 it's own independent system. So much so since the speakers were so dissimilar. 

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