Jump to content

5.1 or 7.1 Need help!


Jakep

Recommended Posts

Hello All,

 

Long time lurker first time post. My sound knowledge is fairly noobish so do your best to break it down Barney Style for me. I finally came across some money to update and replace my old and embarrassing home theater system. I recently moved into a new house and have a fairly small space to work with. Our sound system is used for 25% music 75% movies/TV. I have always liked the looks of the Klipsch speakers and I was able to demo them. Once that was over I just had to get some! I just recently purchased a pair of RB-81 ii's (L & R), RC-62 ii (Center), and a R-12SW (Sub). I also have a Denon AVR-X4000 receiver. The sound is incredible. I don't really have the sound vocabulary to describe it. The Audyssey setup was really easy and I dialed in my 3.1 setup relatively easy. 

 

I would now like to add some rear speakers. I would also like some side speakers if you guys think it would be beneficial. Currently there is wiring for a 7.1 system; however, I am not sure there is enough space for that? What do you guys think? Also I am not sure the pre-wiring is in the most ideal locations. I drew a rudimentary drawing of how my room is setup. I need to get something bookshelf in size to cut down on the WAF. The RB-81 ii's were almost too big for her taste. Anything smaller than those would work. If you guys have any suggestions for bookshelf speakers or surrounds I would greatly appreciate your advice. I am not sure what speakers would compliment/match my current arrangement. Thank you in advance.

Home Theater.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

Welcome to the forums Jake.

 

My room is 13' x 15' with 10' ceilings.  I can barely get 2 rows in so I'm assuming you will have just one row of seating.  That should allow you the ability to go 7.1 if you want.  I've always believed that a proper 5.1 is better than a half-way put together 7.1.

 

If it were me, I would look for a pair of RS-41 / RS-42ii or RS-52 / RS-52ii for your side surrounds and RB-61 / RB-61ii for your surround back speakers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Youthman said:

Welcome to the forums Jake.

 

My room is 13' x 15' with 10' ceilings.  I can barely get 2 rows in so I'm assuming you will have just one row of seating.  That should allow you the ability to go 7.1 if you want.  I've always believed that a proper 5.1 is better than a half-way put together 7.1.

 

If it were me, I would look for a pair of RS-41 / RS-42ii or RS-52 / RS-52ii for your side surrounds and RB-61 / RB-61ii for your surround back speakers.

Thank you! Yes, I only have 1 row and your suggestions look spot on for what I was thinking. Also are you saying my 7.1 setup is less than ideal? or should I focus on the 5.1?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

If you watch the video below, you will see that I had to mount my surround backs much higher than the suggested 2-3' above ear level.  I'm not even sure that I actually hear them playing.  Their placement is less than ideal.  I only have them because I purchased an entire 11 Speaker RF-7ii System for $2000 so I made use of them.  :D

 

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Giving you the real deal here, if the couch is on the back wall surround sound in general is very difficult to get to sound "great".

If you can move that forward a bit you open the door to both 5.1 and 7.1

 

Do not think of the walls as your only choices, you can use stands for either set also.  

IMO the ideal surrounds are roughly 1-2 feet above your head.

 

You've come this far, and I understand the WAF factor but try moving that couch forward and seeing if it will be acceptable to her.

 

If so, the advice above from Youthman is very good.  I would also recommend RS52s for side surrounds and RB51s for back (they are smaller than 62s).  In fact, in both cases you can go RS42s and RB41s if need be.  They are much smaller if that helps with appearance.  They will do the job just fine, I like the 5-series a bit better but you're golden either way.

 

If difficult to find RS42s or RS52s, no reason you can use another set of RB51s or RB41s for side surrounds.  But I will share that I love the RS series, the bipolar surrounds are Klipsch at their best imo.  More impressive even than the RF7s.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can get about 3-4 feet from the wall without too much headache.

 

I have already purchased the RS42's and the RB61's. I chose the 61's because I like the forward port. That way I can have them as close to the wall as possible.

 

Thanks for the advice all!

Edited by Jakep
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...