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HELP PLEASE! RP260F+RC62ii OR 3 RB81II FOR FRONTS


shaneacook1989

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OK please please help me lol. I have been researching this for weeks and cannot make a conclusion here. I keep reading and its only making my choice harder. 

 

I am looking to upgrade my speakers from very old(I know) optomus mach 3's for 2 fronts, bose 101 video monitor for center, and 2 bose 101 music monitors for surrounds. And a jbl 110 something sub.  I also currently the denon 3400h receiver. Doesnt really matter but I have a 100 inch screen with a benq ht1080st.

I would say 75% movies bluray or cable and 25% music from sacds or spotify.

The room it is set up in is 25x20 but I am flexible where I can position the speakers.

 

So I am having a hard time choosing which speakers to get...

 

Do I get 2x RP280s and the RC62ii or do I get 3 RB81ii and use them for all 3 front channels? Do I run 2 RB61ii, RB81ii, or the RP160Ms for surrounds?

 

I can get 2 of the RP280Fs for $600 chip and dent units with the RC62ii for 220ish. I can also get 3 brand new RB81ii for 250ish a piece. A pair of RB61ii and RP160s are roughly 300/340ish...not enough of a difference price wise to be concerned with.

 

I have been reading for weeks about this and I know I want to have timber matching for the 3 fronts at least. But I really can't justify spending almost twice the price of the RC62ii for the rp450c, especially when I keep reading so many positive reviews of the 62. Then because of the timber matching I start thinking about 3 of the RB81ii or even 5 of them and be done with it. But do I want go without the rf280s? Lol I dont know. I guess what I am trying to get at what will give me the best home theater experience? Will the non timber matching RC62ii throw off the sound enough to make it noticable? 

 

That brings me to the 2 rear channels...

After reading about these for weeks i keep leaning towards the RB61ii over the RP160Ms based on all the fantastic reviews. Or do I dare go with 2 RB81ii even if I get the RP280Fs for fronts? I have read quite a few people have choose the rb series for surrounds over many other models. Any input here?

 

I will most likely go with the 112sw and that is already going to be way way way too much for my girlfriend. She doesn't mind loud but tends to get upset when the pictures fall off the wall.

 

I have gone to best buy and others to listen to some of these but I'm never impressed in the stores and they always sound much different set up in your home listening to your own music. So I know all of these speakers will sound good in my home I just want to go with what speakers sound the best together if that makes any sense lol.

 

So again I guess I am askin what would best for optimal listening for the home theater experience?

 

Thank you in advance for any advice at all you can give me.

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If you are near a Fry’s Electronics you could pick up two RF 82II, an RC 62II and two RB 61II which would make a killer home theater set up for about $900 when found on promo code. 

 

Starting today Fry’s has the RF 82II for $229 each and RB 61II for $199 a pair. These all go on promo code every so often occasionally with free shipping but mainly in store only.  You would need to sign up for their e-mails to get the promo code. 

 

While not on promo currently the RC 62II has previously been on promo for as low as $134. 

 

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@shaneacook1989,

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

If you want the most seamless timbre matched front stage, you should get the 3 RB-81II's or any other identical front speakers.  If you can avoid it, do not match Reference Premieres with last generation(or any other version) Reference.  Keep all within the same speaker line if you can.

 

Bill 

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2 minutes ago, RX8 said:

If you are near a Fry’s Electronics you could pick up two RF 82II, an RC 62II and two RB 61II which would make a killer home theater set up for about $900 when found on promo code. 

 

Starting today Fry’s has the RF 82II for $229 each and RB 61II for $199 a pair. These all go on promo code every so often occasionally with free shipping but mainly in store only.  You would need to sign up for their -mails to get the promo code. 

 

The RC 62II has been on promo in the past for as low as $140. 

Yes, good advice.

 

Bill

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i am just one opinion but ive been down this road myself.  having a big screen does matter and whether or not its transparent for sound matters a lot.  

 

i would not think of price as the foremost concern here, there is a diff but more important is your goals.  even in a large room sitting further away the rb81s can easily hit reference.  having a seamless front, or better yet fully matching system will have very noticeable benefits imo.  but its also not the end all decision point.

 

first, subs are very important in a nice theater.  dont go cheap on subs, better to get at least 2 nice subs that hit down low that you can place in different parts of the room for a consistent response in multiple seats.  thats where real $$ shoud be spent, potentially 1000 or more on 2 used, whatever they may be.

 

now considering the front stage again the screen type matters.  ideally if they can go behind the screen u can choose whatever u want.  but a floorstanding speaker sits on the floor, obviously, while a bookshelf needs to either be mounted or on a stand.  how u want them setup matters.  

 

the rp280f is a great speaker...but with subs there is not much benefit over an rb81, or rp160m.   the rp280f CANNOT replace what a sub does.  yes it plays lower than a bookshelf, but not low enough for home theater.  the height of the r280f is good for just placing it and being at ear level.  

 

if the screen were transparent the highest end install would be 5 rp280fs.  correct height, plenty of everything and matching.  but with good subs thats overkill imo.  good overkill but overkill.  5 rb81s is just about as good, and requires they be mounted or put on stands or a baffle wall.

 

there is no....repeat....no benefit to the rp450c in your situation.  its big but big is not best here.  3 of the same, or 5, is.  any center will be loud enough, the difference is a really cool and seamless sweep of sound from one part of the room to another.  if all 5 are the same you really cant do better.  it may be hard to grasp but the rb81 can and will do as good or better than the rp450c.

 

in every theater setup, subs handle the low end below say 60, 80 or 100hz.  thats because subs can be put in better places to reproduce low frequencies while main speakers kind of need to be in certain places.  dont get fooled into buying giant fronts thinking bigger is better.  if u listened to just 2 channel music then maybe, but not in a theater setting.

 

5 rb81iis with 2 great subs will blow u away the best for the price.  if cost effective 5 rp160ms would be as good or better, i love the rp160ms.

 

dont buy an rc62, too small.  the center is key and should match the fronts or if not, be at least as big as the mains woofers.

 

 

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Thank you very much for your reply roboklipsch, I do not have an acoustically transparent screen and not really looking into one....buy I do have some flexibility in this room with speaker placement because I can move my screen up and down along with the projector. But I can't move the screen high enough to accommodate 3 280fs up front but I could do 3 or 5 81s quite easily. 

 

Could you expand on the benefits of 5 rp160ms over 5 rb81s?

 

Thanks again,

Shane

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36 minutes ago, shaneacook1989 said:

Thank you very much for your reply roboklipsch, I do not have an acoustically transparent screen and not really looking into one....buy I do have some flexibility in this room with speaker placement because I can move my screen up and down along with the projector. But I can't move the screen high enough to accommodate 3 280fs up front but I could do 3 or 5 81s quite easily. 

 

Could you expand on the benefits of 5 rp160ms over 5 rb81s?

 

Thanks again,

Shane

i would honestly go with 5 bookshelves anyway, the small benefit of the rp280fs is outweighed imo by their huge size.  put 5 rb81s in the room you will be thrilled.

 

the rp160ms are the newest bookshelves from klipsch.  they changed the horn a bit and covered it in a material that makes the tweeter sound a bit better than earlier models.  the entire rp line has this.  with that said though its just a qualitative point by me.  i love both but preferred the rp160s by a little.  several here on the forum love them too.  the rb81s are front ported and can sit closer to a wall but really we are talking say 4 inches needed for an rp160 so again little difference.

 

at 10 ft away the rp160m at 96db sensitivity and 100rms watts is good for about reference, 105db

at 10 ft away the rb81 at 97db and 150rms capability is good for higher spl, 109 or 110db

but your avr puts out about 105watts anyway so both work and the rbs would be limited to about 106 in your sitch

both speakers have a much higher peak capability, so if u listen loud or want reference further away u need more power for reference with either.  the only point being the rbs are designed to handle more power for higher continuous output

 

i would move up the screen enough to put a bookshelf beneath the screen....not on the floor preferably but if so tilted up to your ears.  i would place identical bookshelves in the other 4 spots.  which would depend upon how much they cost and what i liked better.  its worth a trip to a store to hear both and be confident in what u like better.  all klipsch, esp these bookshelves, are terrific imo.  so if u decide to buy blind go with whichever provides the best price.  keep in mind newer has a bit higher resale value i.e. rp line

 

how far do u sit from the screen?

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4 hours ago, RoboKlipsch said:

i would honestly go with 5 bookshelves anyway, the small benefit of the rp280fs is outweighed imo by their huge size.  put 5 rb81s in the room you will be thrilled.

 

the rp160ms are the newest bookshelves from klipsch.  they changed the horn a bit and covered it in a material that makes the tweeter sound a bit better than earlier models.  the entire rp line has this.  with that said though its just a qualitative point by me.  i love both but preferred the rp160s by a little.  several here on the forum love them too.  the rb81s are front ported and can sit closer to a wall but really we are talking say 4 inches needed for an rp160 so again little difference.

 

at 10 ft away the rp160m at 96db sensitivity and 100rms watts is good for about reference, 105db

at 10 ft away the rb81 at 97db and 150rms capability is good for higher spl, 109 or 110db

but your avr puts out about 105watts anyway so both work and the rbs would be limited to about 106 in your sitch

both speakers have a much higher peak capability, so if u listen loud or want reference further away u need more power for reference with either.  the only point being the rbs are designed to handle more power for higher continuous output

 

i would move up the screen enough to put a bookshelf beneath the screen....not on the floor preferably but if so tilted up to your ears.  i would place identical bookshelves in the other 4 spots.  which would depend upon how much they cost and what i liked better.  its worth a trip to a store to hear both and be confident in what u like better.  all klipsch, esp these bookshelves, are terrific imo.  so if u decide to buy blind go with whichever provides the best price.  keep in mind newer has a bit higher resale value i.e. rp line

 

how far do u sit from the screen?

Thank you again for all of your help I do really appreciate it.

 

I sit 14 feet away from the screen.

 

Now I am not opposed to spending a couple hundred dollars more if it is worth it. If I do spend a little extra money so I don't have to wonder "what if?" It is worth it to me.

 

I am now leaning toward the 81s because they seem like they can really put out some serious sound and they can handle 150 watts which gives me a little extra roon if I want to upgrade my receiver down the road. Also from what iv read there are plenty of people out the there using the 81s with the 3400h and say that it is more than powerful enough for the 81s.

 

But again a still think about the 160m. I could get 6 of those for cheaper than 5 81s. Are the newer horns worth getting "smaller" speakers? I mean I can essentially get the 160m and the 81s for roughly the same price. That is what has me the most torn right now I guess. 

 

Lol I still haven't ruled out getting 3 81s and 2 61s either. Especially for what "little" sound goes to the rear 2 speakers. Uh lol. But just so I'm not wondering I will most likely get the 5 81s. Unless you can talk me into the 160ms...

Edited by shaneacook1989
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In your case i think it makes sense either way but i would get the rp160ms based upon quality no matter which was more expensive.

 

105db is crazy loud and we were talking about rms - continuous power.  The rp160 can handle several hundred watts during a peak.  So u can upgrade and still have full reference power and easily handle it. 

 

If u blasted music at crazy levels all day then the rms might matter.

 

Get 7 rp160ms and have 7.xx sound.  No compromises.  

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My personal opinion... you are way under-amped to be considering any of these speakers.

 

And if you can tell where your subwoofer is in your room... you have a crappy subwoofer that is throwing too much woofer.  At or below 80 Hz it is impossible for human hearing to determine the direction of sound, since the wavelength is too long and the phase difference between the ears becomes too short for directional evaluation.  That is why the THX and Dolby-Digital crossover frequency of 80 Hz for sub-woofer / woofer was chosen.  Rather than buy two crappy subs, buy one good one that doesn't bleed into your middle ranges.

Edited by BonsaNut
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3 hours ago, BonsaNut said:

My personal opinion... you are way under-amped to be considering any of these speakers.

 

Please explain.  He has an extremely nice $1,000 Denon receiver.  With the extremely high sensitivity deign of Klipsch speakers how is he under amped?

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14 minutes ago, wuzzzer said:

 

Please explain.  He has an extremely nice $1,000 Denon receiver.  With the extremely high sensitivity deign of Klipsch speakers how is he under amped?

 

I'm not denigrating the quality of his receiver.  I am just saying that he is working with a 7 amp receiver rated at 105 watts per amp.  I think he won't be happy with the sound he will get from RP280F's or RB8ii's (specced for 150 watts continuous, 600 watts peak).  Even RP-160M's as surrounds are on the big side at 100 watts continuous, 400 watts peak.

 

If he is in love with that receiver, and in love with those speakers, I would actually go with a 3.1 setup and bi-amp the LCR channels.  Then he'd be working with 210 watts.

 

My opinion, but I don't want to recommend a setup where he ends up under-driving his speakers and then wonders why he isn't getting the best sound out of them. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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14 minutes ago, BonsaNut said:

 

I'm not denigrating the quality of his receiver.  I am just saying that he is working with a 7 amp receiver rated at 105 watts per amp.  I think he won't be happy with the sound he will get from RP280F's or RB8ii's (specced for 150 watts continuous, 600 watts peak).  Even RP-160M's as surrounds are on the big side at 100 watts continuous, 400 watts peak.

 

If he is in love with that receiver, and in love with those speakers, I would actually go with a 3.1 setup and bi-amp the LCR channels.  Then he'd be working with 210 watts.

 

My opinion, but I don't want to recommend a setup where he ends up under-driving his speakers and then wonders why he isn't getting the best sound out of them. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boy i could not disagree more. Bi-amping from an avr is pointless and a waste of time. Sometimes it can actually do more harm than good. 

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1 minute ago, Scrappydue said:

Boy i could not disagree more. Bi-amping from an avr is pointless and a waste of time. Sometimes it can actually do more harm than good. 

 

Well... I was trying to make lemonade out of lemons :)  Or out of lemons and oranges.  I think he is trying to do too much with too little... but again, just my opinion.

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The advantage of the high sensitivity Klipsch is not having to use

a 200 watt per channel amp. Those are nice but not everyone can get them.

My Denon runs my system just fine, I'd like more power but the sound I get is very good.

Bi- amping on a AVR is wasting power especially when running many channels.

Many people run Klipsch Speakers from AVR's with good results--like me.

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Thank all of you for your insight it is helpful to me.

 

I believe but someone correct me if I am wrong, that the rb81s are rated 100-150 watts continuous. So I would imagine that the receiver should do an ok job powering them. I have also read other reviews of people powering all these speakers with the 3400h or 3300w without any underpowered issues. Someday down the road I will upgrade this receiver but it is a step up from my 1995 pioneer technology wise. The pioneer would spank even the denon 6300 and the pioneer is "only" rated at 135 watta a channel. I know it this is wrong and I will get criticized for it but 135 watts is not as powerful as it used to be.

 

Right now I have 2 old optomus mach 3's that are rated at 160 watts continous. 3 horns and a 15 inch woofer, a lot to power. The 3400h powers them but you really have to turn up the volume to get the woofers to move. The old pioneer seems to power these much better, they come alive with the volume at a much lower level then the denon. Not knowing very much it seems like speakers today are much much more efficient then they used to me. I guess that is why the a lot of popular home theater receivers seem to be in the 100-125 watts per channel range...and they keep adding technology to them and cutting back on the amp power. I don't need my receiver to do netflix...my tv, both blu ray players, chormcast, and amazon firestick all have this and other (unneeded on my opnion)features.

 

 

Edited by shaneacook1989
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A 97db sensitive speaker at 1m away is 97db at 1watt.  At 10 feet its 87db.  1 watt.  

 

Double the watts and add 3db each time to total dbs.  

 

Now a movie at full reference runs at a continuous maximum db of 85.  So look up again....even at 14 feet away you are using 2......2 watts per channel with Klipsch.  THAT is the beauty of klipsch design...clarity with very little power required.  Many music listeners use 5 or 10watt tube amps for quality purposes and are thrilled with it.

 

So if a peak is 105db at 14feet that would max out the original OPs avr for just that brief peak moment.  Denons put out their rated power...each channel is a discrete amp channel.  So hitting peak momentarily will be easy, and in fact his setup could likely drive it continuously or very close.  But a movie never calls for that.  It calls for momentary peaks...a crash or explosion or gunfire.  

 

Keep in mind it also will only max out the front channels, the surrounds rarely are that loud.  Again that makes the demand on the power supply less and easily handled.

 

My view, already having a very similar setup with 105wpc myself is it is easily enough.  Upgrade will never be needed. 

 

Higher rms power in the rb81s will only come into play with extreme volume music listening.  Again we are talking ear splitting!  105db from a tweeter is uncomfortable.   With tv and movies the OP will be using roughly 1 to 16watts almost all the time.  

 

External amplification or more anplification has different benefits.  Its well worth a discussion but will hardly be an issue in this setup.

 

OP again get whichever you prefer, dont decide based upon rms capability.    The rp can handle 400watts peak.  You would blow up your ears before u ever came close to using that.  

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