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Pls advice: Center channel recommendation for RP-8000F towers


klps5734

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Hello,

 

My first post on Klipsch forum. I recently purchased Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-8000F main speakers. I also purchased RP-500C center channel speaker to go with it (as well as a pair of RP-500M, RP-402S surrounds).  My center channel speaker sounds ok in HT setup.

 

Question: Given my set of Klipsch speakers and an option to upgrade to RP-404C center channel speaker, do you see any benefits (in terms of sound quality, mid range dialogues, ETC.) of upgrading to RP-404C  over RP-500C?

 

I am aware that there are better Klipsch center channel speakers like RP-504C or RP-600C that will go with RF-8000F, however, either they are over my budget or have incompatible form factor (weight, size).

 

So, the comparison boils down to RP-500C and RP404C center channels for me. Would it be better to upgrade to RP404C?  I would appreciate the guidance.

 

RP-404C:

FREQUENCY RESPONSE 59-25kHz +/- 3dB
SENSITIVITY 97dB @ 2.83V / 1m
POWER HANDLING (CONT/PEAK)  125W/500W
CROSSOVER FREQUENCY  500Hz/1500Hz

QUAD 4” Cerametallic™ CONE WOOFERS

 

RP-500C:

FREQUENCY RESPONSE 60-25kHz +/- 3dB

SENSITIVITY96dB @ 2.83V / 1m

POWER HANDLING (CONT/PEAK)  100W/400W

CROSSOVER FREQUENCY1800Hz

DUAL 5-1/4" Cerametallic™ CONE SUBWOOFERS

 

Thanks.
 

 

 

 

 

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For $100 extra, I have an option to exchange RP-500M with RP-404C. I may not be able to have both speakers at the same time in home to test.

 

I am trying to understand how well RP-404C will match with RP-8000F in comparison to RP-500M. Or, the difference is going to be negligible/subtle? Any thoughts?

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6 hours ago, klps5734 said:

Hello,

 

My first post on Klipsch forum. I recently purchased Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-8000F main speakers. I also purchased RP-500C center channel speaker to go with it (as well as a pair of RP-500M, RP-402S surrounds).  My center channel speaker sounds ok in HT setup.

 

Question: Given my set of Klipsch speakers and an option to upgrade to RP-404C center channel speaker, do you see any benefits (in terms of sound quality, mid range dialogues, ETC.) of upgrading to RP-404C  over RP-500C?

 

I am aware that there are better Klipsch center channel speakers like RP-504C or RP-600C that will go with RF-8000F, however, either they are over my budget or have incompatible form factor (weight, size).

 

So, the comparison boils down to RP-500C and RP404C center channels for me. Would it be better to upgrade to RP404C?  I would appreciate the guidance.

 

RP-404C:

FREQUENCY RESPONSE 59-25kHz +/- 3dB
SENSITIVITY 97dB @ 2.83V / 1m
POWER HANDLING (CONT/PEAK)  125W/500W
CROSSOVER FREQUENCY  500Hz/1500Hz

QUAD 4” Cerametallic™ CONE WOOFERS

 

RP-500C:

FREQUENCY RESPONSE 60-25kHz +/- 3dB

SENSITIVITY96dB @ 2.83V / 1m

POWER HANDLING (CONT/PEAK)  100W/400W

CROSSOVER FREQUENCY1800Hz

DUAL 5-1/4" Cerametallic™ CONE SUBWOOFERS

 

Thanks.
 

 

 

 

 

 

38 minutes ago, klps5734 said:

For $100 extra, I have an option to exchange RP-500M with RP-404C. I may not be able to have both speakers at the same time in home to test.

 

I am trying to understand how well RP-404C will match with RP-8000F in comparison to RP-500M. Or, the difference is going to be negligible/subtle? Any thoughts?

 

Hello

 

I currently own a rp-440c (equivalent to your rp-404c) and a rp-250c (equivalent to your rp-500c). The speakers i have are basically the 1.st generation of rp speakers and their 2.nd gen versions are the exact ones you are trying to decide between. 

 

I shall test my speakers against each other and give you an answer. Bear in mind that I will not be able to give insigt into wether or not the rp-404c is better than the rp-500c. I will however be able to shed light on wether or not a center with 4 cones of 4inches are better than a center with 2 cones of 5.25inches. Also remember that sound is subjective. My views and preferences might not match your own. I shall reply within the hour.

 

 

CONCLUSION TO MY TEST:

 

In the test, i focused only on dialogue since thats what the center channel mostly is for. I found my RP-250c to colour the voices with just a tiny fraction more low frequency than the rp-440c. Some s-sounds here and there were noticably deeper-sounding on the rp-250c. 

 

Other than that, I have to admit that I struggled to find any difference at all. The tweeter and type of woofer are exactly the same, which is probably why there were almost no difference in sound. Your rp-404c and rp-500c will share this trait as well. 

 

Have you perhaps considered your avr to be your problem? All avr brands have different amps in them, and all amps will make the same speaker sound more or less different. There are also certain settings on your avr not only to adjust db levels, but might also include settings which can adjust tonal quality for each speaker using a graphic equalizer.

 

All in all, i do not recommend changing center speaker, but might be worth it to have a look in your avr settings. 

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6 hours ago, klps5734 said:

For $100 extra, I have an option to exchange RP-500M with RP-404C. I may not be able to have both speakers at the same time in home to test.

 

I am trying to understand how well RP-404C will match with RP-8000F in comparison to RP-500M. Or, the difference is going to be negligible/subtle? Any thoughts?

I assume you meant to say RP500c instead of RP500m. For $100, that's a deal, it's normally $200 more. Even the top of the line RP Series systems, Klipsch recommends the RP404c instead of the 504c. Klipsch claims those quad woofer speakers have better clarity and dialogue.

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48 minutes ago, Ceptorman said:

Klipsch claims those quad woofer speakers have better clarity and dialogue.

Probably true but when it comes to lower frequency(100Hz to 140Hz) explosions/crashes and voices the smaller woofers "may" sound a bit tinny.:unsure:

 

Bill

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@HenrikTJ, truly appreciate you taking time to compare and report the test results of your both speakers! It's definitely helpful, but made my decision bit more complicated. :-) Your suggestion about the AVR (Denon 3400H) tweaking is very good. Will do some more experiments with it too.

 

#Ceptorman and #willland, I called up Klipsch Cust Support (always on long hold, for 40 min this time around, but get the great service in the end) this morning. The Tech absolutely recommended RP-404C over either RP-500C or RP-600C. He said that the outer two subwoofers handle < 500hz frequencies and the inner 2 subwoofers handle between 500hz and 1500hz. The twitter handles anything above 1500hz, so rp-404C is a 3-way speaker in comparison and it will sound better than those 2-way center channels.

 

@#Ceptorman, I asked the tech about why RP-8000F web page on Klipsch site recommends RP-404C as the center channel, and not bigger RP-504C. He said that it must be an error on the web page. I also note that not all Klipsch site web pages are updated (e.g. they still have "Tweeter & Woofer Removal" PDFs for old RP line of speakers, and not for newer line of speakers).

 

My thoughts at this point: Since the upgrade cost is affordable, the form factor of RP-404C is smaller (height) which will fit better with the larger size TV upgrade in the future and hopefully it will sound equal, if not better, to my ears in my room, I am considering to move forward with the upgrade.

Thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, klps5734 said:

@HenrikTJ, truly appreciate you taking time to compare and report the test results of your both speakers! It's definitely helpful, but made my decision bit more complicated. 🙂 Your suggestion about the AVR (Denon 3400H) tweaking is very good. Will do some more experiments with it too.

 

#Ceptorman and #willland, I called up Klipsch Cust Support (always on long hold, for 40 min this time around, but get the great service in the end) this morning. The Tech absolutely recommended RP-404C over either RP-500C or RP-600C. He said that the outer two subwoofers handle < 500hz frequencies and the inner 2 subwoofers handle between 500hz and 1500hz. The twitter handles anything above 1500hz, so rp-404C is a 3-way speaker in comparison and it will sound better than those 2-way center channels.

 

@#Ceptorman, I asked the tech about why RP-8000F web page on Klipsch site recommends RP-404C as the center channel, and not bigger RP-504C. He said that it must be an error on the web page. I also note that not all Klipsch site web pages are updated (e.g. they still have "Tweeter & Woofer Removal" PDFs for old RP line of speakers, and not for newer line of speakers).

 

My thoughts at this point: Since the upgrade cost is affordable, the form factor of RP-404C is smaller (height) which will fit better with the larger size TV upgrade in the future and hopefully it will sound equal, if not better, to my ears in my room, I am considering to move forward with the upgrade.

Thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You sure have done your research, and I'm impressed you actually spoke with someone so quickly. I think 404c will improve the sound. Some of those speakers are 2.5 way. I have Klipsch towers that are considered 3.5 way.

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