Jump to content

Advice for speakers with a really really high SPL


chetanh

Recommended Posts

So we are finishing our basement and I want a decent HT setup. We do entertain a lot so wife wants a club like setup (dance party with around 30 guests who like loud music). Our basement is open and we want it to stay open as much as possible so want to avoid speakers on the floor (except the front LCR) and our budget for everything including screen, speakers, amp, sub is around 10K CAD (maybe a bit more). I can run power/speaker wires myself. Can you guys make recommendations on
1) Speakers/sub with high enough SPL to produce club like sound as well as good HT sound.
2) Speaker placement in the complicated open basement: 
Attached is the floor plan of the basement. If you see the diagram the screen can go on the wall that is 17.4 ft  there is a wall on the right to put rear and side speakers (depending on 5.1 or 7.1)  There are 2 poles behind and one pole on the left that could be used. There is also the ceiling  but i would not want to rely on the ceiling speakers for SPL but rather for 3D sound if required.

 

Thanks

 

Capture.JPG

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, this would be a dream project for me! I must be honest, I'm a little jealous... 😉

 

Firstly, I think Klipsch speakers are an excellent choice for this type of application... they can definitely handle the club scene in my experience, they excel in home theatre applications, and works great for the varied types of music I like...

 

Now the question is which speakers to get. I'm not sure how this will fit into your budget, as I live in South Africa, but if money weren't an issue, I would go with the following:

 

Front L & R: RF7iii x 2

Centre: RP-504C

Surround: RP-502S x 2

Rear Surround: RP-600M x 2

Atmos Heights: PRO-180RPC IN-CEILING x 2 or x 4

Subwoofers: SPL-150 x 2 or x 4 (or if you really want to get that underground club vibe, consider the JTR Captivators or SVS PB 16 Ultras - point is you don't need to stick with Klipsch for the subs)

 

The above list of speakers will be more than capable of providing a club like experience with excellent sound quality, especially if you power them adequately...

 

I don't know what costs those add up to, but if they blow your budget, then you can swap out the RF7iii's for RP-8000F's, which are also excellent floorstanders at a much more friendly price.

 

Now powering all of these speakers is probably where things are really going to blow your budget. You could use just about any good 11.2 or 13.2 receiver (depending how many atmos overheads you want), but if you really want to maximize the SPL these speakers are capable of, you should look into going with a processor and external amplification. 

 

As for the placement, the "Recreation Area" looks just fine. You just need to figure out how you're going to mount the surrounds and rear surrounds... or drop the surrounds and just do rear surrounds if you can only mount them on the rear wall.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Brendon

 

Update: I should also mention that Klipsch have a Professional Grade Home Theatre and THX Pro line, but I don't have any personal experience with these, so not sure how they compare. I'll leave these lines to the other forum members to recommend.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, chetanh said:

That has completely blown my budget.

Actually the AVR, Projector and Screen will be around 6.5K so that leaves me 3.5K to 5.5K for speakers and a sub. One RF7iii is 3K

That is too much if your whole budget is $10K

 

$1500 for AVR

$1500 for a projector

$1500 for a screen (if a fixed screen, you should be able to build a very good screen for about $500)

$5,500 to $6500 for speakers.

 

I knwo $10K sounds like a lot, but you may have to go used for some or all of the system. 

 

I bought a $5K Stewart screen for $500 shipped on ebay and a refurbished projector for $550 on ebay from the manufacturer with warranty. 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

47 minutes ago, Ceptorman said:

The matching center to the RF7lll is the RC64lll.

There's a forum member that's also a Klipsch dealer, he takes care of us, might be worth calling him. Cory or Steven at Paducah Home Theater.

 

OP is in Canada.  I don't think Cory can ship there. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, chetanh said:

Actually the AVR, Projector and Screen will be around 6.5K so that leaves me 3.5K to 5.5K for speakers and a sub. One RF7iii is 3K

 

I had a feeling that would be the case... and if you total the estimated costs with the RP-8000's instead, what do you get? 

 

7 hours ago, Ceptorman said:

The matching center to the RF7lll is the RC64lll.

 

Ah yes, that was a dumb oversight of mine... thanks for catching that @Ceptorman.

 

For what it's worth, I agree with @tigerwoodKhorns regarding your budget. I would rather invest more in my speakers as they will last far longer, than in the electronics that likely need to be upgraded / replaced sooner.

 

Also, consider a large TV instead of a full on screen and projector until you can afford a really good projector setup and rather invest more in your speakers. Not saying this is the right thing to do, but it's what I would do, as my priority lies with the sound more than the picture... Besides, a really good 4K projector will likely just about blow your entire budget on its own... 😉

 

I look forward to hearing what you decide on and how it all turns out... I'll be living vicariously through you... 😉

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The OPs are is pretty large ~700-750 ft2 - gonna take some serious power to fill that with club-like sound. 

Budget 10k CAD = 8k USD - while this is a lot of money it is like not enough. You will be able to buy decent stuff, get decent sound, but not the club-like sound it appears you are looking for.

 

I agree with the other posts - spend more on the speakers than on the other stuff. The other stuff will come and go every few years, good speakers will endure the test of time. Klipsch is an excellent choice for the speakers. Sub - consider other brands. The SVS PB16-Ultra - a beast of a sub will set you back $2,500 USD alone - one of these may or may not be enough for that space.

 

Buy a decent 85" TV and spend the rest on the sound.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, chetanh said:

What is the main difference between RF7-iii and the RP8000F. Is the price difference worth it?

Tell us more about the power you will send these speakers. Amp/Pre-Amp/AVR?

At normal HT levels you may or may not notice the diff - unlikely to notice IMO.  However, if you run them "hard" the RF-7iii will take the cake.

Specs:

RF-8000F 98db 150W/600W

RF-7iii 100db 250w/1000W

 

2 Rf7-iii and RC-64iii - slam dunk if money is no option....but then the club requirement comes into play.

 

You want club sound ? The Rf7-iii is much better. However, you will likely need more than 2, and a few subs well placed AND the power to drive them  - otherwise will not be like a club. 

I said in my earlier post ~750 ft2 is a large space. You may be better off with 4 or 6 RF-8000F and a few subs for the club stuff - just need the stuff to drive them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So if i go this route Klipsch RP-8000F X 2
Klipsch RP-504C X 1
Klipsch RP-600M X 2
Klipsch CDT-5800-C II X 4

and a svs or a couple of 150subs what kind of amps do you recommend to drive them hard but not hard enough to clip the speakers. Looking at amps with lower $

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would suggest looking at the high end of the mid-range AVRs, price point around the $2k USD mark. You will need at least 9.2 channels. This gives you 9 amplified channels and 2 sub outs (non amped). You listed 9 speakers. 

Examples: Yamaha RX-A3080, Denon AVR-X6700H, Marantz SR7013

Bear in mind, the advertised specs on AVRs typically tell wattage with 2 channels driven only, drive more channels, you will have less wattage available. Also, watch the THD % number - big wattage with big THD = not good, rule of thumb.

 

$2k may sound like a lot for an AVR - but you get sound processing and amplification in one unit. It keeps things more simple, but will not compete with a discrete processor and powerful amplifier(s).

 

Question: When you play "club-like" music and are dancing, will you only drive the fronts(RP-8000F)? I.E stereo? or would you want the sound to play thru all 9 speakers? All 9 may be an issue. The ceiling speakers you listed are rated at 50W RMS/200W peak. If you only need to run close (less than) to 50W on all 9 speakers you should be OK with an AVR. If you want to "blast" the fronts 150W RMS  / 600W peak - and only 2 channels, the AVR should suffice too. Not sure you will get club-like sound out of a stereo soundstage though. 

 

Welcome to the rabbit-hole 🙂

 

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Add one more thing about clipping - 

There is always a weakest link, maybe the speakers may be the amp/avr. Ideally (IMO) you want an amp/avr that will push as much CLEAN power as your speakers can handle. Now, if you crank you amp/avr higher than that (no longer clean powwer) you blow your speakers due to too much power, or u kill your amp/avr. Alternatively, you crank up an amp/avr that is rated way lower than your speakers and it starts sending high levels of THD you can fry your speakers too (or your amp/avr too).

 

The volume knob is your friend. Use it wisely. And keep drunk friends away from it.

 

More rabbit hole stuff.

 

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was thinking of running all the speakers to get club sound and i understand the power limitations. 

 

maybe get something like this https://emotiva.com/collections/amps/products/xpa-5-gen3  for LCR and for the 600M  just buy a lower power AVR and  power the cleanings with them. The subs can be powered

 

Which is a budget average pwoer but hugely feature rich AVR that you suggest then?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like the amp idea. 

You still need at least 9.2 channels in the AVR as the AVR will do all of the sound processing. You would send 5 pre-outs from the AVR to the amp for the LCR & 600Ms.  AVRs with this many channels are typically are on the higher end of the power scale. Take a look at the AVRs on crutchfiled.com. Filter your selection by channels - 9.2 and 11.2. Price range starts around $1500 USD.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Well i may be able to get some decent condition used Rf7 III as well as RC 64 III s. I thinking getting a 2 channel amp for the RF7's and then use anthem MRX540 (100 wpc with 2 channels driven). Initially i was thinking of doing RP-600M's for L and R surround but now I really don't want to mount anything on the poles or on the wall in the basement (WAF) and just do in ceiling or in wall in a 5.1.4 or 5.2.4 setup.  What model of Klipsch in ceiling/in wall speakers do you recommend for high SPL:

1) L and R rear surround (RP-640D or CDT-5800-C II) or something else

2) L and R rear and front overhead.

 

Again looking for big and more efficient.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/9/2021 at 5:14 PM, Ceptorman said:

There's a forum member that's also a Klipsch dealer, he takes care of us, might be worth calling him. Cory or Steven at Paducah Home Theater.

Cory can't sell to Canada.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, chetanh said:

Again looking for big and more efficient.

 

If you can find them on the used market (rare in Canada), the La Scala would definitely give you a club sound as they can be played LOUD.  For that club sound I would also look into some large subs, 18".  It's easy to DIY subs and save some money.  Add a Behringer NX 6000d and some Neutrek Speakon connectors/cables, and RCA to XLR cable  and you're ready to go.

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...