lincolns_wax Posted January 24, 2003 Share Posted January 24, 2003 I have a 12ft W x 11.5ft L x 8ft H room, if you want to call it that. I'm currently looking at getting some ref. series products. I'm thinking about this: Mains: RF-5 Center: RC-7 Surround: RS-3 I listen to a lot of music, more than I watch movies, so that's why I'm leaning towards the RF-5. I think the RF-7 would be a bit too much for my room though, and in-store, I enjoyed the way the 5's sounded more than the 7's as well. I might also be taking a wall down that would essentially make the room twice as long, so bigger speakers might be better for that as well. My current system is rather odd. I have B&W 603s2's for my mains, a CC6 center and Deftech's as my surrounds. B&W just isn't cutting it for me. I want a more aggressive sound and the ability to rock out if need be. Before that system, I had Klipsch SB-3's and a SB-1 center, I think (was a couple of years ago). I liked them, but I found the SB-3's to be a little bit too much on the treble-y side. I found the Ref series to be much smoother and better sounding overall. From the looks of things, I'll be getting the L/R and Center speakers first, using the old SB-3's as surrounds until I can affort the RS-3. I considered going with one of the smaller bookshelf speakers, but the room is so small that normal speakers back there sound just like that... little speakers next to the head. I think the design of the RS-3's will suit my room well. If someone could offer placement suggestions, I'd appreciate it. Right now, I'm thinking about mounting them in the vertical position about 3ft above the seating position. My Yamaha HTR5280 had some minor difficulty pushing the B&W's properly, but I think the Klipsch speakers are so effiecient that I should have zero troubles getting nice and loud when I want it that way (not too loud though... ). Any comments or suggestions? I'm getting that tingly new-speaker sensation, and boy, do I like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nutSS Posted January 24, 2003 Share Posted January 24, 2003 If you have a small room, the Reference 3 series will be more than sufficient for all speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynnm Posted January 24, 2003 Share Posted January 24, 2003 Any of the reference series will work fine in that room and either the 3's or the 5's will be more than adequate. That said if you are going to enlarge the room then consider the 7's . The KLF series (which I have - I run a pair of 30's) and the RF series are somewhat twitchy as to placement so you will need to experiment a little for the best setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imasndtek Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 That system should be quite adequate for your sized room, however, based upon your statement of listening to more music than movies, I would reccommend some direct radiating surrounds. Nothing wrong with the RS-3's, but if music is your main focus, I believe some RB-3's or RB-5's might be in order. This will become especially important if you are going to be getting into DVD-Audio or SACD. Just my $.02. Whatever you get though, I'm sure you will be happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lincolns_wax Posted January 25, 2003 Author Share Posted January 25, 2003 ---------------- On 1/25/2003 1:57:18 PM imasndtek wrote: That system should be quite adequate for your sized room, however, based upon your statement of listening to more music than movies, I would reccommend some direct radiating surrounds. Nothing wrong with the RS-3's, but if music is your main focus, I believe some RB-3's or RB-5's might be in order. This will become especially important if you are going to be getting into DVD-Audio or SACD. Just my $.02. Whatever you get though, I'm sure you will be happy. ---------------- Well, I have a Panasonic RP91 dvd-a unit now, and I own a couple of dvd-a titles, but to be honest, 2 channel music is just fine with me. With the system I have now, the DefTechs don't match the B&W's, so I never listen to any multi-channel music. Also, since the room is so small, I think having something that will disperse the sound a bit better will make for a more involving movie experience. I'll see. The place I'm getting them from has a 60 day trial period, so if I don't like them, I can simply switch out for another unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruinsrme Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 I too have a relatively small room and opted for the RF3 and the RS7 in the rear. The RS3s were good but the RS7 are worth the upgrade. The RS3 did not come close to the RS7. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whell Posted January 28, 2003 Share Posted January 28, 2003 I've said it here before so I'll say it again: go for the RB-5. If you'll be listening to music more, than it especially makes sense to opt for the RB-5. Couplied with the right upstream equipment, the RB-5 is a special little performer. RF-5's or 7's for a room that small? Overkill, if you ask me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lincolns_wax Posted January 28, 2003 Author Share Posted January 28, 2003 I've kinda been considering the RB-5, but my sub isn't the best ever (polk 10in), and I'm just worried that I wouldn't get the bass from them that I'd like. Eventually, I plan on getting an SVS, for sound and also because of the small horizontal footprint, but that's still a bit off. When are the RB-75's coming out? Those seem really interesting. I'm also thinking about waiting for the RS-25 surrounds. Even if I do go with the RB-5, I still think I'll go with the RC-7, I don't like to skimp on the center channel. But, yeah, I'm having a bit of a hard time figuring out what would truly be the best for my room. Thankfully, the store I'm going to be buying from doesn't mind swapping stuff out, they even give my a full year's store credit after the initial 60 days are up, so if I did get a small speaker and then pulled down the wall, I could turn whatever I have back in for full credit towards bigger ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug C Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 The RF-3's are a great value if your budget is limited. I listened to these at the dealer with my CD player and tube amp. I purchased the RF-5 because they were slightly better for music and the dealer gave me a very good trade-in on used speakers I had. I had the RF-5's for 6-months in a room only slightly larger than yours and loved them. I moved them into my main room (12'x 21'x 8') and liked them even more. I have better acoustic treaments in the larger room and I think this was the difference? I upgraded a couple months ago to the RF-7's. Initial impression of the 7's was more bass (using a 2 watt tube amp). The highs had a bit more grain on the high end compared to the 5's. I upgraded my source and the added grain disappeared. The point being the 7's have a more detailed high end and will reveal any source weakness. Based on my experience the RF-5's will do a good job in your room even if you knock out the wall in the future. The RF-5's were a little light on bass with my 2 watt tube amp (compared to the 7's) but a sub made this a non-issue. The RF-5's with my Musical Fidelity AC3r 120 watt/channel SS amp had very good bass. Given the efficency of the 5's you really only need 30-50 quality watts to make these pound. Doug C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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