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[Mike Frankel]

I have a pair of Forte II's and would like to set up a 7.1 system. Should I be looking at a THX receiver with the Forte's? I would like to know what Klipsch speakers to use for the center, side and back surrounds and subwoofer. Also are the Forte II's shieled for use close to the TV? Also, what about the use of di or bi polars for the surrounds. Do Klipsch speakers disperse sound so well that I should not even consider these options? I was looking at Mirage Omnipolar speakers for the center and surrounds. Should I be? Does anyone have any experience with these and how do the compare with Klipsch?

Thanks, I know that is a lot of questions am will appreciate any help from anyone.

Mike Frankel

[skonopa]

Lets take these one at a time:

I have a pair of Forte II's and would like to set up a 7.1 system.

Thats a good start. Many folks on here really like the Forte II's, although I have yet to hear a pair.

Should I be looking at a THX receiver with the Forte's?

Many folks on here thinks THX is over-rated. To be honost, there are a lot of other factors that I would take in shopping for a reciever besides if it was THX. Many folks will suggest many models of various brands of recievers.

I would suggest setting a budget you want to spend on a reciever (say, $1000 max - just to pick a number), and find the models that fit your needs feature-wise in that brand (such as you'll want one that is 7.1 capable). Do some research on the 'Net to find which models you may be interested in. Denon, Yamaha, B&K, Marantz, Outlaw, Rotel, and the ES (high-end) line of Sony all seem to be favored in this forum. Some folks thinks the Yamaha are too bright to mate well with Klipsch. Once you figured out the models you are interested in, attempt to locate a unit that you can listen to. Ideally, it would be nice to listen to all the units you are intested in, but reality may not allow that.

I would not spend extra money on a reciever just to get THX if a lesser model fits in your budget and does everything you need/want and sounds plenty good enough. For example the Denon AVR3802 was not THX certified, but the 4802 is. I was not going to spend the extra $1000+ just to get the 4802 when the 3802 fit perfectly in my budget and does all that I need for it to do. I would have loved the 4802 for the better amps and so forth and had I the money, I would have gotten the 4802 not because of THX but despite the THX.

I would like to know what Klipsch speakers to use for the center, side and back surrounds and subwoofer.

Ideally, 5 more Forte's would be the best. At least for the center, if you can swing it and have the room, another Forte would be the best for the center, thus giving you a perfectly matched front array. If not, the Academy is the recommended center to go along with the Forte's. Be aware that these can be difficult to find and seem to go at a premium even on the second-hand market. People seem to be having good luck using a KLF-C7 (part of the Legend series) or the RC-3 or RC-7 (part of the newest Reference series).

For the surrounds, that is more difficult. It depends on if you want diffuse (di/bi/tri-pole/WDST - Wide Dispersion Sound Technology - a Klipschism) speakers or Monopole speakers (a question you asked later). If you are going with the WDST speakers, there is nothing that Klipsch themselves recommends with the Forte's. It seems that most folks try to scare up a pair of the older KSP-S5 or S6s or use the RS-3/7s from the Reference line.

For monopole - as mentioned above, another pair of Forte's would be the best giving you a perfectly matched setup. If room does not allow, perhaps try to find a pair or two of the Quartets to use for the sides as well as the rear. Failing that, perhaps bookshelfs from another line will work such as in the KG series (.5, 1.1, 1.5, 2.5, etc), or the RB-3/5 from the Reference series.

For a sub-woofer, many folks suggest going with the Klipsch RSW (Reference) line or something from SVS. Those are the most popular on this forum. There are other great options out there. Check the Powered Subwoofer section of this forum.

Also are the Forte II's shieled for use close to the TV?

I don't think they are shielded, but you can get bucking magnets from Klipsch. If I recall, somebody awhile back installed some bucking magnets on thier Forte's and they seemed to work.

Also, what about the use of di or bi polars for the surrounds. Do Klipsch speakers disperse sound so well that I should not even consider these options?

That is a subject of great debate and is almost a holy war on here. There are those that think that having exact speakers all the way around is the best way (and it seems that Dolby and DTS is going in the trend - Dobly's FAQ suggests that using the same speaker all the way around would be ideal). There are those that think the diffuse surrounds (di/bi/tri-pole/WDST) are more "realistic" creating the ambiant background noise as oppose to localizing it.

Personally, I say just ignore all the academics and theorists up in the ivory towers and look at how you plan to use your system most of the time. If you are going to be watching alot of movies and TV on the system, than maybe the WDST route is the way to go. If you are going to be listening to alot of multi-channel music (SACD/DVD-A) or Concert DVD's, than having the full-range monopole surrounds may be the way to go.

Fortuntatly, with my own system, I was essentially able to kill two birds with one stone. For the rears, I use a monople speaker (an RC-7s) in a 6.1 setup. 7.1 did not buy my anything special plus I did not have the room for the extra speaker back there. For the sides, I use a pair of the RS-7s for watching TV and most movies. For music, I have a second pair of sides (RF-5s). My reciever give me the ability to switch between them.

I was looking at Mirage Omnipolar speakers for the center and surrounds. Should I be? Does anyone have any experience with these and how do the compare with Klipsch?

I played with those at Tweeter once and I was pretty impressed with the sound. Ideally, it would be best to stick with the same brand of speaker for your setup, even better if you can stay in the same series. At least for the center, I'd stay with a Klipsch speaker. For the surrounds, you probably could get away with it and the only way to find out is to actually try it in your setup, making sure you can return them if you don't like the results.

Thanks, I know that is a lot of questions am will appreciate any help from anyone.

That's what this forum is here for (despite all the Iraq War bickering that had been going on).