Polk Center with Klipsch Towers?

[belial]

I know many of you will think this is heresy, but I just don't like the way Klipsch centers sound, but I love the way the SF-2 towers sound. So .... I tried a few Polk centers and - this is just my personal opinion now - I liked them a lot better.

Polk claims that one of their centers has "nuetral toning balance and high power handling" which means it "works well with other-branded front speakers ... "

Is that just BS? Could I mix a Polk center with those SF-2 towers and blend them together?

What do you think?

[jtkinney]

Don't know anything about the Polk's, but I would doubt that they would match tonally for all applications.

I am using SF-1's for center channel. I have a 50" RPTV with the towers on either side of the screen. This puts the drivers about mid screen and since they match the SF-2 mains the tone is the same. The SF-1's have better frequency response than the SC-1 also. I can't put a center on top of the tv, so I don't know how the SC-1 would sound. I bought the SF-1 on sale locally for about the same as an SC-1.

Good Luck

------------------

Jim

SF-2 Mains

SF-1 Center (pair)

RS-3 Surrounds

RC-3 Rear Center

KSW-10 Subs (pair)

Yamaha RX-V1 Reciever

Yamaha CDC-655 CD Player

Toshiba SD-1200 DVD

Toshiba TN50X81 50" HDTV

[dougdrake]

Your best bet is to take the whole setup home and listen to it in your environment, and see how smooth the sound is as it moves from the SF-2s to the Polk. You want as seamless a blend as possible, as you know.

Next best thing is to try it at the dealer. If the Polk and Klipsch dealer are different dealers, see if the Polk dealer will agree to let you buy (and return if you don't like it) his center channel, and see if the Klipsch dealer will let you hook up the Polk as a center at HIS store.

What is it about the Klipsch center sound you don't care for? Perhaps it was not set up correctly where you listened to it.

Doug

[GCM]

I had Polk centers with klipsch mains for a while. It my opinion, the Polk (CS400) sounded horrible with the KSF-10.5s I had at the time. The Polks was much thinner and raspier sounding, certainly not close to properly matched. I have a KLF-C7 now and the CS-400 isn't in the same league at all.

The Polk quote sounds like a marketing blurb to me. But you're the one that has to listen to it. If you like it, go for it, but I think you'll be disappointed.

[HornEd]

There was a time, before I could snag an increasingly harder to find C-7, that I used an existing Infinity C-36 as a center between two KLF 30's. It provided good service... as I suspect the Polk might.

But, most confirmed Klipsch ears prefer to be serviced at a level far above good!

A great center is probably THE key speaker in a multi-channel HT environment. The issues include dialogue separation from background sound, timbre matching mains, and relative speaker efficiency. It is very hard to find an acceptable cost-effective balance of those categories outside of Klipsch... for those who revel in the K-sound.

If your experience is like mine, you will find that compromising the center selection compromises the whole HT experience... and that is revealed more and more over time. Best to chose a proper Klipsch before the disparity becomes more glaring... and expensive. So, it is not only what sounds better... but what sounds better over time. Caution, growing a discriminating "Klipsch Ear" is a "happiness hazard" of mixed key speaker environments. HornEd

------------------

"Klipsch by the Dozen"

Front Six Pack:

KLF 30's R&L + KLF C-7

KSW-15 Sub, SB-2 Effects

Rear Six Pack:

KLF 10 thru KSW-12 L/C/R

Speaker Support Systems:

Mitsubishi RPHD1080 65"

Yamaha RX-V3000 Receiver

Happy Ears x2!

[belial]

Here's the deal: I listened to the Klipsch SC-1 center with some SF-2 towers at the local dealer and thought it sounded awesome, so I decided to put together an HT/stereo system with those components.

Because I'm not exactly wealthy, the first thing I did was buy the SC-1 from an online dealer. Set it up, and it just didn't sound very good! Thin, very narrow sound, almost like a boombox. On some particular sounds, like women laughing or cloth rustling, it sounds a little "crackly" to my ears.

I tried tweaking the dB level relative to the embarrassingly cheap (RCA!) towers I have now, but it made no difference. I added the KSW-12 subwoofer to help round out the sound, and it did help, but not enough.

I don't think it is my Yamaha receiver, an HTR-5240, because my last center, a Paradigm, sounded much better.

Thinking I had maybe got a bad Klipsh center, I drove an hour to another dealer and bought one, planning to compare. Took it home, and it sounds the same.

While at the dealer I listened to a Polk center in comparison, and thought it sounded MUCH cleaner, with the vocals far more defined.

I'm a Klipsch fan. I love Klipsch speakers. But their centers just don't sound right to my ears. Other than the dB level, what other tweaks do you guys think I should try? I already went from "small" to "large" and back again with the settings on my DD receiver. Anything else? ANY advice or help is much appreciated!

[HornEd]

Belial, have you set up your system with a sound level meter? The center channel problems you are describing sound like what I experienced BEFORE setting up the system properly. The Radio Shack analog sound pressure level meter is about $35 and one of the most cost-effective tools you can use. Balancing the sound pressure level is the most important step for dialogue clarity and timbre matching after the fact. Try it, you'll like it. HornEd

[boa12]

sorry to say but i think it is your receiver dsp making that noise along w/ certain source

material. i have the same "crackling" sound w/ my rc-3 & my sony receiver in the backroom.

for my main room i now have the marantz sr8000 & it is an extremely quite unit. hooked up the rc-3 to it to test & no crackling whatsoever from the rc.

i think the reason u may not have heard it w/

the paridigm is that it's not as revealing as

the klipsch. that old klipsch brings out every detail thing.

see if u can try another receiver to test the sc. or maybe another mode on your yammy may sound better.

------------------

Klipsch KLF 30 (front), KLF C-7, Cornwall I (rear)

Velodyne HGS-18 sub woofer

Monsterbass 400 sub interconnects & M series CX-2 biwire & Z cable

Marantz SR-8000 receiver

Sony DVP-C650D cd/dvd player

Sony Trinitron 27" stereo tv

Toshiba hi-fi stereo vcr

Technics dual cassette deck

Scientific Atlanta Explorer 2000 digital cable box

Boa's Listenin Lounge:

Klipsch RF-3 (front), RC-3, cheap little Technics (rear)

Monster MCX Biwires/Bananas

Sony STR-DE935 a/v receiver

Kenwood KR-9600 AM/FM stereo receiver (power amp for RF-3)

Teac PD-D1200 5-disk cd player

Technics direct drive turntable

Sega Genesis game player

Sub: None yet

rock on!

[dougdrake]

Interesting comment, Boa. In fact, it appears the receiver is the main thing that changed (other than the room) from the dealer where Belial auditioned the SC-1 and his house. Hmmm....

Belial - let us know!

Doug

[PhilH]

belial:

Go back to the dealer and hook up your SC-1 and compare it with his Polk. I bet you'll see that the SC-1 sounds great there again, showing that it is a hookup/DSP, etc. problem with your receiver at home.

PhilH