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Heritage and 7.1


hjones4841

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I am considering upgrading my 5.1 HT system to 7.1. The room is fairly small (12.5' wide by 22.5' long). I am upgrading my existing surround processor (which is 5.1 only) to a Denon 5805 receiver, so now the 7.1 setup is possible.

The fronts are 1998 vintage K'horns with a 1998 Belle for center; backs are 1978 vintage K'horns upgraded with the factory kit in 2001. Sub is Velodyne FSR-18. The room layout has fronts/backs along the 12.5 foot wall. HT seating is near the center of the room, 11 feet back from the 12.5 foot front wall.

Of course, with K'horns the backs are locked to the corners, so a 7.1 arrangement with sides and close-together backs are not possible. There is no room on the sides for Belles or LaScalas. I could wall mount Heresy IIs or RC-7s.

Has anyone set up a similar arrangement with the Heritage line? Will most surround processors have enough +/- level range to make up the approx. 7 db difference in efficiency between the Khorns and the Heresy IIs or RC-7s?

Will there be a significant improvement in the rear soundstage from adding the sides, even tho placement will not be optimum? Thanks for your opinions.

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Sounds like a nicely appointed room. I think for HT use, the timbre or voice of the speaker takes precedence over most other specs, so go for the Heresy as side fills if they aren't too bulky. Most modern 7.1 receivers shuuld be able to compensate for timing and effeciency differences. I would not mix Heritage and Reference.

Michael (see guys, I learned)

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hjones,

Hi Jones, and welcome to the Nut house!........impressive setup you have there! When possible Please-we love it when folks post Pictures of there setup's.............

I agree with Michael, on the Heresys. However- For the HT receiver- unless you really like Denon, for the amount of that receiver- you might consider looking at Seperates.....i.e. the Aragon Line, or any seperate Amp/ preamp that sounds/looks good to you, and is easy to operate!

I am sure others will chime in with lots of different recommendations (soon your head will be spinning!).

Since you have K Horns, I am making the assumption, that you have access to a High End HIFI store, or Klipsch dealer near you!

Good Luck to You!

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Thanks, guys. I looked in depth at separates and other receivers. I currently am using a 1998 vintage Denon AVP-8000 with matching POA 8200 and POA 8300 amps. The processor upgrade has been on my mind for about 3 years now, so I have looked at virtually all brands and had about sold myself on an Anthem AVM-30. One goal, however, was simplification of the system. That, plus the rave reviews I have seen about Denon's Audssey room correction led me to put the Denon 5805 on order. The local dealer that I ordered the 5805 is also my Klipsch dealer - got the 1998 K'horns and Belle from him.

I agree that Timbre matching is important. I noticed significant improvement in imaging when I put the old K'horns in back in place of some KG2s and again when I upgraded the old K'horns to current mid drivers and crossovers. So, that makes the case for the Heresy's, although a couple of Academy's would be nice if they were still available.

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Great system there, for sure. Lots of speed and dynamics in the corners.

I have a 5.1 system and will be bumping up to a 7.1 system some time soon as well. The room will be smaller than yours though ... roughly 20 by 15. I've considered using the Belle center with Corns up front and on the sides with my Heresies in the rear center. I'd love my Klipschorns in the corners so I'll try that as well.

It's just a LOT of speaker for such a small room. I'll have to do some serious room treatments in the corners, ceiling and side walls.

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I agree with lot of speakers for the room. Like I said in my first post, the front K'horns and Belle are across the 12.5 foot wall. The Velo sub is between the left K'horn and the Belle. The bottom of my 100" diag. screen is literally at the top of the Belle (I had to recess the top of the screen frame into the suspended ceiling.) In between the rear K'horns is a fireplace. Throw in 3 recliners and 2 equipment racks and you can see that the room is about full.

I did measure for the Heresys a few minutes ago and I can make them fit above and to the sides of the recliners, so I think I will call the local dealer tomorrow.

Anybody know if the Heresys are long lead time (3-4 weeks) like the K'horns?

By the way, I have been a Klipsch fan for about 35 years. Actually got to drive PWK around my college campus back in Spring 1971 - he put a program on for the student IEEE meeting. Picture this - a physics auditorium with stage. After introduction, PWK ran down the aisle and with one leap was up on the stage. The guy truly was a hoot, in addition to a genius!

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On 4/3/2005 2:02:09 PM hjones4841 wrote:

I agree with lot of

I did measure for the Heresys a few minutes ago and I can make them fit above and to the sides of the recliners, so I think I will call the local dealer tomorrow.

Anybody know if the Heresys are long lead time (3-4 weeks) like the K'horns?

By the way, I have been a Klipsch fan for about 35 years. Actually got to drive PWK around my college campus back in Spring 1971 - he put a program on for the student IEEE meeting. Picture this - a physics auditorium with stage. After introduction, PWK ran down the aisle and with one leap was up on the stage. The guy truly was a hoot, in addition to a genius!
----------------

Man you are so lucky to have a local dealer! You can't believe the hassle I had to go through to order a new pair of Hersey's. I mean, I live in a fairly populous area? Why am I in such a black hole of klipsch delaers? Oops, I digress. I hope the lead time is only 3-4 weeks. Let me know what they tell you.

Welcome to the forum by the way and nice Heritage set up you have.

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If you are looking for simplicity in the pre/pro department look no further then the Sunfire Theater Grand IV. After using it for about three months now I still amazed by it's simple design, great sound and nice looks.

As for the speakers I think Heresies would do you nicely. I have been experimenting with the rear portion of my 6.1 set up and started this weekend to squeeze in one more speaker for 7.1. I am currently running 2 Academies in the rear with a Chorus between them...but that is giving way to 4 heresies for surrounds. Academies are nice space-wise being long and skinny (relatively) compared to a heresy on it's side. You can mound them up high and angle them down to give you head room to walk under them if that is an issue.

If you think you want to Academies give me a yell, maybe we can work something out.

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I put the Heresy IIs on order today - dealer said 2 weeks on either the black or wood finish. I was tempted to go with the black to make them less visible (wall is nearly black wallpaper) but decided to go with walnut, since the K'horns and Belle are walnut. Now all I have to do is figure out how I want to wall-mount them. Not happy with the brands of wall mounts I am seeing without having to pay $80 each or so. I may home-brew some metal or wood brackets instead. I will need to mount them near the ceiling for walking-under-them room and tilt them down.

Bad news is that the Denon 5805 is on backorder with about a month wait. And the S-video switching on my AVP-8000 pre/pro (S-Video is used for the standard def TIVOs) is crapping out - works about 1/3 of the time. Looks like it is the right time to replace it. Can't complain, it has thousands of hours on it!

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I would dump the notion of the Denon 5805 with the speakers that you have you really need separates. With what the 5805 costs it would be easy to get A/V separates since you are running a Denon 8000 Pre Amp now that means all you really need is a A/V preamp. Some good choices are NAD, B&K, Parasound, Anthem, and Aragon.

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You can mount them horizontal as long as the horns are in line with your listening position. Here is some pics of my HT to show you how I mounted my Heresys. http://forums.klipsch.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=50440

Boy looking at those pics, I should take some newer updated ones!!!!

I too must second Frozens comment about going to separates and forgetting a receiver to get the most out of your Heritage HT. I use a Lexicon HT processor driving all vintage McIntosh SS amps. Lexicons IMHO do the best job of converting 2.0, 5.1, 6.1 into 7.1.

JM

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Thanks for all the suggestions. I mounted sturdy shelves on both sides of the room at "just high enough for me to walk under" height. I plan to tilt them down to at least aim for MY recliner.

A window and the equipment rack prevented me from aligning them exactly the same distance from the front of the room, but I figure if I put one with the woofer towards the front of the room and one with the woofer towards the back of the room the mid and tweet horns will be very close to in-line. Gonna run the wiring thru the ceiling this weekend and will be ready to fire them up when they come in.

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The Denon 5805 has some nice features, but the price is very high. What features make it worth the price????

For the price of the Denon, there are MANY options available. For as many features as the Denon has available, it will go obsolete rapidly. Sink your investment into amps that make your Heritage speakers sing. Amps can be used for very long periods of time without being replaced, just like the speakers themselves.

Bill

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hjones - if it's not too late, you may want to consider these from Klipsch:

http://www.klipsch.com/product/product.aspx?cid=506

Trey Cannon at Klipsch has stated that these match up very well with Heritage since it's basically a hopped-up Heresy and its sensitivity is closer to your Khorns. It would also solve your mounting issue. Had I not invested in Heresy's, I would've bought these for my HT.

Actually....that's still not out of the question. But please, PLEASE, don't tell my wife that.15.gif

Tom

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