scubasteve Posted October 20, 2005 Author Share Posted October 20, 2005 Ok well I got it hooked up and all the speakers working and they sound pretty darn good considering I'm using my regular speaker wire right now. The only question that I have and have been trying to figure out for the last hour is a problem with people talking, all the affects are loud but if anybody speaks it's way in the distance. I've tried adjusting the distance of the center speaker in the setup screen, tried different audio modes, gone through every setup screen probably 6 times and can't figure that out, everything else sounds great except for the talking. Any recommendations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bytor33 Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 That would more than likely be the problem of your center. I have the RF-35's and wasn't happy at all with the RC-35 so I went with the RC-7 and it made a world of difference. Don't worry about matching as it sounds just fine with the 35's. Trust me, spend the extra $200 or so and you'll be glad you did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcott Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 I've tried adjusting the distance of the center speaker in the setup screen, tried different audio modes, gone through every setup screen probably 6 times and can't figure that out, everything else sounds great except for the talking. Any recommendations? I am not an Onkyo user so I can not speak with any real authority on this receiver but you are going to have to try some testing. Use an old speaker first and see if there is a difference. You may want to go to Radio Shack and get an SPL meter. They are cheap and set all of your speakers to the same dB level using either the test button on your receiver (i assume it has one) or buy a test audio\video disc. I just used my Digital Video Essentials to set mine up but I as sure there are other DVD's that are available specifically for this purpose. If all of them are putting out the same dB during the test patterns, you will have to assume that it is the receiver not set up properly or is not functioning properly. If you get this far, you may want to do a search on your receiver on the internet and see if you can find someone more familiar with your unit. There may be a setting for the center channel that you are just missing. Worse case scenario, send it back and get another one or something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffDurbin Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 I agree with this (but I'm biased since I suggested it already). I need to grab my SPL meter tonight and finish setting up my home theatre. There are two potential issues with one more likely than the other. One possibility is an equalization issue and the voices are at a frequency that needs some extra oomph. I discount this theory because you have a matched set of Klipsch speakers. If your system was mismatched then I would be more willing to suggest it as a cause. The second, and more likely, cause is a volume mismatch. The SPL meter will address that issue. The Onkyo should be able to generate a test tone for you. If not, you can find one of those video calibration screens (like at the end of the broadcast day when they have the picture of the colored bars and the constant buzzing sound) or use a calibration disc. One more issue, which you kind of raised already, is that if you have very long speaker cable runs and you are using cheap speaker wire the increased impedence may cause a problem but that is NOT likely to be a problem with your center channel. Go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy some big fat speaker cable. Don't buy Monster for 10 times the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bytor33 Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 Those are good suggestions but unfortunately even if you raise the center level above the other channels the RC-35 is still going to have the same boxy, far away sound to it. I love Klipsch as well as the next guy but unfortunately the RC-25 and RC-35 just don't cut it. I've also tried the RC-10 and have the RCX-4 for my computer and those are both fine centers. I went through a lot of different Klipsch speakers at Ultimate Electronics before I got everything sounding the way I want. Do yourself a favor and take advantage of the 30 day return policy and go get the RC-7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shane_0_mac Posted October 22, 2005 Share Posted October 22, 2005 Bytor, I dont think he needs to spend more money on an RC-7 (he is already over his original budget now) I have the RC-35 center and I love it. It produces very well. I think it is a problem with the set up or the receiver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IAmtnbikr Posted October 22, 2005 Share Posted October 22, 2005 I would think that once you set the levels correctly it will come to life. I have two RC-25's in use in the house, and it made extreme sound differences in each system between the as-is and once-calibrated levels. I have read of some RC centers having a wiring issue inside them, but neither of mine suffered from that. Yes, I am sure the RC-7 (and RF-7/RS-7/RSW-15/etc. too...) would sound better, but I commend a person who settles upon a budget and actually sticks to it![] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffDurbin Posted October 22, 2005 Share Posted October 22, 2005 I would think that once you set the levels correctly it will come to life. I have two RC-25's in use in the house, and it made extreme sound differences in each system between the as-is and once-calibrated levels. I have read of some RC centers having a wiring issue inside them, but neither of mine suffered from that. Yes, I am sure the RC-7 (and RF-7/RS-7/RSW-15/etc. too...) would sound better, but I commend a person who settles upon a budget and actually sticks to it![] Technically, he DIDN'T stick to the budget but he was in the ballpark. [] I found some Klipsch speakers in a local ad and I thought I would throw out some data for what it's worth. AmericanTV sells TVs, audio equipment and furniture. They tend to have pretty darn good prices and they seem to be popular with the local people on the St. Louis local forum at www.avsforum.com. Their website is www.americantv.com. They have the RF25/RB25/RC25 and RW10 for $1,899 with no payments or interest for 18 months. I just went to their website and their regular pricing on these speakers looks like $1,979 if you piece the system together. Basically, about a 4% discount plus the no payments and no interest for a year and a half. My gut feeling is that you did pretty well for yourself. If a local specialty dealer sees you as someone who will spend a lot of money there over time then I think you can get some larger discounts but if he sees a college student who is pushing the budget as far as possible and is not likely to be back soon he may not have as much willingness to deal. Enjoy your system and let us know how it all turns out. I need to trot up to Radio Shack and get my SPL meter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubasteve Posted October 23, 2005 Author Share Posted October 23, 2005 Thanks for all the help guys, I finally figured out my center speaker problem and like somebody suggested it turned out to be my crappy wire. I have some nicer speaker wire but I'm waiting to hook all that up until I buy my sub. This deal for 1899 is a little more expensive then what I bought all the 35's for but that isn't including a sub. Anyway, I got my center working, everying sounds amazing and today is the day I go buy my sub. I'm still trying to decide whether to go with the sub-12 or be an idiot and get the sw-12. I'll update when I got all that figured out. Oh, I have a question though, it may sound retarded but I don't understand the SPL meter. If I were to buy it would I adjust my speakers to the center where I'm sitting or would I hold it up to the speaker and make sure the SPL is the same for every speaker? Sorry if thats a dumb question I'm just probably going to go buy it but if I have no idea how to use it then I guess it would be a little counterprodutive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IAmtnbikr Posted October 23, 2005 Share Posted October 23, 2005 Use the SPL meter at your seating position (ear height), not at each speaker. And get the Sub-12 as it works great for a budget sub![] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubasteve Posted October 23, 2005 Author Share Posted October 23, 2005 Alright cool. Well just bought the sub. Decided to go with the sw-12 instead but I guess overall it will be worth it. Went totally out of my budget but atleast it will keep me satisfied for a little while. They had to order it so I wont' get it until tuesday so now I impatiently wait. Alright, I have one last question, as I'm setting up my system the only part that I don't understand is the crossover. I can change that but I don't notice any difference at all. I believe I have it at 100mhz. Is that alright? Oh yeah, dealt with the same dude at UE and got my sub for 480. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcott Posted October 23, 2005 Share Posted October 23, 2005 100Mhz is a good start but you may want to take it to 80Hz as recommended by THX. You may notice a reduction of directionality when you get your sub at this setting. I am glad you worked out your center channel issue and you are happy with your system. A simple solution like new speaker wires makes the headache more tolerable. Welcome to the world of Klipsch and the horn sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGordon Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Congrats on a nice system. The crossover is the point that the receiver begins to roll off the low frequencies from your speakers and redirects them to your subwoofer. Since you dont have a sub yet( at least until tommorror), you should set all your speakers to large and not worry about your crossover. I am not sure how your receiver works, but if you dont have a subwoofer the crossover probably redirects low freqs from your small speakers to the large. Once you get your subwoofer, I would probably set all the speakers to small and cross them over at 80hz. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shane_0_mac Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 An RW-12 for $480.00 is a good deal. enjoy your system Steve, I have had mine for a while now and am still tweaking it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffDurbin Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 Decided to go with the sw-12 instead but I guess overall it will be worth it. Alright, I have one last question, as I'm setting up my system the only part that I don't understand is the crossover. I can change that but I don't notice any difference at all. I believe I have it at 100mhz. Is that alright? I downloaded the Onkyo user manual and I have to say that I am really impressed! I was going to trade up from my HK AVR85 to separates but I may have to rethink that plan. Too bad the Onkyo doesn't do DVI switching. According to the manual, when you switch your front and surround speakers to 'small' (once you have your sub plugged in) the cutoff is at 80Hz. That means all frequencies below that are sent to the subwoofer and not to the other speakers. I would try your subwoofer setting at 80Hz and at 90Hz to see if you can hear any difference. I doubt you will but it's worth a 10-minute exercise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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