Bedroom HT

[pathighgate]

Recently Ive been working on a home theatre setup in the

bedroom. Its not a huge room (about 13x11),

but since I often fall asleep wile watching a movie I want to get a decent HT

sound.

It would be built around the KSF 10.5s I have. Right now theres no center channel, and the

rear speakers are a pair of old Sonys that I salvaged from one of those all in

one mini systems I had back in college (the Sony speakers sound alright. Not great, but not bad).

The receiver is hardly high-end; it doesnt even have a modern

surround decoder. I have a stand-alone

Sony digital processor which Im essentially using as a pre-amp feeding into to

the six discrete channel inputs on the receiver, limiting the workload of the

receiver to be nothing but a multi-channel amp. Even without the center and the

sub par surround speakers, I still get a pretty good HT experience due in part (I

think) to the small size of the sound stage. But, I

want it to be better.

I understand they dont make the KSF 10.5s anymore, nor the

matched center and surrounds. My

question involves finding a decent center channel, followed by some good rear

speakers that will blend well with the Klipsch mains. Ive been looking at the KSF-C5 for the

center (every so often I see one for sale on eBay), but if I decided to pick up

something new, any suggestions?

I was considering finding a pair of KSF-S5s, though Im concerned

that their acoustic design wouldnt be a good match in my room. During normal listening (in bed), my head is

typically right up against the back wall, meaning the surround speaker

placement would have to either be flush with the back wall or in front of my

head. Right now the Sony surrounds are

sitting in back corners of the room with about 2 inches distance between the

speakers and the back and side walls.

The way the S5s are designed have two drivers angled in opposite

directions with the horn in the center.

This would be fine if I had more room (or at least had a more forward listening

position), but as it stands Im kind of stuck.

Ive seen some standard bookshelf shaped Klipsch which seem to be better suited

for my situation, but I have no idea which ones would play nice with the

rest of my system.

If at all possible, Id like to go used. This isnt my main setup and its not a huge

priority (meaning, Im not going to throw a lot of money at it). So the question is--for those who know more

about the history of Klipschs product lines then I dowhich speakers would

serve me best in my current setup and have a sound that meshes well with the

10.5s

Thanks

[DrWho]

what's your budget?

I take it a decent 5.1 system is what you're after?

I am inclined to reommend selling off everything you don't need and

start from scratch. Heck, even a promedia Ultra 5.1 would probably

sound better.

[colterphoto1]

Would anything in the ksb lineup work with your existing speakers? I have an entire bedroom setup of ksb1.1 and ksc-c1 and it's got a pretty good sound at low volumes.

For the rear speakers, either put speakers on the nightstands facing outwards (away from you) so the sound bounces off the sidewalls and envelopes you, or mount them facing upwards (perhaps on small shelf behind or above headboard) so the surround bounces off the ceiling, once again surrounding you. Anything mounted on the wall behind you facing forward will just go over your head. You can use just normal small box speakers if you use one of the mounting methods I describe, don't need super diffuse sound.

Good luck

Michael

[pathighgate]

what's your budget?

As inexpensive as possible to make it sound good.

I am inclined to reommend selling off everything
you don't need and start from scratch. Heck, even a promedia Ultra 5.1 would
probably sound better.

Somehow I doubt a set of computer speakers is going to sound better then the floor
standing loudspeakers I am using as a base.



There's no way I'd give up my KSF 10.5s. They're fantastic sounding
speakers, especially for music. I figure I can find a decent center
channel used for $120, along with a set of rear speakers for around $250-$300. The Sony SDP-E800 does a fantastic job at
handling the digital 5.1 decoding.

Would anything in the ksb lineup work with
your existing speakers? I have an entire bedroom setup of ksb1.1 and ksc-c1 and
it's got a pretty good sound at low volumes.

I couldn't say. Like I said, I'm looking for something that will work
well with the KSFs I have up front, something that will mesh with the sound
they have so I have a uniform level of quality and fidelity all the way
around. I don't know which Klipsch lines put out today are close to the KSFs.

Thanks for the mounting ideas; thats something I'll have to
consider.

[Zen Traveler]

Welcome to the forum pathighgate.

In my Bedroom theater I have had several pairs of WDST speakers (SS-1's and now RS-3's). They work great for watching movies in bed and listening to multichannel music when I am at the opposite end of the room doing housework (ironing). For two completely different listening positions, I prefer them over bookshelf speakers to use as surrounds. {edit: BTW I have them mounted near the corners of my side walls }

[colterphoto1]

Looks like the very popular KSB series is somewhat similar woofer materials, if not the same horn. For a bedroom, I don't think the timbre difference would be as pronounced and noticable as for a main HT system. These units seem to be about the same efficiency as the matching surrounds for your mains would be.

I'd look for two cheap ksb1.1's used about $50 per pair and have a go at it.

Michael