New to the world of Klipsch ( speaker setup )

[jamesV]

Hello everyone, I'm new it this site and just wanted to know what you think of a speaker setup that I am thinking about getting. First off I like to listen to everything from classic rock to rap and the setup is also for movies / t.v. I am thinking about getting the RB-61 (fronts), RC-52 (center), RS-42 (rears). I also liked the RB-81 or was thinking about floorstanding models. The room is 20x15 that I'm going to have this in. Again I would like to use this site for the matching speakers all the way around with the final setup that I go with. I have a dealer that is 20 miles away that I can get them from at a decent price. Thanks in advance for the help.

[ironwoods]

Hi, I see no reason to procrastinate any longer. The choice of mains is yer own, but check out the RB-75's, if they still have 'em.

Sub on the back burner?

[jamesV]

Thanks for the reply ironwoods. I'll have to check on the RB-75's.

Yes, I wanted to hold off for now but get something later this year. I am strarting off with the speakers and a receiver. I was thinking about a Yamaha, Rotel, or Marantz, what do you think about these?

[DrWho]

Marantz doesn't go well with klipsch, but yamaha and rotel are good

options. I would also throw Harmon Kardon and Denon into that list as

well (denon being my favorite...)

You mentioned that you're considering bookshelfs and floorstanders...if

you go bookshelf, do you plan to put the speakers on stands? If so, it

seems a bit silly not to go with the floorstanders []

And what are your longterm goals? I understand the urge to go in and

purchase an entire 5.1 system all at once, but if you're really serious

about your sound, then you might consider building up your system

slowly and saving yourself a lot of money in the long run. A good

speaker purchase should last you 20+ years...so it's not something to

invest lightly on. So sit down now and figure out where you want to be in 5 years, and then make your purchases accordingly.

[jamesV]

Thanks for the heads up Dr. Who. I'll look into HK, Yamaha, Rotel, and Denon. Yes I was going to put the bookshelf on stands, so the floorstanders are looking better. Do you have any recomendations that you can give a newbie like myself. I can wait and get everything slowly with the mains being the first purchase. It would be great to have something sounding good for 20+ years. I'm hooked.

[DrWho]

Ya, after you factor in the cost of sturdy stands, you'll notice that a

bookshelf costs about the same as a floorstander and they both take up

the same floorspace...but with the floorstander you're getting way more

speaker [H]

If you're just starting out, I would suggest getting the biggest,

baddest pair of mains you can afford. I think your best option is to

pick the best speaker from whichever lineup you can afford: synergy,

reference, ultra2, heritage (I think that's in order from cheapest to

most expensive and from worst to best). For example, I would take the

Synergy F3's over say RF-52's. Or I'd choose RF-83's over a pair of new

heresies or lascalas. I would recommend going with the Ultra2 system if

you do more movie watching and can afford the mains and subwoofers at

the same time (I wanna say $5k?). There might be some exceptions to the

rule and I'm sure everyone has their own opinion (especially with the

lascalas, but I digress). The idea here is to make a one time speaker

purchase so that you've got one less thing to worry about in the future

- they will be the foundation that determines all the rest of your

future purchases.

So based on the system you presented, I think you'll be more than

satisfied with a pair of RF-83's for now. As far as recievers go, I

would make your decision based on the features you think you're going

to use. All four brands will all perform very similar and of course

they all cost different too. I would avoid getting the latest and

greatest top of the line reciever because you aren't getting much gain

in performance for all the extra cost.

Your best bet now is to go out and wade through all the marketing crap

and then come back here to ask questions if you have any (which will

likely be a learning experience for everyone).

[jamesV]

Thanks for the help. I think that I'll go out this weekend and see if I can hear the RF-83's. Does anybody know of a place that I can go to? I live in North West Indiana and the only place that I know that sells Klipsch is in Homewood, IL. Thanks for the help.

[DrWho]

http://www.klipsch.com/locator/index.aspx

[jamesV]

Thanks again for the help. I seen the link after my last post, sorry. What do you think I should look at for a center channel? If anything I hope to get the three speakers at once and wait a while on the rears. Do you think that I should stick to the "Matching Products" list on the site or should I try others? Thanks again for all the help.

[HTADDICT]

I would stick to matching products, the idea is to match each speaker tonally.

[DrWho]

Well the ideal situation would be to have 3 identical speakers across

the front...the goal being perfect timbre matching (seamless soundstage

across the front)

Understanding that the ideal usually never happens, you will be best

off with the matching center channel that goes with the mains you will

ne purchasing.

[jamesV]

Thanks for the reply HTAddict, that was the same thing that I was thinking but just wanted a little feed back on the topic.

[jamesV]

Thanks Dr.Who, I was think how would someone put the RF-83 as a center channel. I have seen that posted on thes boards and wondered about that. Just the fact of size alone, how would the placement work out. Also so if I just follow the matching products list I will be fine with the timbre factor? I know for the rears, down the line, that I can either go with another set of the RF-83 or the RS-62's. If I think those two are too much would it be okay to get the RS-52's, would the timbre of these be okay with the fronts and center?

[tsmalls]

Hey JamesV,

I am a Klipsch dealer. In an ideal world, yes, you would put the same three speakers across the front, as DrWho mentioned, but in many cases, as you mentioned, it is not possible due to screen placement, tv, etc to put a large floorstander in the center. So if this is the case, your second best bet is to follow the recommended matching speakers list. As far as the rears go, you can do the largest ones in the recommended list your space can provide, but don't be concerned too much if your space can handle RF83s, and can only get RS42s, or an RS-10, that would be ok tonally, they have the same type of drivers (titanium dome). I happen to sell all the receivers you mentioned above that you were looking at. Any of those would be great choices. If you are new, and are not used to the Klipsch sound (you may have read about people saying that the klipsch are very bright speakers, and some may even say harsh at high volumes), the Yamaha, and Denon are brighter receivers than say the the Marantz and could accentuate this brightness, which is ok if your tastes so suit (Denon and Marantz are owned by the same company by the way), The Marantz, which is a warmer receiver and matches very well with the Klipsch speakers. Find a dealer in your area and listen to the Klipsch speakers on all of your choices to find which sound suits you best for your selected Klipsch speakers. Create your theater as a whole if at all possible, as different receiver/speaker combinations can make the speakers sound differently, and is very important. i.e. i wouldn't get RF-83s for a Denon AVR-1706, if you are going to crank it to high volumes, i would do a 3805 or better. Marantz uses Torroidal transformers starting at the SR8500 and above, which would do a great job with the 83s. The Reference Series, Heritage Series, and Synergy series are all different, and their are musical differences between them. You definitely want to get as high into a particular series as you can afford. That's my two cents.

[jamesV]

Thanks for the reply Tsmalls, after reading your post and looking back at what Dr.Who say about Marantz, that they don't match well, is this all personal listening experience? Just wanted to know as like everyone knows that a speaker sounds good the one person and great to another. Thanks for the help with the models that you recommened and I'll be on the look-out for those when I can get out and start testing the speakers and with the receivers. Thanks again for the help.

[tsmalls]

JamesV

It does come down to personal taste, but as long as i have been in this business, i have never heard anyone say that a Marantz doesn't match well with Klipsch, but what i have heard many times, is that Denon, and Yamaha accentuate the already "bright" Klipsch speakers. I do think that with the new reference line, i will almost not hear this any more. The top end has really been tamed, but still very articulate, crisp, and smooth.

[DrWho]

Well it's been my observation from reviews on the forums that Marantz

isn't too hot with klipsch, but then it's also gonna depend on the

year. Marantz has definetly been going down the drain lately...nothing

like what they used to be. And because of that I haven't been too eager

to demo Marantz gear, so my opinion is more of a rehashed summary of

the reviews I've read from others. If the search function was working,

you could probably conduct your own search and read first hand what

others had to say (more specifically what models to watch out for).

As a side note: coming from an engineering perspective, there is

nothing inherant about a torroidal transformer that makes it "better" -

it will depend entirely upon the amplifier toplogy being implemented.

There's been this obsession with power supplies and amplifier weight

lately that I don't quite understand....it's like bragging that your

car burns more gas and the engine is heavier. It makes so much more

sense to look at the power output of a component (looking at both

quality and beefyness)

I have also never heard of the denon as being bright...if anything, I'd

say they are more dry sounding. Yamaha certainly has a history for

being bright, but their newer recievers don't sound anything like their

older stuff. Still the brightest reciever on the list, but nothing like

the bad reputation they earned in the past. I do have personal

experience with the denon and yamaha stuff...but I can imagine you

should find similar opinions elsewhere on the forum.

Anyways, there are definetly a lot more variables involved...room

acoustics, upstream equipment, source material, the speakers, etc

etc...and then you've got issues of terminology. Two people can hear

the exact same system with the exact same music at the exact same time

and still come up with very different opinions on the sound. Sometimes

people use the same words to describe different things and other times

people simply hear things differently.

All that to say, I'm not surprised that we have different

opinions...and I wouldn't venture to claim that either of us is more

right than the other.

I would claim that any decent reciever in the same price range is going

to always sound at least 90% identical to any of the competition, and

when operating in their linear region they will sound about the same

99% of the time. So what am I trying to say? Go with the reciever that

has the features you need - and don't bother paying for features you

don't need. And if you think I'm crazy you should try comparing the

insides between recievers some time...they all use such similar if not

identical parts all the time. Or you should sit down and do some blind

ABX tests...you will find it very hard to determine which receiver is

playing, which means there is a huge magnitude of placebo coming into

play. Of course this is an expensive thing to do or a rare opportunity

so not many have had the chance.

[jamesV]

Thanks again Dr for the help. As I just posted in the other thread, I first have to save up some more money, as the original system that I was looking at getting was about the samepirce as one RF-83. All I have to do is cut back a little and I'll be able to get them in a few months.

About the receiver issue, I'm sure that after I get the speakers that I will post questions about that also. I understand that everyone hears the same song witha different outcome so it's more so for ideals and models in my price range to try out for myself. The Denon, Yamamha and HK are the ones that I want to look at when the time comes. So until then I will be reading and reading and......