drd952 Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Good morning fellow enthusiasts! I am strongly considering the following setup for a basement theatre/media room: Full 7.1 Ultra2 setup - five 650s, two ks525s and two subs. I would be running the system with the following pre/pro and amps: Rotel rb-1080 200 x 2 Rotel rmb-1095 200 x 5 Rotel rsp-1098 pre Has anyone else had good luck with this combo? I heard the Ultra system powered with these exact components and it sounded amazing to me. Any additional feedback is greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Looks like an awesome setup - will you be purchasing all this equipment new? I'd love to see some pics once you get it all set up. Welcome to the forum. And btw, is this dedicated room already finished or is that part of the process? There are some crazy awesome things you can do for relatively little money that will bring your system to a whole new level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 I've found the Rotels to be very good w/Klipsch,lots of detail without being clinical.The Rotels also have great setup options and easy to control on the fly.That set up should make almost anyone very happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drd952 Posted June 7, 2006 Author Share Posted June 7, 2006 The entire basement construction is still under negociation. All components will be purchased new, along with calibration of all video and audio. Treatments will also be completed, but this will be rather basic, bass traps in all corners ceiling to floor, and most reflection points. The room will not be completely dedicated to theatre. In fact I am going to put a 50" sxrd behind the motorized screen for kids to watch during the day. Once construction starts I will post some pics in the architectural forum. Thanks for the responses. I have heard that Klipsch and Rotel mate well together. but years back there was some issues with the 1095 and noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 The ultra/2 setup it will be incredible.. My only suggestion would be 5 of the 650's too. It will be seamless and you will notice a difference. (I know a slight bit more money, but people in here have done this upgrade and everyone without exception loves the changes.) Most people have no idea just how important really good sides and rears are.... till they match them well. (It looks like you have done this, so great job!!) One thing that might be something you look for.. a pre amp with Ulta 2/ certification. You will be optimising the speakers if you do. Especially the sub signal. It took me a while to "dial it in" with my Sunfire Theater Grand IV, some others may not pose such a problem. I am not sure about the Rotel. With Ultra 2 pre amps, everything will be sent as it was designed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 you might check but the curennt lingo is "Select 2", I guess now as well.. hahahahahaha I have the Ultra 2 Sub system, so the KA1000 amp with 2 subs... OMG. It works well with La Scalas as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 The entire basement construction is still under negociation. All components will be purchased new, along with calibration of all video and audio. Treatments will also be completed, but this will be rather basic, bass traps in all corners ceiling to floor, and most reflection points. The room will not be completely dedicated to theatre. In fact I am going to put a 50" sxrd behind the motorized screen for kids to watch during the day. Once construction starts I will post some pics in the architectural forum. Thanks for the responses. I have heard that Klipsch and Rotel mate well together. but years back there was some issues with the 1095 and noise. What are your thoughts on a false wall in the front to flush mount the speakers and subs, with an inset behind the screen for the TV and then building non-parallel side walls? If you're already going to be framing in for drywall, there really isn't any extra expense - maybe on hours worth of labor to get the corners lined up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSoundBroker Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 What are your thoughts on a false wall in the front to flush mount the speakers and subs, with an inset behind the screen for the TV and then building non-parallel side walls? If you're already going to be framing in for drywall, there really isn't any extra expense - maybe on hours worth of labor to get the corners lined up. Highly recommended. The Ultra 2 system works very well in this type of setup. You get extended bass response from the mains this way. Also, don't forget...they have an in-wall Ultra 2 setup imminent which they've promised no compromise versus the boxed versions. As for Rotel...no experience. Best I've ever heard them sound is with a Bryston setup...it is a truly awesome experience, heads and tails better than any other combo I've ever tried. One thing I have found is that in a larger room with treatment, you may want a bit more horsepower. I recently put in a system in a 26 x 16 x 10' room that was fully treated. We originally had 200/ch in there and we had to switch into a 300/ch 7 channel Flying Mole Cascade modular amp to make them wake up and kick us in the chest. You are well served to get them properly calibrated...makes a WORLD of difference on that system to have it calibrated and laser aligned. Also...consider putting in a fabric stretch acoustic system. Not particularly hard to do and the results are far better than individual panels. It also looks FAR more finished and professional. Also...depending on size of the room, you may also consider pairing them with the Danley Labs DTS-20 sub. If the room is big...as great as the Ultra 2 subs are...(and they are truly awesome...the DTS-20 in a large space is simply mindbending. I have one system in a big space where the customer has taken out the woofers on his Ultra 2 subs. We are probably going to need to add more subs or switch him into a Danley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drd952 Posted June 10, 2006 Author Share Posted June 10, 2006 Yes, I am definitely going to have it all professionally calibrated. That is one thing that I have definitely learned from this forum! The LCR and two subs will be flush mounted in a false wall. The sides and rears will be mounted with omni mounts I believe. The L & R will be toed in correctly to achieve the correct sweet spot for the seating. Sound, the one thing (actually one of many) that confuses me is the headroom needed. Rotel are quality amps, they will put out the 200 per. Does this system benefit that much from the extra 100 per? They seem very efficient, and with 200per I am doubling the output, so to speak. I am just surprised that they need that much power behind them to really sing. If that is the case, is the sub amp that comes with the system strong enough? Or is that part of the benefit of the stronger amp for the other channels, to compensate for the sub amp? I believe I will forego the treatments right away, for monetary reasons. I was considering some aurelex traps for tall the corners and first reflection panels for now. That is until I can finish the room completely. Some treatment (bass and first reflection) is better than nothing for a temporary fix right? Thanks for the replies! I cannot wait to get started! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSoundBroker Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 A good rule of thumb is to use an amp that is rated at double the RMS of the speaker...or 300/ch with the KL-650s. They definitely do benefit from amp headroom and power in my experience. Usually the more power I've run them with, the better they have sounded. Keep in mind, I have put them in some pretty large spaces and I nearly always spec in acoustic treatment (50% side wall coverage, 100 % front screen wall coverage). Treatment should be the FIRST thing you invest in. It will have more impact on the sound of your system than ANY other thing you can do. You might consider doing a fabric stretch system which is a DIY thing and works very well for a very modest amount of money. You *can* get a way with less power, but there is making it work and making it sound as good as possible. With higher power, that system wakes up and really does sound very different versus the setups I've done where the client only had the funds to do smaller powered amps. As for the sub amp, it is a matched system...though I have used bigger amps with the Ultra 2 subs to good effect. Problem is, to do double the RMS on the Ultra 2 subs requires a HUGE amp that is 1000 w/ch into 8 with high damping factor and some big headroom and this means a big money pro touring amp (like a Crown IT4000 which is a MONSTER sub amp with 1250/ch into 8 and 2 kw/ch into 4 plus a built-in parametric section and >5000 damping factor from 20 hz to 100 hz). You'll need a 20 amp dedicated line and a big bank account. Also, with that much power, any EQ'ing needs to be CUT ONLY! Any boosting and you are guananteed to fry some voice coils. The KA-1000 has some serious headroom and is one hell of a bass amp considering the price. I usually recommend you stick with it but put it on a 20 amp line for headroom as it can pretty much drain a 15 amp line at high levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damonrpayne Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 As for the sub amp, it is a matched system...though I have used bigger amps with the Ultra 2 subs to good effect. Problem is, to do double the RMS on the Ultra 2 subs requires a HUGE amp that is 1000 w/ch into 8 with high damping factor and some big headroom and this means a big money pro touring amp (like a Crown IT4000 which is a MONSTER sub amp with 1250/ch into 8 and 2 kw/ch into 4 plus a built-in parametric section and >5000 damping factor from 20 hz to 100 hz). You'll need a 20 amp dedicated line and a big bank account. Also, with that much power, any EQ'ing needs to be CUT ONLY! Any boosting and you are guananteed to fry some voice coils. The KA-1000 has some serious headroom and is one hell of a bass amp considering the price. I usually recommend you stick with it but put it on a 20 amp line for headroom as it can pretty much drain a 15 amp line at high levels. With typical 15 amp service aren't you looking at a total of something like 1800-2400 watts that can be delivered into your whole system(house) at once? Its late and the math escapes me right now but 1000 watts times eight channels doesn't seem possible even if the amp claims it can deliver it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drd952 Posted June 12, 2006 Author Share Posted June 12, 2006 Thanks for the response Sound. I do understand the importance of treatments. I do want to utilize them. I have a couple of questions: 1. You recommend 50% side, 100% front wall. If I have a cabinet as a large portion of the front wall, how do you treat that? I assume I would want to treat behind the cabinet as well? As far as the side walls, if I have wainscoating (sp) up 38" with a bench rail, would it work out well to go up from there to the ceiling? 2. I assume back wall should also be treated from 38" to the ceiling as well? 3. Do you have any links or information about fabric stretch systems? I did a search after reading your post, and haven't found anything to explain it well. 4. What about pictures, are they to be completely avoided in the space, or just avoided at reflection points? Thanks for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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