Raider Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 I am trying to assemble an HT room to be used for the next few years by my family. We have gradually stopped going to the movies for a variety of reasons, and I woould like a room for cinema. The room will include sound treatment, and the resource here in Architecture is very valuable. I am also an audiophile, so the room will be used also for critical music listening. This represents the most substantial investment I have ever made, and I'm trying to make the best decsion possible. I have researched DIY for several years off and on, and am attracted by the possibility of very good drivers for the money, and there are many good proven designs. However, with the influx of asian parts, and the decilne of the dollar against the euro, the quality to $ ratio of DIY has diminished somewhat, so I am also considering commercial offerings. Which has brought me to Klipsch. I have always aspired to Klipsch since college in the 70's, having heard the horns and heard PWK speak at an AES meeting. But having been away from the product for many years, during which Klipsch has gone more mass market, I am not as sure of the product as I was. The Heritage line is still out of reach for me financially, and practically given my room, so my search has brought me to the Reference line. The nagging question for me is this: Will I get as much quality for my money, and absolute sound quality as I would if I pursued DIY desihns using premium driver offerings, often found in some of the best/most expensivespeakers. Are the Klipsch really that good. Are they a speaker you will enjoy more and more, or only till the new wears off. Put more simple, why did you buy Klipsch? Are they really competitive in both sonic quality and value, or more marketing sizzle. Real deal or not? Have you had long term happiness or not? What products do you feel Klipsch is competitive with; what do you consider their peer products (Reference line) Thanks for an input, objective or subjective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted August 25, 2006 Moderators Share Posted August 25, 2006 How big is the room and budget ? 2 Cornwall lll's 4Heresy lll's Same mid and high drivers They are just a little bigger than Reference, not much. IMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 I am trying to assemble an HT room to be used for the next few years by my family. We have gradually stopped going to the movies for a variety of reasons, ... We stopped going out to movies and concerts because they couldn't compare to what I experience in my Home Theater listed below. [H] That's my best argument.[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted August 25, 2006 Moderators Share Posted August 25, 2006 I only plead for money. Travis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 I only plead for money. Travis That's why I prefer to drink at the house. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted August 25, 2006 Moderators Share Posted August 25, 2006 Really no need to plead give them a listen properly set up and they will sell themselves. Reference series old or new also sounds great. The only problem with the RF 7 series is if you went with them you would have to buy them all before they run out of stock ? Now the hard part finding some propely set up. See if someone in your area has a setup and ask for a listen, most are glad to show them off. Where do you live ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted August 25, 2006 Moderators Share Posted August 25, 2006 I only plead for money. Travis That sounds like a Lawyer. [] I bet your wife would disagree[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raider Posted August 25, 2006 Author Share Posted August 25, 2006 How big is the room and budget ? 2 Cornwall lll's 4Heresy lll's Same mid and high drivers They are just a little bigger than Reference, not much. IMHO Budget about $2-3000 Room is 17.5 by 16'. 8 foot ceiling at side wall. Ridged peake at 10'. (Bonus Room above garage) Refernce line will be pushing it as far as space. Of course SAF is at play; reference is about as much as I can get by with and retain general use of the room. Actually considered in walls, but haveen't heard anythng that sounds as good as standalone speakers yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raider Posted August 25, 2006 Author Share Posted August 25, 2006 I am trying to assemble an HT room to be used for the next few years by my family. We have gradually stopped going to the movies for a variety of reasons, ... We stopped going out to movies and concerts because they couldn't compare to what I experience in my Home Theater listed below. [H] That's my best argument.[] Thats what I figured. Plus we can eat dinner, be together as family (or not), stop for intermission anytime. also I find people incredibly inconsiderate and rude these days at theatres. Cell phones, talking, late arrival, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raider Posted August 25, 2006 Author Share Posted August 25, 2006 Really no need to plead give them a listen properly set up and they will sell themselves. Reference series old or new also sounds great. The only problem with the RF 7 series is if you went with them you would have to buy them all before they run out of stock ? Now the hard part finding some propely set up. See if someone in your area has a setup and ask for a listen, most are glad to show them off. Where do you live ? I have audtioned them at two dealers so far. I have an appointment in the morning with a third. Another appointment with a company with competitor's speakers next week. Both the showings before allowed me to audition in stereo. I am hoping the dealer tomorrow is set up for surround. I haven't seen any of the older line around so far, except for one pair of the bookshelf 8" ( sorry don't know the model number.) I am also trying to decide whether for my application it makes more sense to optimize the mains (RF83 or RF63) for critical listening with less than optimal tibre match for the surrounds (RS52). Or whether tibre matches all around are better (RF62/RC62/RS62) I live in Franklin, TN near Nashville. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 You should really look at Heritage Series, if not new, try used...........atleast think about it for a minute or two..........few choices new............many choices used.......your money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted August 26, 2006 Share Posted August 26, 2006 Make sure you mate the speakers with quality components. The receiver/amp doesn't need to be a zillion watts, but whatever watts it does have need to be clean and real watts. The nicer your components, the better you'll enjoy the Klipsch experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted August 26, 2006 Share Posted August 26, 2006 Are the Klipsch really that good. Are they a speaker you will enjoy more and more, or only till the new wears off? I've had my Klipsch RF-7/B&K based setup for the past 4 years (see my system profile (click "system profile" tab on that page) for my complete setup specs), and I still cannot stop smiling everytime I hear that thing. I still have friends coming over prefering to watch movies at my place instead of going to the movie theater (which is literally less than a mile from my house, and they are planning on building another one at the mall across the street from here - hopefully it'll have Klipsch speakers in it!). Yes, I honostly think the Klipsch speakers are that good! Yes, you could get better speakers, but at how much? Put more simple, why did you buy Klipsch? Are they really competitive in both sonic quality and value, or more marketing sizzle. Real deal or not? Have you had long term happiness or not? What products do you feel Klipsch is competitive with; what do you consider their peer products (Reference line) Thanks for an input, objective or subjective. First and foremost - the reason by I got Klipsch is because I really did like the sound of them. I've auditioned some pretty nice speakers, including Martin-Logans, Paradigms, Polk, Focal, Mirage, and a few others, and I found I still much prefered Klipsch. It may be part due to the type of music that I primarily listen to (power/progressive metal), and it seems these RF-7s where made for it! Agressive enough to really get into the metal, but refined enough to render the orchestral parts beautifully. For movies, I've had a few really good "Holy $#!+" moments with these! Just queue up Master and Commander and play that opening battle/cannon barrage scene for a really good example. Also, I think Klipsch is an excellent, and probably one of the best, performance to value ratios out there. Like I mentioned above, you could get better speakers than Klipsch, but for how much more? Klipsch is hard to beat for the price/performance ratio. And you can certainly do worst, much worst, such as that certain B-word manufacturer that I often recommend people to Buy Other Sound Equipment. As to what to actually get, folks on here will certainly say to go for the Heritage, even if they have to obtained on the second-hand market. If you have the budget, patience, and room to do so, I'd have to agree with them. However, if you are dead set on getting brand-new (and yes the second hand market can be a real pain, especially if trying to find enough speakers to fill out a full surround-sound setup), then the Reference is certainly no slouch. I've heard some of these Heritage setups, and they are very good, but, I am certainly not complaining about my own Reference setup, and it certainly seems to be able to hang with the best of them! I've heard the new RF-83's just this past June, and I am very impressed with them. Granted, I am not going to run and trade my RF-7s in for them, but if I had to do do it over all again, I'd get those RF-83s in a New York minute! Regardless of what you end up getting, Heritage or Reference, you certainly will not go wrong in my opinion, unless you find you just don't like the sound of the Klipsch in general (and lets be honost, not everybody does, but then again, that is why there is a Paradigm, B&W, Martin-Logan, Polk, Mirage, and so forth). But, hey, if you do buy Mirage, and/or Jamo, you'd still be buying a "Klipsch" brand, though! [H] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunburnwilly Posted August 26, 2006 Share Posted August 26, 2006 I only plead for money. Travis That's why I prefer to drink at the house. [] Amen brother ... Too much risk involved to you and others ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMays Posted August 26, 2006 Share Posted August 26, 2006 I only plead for money. Travis That's why I prefer to drink at the house. [] Amen brother ... Too much risk involved to you and others ! I know the risk your talking about....Spill your beer on someone else's floor and lick it up...you'll never know what you'll catch!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilbert Posted August 26, 2006 Share Posted August 26, 2006 I only plead for money. Oh Travis, you just set yourself up BIG TIME. Better pray Fini doesn't come around...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted August 26, 2006 Share Posted August 26, 2006 Put more simple, why did you buy Klipsch? Are they really competitive in both sonic quality and value, or more marketing sizzle. Real deal or not? Have you had long term happiness or not? What products do you feel Klipsch is competitive with; what do you consider their peer products (Reference line). For HT -- there is nothing on the market that competes with Klipsch at any price point. You can walk up and down the line, from Synergy to Reference -- they have no "peers" whatsoever. If you want dynamic, open, and clean undistorted output -- there is nowhere else to turn. You could spend twice the money on a DIY effort and not get as good a sound. A lot more goes into building a great sounding set of speakers than most realize. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted August 26, 2006 Moderators Share Posted August 26, 2006 I only plead for money. Oh Travis, you just set yourself up BIG TIME. Better pray Fini doesn't come around...... Why, what happened to Fini? Travis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Spinner Posted August 26, 2006 Share Posted August 26, 2006 I only plead for money. Travis You, and my Wife ... have a lot in common Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raider Posted August 26, 2006 Author Share Posted August 26, 2006 Make sure you mate the speakers with quality components. The receiver/amp doesn't need to be a zillion watts, but whatever watts it does have need to be clean and real watts. The nicer your components, the better you'll enjoy the Klipsch experience. I will be using a Yamaha RX-V657. How well sonically does Yamaha generally do with Klipsch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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