5.1 quintet III to 7.1 setup - rear choice for my room setup?

[tastyratz]

Hello,

I have had a bose acoustimass 10 terror for long enough and need to get back to Klipsch, I miss my old synergy dearly.

Last night I picked up a sub-10 and today im picking up a 5.1 quintet III system from the local best buy (friends girlfriend gets discounts and I get the perk :-) ) Unfortuanately I cannot find any matching 7.1 upgrade kits but unless told otherwhise here I figured it was safe to go with something else from the synergy series.

My particular room setup is far from optimal but its what I have to work with and I wont be able to deviate the positions. Its about 15ft front to back and 25ft side to side. The viewing position is on a futon butted against the wall about 4 feet off center. Now this futon will eventually have a "couch table" that will go behind it pushing it forward a foot or 2, and giving me additional space to place a rear 6.1 or 7.1 addition.

I was considering the best way to address my needs would be to pick up a pair of s-1 surround speakers, and placing those on the rear sides while using 2 of the quintet speakers as the rears. Either that or possibly picking up a center channel unit, placing it in the center of the sofa table behind the couch, and having a 6.1 setup instead of 7.1 which would be fine. I would love a more seasoned second opinion.

Size does matter so a smaller housed speaker is more ideal since you will practically be putting your head on the speakers.

What would be the best way for the best rear fill in such a short distance? Would I be best butting some bookshelf speakers against the wall and aiming them towards each other so the wall reverb fills the space a little more? I would think aiming them towards the ceiling would have too much reflection to be worth it.

Would I be better off just staying 5.1 and not bothering at all? Should I get a 90 deg. coverage surround and aim it up so it projects at 45deg angles in either direction?

Sound while on the couch matters, anywhere else in the room really doesnt.

This is a very budget minded setup for right now. Eventually I would like to upgrade to a better synergy setup around $2,000 but thats realistically few years away. Im selling the bose and buying this in a lateral move. If its a speaker available in best buy or magnolia where I can get a discount.... or possibly an older model I can pick up on ebay (my first klipsch experience was a synergy sc-1 center channel and im forever changed) that is a big plus. $700 speakers are not an option.

Im not really sure how would be the best to attack something like this so Im really just throwing out ideas.

[DrWho]

What about getting a pair of B-2's for the mains and then using your 4 Quintets for the surround channels? This would timbre match your surrounds while yielding a much better front stage. If you can swing the funds, maybe even a pair of B-3's. Either way, you can keep the bookshelf speakers or your future setup - probably using them as surrounds when you upgrade the mains to F3's or whatever it is you were wanting to do in the future.

Welcome to the forum.

[dtel]

Welcome to the forum

" Eventually I would like to upgrade to a better synergy setup around $2,000 but thats realistically few years away. Im selling the bose and buying this in a lateral move. "

This is not a " lateral move " I have heard the boze and the Quintet's. The Quintet's are much better you will be surprised how much better. Let us know what you think.

[srphelps]

I HAVE 2 QUINTETT III I'LL SELL MAKE ME A OFFER

[tastyratz]

Welcome to the forum

" Eventually I would like to upgrade to a better synergy setup around $2,000 but thats realistically few years away. Im selling the bose and buying this in a lateral move. "

This is not a " lateral move " I have heard the boze and the Quintet's. The Quintet's are much better you will be surprised how much better. Let us know what you think.

dtel,

What I meant by lateral move was financially, not acoustically. Perhaps I didn't convey that 100%. I wouldnt be going through the hassle of it all if I thought it would sound exactly the same :-)

I actually took dr whos advice and picked up a set of b-2's at best buy last night. I went in and used their listening station, and they sounded distinctly better than the quintets. The quintets sounded like something was "missing". The demo setups for all their audio to compare was absolutely terrible. It was very hard to make a comparison in front of me. sub12 was hooked up, sub10 wasnt, center channel in the quintets was not functional... (that would explain the sound that something was "missing"). Tried going to the bose station for a direct comarparison and it didnt work at all. Everything was hooked up to almost 10 year old receivers.

It does make me slightly nervous however hearing between the quintets and the b-2's such a stark difference that I don't know if I want to go with the quintets anymore - atleast until I get to hear another demo of it in the store and its at a working properly setup station. They had a slightly muffled sound to them, the b-2 was so much crisper. Again it could be that all the speakers sounded sub par hooked up to that particular station, and it could just be the center channel not being present. On discount the b-2's only cost me 130 instead of 220 so I am now tossing around

the idea of using them for my rear surrounds, getting a pair of f-1's and a c-1 center. I suppose I would have to skip out on going 5.1 to 7.1 until I can really afford to. I really am trying to do this as cheaply as possible right now but I don't want to just get the set and make a mistake.

Are the components in the synergy III line "binned" for example, if I went with a set of f-1's would I just be buying a set of b-2's in a taller cabinet or are there going to be other differences as well?

[DrWho]

Not that I'm old or anything, but one of the most important lessons I've learned in this hobby is to purchase towards the future. It sounds like you've got a plan for what you want down the road, so I would recommend purchasing towards that goal. What you sacrifice in quantity now, will yield you far better quality in the future. Any intermediate speaker purchases you make are going to be losses after you sell them later on...

So on that note, what are your future goals?

If you can swing it, I would highly recommend the Synergy F-2 mains. I feel they're the best bang for the buck in the lineup. Then as your budget allows, you can fill out the system. I think you would be surprised how much enjoyment you can get out of a simple 2-channel configuration. I would also highly recommend the Sub-12 over the Sub-10, but that's probably pushing things?

As far as your listening impressions....the Quintets should have very similar high frequency response as the B-2's or really any other Klipsch speaker. Generally speaking, the larger the cabinet the lower it will go. In other words, it's in the lower mids that the B-2's should be sounding better than the Quintets.

As far as "binned" - I think the short answer is "yes". To ensure perfect timbre matching, identical drivers need to be used. However, the larger cabinets allow for lower frequency response and higher efficiency (note the Sensitivity ratings). The B-2's however are a 5.25" woofer with a 0.75" compression driver on a 4" horn. The F-1's are a 6.5" woofer with a 1" compression driver on a 5" horn. But I'm pretty sure the F2 and the F1 are using the same drivers, just that the F2 has two 6.5" woofers.

http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/b-2.aspx
http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/f-2.aspx

[tastyratz]

Im going to stop at a different best buy on the way home from work and see if they have a good enough setup to really hear things. I will probabbly make my decision there with that. I tried calling klipsch support for an additional opinion about choices because of my room setup if I should be getting a pair of s-2s for the surrounds or use the b-2s for rear fill and he recommended the s-2's.

My future goal is really just to have a very nice setup for mainly movies. Its not in an overly large room, and probabbly never will be used in more than a medium sized room unless I hit the lottery. I'm already feeling the losses with the bose setup for resale but I am also taking advantage of the opportunity for the best buy employee discount while I can.

The quintets are attractive to me because they are smaller for a living room in a small apartment, and I can mount them to the pole mounts from the bose (whether theirs provisions too or not I can make it work) but I dont know if audibly they will be up to snuff with what I want.

Ultimately my ears should tell me tonight. If I can get the whole setup for 2-300 and be done it might just be worth it. I doubt I would be able to swing the f-2s right now, maybe even the f-1's. Im really in limbo with my choices and it could go many ways... Finances taking one of the higher priorities for me right now. This isnt something I was looking to spend on quite yet as I just splurged a bit too much on thanksgiving with a plasma, etc. but when opertunity calls.... So far I have already purchased and have at my house the sub-10 and b-2 pair.

[DrWho]

At moderate levels in a small room, the Quintets would work fine as surround speakers. You might find the Quintet center lacking a bit inbetween B-2 mains, but that's something that could be remedied later on down the road.

The Quintets are a step up in quality from the Promedia satellites and I know of a few people on campus that are running the ProMedias as 5.1 setups for their living rooms....It leaves the Bose system in the dust and goes plenty loud. I would only expect better things from the Quintets.

[tastyratz]

well I talked to my friend last night, and she gets the f1s for 140$, f-2s for 180$, c2 for 145, and s1 for 158. Looks like I think I'm going to pick up a pair of f2's for now and a c2 center, then use the b-2's I already purchased as the rear surrounds and just keep it as 5.1 till I can afford to go 7.1 later on down the road. At those prices though I might as well get the nicer floorstanders :-)

[tastyratz]

I picked up everything on friday and good thing, the discount stopped saturday. Now I have a real incredible sound system and no regrets. I left 1 of the bose speakers hooked up in the front, then hooked up an f2. Walked back and forth between the 2 and it was like going from a 10$ wal mart speaker. Direct comparisons are when you TRULY see what youve been missing. Everything was remarkably clearer ESPECIALLY the highs which have their own distinct klipsch sound. Night and day to myself and all my friends. I watched John Travolta's Swordfish later that night. Now I have to go back and watch some of my favorite movies to see what I was missing. My girlfriend protested the f2's size the first day or 2 they were there on a higher level, but after watching a couple tv shows she seems to have conveniently forgotten. Thanks for pushing the idea of going with a pair of floor standers, they really shine. Chalk a mark for another proud klipsch owner.

[DrWho]

So what all did you go with? F2 mains, C2 center, B2 surrounds and Sub-10? That's actually a pretty nice setup - especially considering your price point [Y] Let's see some pictures!

Oh, and welcome to the club. The journey has just begun []

[tastyratz]

Bingo, thats exactly what I went with. I called bose for giggles to ask for the frequency response or sensitivity and the guy said "they dont even tell US that information" Little googling led me to see that they had a frequency response of 46hz to 13.3khz +/- 10db with a gap in response from 200hz-280hz which is between the cube speakers response and the subs response. I was amazed at the fuller sound I was getting and I guess thats a pretty good reason why. My girlfriend went and threw an estrogen hissyfit when she seen the size of the floors vs the size of the bose and how it now "clashes with her home decor" but let me tell you, I find it rather convenient that after watching the first movie later that night she seems to have mysteriously forgotton about their size... not a peep about them since [Y]

I had my first taste of klipsch with that sc-1 center channel years back and I guess you could say I just havent been the same since. I went with the bose because they were tiny and I eagerly awaited the day I had the time/money to go back to where I belong. Feels good to be back :-)