James McClellan Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Hello everyone. I'm new to these fourms (just joined a few minutes ago). I've been researching speakers for a while now and no matter how much web surfing I do, I ALWAYS end up at klipsch.com. I think my subconcious is trying to tell me something[^o)]. Full disclosure: I have never listened to Klipsch speakers, but I've heard nothing but good things about them and even the top of the line 83s seem like a good bang for the buck compared to other companies' top of the line towers. I do know where my local dealer is (Gerogia Home theater in Atlanta) and have had every intention of going to audition some RF-83s, but work...just...keeps...getting...in...the...way[8o|]. Anyway, my plans for my home theater include an acoustically transparent screen and I was wondering if anyone has ever used a tower as a center speaker. Even if no one has, I'd like others' thoughts on that plan. I see a horizontal center speaker as a compromise built around flat screen TVs and plasmas. Since that won't be the case with me, I was wondering if the horizontal dispersion/horizontal soundstage of a tower is as wide as that of a horizontal center speaker. Three RF-83's up front, anyone[H]. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyT Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Welcome to the forums. Naturally we all love Klipsch here. If you have the space for it then by all means run three towers. It will sound incredible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwillwalk Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 had that with 3 klf 30's in the front & with 2 more in back all standing & it was GREAT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSport Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Yes...there are a lot of us here using the same speakers all the way around...although not towers, I have all Heresys (5) plus an Outlaw Audio LFM-1 Sub...your thoughts on the "Towers" for a Center would be the BEST choice set up...the rest fall to compromise from there...although some not far...welcome! Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 The biggest goal of a surround speaker setup is timbre matching of all the speakers used. An ideal setup would have 5 or 7 (or whatever number the x in your x.1 system is) identical speakers. I think the dynamics and capability of a tower speaker would overshadow any small difference in the horizontal dispersion of it. Considering the perfect blend it would make with the front mains, if you've got the space and the $$ it really is the best way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leerocker Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Go for it, you wont be disappointed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redtop Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Welcome to the forum... As with most things...it depends on your planned room configuration. If your goal is a "seamless" front soundstage, you are on the right track with matching your speakers across the front. IMO, timbre matching with identical speakers is the most important factor for a sweet sounding theater. Next on the importance list is matching the height of the horns. In a typical home theater setup, with the RF-83 being 49" high, you would either have to mount the horn high on the screen (near the top) or have one or more of the bottom woofers partially blocked. For that reason I don't believe the RF-83 is a "best choice" as a center channel behind an AT screen. Have you considered at the Klipsch KL-650 THX Ultra II's? They are basically the same price as RF-83's and because of their design, much easier to position and meet the timber and horn height requirements. Anything that is top of the line Klipsch (the RF-83's and KL-650's are both TOL), is going to sound great. If you would like to share more of your design goals for the room and their priority, we may be able to do a better job at helping with recommendations. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 It is certainly the best way to go in your situation. The earliest experiments with 3 channel sound in the 1930s by Bell Labs used three identical speakers. Many people here state that the center channel in movies carries a more of the sound than the sides. Several factors dictate a smaller speaker. Paul Klipsch championed a center channel. The problem was that he also championed Klipchorns which would only go in a corner, and center corners are hard to come by. So he was forced to use other centers. This was when the center channel source had to a mix of Left and Right stereo, rather than multichannel Dolby digital, etc. But even the early Dolby systems just used the same mix. Another thing is that when home theater hit, I guess marketers realized that a small center channel speaker was necessary to fit just under, or over, a CRT television. And people didn't want to spend too much money. So center channel speakers were small. The small, cheap issue is still at play. There is another odd bit. Klipsch (the company) designed the Academy, which is a small speaker, and recommended it (on paper) as a companion for many of their flanking systems. It is shielded and can be used with CRT monitors. Then the Academy went out of production. As a result, in my view, this caused a market for the Academy and drove up prices. But also, it distracted from the fact that a third speaker of the same type as the flanking units works as well or better, and is usually cheaper on the used market than the Academy. Few people these days need shielding. Obviously, I'm just using the Academy tale as an example. In any event, using the same three up front is going to be excellent. Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSport Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 Gil, As an Academy owner...you hit the nail on the head...nice speaker driven to unbelieveable prices by its goodness, and a cultlike following that it is the be all end all...for now at least (had to throw the qualifyer in there) I prefer the Heresy Center with my Heresy Home Theater... Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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