What to add to Chorus II for HT?

[33klfan]

Well now that i have chorus II's and i intend to use them for two channel but i thought they would also be awesome for HT, but i have an sc-1 for a center and i didn't think it would match so well. Right now i still have my synergy fronts hooked up for HT. From reading the klf-c7 doesn't seem to be the correct match for the chorus even though i could get one pretty local, where i got my chorus II's from. My surrounds are rs-25, so even if i got the right center, like an academy, my surrounds supposedly wouldn't be the right timbre match, ehh? I have three options. Keep it the way i have it now, add a klf-c7 and use chorus II's as mains, or wait for a while and get an academy, yet the surrounds will still be reference in either case, but i guess the surrounds aren't as crucial as the center. What are your thoughts?

[michael hurd]

Center for HT is more critical in panning across the screen, and surrounds are less of a problem if there is a slight mismatch.

[RichardP]

Before I found an Academy for my Fortes, I used a Quartet for a center. It is timbre matched to the Chorus ll, being its little sibling. You can get a pair of Quartets for the price of an Academy, and they are more commonly found. You do have to have a large-ish and strong surface or shelf to hold its 50 lbs, however

[dtel]

More Chorus ll's over time, till you have 5 or 6 !.......you asked

[DrWho]

It sounds like you're in my situation...I've got Chorus II mains with

an SC-1 center channel. To be honest, the setup sucks, but it's better

than having no center channel. At one point I had 4 Heresy speakers

doing center and surrounds (6.1) which sounded better, but a Heresy

isn't a very good center for the Chorus II. The timbre is way off (in

fact, it's no more timbre matched than the SC-1).

As far as

other centers, I honestly believe the KLF-C7 is a better choice than

the Academy - especially if you're running Chorus II mains. The KLF-C7

came out after the Academy and the Chorus II which is why I think the

webpage has the Academy as the recommended center (which was probably

true at the time). The tweeter section on the Academy is very similar

to the tweeter on the Chorus II, but the rest of the sound is being

reproduced by that pair of woofers in a sealed enclosure. The KLF-C7 on

the other hand is using a "tweeter" section very similar to the

squawker on the Chorus II, which is being crossed over at a lower

frequency to a pair of woofers in a ported alignment. In other words,

the KLF-C7 is going to be a closer match in the mids which I think is

where the timbre matters most.

One time at Colter's place we got

to do an instant volume matched AB comparison between the Academy and

the KLF-C7 with lascalas for mains. I felt the differences between the

Academy and the KLF-C7 were less than the differences between each

center and the mains. In other words, both centers are "equally bad" in

the sense that they still don't offer perfect timbre matching. I think

a Heresy might be a closer comparison in that situation, but the shape

of a Heresy isn't exactly condusive to center channel duty.

In every case, going with an Academy, KLF-C7, or Heresy is going to

sound much much better than the SC-1. If you've got a KLF-C7 near you

for a good deal, then I think you should jump on it.

As far as surrounds - I think it's more important to have surrounds

with the proper dispersion and placement in the room, than to have

perfect timbre matching. Even if you had identical speakers for every

channel, the ideal placement for the surrounds is going to introduce

timbre differences (because the boundaries close to the speaker change

its perceived timbre). All that to say, you should be able to achieve

very impressive sound with Reference surrounds as long as you've got

them configured properly.

At least that's my take on things - this topic usually stirs up a lot of different opinions.

[jbsl]

On Ebay there is a single Chorus II buy it now price of $289 which is in Georgetown, Texas. Shipping would not be cheap and I am not sure if you have room below your tv but it's one option.

http://cgi.ebay.com/KLIPSCH-CHORUS-II-FLOOR-SPEAKER-1988-MODEL_W0QQitemZ130165183365QQihZ003QQcategoryZ14993QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[leerocker]

Go with 3 Chorus II up front if you have the room. I have 3 Chorus I and couldnt be happier with that set up. Plus, if you buy an actual center you'll always be wondering what it would sound like with another chorus there instead. I had chorus with a KLF-C7 and an Academy - they both sounded good, but i found myself thinking about how it should be more seamless, which was distracting while watching movies.

Good luck!!

[33klfan]

I could get the klf-c7 for like 250 or a little less if i push it. It's a half hour drive. I can seriously wait till i have more room to have a another chorus as the center. My main concern is that im sure the chorus II with the klf-c7 will sound a lot better than sf-1 with sc-1 even if it isn't the perfect match.

[leerocker]

I'd get the C7 if it's that close, that's a good price. Then you could use that until you can find a single chorus for decent money. (or buy a pair and split them up, that's what I did). I don't think you'll ever lose money on the C7 at that price, so you could sell it anytime. Or never, who knows

[33klfan]

If i get the center, then i'll use my chorus II's for HT and two channel, so i would need something to be able to hook them up to two different amps i guess. Right now, what i have been doing was running a pair of wire from the tube amp and av receiver, then just plugging whichever one in i needed. With the chorus II's, it's a little tighter in my room and kind of hard to do that. I read some about the speaker selector boxes, but i just wondered if you notice a difference in sound doing that plus is that the correct way.

[DrWho]

An amp selector box will impart no changes to the sound, though I'm sure you could find someone to tell you otherwise. It's certainly a "proper" way to approach the situation.

The only thing you have to be careful about is how your tube amp will respond to the switcher. Also, an amp selector box can be different from a speaker selector box - or basically, not all speaker selectors can function as an amp selector.

[33klfan]

Well, right now, i have the sf-1's like 2' in front of the center. I listened to some movies today and it didn't sound seamless in the front. If i want to use the sf-1's for HT, they have to be where they are. I tried the chorus II's and it did sound much better with all the speaker in the same plane. The center was ok with them. I put the fronts to -5 and the center at 0 so that helped some, but i could tell the center didn't blend at all times.

What amp selector is a good choice? What would it do to the tube amp?

[GmanKlipsch]

Hello all,

I am in the same predicament, have a pair of fabulous Chorus IIs and am looking to get the best matching center speaker and surrounds.

I've read through this thread most seem to agree that the KLF-C7 is the best match for center, but nobody has made any surrounds suggestion.

Any advise greatly appreciated

Gman

[33klfan]

Welcome to the forum. Lots of useful information is found here. If you have the room, they say the same speaker all the way around, but that isn't always practical. Surrounds aren't quite as crucial as the center to match. Some here like the academy, another chorus II, the quartet, or a klf-c7. I opted for the last choice and i think it blends well. Sounds very nice across the whole front soundstage. For surrounds, i would actually be interested to here.