7.1 vs. 5.1 dilemma

[InVeNtOr]

i have a living room that i think won't work with a 7.1 set up. i have a pdf pic of my living room with my current equipment in it (see sig). let me explain the drawing first:
the wall with the love seat has 2ea 3'x5' windows but are NOT on the drawing. on the same wall there is a corner missing (lh wall and fwd wall). that is where the patio door is located and where it opens up to the fwd wall. i made the area that door takes up on the fwd wall as a blank so i don't use that space.

the aft wall is one solid wall, no windows, spaces or anything.

the rh wall has a half wall with a column. the open space with the rh wall and fwd wall (corner) is the opening to the living room (entrance).

in a nut shell, the wall space you see in the drawing is the only usable space i have in the living room. if anyone cares i put the speakers in the exact dimension that dolby digital and thx suggest. (not saying thats the best place, but i have to start somewhere).

the other problem with the half wall is the ceiling slopes up to 10' there. to mount that speaker on the ceiling i would need it to hang about 3', and i think that would drive me nuts.

the current pic shows a 7.1 set up with the rears on platforms or speaker stands. i really don't like how it looks because as you can tell the rh rear speaker can been see through the half wall. the only thing that i could do to hide it is maybe put a plant there. i also have a question about the 2 ea rear speakers, should i put them on stands like the other rear speakers, or mount them to the wall a little higher up?

i am also thinking of buying a complete rf-82 set up for this room. (see other post) for that set up i would like to have 4ea rs-52's for the rear. in doing so would that make it overkill? would that be the right surround speakers? should i use 4ea dipole speakers or should i have 2 mono and 2 dipole speakers back there?

i should add in that the room is 16' 2" x 16' 2" x 10' (sloped)

as you can tell i am in need of some desperate help!

thanks

living room.pdf

[Bill H.]

Save your money. Just do a 5.1 Setup................now you can buy More/Bigger Klipsch Speakers!

[InVeNtOr]

the salesman offer to sell me some rf-35 speakers instead of the rf-82. he said they are almost the same speakers, does anyone agree with this. he said it would save me $100.

[InVeNtOr]

here is his speaker deal:

RF-82 $699 pair

RS-52 $499 pair

RC-62 $300

RW-12D $500

shipping $200

total 2198.00 all from authrized dealer and 5 yr warrenty.

is this a good deal?

[Brac]

Save you $100, and make him an extra $600 selling old stock. There should be a lot more price difference between those.

[InVeNtOr]

the best price i could find on the rf-35's is $599.00 (shipping extra) ebay.

the best price i could find on the rf-82's is $649 (shipping extra-not a dealer) ebay.

[Guest srobak]

Sounds like the same guy on ebay I bought from... Sound Distributors?

I already had a Sub12, so I got RF35s, RC62, RS42s from him for 1250 plus ship. VERY happy with my setup.

I highly recommend working with this place... http://stores.ebay.com/SoundDistributors-com-800-691-6914

[Brac]

RF-35 were recently at onecall for 389 shipped. I don't se a good deal on them at the moment. That siad I think your thinking is backwards. I might buy old stock (rf-35) from a non-dealer. But no way would I buy current stock (rf-82) from a non-dealer.

[InVeNtOr]

it is the same guy, Sound Distributors. the prices seem fair, i can't find anything better right now. my only luck is someone seeing this post and offering their rf-82 set up for cheaper.

[colterphoto1]

IMHO, 7.1 is best left for larger rooms and purpose-built home theaters.

Placing more speakers in a room does not make the surround sound more convicining that 5.1 unless care is taken in speaker selection and CAREFUL PLACEMENT. So many times I hear from customers who have windows, doors, open spaces, rooms with no wall, rooms with infinitely high ceilings, odd acoustics, decorators- that just will not allow the proper placement (or many times anywhere close to it) of 8 speakers.

In these cases I advise that their entertainment dollars are better spent in a HIGHER QUALITY 5.1 speaker array. This helps avoid wiring, clutter and placement issues.

Please remember that any warranty is with your DEALER, no matter where they are located. Purchasing from an unauthorized retailer may put you at risk of having no warranty. Saving money by purchasing via internet may require (per terms of warranty) that you return any defective merchandise back to that dealer for warranty service. I personally highly recommnend purchasing from a local dealer whenever possible.

[InVeNtOr]

i am giving up my 7.1 dreams and going to 5.1. my current living room has a 6.1 but i know it's too small, i just wanted to use the speakers i bought so long ago. i think the rf-82 set up is going to be the best system that i can fit into my room.

does anyone know the proper dimension to place the rears in a 5.1 set up? do you use the dolby or thx dimension or is it a place it by ear type of thing?

[darylomer12]

Hello. If you are going 5.1, why rears? Can't you just use side surrounds? I like mine about 5 feet off the floor, but then agian I use the RS. If you are going RB, then maybe lower, like ear level or slightly higher. My surrounds are a little over 5 feet from floor and my rear surround RB's are about 3 feet. I hear everything perfect when I am sitting down. Doesn't matter where I'm sitting either. I guess you could use rears for 5.1, but I would think that side surrounds would be more ideal. Just my $.02

[InVeNtOr]

i guess i am a tard, i don't understand. if i go with the rf-82 set
up i will be using the rs-52's as my rear surround speakers. here is a
pdf of the living room with the proposed speakers.

please let me know if placement is wrong or needs to be adjusted.

RF-82 set up.pdf

[Guest srobak]

RF-35 were recently at onecall for 389 shipped.

I saw that... that price was each, not per pair Sound Distributors is the guy to get the RF-35 systems from now. If you go with it, enjoy... I sure as hell am!

All speakers in this pic other than the Sub12 I bought from them.... not a single problem, awesome sound, would gladly buy from him again. His 35's are 2007stock btw... not old stock.

[InVeNtOr]

thats what he told me, the 35's were last years model. it didn't make sence to me because they are on the discontinued web page. i have been searchng and asking, he has the best price around. i am thinking of copying your system (srobak) to shave a few pennies. i am also unsure with a small room how much speaker it will hold. it also conserns me how much of a difference the models can be and if i can even hear the difference.

[colterphoto1]

your SURROUNDS (let's abandon the term 'rears'), should be on the SIDE walls, just like in a REAL THEATER. Go to a cinema- see that long row of speakers down the side walls? That's what we're trying to make your living room sound like. Even with the sofa fairly close to the back wall, we can make this happen. Place the side surrounds on the side walls across from the front of the sofa. Now imagine the sound path from the speakers on the rear angle of those RS speakers- the sound will REFLECT OFF THE BACK wall and fake your brain into thinking the sound is BEHIND you! This is why you can ignore the rear surround speakers in your setup, they're really not necessary (IMHO).

GaryMD has a setup like this in a fairly wide room using RS3's (I think) and it works very well.

[nezff]

I know he has some RF35s which are same IMO as the RF82s, for $699 shipped. RC35, same as the RC62, for $279 shipped.

go with the 35 series, save some money. 2007 stock is my understanding also.

[Youthman]

My last 5.1 setup was as Colter has stated and I loved it. They were Polk FX500 Bipole/Dipole speakers but functioned very similar to the WDST speakers (RS Series) Klipsch has. I loved it. The sound enveloped me because as stated, it would reflect off the back wall. My rear couch was up against the back wall like yours is and I placed the surrounds on the side walls slightly in front of the couch. A lot of guys in the forums prefer direct speakers in the rear as opposed to using WDST speakers on the side but this is merely a preference. If you want the sound to "surround" you, I would go with the WDST. If you want to be able to specifically hear each particular rear speaker, then direct is the way to go.

[oldbuckster]

5.1 is plenty ............. if you are not 125% into Home Theatre skip 7.1 ............. Get some Heritage, or Forte/ Chorus series, you won't be sorry, take another step up the ladder ....................... until the voices start again !!!!!!!!!

[nezff]

I think he feels like I do everyday: