Room too small for K-Horns?

[Brac]

I gotta agree with all the praise, I run Forte II's in my living room system. One of Klipsch best speakers IMO. Of course I am using a spare Hersey for a center and no rears, so depending on what's on the sat feed, I switch betwen stereo and surround, I do what I want in the theater so I let the wife make the rules in the living room. She wants thr heresy to go away, so I will either just go stereo of look for something else. Just a tough choice since Academy's sell for so much. I wish I could find a really ugly one that worked, foe cheap of course.

[Bill Cain]

My living room has corners 23' and 12' 6" apart with a ceiling height of 7' 8".

Although I currently have DQ-10's at the short end, I am considering K-horns in the future.

Any thoughts would be appreciated as to placement and room suitability.

[Mallette]

While I agree with PWK on long wall placement, you are going to have to place on the short wall as your sweet spot will be beyond the 12' you have available unless you build false corners and toe in.

Dave

[LarryC]

My living room has corners 23' and 12' 6" apart with a ceiling height of 7' 8".

Any thoughts would be appreciated as to placement and room suitability.

Your room is even more oblong than my 18' X 11'. I have to put my K-horns along the short wall because the other end of the room has no workable corners. I would try the long wall if I could, but don't think I'd like the result -- I had to do the long wall in a NYC apartment, and I never felt the pair pulled together into a front or wall of sound.

Having mine only 11' apart has not been a huge problem for me, because I only have hearing in one ear, and the K-horn pretty much sounds the same no matter where you are in the room. My "monaural" hearing keeps me from hearing sound stages or clear left-right differences. On the other hand, I can immediately tell how much 3-dimensionality there is to the reproduction, i.e., whether the sound in the room is flat and two-dimensional (caused by some electronics, CD players) or blossoms out nicely, so it works for me.

Visitors looking for a "sweet spot" (a concept I don't hear) are frustrated, however. They sometimes adjust the LR furniture around to get to it, and sit closer to the speakers than I think is completely comfortable or lets them blend fully.

You may have to try a center channel in a long-wall setup.

[Bill Cain]

You may have to try a center channel in a long-wall setup.

That had occurred to me. I almost immediately discarded the idea. And forgot it until your suggestion.

But a summed-mono Heresy "might" do the trick. That layout would also work well with my 46" Aquos. I have it on a rolling stainless cart and can move it between the master bedroom and the livingroom. That gives me great flexibility. The livingroom can either be used as a party room for sporting events or a TV-less conversation / music room.

I would most likely opt for the long wall. It has an 8' picture window. The short wall has a stone fireplace. It's nice, but I like the window better. lol

Thanks. [Y]

[Mallette]

Center channel will probably not help your imaging on that long wall unless it is amplified at least 3db. The reason I commented was that I had a similar situation (25'X14') in a previous home and the best imaging I could get was sitting on the backrest of the sofa with my head flat against the wall. I needed about another 2 feet in width to be in the "sweet spot." I added a Cornwall center using a passive (Hafler) sum and I could not hear it. Finally used an active (PLII) circuit and that was better...though the imaging was never really great.

Of course, every room is different and you might get lucky.

Dave

[LarryC]

I would most likely opt for the long wall. It has an 8' picture window.

Hmm ... Is it double-glazed (I assume so in PA), and Argon I hope? Glass can vent an enormous amount of bass to the outside as well as increase treble reflectivity.

I recently replaced an old full-light glass-pane door (window from near the top to the bottom), that sat just behind one of my K-horns, with a half-light (half window) door, and got an unexpected bass increase. While the new door has air in its insulated glass, I understand that Argon is heavier and better for both acoustic and thermal insulation.

[Mallette]

>...I understand that Argon is heavier and better for both acoustic and thermal insulation.

Crikey...I thought I'd heard it all! How would one A/B this?[]

Dave

[LarryC]

A good LT auditory memory?[] I saw this when looking into replacement doors recently: http://www.southwestsunrooms.com/homepage/glassoptions.html

"Advancements in window technology over the past few years has created a new generation of windows with far more insulation than previously available. Now windows can be filled with argon gas rather than air. Argon gas is over 5 times heavier than air, and its presence inside the glass unit enhances the insulation factor of the window. A side benefit of the argon gas is its ability to dampen sound transmission through the glass unit by a considerable amount."

[garyrc]

My center channel needs to be adjusted up and down depending on the nature of the CD being played. Average: - 3 dB, range: - 8 dB to 0 (equal midrange output -- in the room -- of ny Belle to my flanking Klipschorns). Some of the Experiments in the Klipsch Audio Papers (don't remember author -- it wasn't Paul) have the center channel at a lower level than the sides.

[Bill Cain]

Some of the Experiments in the Klipsch Audio Papers (don't remember author -- it wasn't Paul) have the center channel at a lower level than the sides.

That seems intuitive.

[JJkizak]

The imaging in my living room is not very good so I flipped on the old CBS test record glide tones and holy crap, tones moving all over the place. (supposed to stay in the same place) Rather than re-design the room (Starfleet Command says no) added the sub (Cornwall center already there) which helped even out the bass a bunch. Then set the Denon to PLC II and that really helped tons. Added 5.1 small side speakers and that really helped. A small room probably you want to keep the SPL down some.

JJK

[psg]

My living room has corners 23' and 12' 6" apart with a ceiling height of 7' 8".

Although I currently have DQ-10's at the short end, I am considering K-horns in the future.

Any thoughts would be appreciated as to placement and room suitability.

Half of 23 feet is 11'6'', so the sweet spot is only one foot in front of the back wall.

Still, I once had had my Klipschorns in a long room (30 feet) about 11 to 12 feet deep. I used one hard corner and placed the second speaker 18 feet away along the wall, using the back of a cabinet as a false corner. The imaging was stunning in that room.

So... I'd try the long wall, and if it doesn't image for you, slide one of them in until it does.