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Pro cinema speakers in a HT?


kenratboy

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I know this has been discussed over and over again, some say it will sound terrible, while I see some 6 digit HT systems with pro cinema gear in them.

For example, three KPT-335's for the screen channels, four+ KTP-8001's for rears, and a pair of KPT-884's for the subwoofer (which looks like it could get close to 20 Hz. in room). Assume you had a larger room (12' ceilings, 18' wide, 25' long) so everything had some room to breath, would it work well?

This is obviously not the most practical solution (three Cornwall's would probably be better as mains, for example), but there is something intriguing about using actual cinema speakers for a dedicated HT rig.

I saw some pictures here of a pro Klipsch HT system, and I saw another set years ago with JBL Pro stuff used in a very small HT system.

Thanks!

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5400 FT^3...bit on the small side for a Pro Cinema system. It would work but be prepared to do acoustic treatment or fuggedaboudit.

Remember, Pro Cinema is designed to fill a large space with a lot of sound very evenly. It can work very well and god knows you get dynamics for days, but it takes more work tweaking things like the horn alignments. Last two systems I did using pro cinema products (one was JBL, the other was a used Klipsch system) sounded FABULOUS...but we spent a lot a lot a LOT of time EQing things and tweaking the acoustics. It is harder to achieve really coherent sound VS. putting in an Ultra 2 package. Sub wise, that is the only area I've stuck to dedicated large home cinema designs. I had some designed specifically for screen wall use that give you an absolutely enormous amount of output, but also extend down to the 12hz range.

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My neighbor is doing that with 3- 535's

4 - 120 thx 120 subs with 2 of the KA 1000 amps.

Ok here he sidesteps some...for asthetic reasons...

6 in wall ultra 2 surrounds... (It will still rock IMO)

It has not been fired up yet...(very close to do so..) I can't wait to hear it all.

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Hi Mr. Kenratboy,

Pro cinema speakers, properly configured, will provide an absolutely stunning HT experience in your room. Please note that my room is 18 x 26 x 8, about the same size as yours, with lower ceiling.

I will start backward from your sample system list.

The KPT-884 is incredible. You do not need two. One will be far more than adequate. Period.

4 KPT-8001's for surrounds. Absolutley, YES! The Ki-102's I am using use the same drivers as the 8001's with a different cabinet shape. The 8001's also have the THX EQ curve for surrounds.

As to the front, the real winner in the Klipsch Pro Cinema line is Roy's 402 horn. The 402 works very well in rooms our size because it controls frequency dispersion at the lower range of the HF horn better than smaller horns. While your KPT-335's may work well, I believe a better combo would be a Jubilee 2-way with the K69/402 on top of the Klipschorn Jubilee bass cabinet. The next best, imho, would be the K69/402 on top of a LaScala bass cabinet. With three 2-way JubScala's across the front, the sound stage will be awesome. The bottom end will be handled nicely by the 884.

While the THX Ultra system is quite good, a system with 402's in the front is going to be even better.

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Thanks, Roger. The pic is the background on my laptop. When I travel and see the pic, it gives a comforting sense of home and reminds me of the extraordinary energy delivered by the Jubilees.

My original thought was to "finish" the Jubs with grill cloth and veneer and a Khorn type "top hat" like the pic I posted some time ago, or to cover them with a wall of grill cloth. Then we decided to design the room around the more "industrial" art deco-ish look of the black Jub and make them the feature in the room. When the lights are out and the movie playing, you can't even see them, but when we turn on the lights, folks are most impressed.

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 5400 FT^3...bit on the small side for a Pro Cinema system. It would work but be prepared to do acoustic treatment or fuggedaboudit. 

Remember, Pro Cinema is designed to fill a large space with a lot of sound very evenly. It can work very well and god knows you get dynamics for days, but it takes more work tweaking things like the horn alignments. Last two systems I did using pro cinema products (one was JBL, the other was a used Klipsch system) sounded FABULOUS...but we spent a lot a lot a LOT of time EQing things and tweaking the acoustics. It is harder to achieve really coherent sound VS. putting in an Ultra 2 package. Sub wise, that is the only area I've stuck to dedicated large home cinema designs. I had some designed specifically for screen wall use that give you an absolutely enormous amount of output, but also extend down to the 12hz range.

Apart from the EQ (which is really a part of the horn's design and is a part of passive xovers in home audio), how are the design goals for a professional cinema any different than a home cinema? Sure, the volume of the room is way smaller, but the coverage angles are identical. The only thing the size of the room affects is the room gain at the lower registers and then the behavior of the room's natural reverb...both of which don't really affect the design of the speaker. Granted, the cinema system needs to be capable of more output, but that only affects the choice of driver and not so much the horn. Though the distortion levels only get lower as one reduces the volume levels...so if it's acceptable for the theater then its going to be that much better in the home.

For what it's worth, this is usually not the case for PA systems. That's a totally different ball game.

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Remember, I didn't say it wouldn't work...just that it may take more work. The coverage angles aren't any different...but the commercial products are so powerful and put out so much energy over such a huge bandwidth they can induce stronger room acoustic effects which may not be an issue with a small home theater system. The same thing can happen with really potent home oriented systems too (back wall reflections being a biggie). Acoustic design of the room is going to be important (which it really should be anyways...but don't assume everybody does it). Last few systems I did with BIG setups needed more work before they were totally seamless (vs say, a THX Ultra 2 system which is relatively easy to get to sound good).

Don't take me wrong. I LOVE the commercial systems, I have plans to do the first Jubilee demo theater in the country (world???). But just realize a lot of people may not take the sheer scale of some of the products into account, nor and the setup required for them. They are wonderful, but don't go in blind.

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