klipsch rs-35's or rb-35's for surrounds? (1 Viewer)

[BradleyS.]

I have heard that lots of people use bookshelves as there surrounds, but I dont know if this would be better than running actual surround speakers? Are there any pros/cons about either set-up? I can setup the rs-35's even with seating position so they can use the wide dispersion feature.

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

Dipole surrounds were made popular in the days of Dolby Pro Logic when there was very minimal surround information which was mainly ambience (birds, rain, crowds, etc) and not for directional sounds (voices, bullets, explosions). The dipole helps abience sounds sound more dispersed and works well for Dolby Pro Logic which were only encoded with ambience sounds in the back. For newer discrete formats (Dolby digital, DTS) you have alot of information in the surrounds which are meant to be very directional. Dipoles can still reproduce these sounds but their dispersion characteristics can make the sounds be smeared across the back sound stage and lose their intended direction. Bookshelfs can work well to keep the directionality of sounds meant to be directional. A good set of bookshelfs can also reproduce ambience very well assuming they have good wide sound-staging (The RB35s do). Also, high-resolution music formats (DVD-A and SACD) also benefit greatly from direct radiating (bookshelf) surrounds.

If you're in a position to mount your surrounds on stands behind or beside your seating position then I would go with the RB35s. The best position would be on stands a few feet behind your seating position pointing inwards but toed in about 30 degrees. This positioning helps keep directional sounds on point while also aiding in the dispersion of ambience sounds. If you have to wall mount then the RS35s are the only real choice since the RB35s have a rear port. Either way I'm sure you'll be happy.

 

[BradleyS.]

I'm most likely going to have to do a wall mount, but I could also mount bookshelves in a corner with a little breathing room for them. How much space do they need in the back to sound decent?

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

They really need atleast a foot or two to "breathe". If too close to the wall then airflow will be restricted and cause compression which can cause port noise and effectively change the tune of the speaker, causing it to sound much different than it was designed for. Have you thought about stand mounting them away from the wall beside the listening position?

 

[MarkMac]

Check that on the ports. The newer x5 reference series bookshelves have their ports in front which mitigates the need to mount them away from the wall. http://www.klipsch.com/product/product.aspx?cid=659

The older RB3 and RB5s had their ports in the rear.

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

Looks like I was wrong about the port on the RB35s, I was going on my knowledge of a friend's RB3s which are indeed rear ported. Since the RB35s are front ported you could most definitely be able to wall mount them with success.

 

[Bolivar G]

I got Klipsch speakers myself. I got the RB-75's as my mains and the RC-35 Center channel. I was planning to get the RS-35's in the future for surrounds. But after reading this thread I may consider the RB-35's instead if I can wall mount them. I'm interested in hearing what you end up doing.

 

[BradleyS.]

I'm really leading towards getting the bookshelves, They will be easier to mount and angle towards my seating position. Using stands is not an option because speaker wire must not be exposed.

 

[steve nn]

I have been using the RB-35s for my surrounds wall mounted for the past year or so. Their also pretty heavy so care needs to be taken when mounting.

 

[Bolivar G]

Steve nn what are you using to mount the RB-35 on the wall??

 

[steve nn]

Steve nn what are you using to mount the RB-35 on the wall??
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L shaped brackets bought at Home-Depot that come with plastic covers. They generally are used for shelving but found them to work just fine for my application. The speaker sits on top of a pair. I also painted them the same color as our wall.

 

[BradleyS.]

would a moly bolt do an efficient job for mounting? I have these two beams that are about 4 inches think running across my room that i will mount them on.

 

[steve nn]

Yes that would work fine. The speaker is set-up for such and it's a very stout fitting.