[Todd Iglehart]

Hi all, I am a novice when in comes to home theater but I took the plunge and bought some speaker after talking to friends, reading thids forum , reading reviews, listeneng to people from store and most important listening to the speakers. My question is what receiver matched best with the speakers I just bought


Klipsch SB-1, SC-1, SS-1 and KSW-12.

Todd

[Steve Owen]

Klipsch tend to be somewhat "forward" because of the horn-loaded tweeter (I have a pair of Klipsch KG4 that are about 12 years old for my main fronts). I would avoid receivers that might be considered "bright". Yamaha is the brand that most people think of as a poor choice to mate up with Klipsch. I've also heard Onkyo tends toward bright as well.

Marantz is probably known as being "warm" which tends to be a good match for Klipsch. Denon as well. Maybe Harmon-Kardon.

I'm sure others will chime in...

-Steve

[Todd Iglehart]

What do you mean by bright? Lots of highs? Does that mean you hear the highe frequencies louder? If so this is what I like but I don't know if the speaker as well as that rec would be too much.

[Shane Martin]

Bright(to me) usually means the highs are overexaggerated. Usually that ends up causing ear fatigue(ears ringing), headaches and other things. Generally the high frequencies are causing extra sss's in the sound or what people might call sibilance.

Loud and ear fatiguing are not mutual. I know several speakers/amp setups that can play loud yet never be fatiguing to my ears.

To ME: Amp and speaker matching are like baking a cake. Some might prefer the way it tastes, some don't. Just have to find the right ingredients to make the taste contour to your tastes. Are the differences drastic? Not really but its all about flavor

As far as what I'd personally recommend. 2 of my friends own Klipsch's. 1 uses Sony's DB series(which is now the 1es or 2es) and the other uses Denon. I've heard the Denon Klipsch setup several times and its not as fatiguing as it was before he swapped receivers from his former Sony 50es.

So my suggestion is to listen to the following recievers:

Marantz
Denon
NAD
Rotel
HK

Marantz and Denon are very similar and have lots of features(you may not use). NAD has very few frills but all the basics and a killer amp. Rotel is a higher priced option but offers all of the above of the Marantz/Denon/NAD choices. H/K has a decent feature list + what I'd call a warm sound. They run 500+.

If I was going a receiver again I'd go NAD because its rock solid and amazing sound. I think they list about $800-$1k. If you can't spend that much, I'd either save up more $$ or go with a Denon 2803/02 or the Marantz.

[Darrel McBane]

I would echo the opinions given here.

I had a pair of Klipsch Forte' for many years that I powered with a Carver 2000 receiver. When I changed that out (although I still have the Carver boxed up in my closet....somethings are hard to let go)to go to a 5 channel setup. I bought a Sony 30ES 5 channel receiver. Added your center speaker and used the 3.1 for rear speakers and the KSW-12 sub. I found the Sony a bit bright. Movies weren't as big a problem as music. I only kept the Sony for about 5 months. Nice receiver but, not as neutral as the Carver for music.

I would go with Shane's list as well.

And I think that in time you may find the the KSW-12 sub has some limits also. Not a terrible sub. But, not very good for music for my taste. A bit boomy. Which is OK for movies. But, I found it very hard for it to disappear when listening to music. You may try placing a piece of concrete slab under the sub. I found that helped some. I went to Loewe's garden shop and found a piece of tile. Just a thought.

[EarleD]

I recommend Rotel. I use a Rotel 1055 with Klipsch KG series speakers and think the combo is the perfect match. Sound is detailed but not fatiging, even after long listening sessions.


Earle

[Michael R Price]

The best receiver is no receiver. There is a reason why a lot of people think Klipsch speakers are harsh. However, the Synergy series still require a decent amount of power. I'd look for a used separate amplifier like a NAD 340 or something, with 20-50 watts. They'll work fine with a decent receiver, though.