For Tower Owners: Anybody else using towers for rear surrounds? (1 Viewer)

[Paul Clarke]

I am a big fan of multi-channel stereo so having 4 full range speaks whose sound I love is a real treat. I would have 6 (1 a side for the center) but my Emerald 97's aren't shielded. I still use a sub and on different input/surround modes set the towers as Small (especially for HT). Just not on 5 channel Stereo. Anybody else using a similar approach?

 

[Mike Strassburg]

I do lots of listening in 7 channel stereo and really like it. My set-up is Klipsch Legend towers all the way around including a KLF-10 CC that I made. I also have 2 more towers for the back center, but don't have room for them.
YES, it gets crazy loud when I crank it up

 

[PeterV]

Hi Paul,

Would you have the rear surround towers the same height

as your front speakers or are you placing them up higher?

I had thought about using towers for the rear surrounds but think my room size is to small. What is your room size?

The idea of using a 97 tower on its side for the CC

crossed my mind but knowing that its not shielded

I went ahead and just ordered the Emerald center. Should get it in a couple days.

Sounds like you're thinking of making a purchase!!

Best regards,

PeterV

 

[Paul Clarke]

Hey Mike,
What are you using to power all that Klipsch sound?
Hello Peter,
Yes, I will keep the rear 97's on the floor and will not elevate them as I feel it is unnecessary with the High tweeter and mid-range. Some kind of platform could be useful but I don't know about the effect on stereo. The 97's woofers are not really needed for HT but it will be fun to sort out any location/node quirks should I ever run them Large for Movies (I really don't anticipate doing so for HT).
The current room dimensions are 11W x 17L x8H...pretty standard for a small to mid-size room. The problem is the furniture and room opening layout does not allow for clean installation. I could make it work here...but we are shooting to move by next Spring so the new 97 set (yes, I did make a purchase) will probably have to get stored. I couldn't resist...those tricky Ubid devils are sneaking a few Walnut 97's into the speaker list without any warning and completely out of the previous night's sequence. Lucky for me I happened upon them as Walnut is hard to come by and that was my first set of 97's finish. And I got these for less to boot.
Good Luck with the Emerald center.

 

[EarleD]

Im using Klipsch KG4.2 as my surrounds with KSB3.1's as my rears. Sounds great with SACD and the Outlaw ICBM to handle the bass management.

Earle

 

[Geoff L]

Hi Paul
I noticed today, early Sunday, a pair of 97's in Walnut closing for bids! They did't say if their the II, or IV in their add. The driscription said their the 8 ohm version so one would assume the 2's or 3's with the less extension.
Did you get the 6ohm version like your first set and if so ~{was Ubids discription showing the 8ohm version}~?
Also have you checked into some bucking magnets yet?
Must be nice to have that extra extension for 2 channel. It appears as though you did better than I, with both price and bass extension. You really got to quit stealing.
By the way, I could store those for you yah know!
Geoff

 

[Mike Strassburg]

Paul,
I'm using a 3802, plenty of power for the Klipsch's. I'm more impressed EVERY time I listen

 

[Will Gatlin Jr]

I use NHT VT-2's for my front/rear spks. My side spks are NHT Super 2 towers. I have them on custom made (piano blk) solid boxes to match the height of the VT-2's.

 

[Paul Clarke]

Mike, Earl, Will,
Thanks for the replies. Mike, I hear the 3802 is a truly sweet receiver. Good to know you have the juice to run all of that. Both you and Earl have sensitive speakers which helps a great deal, I'm sure. Will, what is the sensitivity of the NHT's you're running?
Geoff,
Hey, bud. How's the weather? Can you say WET?
When I bought my first set of 97's the Auction page had the same exact description. It never seems to change. I didn't even know at the time about the Model IV's until they arrived. Ubid info is pretty much canned so where model changes might have occurred I wouldn't rely on them for updated pages.
I may get II's or III's (which I've never seen) or IV's again. If II's, they will be better off as surrounds anyway as they don't have quite the extension of the IV's as you said. For anyone out there who might be interested, the differences are:
II's---Response:40Hz-20kHz
Sensitivity:89dB
Impedance:8 Ohms
Tweeter:25mm Silk dome w/mild conical horn loading
Mid:170mm Mineral loaded plasticized homopolymer
Woofer:170mm " " "
Power:125W
IV's---Response:30Hz-20kHz
Sensitivity:88dB
Impedance:6 Ohms
Tweeter:25mm Silk dome / no horn mount
Mid:Same as II
Woofer:Same as II
Power:Same as II
There have also been slight revisions in appearance: the new grills go lower to right above the design 'swoosh' and have 2 bottom side tabs instead of 1 central. Also the bottom plinth is slightly redesigned but still comes w/damper pad and spikes.
It would be interesting to actually get Model II's so I could compare them to the IV's. It's difficult to imagine the effect of the horn loaded tweeter being that much more dramatic than the IV but I'm open to possibilities.
Haven't done anything about the shielding issue yet but I will look into what you said in your e-mails.
And many thanks for the offer but I think I will self-store

 

[Will Gatlin Jr]

Paul...

The VT-2's have a sens rateing of 88db (6 ohm). I run them in a passive bi-amped set-up (225 watts highs/mids...250 watts for the lows). The Super 2's clock in at 87db (8 ohm) with a 150 watt amp.

 

[Paul Clarke]

Wow, guys,

Klipsch's, NHT's all around... in the corners...nice speak's...nice setups. It's good to know other folks enjoy running that many quality towers.

Personally, coming from a love affair with 2 channel perspective, I just enjoy the flexiblity and the sound that comes with full range speakers. Running 'Small' for HT makes perfect sense even though I did run 'Large' before owning any subwoofer. When doing so I found the response and effect to be more than adequate for HT but certainly nothing like with a good sub. Of course, those speakers had 12" woofers rated to 35Hz with decent perfomance so I could afford to run subless for awhile.

Are any of you guys still running subless with your towers? If so, are you getting satisfactory HT dynamics?

 

[Al B. C]

Klipsch Cornwalls in the front & Polk RT1000's bringing up the rear.

 

[Will Gatlin Jr]

With my NHT's, I use two Velodyne subs, one in the front and one in the rear. I run all my spks as large (40hz and below) with the centre small at 120hz. I love an even balance of bass (spks) and LF (.1).

 

[Paul Clarke]

Geoff, et al,

The new 97's just came this morning. They are Model IV's and the wood grain is even prettier than the first set. I undid half of the bi-wiring on the existing set and replaced the straps so I could stack them one atop the other and wire them up to test. I now have two 6'2" L-R Towers of gorgeous sound...incredible.

Question: I am running all four just for tonight before I pack a set away. I know I could just wire the new set to the rear surround connectors which is my ultimate intention but for convenience I am using only the original L-R Main speaker connections (the H/K 510 has only 1 set) which previously were bi-wired for two and now are being used to power all four speakers using the straps...What is the load on the receiver with four 6 Ohm speaks from 1 set of L-R connectors using only Stereo? The 510 is nominally 120Wx2 at 6 Ohms, 90Wx5 at 6 Ohms. I am not running anything near reference levels.

5/22/02---never mind guys...got the answer from another thread.

 

[Samuel Des]

SuperTwos all around, save for the SuperCenter, which I am thinking of replacing. It seems sibiliant. ssss.

 

[Geoff L]

Excellent Paul, glad to here Ubid did their job!
The load the reciever will see is 3-ohms average on each the R & L main channel.
Two 6-ohm speakers tied (+ to +) and (- to -), off one channel, the receiver sees 3-ohms.
Wires 2, 6-ohm speakers in series and the recievers channel will see 12-ohms.
I would think with you Only Driving the 2 main channels, it should be no problem at all for the H/K. Just keep an eye on the heat situation if you get the itch to get with it.
========>
So from what you posted I assume your saying the Walnut color is very close and the (wood grain) and (finish) is even nicer than the first????
========>
~{4-97's}~, You lucky dog!

 

[Paul Clarke]

Well I may be lucky...I'd rather be smart but you know, you just can't get everything you want from this life...so I'll take lucky
The first Walnut pair had the straight grain with the highlight color and the large swirls were muted.
This pair is just the opposite...more dramatic. And these grills are even tighter fitting. I am livin' large
For the record:
1st pair $129 apiece plus $70 S/H
2nd pair $119 " " " "
Total $636 with shipping...about 1/4 MSRP. Why? Because the Chinese are now doing a lot of the manufacturing for Wharfedale...and the Emerald is a quasi-discontinued product.
This is the closest thing to legalized theft I've ever come across. (Well, next to Ubid S/H.) Speaker sound is a matter of individual taste but I just don't know what more you could want for the money.

 

[Geoff L]

So Paul, what this in the tone control thread with you useing an (EQed mild curve - CD analog) in the midrange!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Do you have some room problems, allot of carpet, wall coverings, furniture, ect, in the way.
Room midrange suck out?
Normally I have an EQ or Parimeteric-EQ in line on all channels. But in the bedroom with the Wharfs, (even though I have 2 extra eq's laying around), I found no need to use them. So im curious if it's just your ear or room problems. The mids are just sweet with the 95's and surly as good or better with the dedicated mid driver in the 97's.
So whats up, talk to me boy!
Geoff

 

[Paul Clarke]

Geoff,
Naw, no problems...Just my ears. I've always liked a very slight boost to the treble. Not bright, mind, just a tick more prominent. The 510 is so solid in the bass dept...with these speak's and the sub it can get quite jumpy in the good way .
I packed away the old set :frowning: so I can give the new boys some breathing room. I've decided to store them in the stairwell closet. Man, I can't wait to move.