help picking right speakers? (1 Viewer)

[BradleyS.]

I am looking at building my first hometheater and pretty muchly know what I want, but need some help finalizing the deal. I really like the sound of the klipsch rf-3II's and was gonna match it with a yamaha rxv-1300 reciever. The room is very large( about 800 square feet), but the actual viewing are will be about 350 Sq. ft. It also has hardwood floors. I'm sitting 12 feet from the tv and the surrounds will be about 8 feet behind the seating. Do you think the rf-3's will handle this area very well? I don't have the budget to go to rf-7's right now.

 

[BradleyS.]

up^

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

Yamaha/Klipsch would be a VERY BRIGHT combination, especially with hardwood floors. If you like the Klipsch speaker sound, you may want to consider HK or Denon to tame a bit of the brightness that is inherent in the Klipsch design.

The RF3s are great speakers. The RF7s are a step up in sound, but also in price. The RF5s i found to sound nearly exactly the same as the RF3s, with only slightly more bass extension, which made me think they were there to fill a price point more than anything (disappointing). A good friend of mine has a setup consisting of RF3 mains, RB3 surrounds, and a RC3 center and they sound great, although a little bright for my tastes. They also have no problem filling his large (875 ft^2) room. His seating distance and surround distance are also very similar to yours.

What are you planning on getting for surrounds? The RB3s would be my suggestion. I don't care much for dipole/bipoles. Also, what kind of sub?

 

[BradleyS.]

I was going to go with klipsch surrounds center and mains.I am looking at an svs pb-1, or maybe a klipsch rsw-12.

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

The SVS would be leaps and bounds better than the Klipsch sub, no comparrison at all. As for the surrounds, bookshelves will save you some money and give you a more directional surround experience. Dipole/bipole surrounds cost more (more drivers, more complex cabinets) and give a more diffuse sound. I prefer monopoles (bookshelves) as surrounds, but your prefferences may vary. Comparisson is definitely in order.

 

[BrianAe]

I agree with Stephen on the sub. The Klipsch is mediocre. Go with SVS, Aperion Audion, or HSU. Also be sure to pay attention to your room. You probably want to get some plush furniture and throw down a big rug. Good luck.

 

[BradleyS.]

yeah we're getting a couple Karastan rugs. We also have 13 foot ceilings so I need all the power I can get. Will the yamaha klipsch setup possibly make my system sound better in that large of a room? When you say "Bright" do you mean boomy?

 

[Ian-Fl]

"bright" means very up front sound. It's not shrill but approaching it. The opposite sound is "warm" where you're getting a laid back sound. People who listen to music prefer a warm sound. Most people can't listen to a bright sound for long it becomes too overwelming. Marantz, Denon, and Harman Kardon are known for their warm sound so it's important to match equipment.
Solutions can be found if you want to go with the Yamaha/Klipch combo by adding soft materials and accoustic treatments to cut the reverb, but that's expensive.
A good measure of how powerful a receiver is by weight. The heavier the receiver the better the power supply is. What you don't want is a light receiver where you end up pushing the volume and getting distortion.
I have a H/K avr125 receiver in a 400 square foot room and it's perrrrfect.That receiver weighs 27lbs.

 

[BradleyS.]

I think a Yamaha would be good for me because I like the boomier and harsher sound. So do you really think the klipsch rf-3 speakers will do fine for my room? Which svs would you recommend? I want a box, I cant handle the looks of a cylinder.

 

[Mike_Gr]

Personally, I wouldn't recommend that anybody purchase a system to 'match a room'. If your room presents acoustic challenges (hardwood floors, etc.) it will do so equally to any system you place in the environment. For example, if a given room has a notorious echo....I don't care what speaker/receiver combo you purchase....the echo will still be there.

The first thing you should do is find the speakers that sound best to you and make your purchase. I am not much of a Yammy fan, nor would I pair a Yammy with Klipsch. But that is just me. If you like the Yammy, go for it and don't look back.

Purchase your sytem and set it up. Once you have accomplished this, you can begin to work on taming your more than likely 'lively' room through acoustic treatment, the addition of rugs/carpet/furniture, etc. Experiment with placement as well. Eventually, you will potentiate your room and find the ideal setup...it just takes time and patience.