HT Upgrade from Klipsch? (1 Viewer)

[KYHTGUY]

I'm building a new home and will have a dedicated home theater. Room is going to be 14'X25'X8'. I currently have an open area in my basment and am overall pretty happy with the HT sound. Here's what I have:

Denon 2807 Receiver
Klipsch RC-3 for center
Klipsch RF-3 for fronts
Klipsch SB-1 for surrounds
SVS PB-12 Plus subwoofer

There is a small possiblility that I could get a pretty solid bonus right before the home is completed. If that happens, I'll be able to upgrade the speaker sets. My question is, since this is a "decent" HT Speaker set now, how much more will I need to spend on speakers to get a noticeable difference? I would definately keep the SVS sub and the Denon (I just got them 6 months ago). I don't want to spend any money unless it's going to make a pretty significant difference. Certainly, I'll go listen to various systems between now and then, just thought you all might have some insights for me. Thanks!

 

[Brian Johnson]

Not much help other than to mention we have almost identical (speaker) setups : )

Same Front,Center, & Surrounds (as soon as I get the SB's shipped from a fellow HTF'er that was selling ($92 shipped....Sweet))
SVS 25-31 CS Sub
Denon 1603

How do you like the SBs for the surrounds....?
They are replacing my quintets so it 'should' be better than what I had.

Personally. I will never upgrade. I picked what I have (years ago) because nothing matched the sound I got from that Klipsch front 3 setup.... (and the Denon)
I'm sure I may find something 'newer' that can compare (or sound better) but why bother? : )

 

[KYHTGUY]

I admit that I really like the sound that I'm getting now from this set-up and cannot wait until the new home is done and they are working in a more acoustically sound environment! I made the original post just to get an idea if the next step up was more "steps" than I might be willing to take. I bought all the Klipsch speakers 4 years ago off the internet and spent less than $1,000 then. I originally had a 10 inch Klipsch sub but upgraded this year to the SVS. WOW!! What a difference that made. I just thought that if the sub upgrade made as big a difference that it did, maybe an entire speaker upgrade might be in order. Just curious what an "upgrade" meant.

I'm going to stay with the current setup through the new home completion and hear them at work in the new environment then decide.

Good luck with your new surrounds - I'm sure you're going to enjoy them!

 

[MatrixDweller]

The only thing I'd consider upgrading would be the surrounds. The SB1 is nice but lacks the sensitivity of the reference line. A pair of RB-61's or RS-52 would be nice although the best would be a pair of either RS-3 II's or RB-3's (perfect match). They are discontinued but you might be able to grab a pair off Ebay.

You could also consider 7.1 surround and move the SB1's the the rear and get another pair of what I mentioned above.

Another option would be to get a second sub if you love bass. Or put the money into bass shakers and/or better furniture.

If you really have the upgrade bug, you probably wouldn't see much of a difference with an RF82 setup, but above that with a RF63 or RF83 you'd be in a different league. You would be paying big bucks though. The RF3 system you have is pretty good IMHO.

 

[SherardP]

Keep the current setup you have and dump the funds into a front projection system. My new room is right on the same size you will have (14x23x8.5)My screen will be Carada Criterion 126" diagonal screen paired with JVC DLA HD1. I will use everything else I currently have now which includes Polk Audio RTi12s, CSi5, Rti4, FXi3, Sony 7100ES, Outlaw M2200x7, Signal Cable Interconnects and Power Cords, Monster 7000MKII, Tosh Xa2, Sony BDP s1, Marantz CC4001, Velo SMS-1 and dual SVS Pb12 +2s. If you dont have hi def players dump the funds there as well. But if youre not into front pj yet, this is definitely the time to be so all cables can be ran during the building process. And you want to add another sub, that would be nice.

 

[MatrixDweller]

Did you run conduit or in-wall cable in the new house for your home theater? It's a lot easier before the walls are up.

 

[KYHTGUY]

Sorry for the delay - haven't been checking in much lately.

Just started the home construction and yes - we'll be running conduit. I clearly understand how important it's going to be to have flexibility for future wiring changes/enhancements!

I appreciate the responses! I do believe I'm going to get a projector/screen combination. While I love my 58 inch Panasonic Plasma screen - I just can't stand not having the 105 inch screen to watch when that's kind of the whole idea of having a separate room for a theater! I'll probably follow the advice to put the SB1 in the back and get better surrounds to complete the 7.1 setup and would REALLY like to stretch to get another SVS Sub.

I innately knew that my current system would be just fine and that to get to the next level will take big money. I'm not ready to spend it today, but kid gets out of college next year and that's $10K per year back in my pocket! I'm going to stay patient, invest in a solid projector and screen and upgrade audio components in a couple of years.

Thanks again for your answers!