Which Klipsch Center channel?

[Taymaz_H]

Hello guys,

I’m looking to upgrade my Center channel. I’ve found these deals online.
R-25C for $140 (mint condition)
RP-250C for $200 (mind condition)
RC-62ii $200 (claimed to be new & sealed in box)

My front channels are JBL L5 for now, and I know I should not mix and match but as a student this is what I could get so far. My system is 5.1.2 and I have all 8 speakers, I need to upgrade my center.

I would be happy to have your opinion on these 3 Klipsch center channel.
Which one worth buying at this time and price?

 

[j_garcia]

Your front stage should be from the same line of speakers, so in your case I'd be looking for something that more closely aligned with the sonic signature / timbre of the L5. I am going to say that Klipsch will not be the best match.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

I agree with J. I would look for a jbl L series BS or something similar. Maybe the L1 bookshelf. Jbl used titanium tweeters but they're not all the same. Still, I would bet any jbl would sound closer to the L's.

 

[Bucknekked]

Hello guys,

I’m looking to upgrade my Center channel. I’ve found these deals online.
R-25C for $140 (mint condition)
RP-250C for $200 (mind condition)
RC-62ii $200 (claimed to be new & sealed in box)

My front channels are JBL L5 for now, and I know I should not mix and match but as a student this is what I could get so far. My system is 5.1.2 and I have all 8 speakers, I need to upgrade my center.

I would be happy to have your opinion on these 3 Klipsch center channel.
Which one worth buying at this time and price?

I have a Klipsch R25C that I've used as a center when I had a 5.1 setup.
It was all Klipsch and the center matched up with the L and R speakers in terms of family and size.
I agree with the other posters: its best if your center is a match with its left and right brethren.

My R25C is now on the bench in retirement. Its tough to put it back in service without matching up.

 

[zieglj01]

On sale JBL Studio 235 center -- $249 with free shipping
http://www.jbl.com/loudspeakers/STUDIO+235C.html?dwvar_STUDIO 235C_color=Black#start=1

 

[Marcus8699]

I was reading this to gauge the thoughts on Klipsch as center channel speakers. I also noticed however multiple people stating that you should stick with the same brand with left and right speakers. This brought me to a question about what I am planning in the near future.

I am having a guy from Best Buy come out and look at my current setup but he has recommended me go with in-ceiling speakers and has recommended speakercraft Aim7 Two speakers for my surround speakers, 4 to be exact. If I end up going this route would I need to match my front left, right and center speakers with speakercraft or could I go with something like klipsch or jbl or other?

Thanks for your help!

 

[j_garcia]

You can get away with semi-mismatched surrounds, however the front 3 should match as well as possible to each other. It tends to be a bit less critical for the surrounds to have identical timbre as the mains, though if you can do it, I feel it does definitely yield benefits.

 

[lovinthehd]

I was reading this to gauge the thoughts on Klipsch as center channel speakers. I also noticed however multiple people stating that you should stick with the same brand with left and right speakers. This brought me to a question about what I am planning in the near future.

I am having a guy from Best Buy come out and look at my current setup but he has recommended me go with in-ceiling speakers and has recommended speakercraft Aim7 Two speakers for my surround speakers, 4 to be exact. If I end up going this route would I need to match my front left, right and center speakers with speakercraft or could I go with something like klipsch or jbl or other?

Thanks for your help!

Not just same brand, but identical speakers....why would someone recommend in-ceilings for the fronts unless they just don't like you? What requirements do you have that would induce such a recommendation? BB would not be a place I'd go to for any audio advice otoh.

 

[Bucknekked]

I was reading this to gauge the thoughts on Klipsch as center channel speakers. I also noticed however multiple people stating that you should stick with the same brand with left and right speakers. This brought me to a question about what I am planning in the near future.

I am having a guy from Best Buy come out and look at my current setup but he has recommended me go with in-ceiling speakers and has recommended speakercraft Aim7 Two speakers for my surround speakers, 4 to be exact. If I end up going this route would I need to match my front left, right and center speakers with speakercraft or could I go with something like klipsch or jbl or other?

Thanks for your help!

I read your post about Best Buy and in ceiling speakers.
I feel a rant coming on so I will abandon this post in the interests of protecting language standards and good decorum.

lovinthehd said enough I think.

 

[Pogre]

Not just same brand, but identical speakers....why would someone recommend in-ceilings for the fronts unless they just don't like you? What requirements do you have that would induce such a recommendation? BB would not be a place I'd go to for any audio advice otoh.

I so agree. OP, you'll get far better a vice right here than from any Best Buy. I pop into the local Magnolia room every once in a while and ask questions. They're all about pushing their own stuff. Most of them don't know half of what they're talking about.

 

[lovinthehd]

I was reading this to gauge the thoughts on Klipsch as center channel speakers. I also noticed however multiple people stating that you should stick with the same brand with left and right speakers. This brought me to a question about what I am planning in the near future.

I am having a guy from Best Buy come out and look at my current setup but he has recommended me go with in-ceiling speakers and has recommended speakercraft Aim7 Two speakers for my surround speakers, 4 to be exact. If I end up going this route would I need to match my front left, right and center speakers with speakercraft or could I go with something like klipsch or jbl or other?

Thanks for your help!

You might want to check in here http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/speakercraft-aim-cinema-series.107660/

 

[Marcus8699]

To many people to quote lol. It was a Magnolia associate and I guess I did a poor job at describing my current setup. I have uploaded a photo to show but let me explain.

We just moved into a new house and I have a surround system I pieced together from old speakers and bought an amp and a sub to replace the old amp/sub combo that came with the speakers.

When I went to set everything up and install my surround speakers I ran into a problem with wires running across the floor. So I went to Best Buy and talked to the Magnolia guy and showed him the picture I have uploaded. Let me correct my earlier statement, he recommended my surround and rear speakers being in the ceiling and replacing my front and center speakers later with floor standing and a better center speaker. He gave me a couple options, speakercraft aim7 series and Niles cm7bg. I would continue to use my current front speakers and center speaker until I could afford the next upgrade.

Hope this helps and let me know what you guys think.

Thanks!

P.S. I'm on my phone and the picture won't upload, too large. I will post once I get on my laptop.

 

[Marcus8699]

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Interesting deal. From the picture, I might be inclined to rotate the system 90deg to one of the end walls. If you do go in wall, those angled sides might give a better angle to the LP. Also, the angled wall above the mains might add some funny reflections.(maybe). What are your mains and center, and budget? Fwiw, you can get in walls from jbl, kef, Martin Logan etc too. This makes it easier to timbre match. While it's not critical to match, it does yield benefits as mentioned, and my recommendation is that IF you can, you should. I like to go to BB and mess with their heads. Lol
Most of us aren't fans of in wall speakers but, sometimes that's just what works. As far as hiding wires, I tuck mine under base trim as much as I can. There are cover strips and things available too. And if you go in wall, or on wall for surrounds, you'll likely be in the attic. Then you can use wall plates like these.

nice and clean.

 

[Marcus8699]

Interesting deal. From the picture, I might be inclined to rotate the system 90deg to one of the end walls. If you do go in wall, those angled sides might give a better angle to the LP. Also, the angled wall above the mains might add some funny reflections.(maybe). What are your mains and center, and budget? Fwiw, you can get in walls from jbl, kef, Martin Logan etc too. This makes it easier to timbre match. While it's not critical to match, it does yield benefits as mentioned, and my recommendation is that IF you can, you should. I like to go to BB and mess with their heads. Lol
Most of us aren't fans of in wall speakers but, sometimes that's just what works. As far as hiding wires, I tuck mine under base trim as much as I can. There are cover strips and things available too. And if you go in wall, or on wall for surrounds, you'll likely be in the attic. Then you can use wall plates like these.

nice and clean.

First off thanks for taking the time to really analyze the picture. To answer a couple of your questions, my mains and center are from an old MTX system and I have been wanting to replace the whole system for a while now. My plans were to get the surround speakers taken care of and then focus on the mains. I am using a Onkyo TX-SR444 receiver that seems to be pretty good, but heck what do I know lol. I dont want to spend $10k on a system but I do want quality that will be better than what I have now. I was looking to spend about $230 for each in-ceiling speaker for surround speakers (4 in total). Once I got them in place I was planning to part out the front tower and center speaker, with probably starting with the center speaker first. At max I could see me paying $1k for each tower speaker and around $500 for the center down the road.

As far as attic space, there really isnt attic space above it. I have an unfinished room that sits to the right of this room and you would be able to get to the ceiling from her but there is a lot of duck work above this ceiling so I am interested what the Magnolia guy is going to say Monday when he comes out for the free visit. I realize most if not all are against these guys giving opinions or helping out but I really know absolutely nothing about surround sound which is why I started out by reaching out to them.

Let me know your thoughts and what you would do, the only problem with me switching 90 degrees is I literally just ran CAT6 to the back of that wall and cut out a hole with a wall outlet there now. This was the easiest way for me to get CAT6 across the house to this area for wired connections. I am open to suggestions but I think the setup is going to sit where its at for now.

Thanks again!

P.S. I thought about going to see these guys as well. They are local and may be more knowledgeable.

https://www.audioadvice.com/

 

[Pogre]

If you're willing to run wires and cut holes in the ceiling, how about just running some wires through the ceiling for some satellite speakers mounted on the back or side walls instead of in the ceiling? You can buy speaker mounts for not much and they're pretty easy to put up. The wiring would be the tough part, but you'd be doing that anyway for in ceiling speakers.

Satellites are harder to hide, but I believe you'll get better sq and surround effects this way. I don't mind my speakers being front and center. In fact I like them front and center.

* Edit: FWIW I think I'd focus on replacing main speakers and get a good sub first. Surround speakers can wait.
**Edit: I see Liam already suggested on wall satellites. Great minds and all...

 

[Marcus8699]

If you're willing to run wires and cut holes in the ceiling, how about just running some wires through the ceiling for some satellite speakers mounted on the back or side walls instead of in the ceiling? You can buy speaker mounts for not much and they're pretty easy to put up. The wiring would be the tough part, but you'd be doing that anyway for in ceiling speakers.

Satellites are harder to hide, but I believe you'll get better sq and surround effects this way. I don't mind my speakers being front and center. In fact I like them front and center.

* Edit: FWIW I think I'd focus on replacing main speakers and get a good sub first. Surround speakers can wait.
**Edit: I see Liam already suggested on wall satellites. Great minds and all...

Thanks and i'll look into it. I think the wiring may be harder however because I would be putting the satellite speakers closer to the exterior walls and the attic/crawl space above the ceiling gets really tight in these areas because of the slanted roof shape.

With all this being said, recommendations for both satellite and in-ceiling speakers?

OP'er sorry for taking over your post....

 

[Taymaz_H]

Thank you all for your replies. As I might buy more klipsch speakers and RC-62ii does not fit in my TV stand I would go for RP-250.

 

[yepimonfire]

C

Thank you all for your replies. As I might buy more klipsch speakers and RC-62ii does not fit in my TV stand I would go for RP-250.

RP-250c is probably the better of the three. The RC62 is a beast of a center channel, but the old reference II series are super bright and not entirely accurate. The R-25c is also a good choice if you're on a budget. I'm using one in my setup and am very happy with it. Dialogue is clear, no sibilance, and it handles non dialogue sounds with ease, provided one uses an appropriate crossover point. I wouldn't worry about mixing the Premier series with the cheaper Reference series in the future, they both sound very similar tonally, but the Premiere series is much more refined sonically.

I would not place it in a TV stand, especially if its a ported design, you'll end up with a boxy, chesty sound. Just like in your room, an enclosed space like a TV stand cubby has room modes as well. The issue is these modes are likely in the upper bass/lower midrange. For example, a cubby that's 1' high x 2' deep x 3' wide is going to have a modal resonance of 187hz, 281hz, and 338hz.
Sent from my 5065N using Tapatalk

 

[Taymaz_H]

C
RP-250c is probably the better of the three. The RC62 is a beast of a center channel, but the old reference II series are super bright and not entirely accurate. The R-25c is also a good choice if you're on a budget. I'm using one in my setup and am very happy with it. Dialogue is clear, no sibilance, and it handles non dialogue sounds with ease, provided one uses an appropriate crossover point. I wouldn't worry about mixing the Premier series with the cheaper Reference series in the future, they both sound very similar tonally, but the Premiere series is much more refined sonically.

I would not place it in a TV stand, especially if its a ported design, you'll end up with a boxy, chesty sound. Just like in your room, an enclosed space like a TV stand cubby has room modes as well. The issue is these modes are likely in the upper bass/lower midrange. For example, a cubby that's 1' high x 2' deep x 3' wide is going to have a modal resonance of 187hz, 281hz, and 338hz.
Sent from my 5065N using Tapatalk

I ended up getting RC-62ii yesterday. I could not deal with the guy selling RP-250!
RC-62ii was new and sealed in the box and I got it for $190!
Also saw some one is selling a pair of RF-62ii for $300 on craigslist . Is this a good choice for my front speakers? Or maybe to wait a bit to find a RF-82ii or even a RP series?