HT system help

[Shrader]

Hello all, just joined the forum, and looking for some help, searched the site, and found some, but need more. I am in the process of finishing my basement,it will be a combo bar/HT area, and rather large at 25' widex28' long, floors are half carpet and half tile tile in the rear near the bar, and the carpet in the front in the tv area. The walls ar drywall as is the ceiling (although it is a suspended ceiling with drywall panels).

I went and auditioned speakers, and really like the klipsch brand, although th higher end ones are outside my budget, I did like the reference series (52) and also listened to the BB series (kf 26) and liked those also. I bought 1 of the ks 26 towers off ebay the other day for 71$ and figured I would go with that system for now, now I am wondering if that system will be big enough for the room? my budget is less than 1500$ and would like to stick with the Klipsch speakers (except the sub)

I also found a rf42 system with 2 RF-42II Towers,1 RC-42 II Center,2 RS-42II Surrounds,and a BIC Acoustech PL-200 sub for $1195. and was wondering if that would be better for the size of the room?

I also have no problem buying used. Thanks for any ideas you may have for a noob.

 

[Shrader]

forgot to add that the ceiling is 7.5' high, and by "BB" series I meant Best Buy.

 

[Scumfrog]

This sounds very similar to my friends theater. He is using 5 smallish Klipsch in-walls and a large Velodyne sub. Powered by an upper level Integra receiver, the sound is quite good. Very full and dynamic, the large space is filled with quality sound. With that being said, I recommend the Klipsch-they tend to be very efficient. A good quality sub can fill in the bottom. The key component seems to be the powerful receiver. His unit is putting out and honest 120 wpc or so. Please consider doing the same. One way may be with separates or an AVR with an external amp. Try to get an honest 100 wpc or so. BTW-lots of great bargains in used/demo gear. Another cost cutting measure would be to go 5.1. You can add 2 more speaks later as funds allow. Finally, auto cal is great, but take the time to fine tune it with an SPL meter from Radio Shack. It's worth the time. As always trust your ears and have fun.
Good listening,
Mike

 

[Shrader]

Thanks for the reply, should have mentioned that it will be a 5.1 system. I have a yamaha rxv 467 reciever upstairs now in a much smaller room, and am very happy with it, so was thinking the next step up from that would run the klipsch surround very well, as they do not seem to need much power to make a lot of sound?

 

[fuzz092888]

Meh, driving all 5 channels you'll have a pretty tough time finding an AVR that will push 100 wpc. Especially if you follow the rule of thumb that says you shouldn't spend more than 20ish percent of total budget on electronics, at least at first. The bulk of your money should always go to speakers, because once you have speakers you can be happy with for a long time it's easy to replace things like AVRs and to add an amp.

Personally I wouldn't buy anything from best buy, they're not the easiest place to deal with in my experience and in the experiences of many others should things go awry.

Klipsch RB-61 II Cherry (Pr.) 2-Way Bookshelf Speakers, at OneCall.com

Klipsch RF-62 II Cherry (Ea.) 2-Way Reference Floorstanding Tower Speaker, In Stock at OneCall.com

Klipsch RC-52 II Black (Ea.) 2-Way Center Channel Speaker, In Stock at OneCall.com

DENON AVR-1912 7.1ch Network A/V Home Theater Receiver w/ Airplay | Accessories4less

Now there are a few issues here and you'll probably spot them right away. The list prices on the above would put you over budget, but wait a sec now. Calling one call and telling them you want to buy all of the above together, and you'll see them cut down the price by probably $200-300. making plenty of room for the receiver (or you could go with a new yamaha 567, but that be a little bit more I think).

The biggest glaring gap in this whole plan is that it doesn't include a subwoofer. If you're dead set on klipsch speakers, then I would recommend doing something like what I've outlined and then adding a sub when you save up a bit more money. You can get a good quality sub for $500-700. Then you'll have a system that should keep you happy for quite some time.

Now if you're not dead set on klipsch and are willing to stay the heck away from best buy and maybe do a little extra work/take a few things on faith, then we can really start recommending some stuff

Just kidding........sort of. My point is internet direct can get you a whole lot more bang for your buck. Less overhead and distributing costs and cost reduction to make the products sellable for B&M stores etc etc. Something to think about.

 

[Scumfrog]

Yamaha make sgreat products at real world prices. Go for it! Or better yet, go to reputable retailer and try different units with the same or similar speakers. With the competion so tough, it's pretty hard to find junk!
Good luck and keep us informed!
Mike

 

[afterlife2]

Good deals: Klipsch Reference Series RB-61 II Speakers - 100 Watt - Pair Brand New | eBay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Klipsch-Speaker-RF-62II-Floorstanding-Speaker-ONE-EACH-/370496488778?pt=Speakers_Subwoofers&hash=item56434fc54a

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEVER-HOOKED-UP-Klipsch-Speakers-RC-52-II-Center-Speaker-OPEN-BOX-BLACK-/140742872972?pt=Speakers_Subwoofers&hash=item20c4edcf8c

 

[fuzz092888]

With the competion so tough, it's pretty hard to find junk!

Welllllllllll I don't know if I would go that far.............

 

[Scumfrog]

Hey fuzz, I am a digital infidel. if there is junk I can find it and probably overpay too!
Have a good one!
Mike
PS I too would try to avoid BB. Even I found a good retailer who makes it hard for me to do something stupid!

 

[Shrader]

I have been all over on ebay, craigslist etc. I also hate best buy, but made the mistake of buying the one kf 26 on ebay before i did my homework, then realized they were exclusive there. Easy enough to sell it i guess, wondering if it would work as a center? Then go with the reference series for the front and surrounds? How about that sub in my first post?

 

[fuzz092888]

I am a digital infidel. if there is junk I can find it and probably overpay too!

Haha
It's ok, not a terrible sub, but I would wait, save another $200-300 and get a good HSU or rhythmic or velo. For what isn't a ton more money you can have a subwoofer that is more than incrementally better.

 

[Shrader]

Well, decided to go with rf 52ii fronts and the matching center, and surrounds, i have a few months until I am ready (doing all the carpentry work on the basement myself) to install audio/video, so i plan to peice together used/open box stuff when deal come up. Now for the sub choice? As i stated the room is 25w X 28L total so i am guessing i will need a big one? Or have room for two if neccessary? What do you think? I was looking at a couple of paradigm subs on ebay, but don't know what is good or bad.

 

[fuzz092888]

That's a big room two subs is definitely preferable, if you're doing the carpentry work yourself how inclined are you to DIY with the subs?

How much do you want to budget for sub(s)?

 

[norml4721]

Need help

Hi :

There is a ton of used Klipsch speakers on Ebay.. Pick out the ones you like at Best Buy and buy similar used on Ebay. I do it all the time. You can save a lot of money. In my mind buying and paying retail is not the way to go for speakers. I like the higher end but the only way I can aford it is used.

Good Luck on your new home theater.

Norm L

 

[Shrader]

That's a big room two subs is definitely preferable, if you're doing the carpentry work yourself how inclined are you to DIY with the subs?

How much do you want to budget for sub(s)?

I am very comfortable with a diy. I threw my original budget of $1500 out the window sort of, i pre wired for 7.1 and two subs if needed in the future, i guess if i could find something for 4-500 i could still stick close to the $1500 budget, but as i said, i am kind of piecing this together over a few months, so if need be i can save my pennies for a little extra over time. The wife says it needs to be done by christmas this year!

my issue is, i am completely in the dark as far as subs go. Need advice as to what brands, size, model, wattage, etc.

 

[fuzz092888]

I think this is the one I'm gonna do, and cheap enough to easily add a second
Creative Sound - Product Details

good subwoofers
Rythmik Audio • Subwoofer enclosure plans

barely qualifies as DIY, but goes together in an hour or less and provides half decent bass
SUBWOOFER KITS from Parts Express ship same day and come with 45 day money back guarantee. Free Shipping Available. Order free 10,000 product catalog.

Madisound Speaker Store

you could also wait and just buy one from

known to be musical, but have punch for HT use as well
Product Category Name

High Performance - Subwoofers - Home Theater - SVS

Shop All Subwoofers - Subwoofers

or rhythmic as noted above

ported gives you higher output but won't dig as deep as a sealed, better for HT usually, sealed generally provides deeper extension and a smaller footprint, but won't have as high of output usually better for music or if space is at a premium

When I say better I don't mean that you couldn't use one for the other or vice versa, but usually you don't worry about going below 20hz or so if your main use will be HT and you want more punch and power so thats where ported is better, plus in order to get a sealed sub to produce the same spls as a ported you usually need twice as much power.

Now I'm not trying to make an argument against sealed, they have their own merits as well.

The way to split the difference is to use something with passive radiators, like the css design way up at the top. Passive radiators help give you some of the extension of a sealed and give you almost as much output as ported.

I'm going to be building one of those CSS trios with the dual passives either this summer or in the fall, whenever I get time. Lots of options out there, this should help you get your toes in the water

PS for your size room you need multiple woofers no smaller than 12" personally I'd go dual 15 or 18 if you feel like saving a few pennies (read: a LOT of pennies), but dual 12" is a minimum at some point. A single 12 now, then add a second when time and funds allow. You may even need a third depending on room acoustics, whereas (depending on room acoustics) you may only need two 15s. Lots of factors to be weighed when choosing size and how many, but two is a minimum for your size room I'd say.

 

[fuzz092888]

Subwoofer Placement - The Place for Bass Part 1 — Reviews and News from Audioholics

 

[Shrader]

WAF LMAO aint that the truth! I like the looks of the first kit you posted Fuzz
and think that may be my choice, when the time comes. The seating position for the room will be 13-14' from the front speakers/screen, I wired a sub cable to the left and right of the screen, near the corners, and also one just behind the seating, as there is a support pole there, but those are the only 3 spots that I have that are WAF LOL, what do you think of one in the front, and one just behind the seating area? Thanks again for all the help!

 

[fuzz092888]

they should be fine, obviously you have to work within the constraints of your room placement options/WAF, but those shouldn't be too bad, especially if you add a second one on the other side. Experiment with distances from the corner, closer to the corner or closer to the screen to find what works best. Corner loading can be good, but you want to be careful you don't start to get boomy and distorted, which can happen when subs are placed in the corner sometimes.

I don't see an issue with the placement of the third sub hookup either, but I'm not expert in room acoustics, so I could be wrong there, but the other two should be fine.

Glad you decided to go with the CSS kit, if you finish first I'll be curious to see how you like it.

 

[Shrader]

It will be close to Christmas before I can afford to purchase the sub(s), so if you get one before that please let me know what you think. I will be starting another thread to share my progress as time goes on in the pros and joes section, maybe I can get some more pointers there.