Pro Audio vs Home Theater

[Impulse]

ah I see..yes I could see that being the reason. I will hook up my older amp to it an see if it is the same thing. however..
While they are very sensitive I cant help the fact that in my room it just doesnt sound so loud..another wierd thing is too..i can tell the woofers have a distinct sound from the material they have on them..whenever theres like a kick or something, it makes a noticeable plasticy sound.. Whether it be loud or quiet..on both speakers. And ive never pushed more into them than they could handle. Its been like this from day 1..

 

[slipperybidness]

ah I see..yes I could see that being the reason. I will hook up my older amp to it an see if it is the same thing. however..
While they are very sensitive I cant help the fact that in my room it just doesnt sound so loud..another wierd thibg is too..i can tell the woofers have a distinct sound from the material they have on them..whenever theres like a kick or something, it makes a noticeable plasticy sound.. Whether it be loud or quiet..on both speakers. And ive never pushed more into them than they could handle. Its been like this from day 1..

Never pushed more than they can handle, maybe. But pushed more than the amp can handle? Not good. If the amp is clipping, that is a harsh sound and not good for the drivers. Overdriving the amp is a bad situation, you would rather have a 500wpc amp and use only 75w of it vrs driving a 50w amp at 50w.

What amp and what speakers are you using?

 

[jdskycaster]

i really was looking at those, and am just wondering how they would perform compared to my entry level klipsches in terms of fidelity and sound clarity. Any idea? I have an old carver amp that is 225wpc so i dont think powering them would be a problem xD

I hate to make any statement of a direct comparison to your speakers when I have not actually heard them. If you do a little digging you can find some great recent speaker comparisons and the SHO10's have faired very well.

These speakers are not to be confused with high sensitivity only and suited primarily for the dynamics required for HT. They are also excellent for music reproduction as well. My first impressions with them for music were that they were good but I thought my Aperion towers (which cost more) had an edge. I was completely wrong. They trounce them in every respect. Fidelity, clarity call it whatever you want they can flat out play loud and clean with no fatigue at even the most extreme end of the spectrum. Your ears will definitely say uncle before you get any taste of harshness or distortion. It was something I was not used to experiencing and you just have to experience it for yourself.

You will have no issues with your amp as these can easily be driven to extremes with a capable receiver. In fact just about anything with XT32 is a suitable candidate. I already had external amplification as well and am driving them with 250wpc but the meters barely move.

 

[its phillip]

Yeah, in all the GTGs and comparisons I've read about, the CHTs have fared very well. The fact that they are usually a hell of a lot cheaper than the models they're up against is icing on the cake. I'd like to check them out myself one day.

 

[Impulse]

Never pushed more than they can handle, maybe. But pushed more than the amp can handle? Not good. If the amp is clipping, that is a harsh sound and not good for the drivers. Overdriving the amp is a bad situation, you would rather have a 500wpc amp and use only 75w of it vrs driving a 50w amp at 50w.

What amp and what speakers are you using?

You are right, however i never actually push it that high xD. Very seldom have i, and it was for no more than a couple seconds. The receiver is an old marantz i had. I will be switching the amps soon.

 

[Impulse]

I hate to make any statement of a direct comparison to your speakers when I have not actually heard them. If you do a little digging you can find some great recent speaker comparisons and the SHO10's have faired very well.

These speakers are not to be confused with high sensitivity only and suited primarily for the dynamics required for HT. They are also excellent for music reproduction as well. My first impressions with them for music were that they were good but I thought my Aperion towers (which cost more) had an edge. I was completely wrong. They trounce them in every respect. Fidelity, clarity call it whatever you want they can flat out play loud and clean with no fatigue at even the most extreme end of the spectrum. Your ears will definitely say uncle before you get any taste of harshness or distortion. It was something I was not used to experiencing and you just have to experience it for yourself.

You will have no issues with your amp as these can easily be driven to extremes with a capable receiver. In fact just about anything with XT32 is a suitable candidate. I already had external amplification as well and am driving them with 250wpc but the meters barely move.

Indeed, thank you for your thoughts on them. I certainly love horn speakers and i just want to pay for the sound..the looks can be an afterthought..plus.. they dont even look that bad. Hell, on some stands, they could look pretty sweet!

 

[gotchaforce]

Look around online (adorama, performance audio, full compas) and offer $600 for jbl 3677 over the phone to those companies..

Get two and toe them in heavily, no center channel, just see how you like them.

 

[3db]

Don't look at new speakers. Its not going to solve your problem. You are lacking adequate power to drive the speakers to the levels that you are looking for.

 

[anamorphic96]

We still don't know which Klipsch towers he is using unless I missed it. That might explain a few things. But it does sound like you need a bigger amp. Especially for loud levels.

It also sounds like some room treatments would be a big help. First reflection points and the back wall would help.

Klipsch speakers depending on the situation may benefit from a slight high frequency rolloff starting at 2khz.

A sub may not hurt as well.

 

[Impulse]

Alright so quick update. I used my other amp that is about 225 watts per channel. I turned it up to about the same loudness level as my older amp. Sounded better. But still, the voices were honky and not smooth sounding. I do have a sub as well, without the sub i get almost no bass from them in my large room.
I have the Icon series towers with 2 8in woofers that are available from best buy..i think i need to upgrade. Unless i can get these to sound ridiculous from some other reason.

Ive had the B&W 604s brought to my house by a friend and we played them there..and it sounded worlds better.

 

[3db]

Alright so quick update. I used my other amp that is about 225 watts per channel. I turned it up to about the same loudness level as my older amp. Sounded better. But still, the voices were honky and not smooth sounding. I do have a sub as well, without the sub i get almost no bass from them in my large room.
I have the Icon series towers with 2 8in woofers that are available from best buy..i think i need to upgrade. Unless i can get these to sound ridiculous from some other reason.

Ive had the B&W 604s brought to my house by a friend and we played them there..and it sounded worlds better.

It may be a function of the horns used by Klipsch or the room acoustics are on the hot side (lots of highly reflective surfaces) or both.

 

[slipperybidness]

Just our of curiosity, are you running your receiver in direct or pure direct mode? Did you run Audyssee? Try switching it off?

 

[anamorphic96]

Alright so quick update. I used my other amp that is about 225 watts per channel. I turned it up to about the same loudness level as my older amp. Sounded better. But still, the voices were honky and not smooth sounding. I do have a sub as well, without the sub i get almost no bass from them in my large room.
I have the Icon series towers with 2 8in woofers that are available from best buy..i think i need to upgrade. Unless i can get these to sound ridiculous from some other reason.

Ive had the B&W 604s brought to my house by a friend and we played them there..and it sounded worlds better.

Then yes an upgrade is in order. The Icon series was not one of the better lines. If you had the Reference or Heritage series it might be different.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Just our of curiosity, are you running your receiver in direct or pure direct mode? Did you run Audyssee? Try switching it off?

Yeah, I would turn off Audyssey, use Stereo 2.1 mode, set speakers to small, XO 80Hz, increase speaker channel levels to at least +0.0 or higher.

 

[Impulse]

Just our of curiosity, are you running your receiver in direct or pure direct mode? Did you run Audyssee? Try switching it off?

Hmm, what exactly is audyssee? Im running an old receiver as my pre amp and an old carver amp straight to the speakers.

 

[jdskycaster]

If you have already ruled out amplification and as well tried a better set of speakers with good results in your room it is very obvious that your current speakers are not doing the job. Running them small with an 80Hz crossover (and no subwoofer) is going to sound even worse. Speakers are the single most important part of any system. Replace them.

 

[Impulse]

If you have already ruled out amplification and as well tried a better set of speakers with good results in your room it is very obvious that your current speakers are not doing the job. Running them small with an 80Hz crossover (and no subwoofer) is going to sound even worse. Speakers are the single most important part of any system. Replace them.

Gotcha, now time to look at some again XD

The chase home theater speakers..is anyone familiar with their performance?

I can get the B&W dm 683 and Polk audio rtia9s from my work for half off..
Same with the MartinLogan EST..

Would i be better off for a really good bookshelf at that price range, or stick to these

 

[jdskycaster]

I have them currently across the front and they are excellent for both music and HT. They offer incredible performance for the money. They are also available with an in-home audition period. Get on the list for the next batch coming in and they are $350ea. plus shipping. Future price on the SHO10's is going to $425ea.

 

[Impulse]

Interesting, thank you. I would very much like to hear them.. Would you happen to have any comparisons for them?

 

[sterling shoote]

I'm a big fan of JBL, mostly their vintage stuff; but, their pro cinema line is appealing on many levels. I particularly like the 4641 subwoofer. It's a passive unit which I may purchase to fill a need while my classic JBL B380 is serviced. For a product like this you need a lot of power at appropriate ohms and of course a crossover or subwoofer output which matches up well with the unit. Those here who discourage JBL pro cinema or recording and broadcast products are not informed opinion leaders.