Speaker Choice (Rock fan, small room)

[dorokusai]

You'll be happy as a pig in shite....have fun. Great choices!

Mark

 

[rufas2000]

I'd pick KEF out of that bunch for 2CH listening. The IQ series isn't as magical as the vintage KEF series but a nice compromise.

The Polk RTi series is about as classic a Polk as you could get...solid bass, decent midrange but nowadays, forward on the high end.

Klipsch never excites me unless it's a Heritage line. When I hear a better Klipsch than the K-Horn....I'll move on.

Boston Acoustics stopped making magic ages ago.

DefTech is a great HT speaker but I've found no redeeming quality in regards to 2CH listening. VonS does it right for 2CH.

Sony? What are you crazy? Let that leap of faith stay on that side of the ocean. Hype.

Mark
Polk Audio CS

Now you tell me LOL. I'm happy with what I got. I had some Sonys when I started in serious home audio (well beyond minisystems) and they weren't bad. Of course if I were happy with them, I'd still have them. I was never seriously considering them.

BTW: for the record the model Sonys I had were SSMF-600, SSMF-315 and SSK-90ED. The SSKs were quite good at vocals IMHO but not as good at other stuff (highs and really lows). Vocals are important but not the only thing. They looked sharp also, I think they overstayed their welcome because of their looks (hey at least it wasn't a lady overstaying her welcome, much more dangerous). The other models did their job as entry level floorstanding speakers.

Thanks for the input.

 

[gus6464]

Towers are overrated. Go for some Polk LSi9 and you won't look back.

 

[Method]

Go with Focal.

 

[Seth=L]

Go with Sonus Faber, go with Snell, go with.... wait, what's the budget?

If you ever really want to take those Klipsch to the limit, you may want to get a seperate amplifier (the Denon you have has preouts). The Behringer EP2500 is great for someone on a budget, and gets high marks from the DIY enthusiast WmAx here at AH. It can drive virtually any speaker, at any load (the RF-82s like to dig deep down to around 3 ohms at certain frequencies putting strain on even the higher end receivers).

I hope you are enjoying the crap out of those Klipsch, I know I would be.

 

[swank501]

Report on the RF82's?
I got a listen yesterday at a locl store and was quite impressed. I'm trying to piece together a 5.1 reference system and am likely to use those as the fronts

 

[rufas2000]

I really like the RF-82s. If you like a big sound with lots of high and low end you should be pleased. My experience on forums like this is that the opinions on Klipsch are divided. Most agree that they're at least fairly good speakers (if not great) but they have a very bold signature sound that might not be right for everybody. Thats my read on it at least.

I have to be a little mean and say don't get them from Magnolia Home Theater (owned by Best Buy) if you can help it. One of the magnetic grill points lost its magnetism. It still stuck but not fully. I emailed Klipsch who informed me that the retailer (in this case Magnolia) had a form where they could order service parts. Magnolia wanted me to bring the whole speaker back and refused to order the removeable grill. I contacted Klipsch and sent a copy of Magnolia / Best Buy's response and they agreed to send me a replacement. Yea klipsch, boo Best Buy. I will say that the in store associates were very helpful to me as far as credit was concerned and putting them in my car. My beef is with the chain's Customer Service Department.

Back to the speakers: note that I have been buying room treatments as well (GIK's traps & panels). The way my room sounds (and thus the Klips sound) has changed. It's for the better but I no longer really have a reference (pardon the pun) for comparison as the other speakers I have owned did not benefit from room treatments.

Hope that helped a little.

 

[annunaki]

If you get a chance give some Phase Tech speakers a listen. They have always been a pleasant experience when auditioning rock and/or metal.

 

[64met]

I own Polk RTi10's and have the CSi5 as my center and to round it out... FXi3's in back... IMO the Polk Rti series is one of the better values out there and they sound great! Look around; they discontinued the RTi series... if there are any left you should be able to get them at great prices!

 

[swank501]

I did have a chance to audition the RF82's and found them to sound incredible. I got the guy to come down on the prices a bit and now he has me looking at the whole 5.1 system, which he has given some nice discounts on. All things considered, I can get a nice 5.1 reference for ~ 2k. I can swing it with a little help, but I was wondering if anyone could give me a good reason not to go with this setup? I didn't have a chance to hear each piece together in harmony, but i was most impressed with the quality of the RF82. There is just not enough choices of speakers around here to go audition all the ones I read about on this forum

On a side note, I went to CC last night with the "I can't believe I'm considering spending 2k on speakers; Surely I can find something less expensive that I'm happy with" mentality. Nothing they had could even come close to the sound of the reference line. I was shocked to learn two of the systems I was listening to (Polk & Boston) came in at about $1500 for the 5.1 setup Now I see that you get what you pay for.

 

[mouettus]

I own Polk RTi10's and have the CSi5 as my center and to round it out... FXi3's in back... IMO the Polk Rti series is one of the better values out there and they sound great! Look around; they discontinued the RTi series... if there are any left you should be able to get them at great prices!

You won't find any polk fans that enjoy rock and metal. those speakers don't shine on that kind of music. They are pretty agressive and accentuated on the high end. And I even think that electric guitar doesn't sound like it should. I own pretty much the same setup as you and I just upgraded to the RC-series from Energy and they shine in that matter. Everything is balanced. More laid back as well.

True that you can find them at VERY good prices though cause they are discontinued. Being replaced by the RtiA line which, IMO, sound worse than the original Rti's.