Klipsch Home Theatre

[bluejays]

Hey guys, I'm on the tekkie spree right now and looking to purchase a home theatre system to go along with the Samsung LCD I bought last month. I'm a real lover of good sound, and the Klipsch speakers seem real nice. Basically, I have $3500 to spend tops, and that has to include a Receiver, Subwoofer and the full set of speakers. I'm looking at 6.1 audio, but may go the 7.1 route if the price is right. Secondly, I'm looking at getting the Klipsch Reference line. Does anyone have them or can they give a recommendation? What setup do you recommend and with what models of speakers, receivers? I'm personally leaning toward a Pioneer receiver and a Velodyne sub. I may buy now, or purchase a month from now when it may be a little easier to deal with the salesguys, but would like some recommendations. Help appreciated!

[MJK]

I have had good success with Paradigm speakers. You should check them out. I think you can get a decent set in your price range.

[OBCT]

A couple of questions:

- You say this system will be for home theater. Approx how much use will be for movies/gaming vs. music vs. voice (ie. regular TV programming or radio)?

- How loud do you like to listen? If you had to choose between the two, would you prefer dynamics (louder = better), or clarity of soundtage (it's all in the details)?

- What are the dimensions of your room?


Klipsch is a quality speaker brand. They are known for being efficient - capable of going louder than similar speakers in the same price range. They are considered 'bright' - that is to say, they have a bit of a pronounced high-end that some people do not prefer and others adore. A real good subwoofer helps compensate for overly bright speakers, though anyways... that, and proper calibration of your receiver.

Velodyne is a good brand for subs, but another recommendation I'll make is SVS. These guys make very good subwoofers that go extremely low and loud for reasonable $$. They even have a Canadian retailer @ SonicBoomAudio. It's another option anyways.


Paradigm is a very well respected Canadian brand that is worth auditioning.


The number one piece of advice I can give you is audition as many different brands and set-ups as you can if you're not 100% sure what you want. Every speaker brand is different, and appreciation of their differences is such a personal thing.


If you get a package deal with anyone, don't forget to haggle. Also, don't skimp on the sub!! Good bass brings movies and gaming alive! You'll thank me later.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by OBCT

A couple of questions:

- You say this system will be for home theater. Approx how much use will be for movies/gaming vs. music vs. voice (ie. regular TV programming or radio)?

- How loud do you like to listen? If you had to choose between the two, would you prefer dynamics (louder = better), or clarity of soundtage (it's all in the details)?

- What are the dimensions of your room?


Klipsch is a quality speaker brand. They are known for being efficient - capable of going louder than similar speakers in the same price range. They are considered 'bright' - that is to say, they have a bit of a pronounced high-end that some people do not prefer and others adore. A real good subwoofer helps compensate for overly bright speakers, though anyways... that, and proper calibration of your receiver.

Velodyne is a good brand for subs, but another recommendation I'll make is SVS. These guys make very good subwoofers that go extremely low and loud for reasonable $$. They even have a Canadian retailer @ SonicBoomAudio. It's another option anyways.


Paradigm is a very well respected Canadian brand that is worth auditioning.


The number one piece of advice I can give you is audition as many different brands and set-ups as you can if you're not 100% sure what you want. Every speaker brand is different, and appreciation of their differences is such a personal thing.


If you get a package deal with anyone, don't forget to haggle. Also, don't skimp on the sub!! Good bass brings movies and gaming alive! You'll thank me later.

Thanks for the input guys! Answers to questions:

1) Bought a PS3, but will mostly use the system for TV and music. I'm sure once I do get addicted to blu-ray movies, it's gonna be used for that.

2) Sound-wise, personally, I like clarity a hell of a lot more than just loudness. Loudness is a bonus, but hearing subtle things on any song is really really cool and I prefer that a lot more than just loudness.

3) Room dimensions. I live in mom and pop's place, and use the basement for the entertainment hub and it's completely wide open. It's a large room about 45'x25' (guestimation), but I'm using one corner of the essentially square room, for this, but it's still a wide open space.

As for the sub, everyone says the same thing, so that should be a priority I guess. A couple things I'm not sure about though, is how much should I realistically expect to pay for a Receiver (I'm guessing $800+/-); and is the centre channel speaker really that important (if I'm going to chince on something, should this be the one component I go cheaper on?).

[MissKat]

If youre getting Klipsch, buy them from London Drugs at one of their AVS stores, great service and selection.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by MissKat

If youre getting Klipsch, buy them from London Drugs at one of their AVS stores, great service and selection.

I could be totally wrong, but we don't have London Drugs in Toronto. Irritating, I know. The worst part about the Reference Line, is that Futureshop is the only mainstream location down here that I know of that has it.

[OBCT]

Originally Posted by fleury

Thanks for the input guys! Answers to questions:

1) Bought a PS3, but will mostly use the system for TV and music. I'm sure once I do get addicted to blu-ray movies, it's gonna be used for that.

2) Sound-wise, personally, I like clarity a hell of a lot more than just loudness. Loudness is a bonus, but hearing subtle things on any song is really really cool and I prefer that a lot more than just loudness.

3) Room dimensions. I live in mom and pop's place, and use the basement for the entertainment hub and it's completely wide open. It's a large room about 45'x25' (guestimation), but I'm using one corner of the essentially square room, for this, but it's still a wide open space.

As for the sub, everyone says the same thing, so that should be a priority I guess. A couple things I'm not sure about though, is how much should I realistically expect to pay for a Receiver (I'm guessing $800+/-); and is the centre channel speaker really that important (if I'm going to chince on something, should this be the one component I go cheaper on?).

Glad to help.

1.) Ahkay. The PS3 is pretty much the way to go these days. That'll work just fine. Focusing on music makes the speaker choice a bit more important. A good sub works well in home theater and music applications.

2.) Clarity over loudness, eh? Generally speaking, I'd recommend you avoid Klipsch in this case. This is a generalization, but Klipsch's efficiency and dynamics might not benefit you as much as Paradigm's "detailed nuances" -- as subjective as these terms may be.

3.) Interesting. That shouldn't cause any problems, but I wonder how you plan to configure a 7.1 system in that space? Sort of on that topic - you might consider picking up a 5.1 system for the same $ you'd otherwise spend on the 6.1/7.1. This is what I'd probably do, since I'm a little less interested in that extra level of surround sound envelopment in comparison to a little more clarity. You can always add surrounds later. Something to think about.

4.) The sub needs to be somewhat of a priority, yes.

5.) You should expect to pay $500-$1000 for a receiver. Big range, I know, but you've got a lot of options in this regard. I'd recommend making something like the Denon AVR-789 your benchmark for comparison.

6.) No, I would not chintz out on the center channel. The fronts should all match (it is okay to get a special center speaker that looks different as long as it is from the same company (for timbre matching), or preferably, if it is designed to be sold together with the L and R's as a set).

If I were to chintz out anywhere, it would be on a combination of receiver and surround speakers. They make the least overall difference on the experience IMO.

[Mightyfire89]

I'll second OBCT's thoughts, especially on Paradigm and SVS. Both make excellent products. I own these speakers:

http://www.paradigm.com/en/reference...-1-26.paradigm

and this subwoofer: http://www.sonicboomaudio.com/pb10ns...black-p-5.html


I also own some older C-series speakers made by Energy, which is another good Canadian company with a fine rep in the audio world.

I couldn't be happier with all of these.

Also the MTS series of speakers from SVS might be worth looking into, they seem to be getting good reviews and seemingly are right around the same quality as the Paradigm Studio series.

The key to being satisfied long term with what you purchase is getting out to audio shops and listening to as many different brands of speakers as possible and then buying what YOU like. Do your research and spend the time, it's a worthwhile investment.

Now I realize that doesn't exactly work with a company like SVSound because their products are internet only, but they have an excellent reputation and more importantly a 45 day money back guarantee, so if you're unhappy with what you got, you can send them back and no harm, no foul. (And I've never heard of anyone being unsatisfied with a product from SVS, unless they got a defective unit, in which case the company will send a new one once they receive the bad one back from you).

I indeed found some models of Klipsch speakers to be a little on the bright side for my tastes, but your mileage may vary which is why I stress getting out and listening to find out what you like.

As for receivers, I own one of these: http://www.yamaha.ca/av/Receivers/RXV1800B.jsp and again, I couldn't be happier with it. The thing with receivers though is that they don't have anywhere near the impact that speakers do on the overall sound of your system. That is to say that a certain set of speakers being run by a $1000.00 Yamaha isn't going to sound a whole lot different than the same speakers being run by a Denon or a Harman Kardon or a Marantz or an Onkyo or a Pioneer at the same price point. Again, do your research and find out which brand you prefer at which price point with the features that you want and go from there.

Speakers are the MOST important part of any home theater (or stereo setup). Your budget should be spent accordingly. Spend about 65% -75% on the speakers and then the remainder on everything else.

Don't get sucked into any cable/speaker wire voodoo either. An $18 HDMI cable from Walmart (as long as it's not defective) is going to perform every bit as good as a $160 Monster HDMI. Any speaker wire that is 18 gauge or better (16, 14, 12 etc) is going to work just fine. Monster products are well made but WAAAAY overpriced. Oh, and you don't need to buy one of those fancy "Power conditioners" for $500 - $1000. Just buy a decent power bar and you're good to go.

You should be able to get a very good setup for $3500 if you're careful and do your research. Good luck and have fun auditioning speakers etc, that's half the fun of this hobby.

[3 Justin 3]

I hear the elite series of receivers from Pioneer are excellent.

[OBCT]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

I hear the elite series of receivers from Pioneer are excellent.

+1

If it were me buying in the price range you've described, I'd automatically pare down my options to Denon, Pioneer Elite, Yamaha and Onkyo. I've heard that Onkyo is generally overpriced in Canada, so maybe throw them out of the equation. That leaves you with 3 brands to concentrate on.

I'm not a fan of Sony's receivers (value and reliability). Harman/Kardon generally offers less features for the price compared to the above group, would be okay too. With Marantz and other higher-end components you're mostly paying a premium for build quality and the name on the box.

[User Name]

I just picked up a Denon last week. One thing you MUST look out for is that it takes audio and video via HDMI. It doesn't have to be able to decode Dolby TrueHD or DTS-MA (fully lossless audio codecs), but it if accepts audio/video you can send a pcm signal (essentially the file unzipped) from the ps3 to your amp and get full hi-def audio. Thats what I do and it sounds crystal clear

[HalifaxDrunk]

I know Kromer Radio Link on Bathurst St (south of College) used to sell Klipsch. I moved away in 2005 so haven't been there is a long time. They don't list Klipsch on their website but they didn't in the past either. Worth a call.

[MissKat]

For receivers - theres only 4 brands that I will buy, Yamaha, Denon, Harmon Kardon and Pioneer. Onko is good too but a rip off.

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Originally Posted by MissKat

For receivers - theres only 4 brands that I will buy, Yamaha, Denon, Harmon Kardon and Pioneer. Onko is good too but a rip off.

Why would you consider Onkyo a ripoff?

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Krack Korn

I'll second OBCT's thoughts, especially on Paradigm and SVS. Both make excellent products. I own these speakers:

http://www.paradigm.com/en/reference...-1-26.paradigm

and this subwoofer: http://www.sonicboomaudio.com/pb10ns...black-p-5.html


Also the MTS series of speakers from SVS might be worth looking into, they seem to be getting good reviews and seemingly are right around the same quality as the Paradigm Studio series.

The key to being satisfied long term with what you purchase is getting out to audio shops and listening to as many different brands of speakers as possible and then buying what YOU like. Do your research and spend the time, it's a worthwhile investment.

Now I realize that doesn't exactly work with a company like SVSound because their products are internet only, but they have an excellent reputation and more importantly a 45 day money back guarantee, so if you're unhappy with what you got, you can send them back and no harm, no foul. (And I've never heard of anyone being unsatisfied with a product from SVS, unless they got a defective unit, in which case the company will send a new one once they receive the bad one back from you).

The cool thing about the SVS site you gave me, is that under their contact us information, the address given is about a 5 minute drive from my place, so I may head down there this weekend if they happen to have a showroom. Thanks. Keep the advice rolling.

[photon]

Originally Posted by GreenTeaFrapp

Why would you consider Onkyo a ripoff?

If you don't find a good price they can be very overpriced, at least compared to the price in the US for the same one (and compared to Yamaha or other ones of the same level). But feature wise I think Onkyos are one of the best bang for the buck if you can get the right one.

http://www.electronicsforless.ca/

I purchased my Onkyo 875 from these guys and was very happy with their service level. Though watch the Onkyos, my 875 has an input lag issue where the audio will actually lag the video even if the audio lag is set to zero, not sure if that's been resolved. EDIT: Seems there was a firmware update, hmm might have to try it.

I also own an SVS sub and it's very impressive, would highly recommed them:

http://www.sonicboomaudio.com/2039pc...oofer-p-7.html

Paradigm are a good choice for speakers. Check out Axiom as well. http://www.axiomaudio.com/index2.html

You're not going to like hearing it, but 45'x25'x8' is 9000 cubic feet of air, that's HUGE. A properly sized sub for that size of room is going to be quite large, but that depends on how good a sound you want. I chose the one I did because my room is almost as big, 26'x35'x9'. Smaller subs will still sound good, but to get a true theatre experience with a sub you need to be able to create enough pressure in the room, and for a huge room that equals size and watts. My sub has literally had me wondering if something fell on my house, so I know it's the right size.

[Mightyfire89]

Originally Posted by fleury

The cool thing about the SVS site you gave me, is that under their contact us information, the address given is about a 5 minute drive from my place, so I may head down there this weekend if they happen to have a showroom. Thanks. Keep the advice rolling.

Unfortunately, I don't think they have a showroom.

Sonicboomaudio is the Canadian distributor for SVSound products, an internet only company which sells directly to consumers, thereby avoiding having their products marked up so the store selling them can make their end.

[OBCT]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Krack Korn

Unfortunately, I don't think they have a showroom.

Sonicboomaudio is the Canadian distributor for SVSound products, an internet only company which sells directly to consumers, thereby avoiding having their products marked up so the store selling them can make their end.

Sounds right.

Something else worth thinking about is avoiding s&h costs by picking up the gear in person. I don't know how that works with this company specifically, but usually if you phone in your purchase companies will arrange a date for you to pick 'em up. Not only would you be avoiding the showroom / big store mark-up, you'd be buying "internet direct" minus the shipping. Can't complain about that.

EDIT: Photon is bang on re: the size of your room and the necessity for a powerful sub.

With mid- and high-frequency speakers, directionality and volume levels go mostly hand and hand - that is to say, you will aim all your speakers towards your listening area and they'll sound fine despite the expanse of an open room around you. With a subwoofer it is more about the total pressure reached within the entire open room - directionality is much much less important in this case... you gotta have enough oomph!

[3 Justin 3]

I will second the notion of avoiding Onkyo, in Canada that is. For the Onkyo 606 you can get it in the states for under $300, the cheapest I have seen in Canada was at Visions for $600.

I have heard good things about Paradigm speakers, they are apparently Canadian. Not sure if they have been mentioned...wait just reading back, MJK mentioned them.


Probably mentioned, but if not, www.monoprice.com for cables. Inexpensive cables, ship to Canada for cheap, accept Paypal, what more do you want?!