Klipsch owner thread - Page 350

What's not obvious is your point or purpose here.

What?

I was genuinely considering a switch. If I enjoyed the speakers it would have made my life much better overall. The money I would save could go a long way but the results were not passable, I would nevr have used the speakers if I owned them... So purpose? It was to get help in my search and improve my overall quality of life via financial means. The secondary purpose... well I was just sharing my thoughts since others had tried to guide me and I felt they deserved an outcome from my questions.

I gave you good advice in this and other threads and feel you should keep your JTRs because they should blow the Heresies out of the water for the price, and your experience with the Rf-83s being connected to a mid level yammi is not a good combination. I stick by comments and have nothing further to add unless you audition the RF-7s and have a similar response.

Sounds to me that someone is trying to compare apples to oranges... then complain that the oranges don't taste enough like apples...

Dont feel bad im thinking about selling my Paradigm studio 60's along with my cc-690 center and take the plunge to the new Klipsch reference series RF82 II and the 64 But I love my digms but have always admired Klipsch. But i've never heard them either . Am I going crazy or what do you guys think is it a lateral , step down or step up ?: Im just looking for a different flavor of sound but im pretty happy I think I just have a itch lol . I wouldnt be making any money on the deal because when the smoke cleared I'd more than likely break even. Pretty much have my CC-690 sold for 850 and havent even advertised it or my 60's yet . Dont know what to do

Goonstopher, I have no issue with your preference for the JTRs, by all accounts they are excellent speakers.
Somewhere along the line though I missed seeing which JTRs you have... you have said you want to switch to save money.
I just looked at the JTR website and I don't see where you expect to be saving any money by switching to Klipsch or anything else for that matter which competes with the JTRs.
http://jtrspeakers.com/home-audio/triple-12ht/
http://jtrspeakers.com/home-audio/triple-8ht/
Anything Klipsch has that competes just doesn'r cost that much less.

Since the Reference line has changed since I last chimed in (and even though I have not heard the new lineup) I will update my speaker rec to be RF-7 for and upgrade and RF-82 lateral to the digm 60's, RC-64 lateral to cc-690.
I would get the Klipsch in the same room as the Paradigms and have a shootout and then keep the best system.

I'd say go listen. Paradigms have very few weaknesses and give a very deep sound stage. They were the first "musical" speaker I heard. Definitely listen though, you will notice the ease with which the klipsch operate at high volumes... The rest of the sound is your preference. I am not trying to pimp jtr but I went from studio 60's to jtr triple 8's. If you'd like to talk about that in PM it would probably be more appropriate.

I could have gotten 2700 in pocket for my jtr...
4 x heresy 2's = 800 - 150/200 (sell 1) = 600ish for 3 + crossover rebuild and other minor upgrades = 800-850 for all 3 ... 1900 in bank

OR - 3 x rf-63 2b-stocks for like 1100 and 1 used for 400 = 1500... 1200 in bank

ect... there are many ways if you are a careful buyer

Thanks for the reply I wish i knew were to audition them in my area, i'll have to see if my local high end audio dealer carries them thats were I bought my Digm V4'S

Thanks for the input I might do that thanks again .

How big is your room?

Consider that these large horn-loaded speakers work best with a wide separation. They are often used on the corners of the long wall of a room; perpendicular to the layout of typical HT rooms. That may not work for you.

The La Scala works best with a large toe-in, as much as 45 degrees, separated by 18 feet or more (wall length; not center-to-center of the speakers). You sit in the crosshairs of the speakers such that you see down the throat of the horns. With this setup, the speakers completely disappear from the room with stereo music and you can point to voices and instruments. The imaging is extraordinary.

Just to clarify. Oldtimer1954 is sort of a tribute to my father who was killed by a drunk driver. Im 29 years old

Well my room is 24x12.5. I would prefer to keep them in the 12.5 section of the room as opposed to the corners of the wide part of the room. Also will soon be building a dedicated theater room that will be approx 14x16. So that is the room that I really care about how they will sound. But my questions remain, how many of you guys have heard or owned both rf line and heritage line (cornwalls, or la scala's in particular)? I do appreciate the post by tony giving his description of his la scala's compared to the kl650's. The things I want to know are; how do the la scala's/cornwall's compare to the rf line? If I was unimpressed by the rf line, will I enevitably be unimpressed by the heritage line? Keep in mind this will be going into a dedicated theater room for 100% ht, no music. In the past I have had other speakers (briefly) but always went back to the def techs. Now my main and most important questions: 1. How do the la scala's or cornwall's compare to some in the def tech line, such as the bp30's, 7002's, or the bp2000's? Have any of you guys gone from def tech to klipsch and if so what were your expirences? Do the la scala's offer the envolipment, the midrange clarity, the soundstage, and the wow factor that I could get with the def techs? If I do decide to go with the la scala's I will eventualy be getting either an integra 40.1 with emo amps or a denon 3310 with emo amps.

Thanks for your opinions and guidance.

Oldtimer1954, I was just being funny. Thanks for clarifying. Fantastic tribute!

In an 11x17' room, I can highly recommend the KL650's. In fact, I'm fairly sure I would prefer them to LaScala in that size room. They are warmer and easier on the ears. I just think the LaScala wouldn't be able to show it's advantage in that size space.

To answer regarding the WOW factor, etc. The LS will give it as much or more than any other speaker in a similar price range. BTW, I'm using mine with an Emo amp and the 40.1!

The thing that keeps me away from the kl650's are their price. I can get a trio of used la scala's for around 1600.00. With upgrades that price will likely jump to 2000.00$ The kl650's are around 1200.00 ea and that comes to 1600.00$ more, which makes them out of my price range. I have been on the lookout for some used kl650's but they rarely come up for less than 1000$ ea. I did have a chance for a so so audition of the kl525's today. Didnt get to hear them in an ht setting, only in 2 channel listening. The sucked in 2 channel mode even with an outlaw sub. Admitedly they were not positioned properly. For some reason I have this beautifull sound of the la scala's with great dynamics, awsome spl, and great highs that I remember from listening to them in the early 90's. But that was my first expirence with dolby dig and it was powered by all mac amps n preamps.

Oldtimer........ I purchased my set of Klipsch THX Ultra 2's ( 7 speakers without the subwoofers) for less than $4500.00 about a year ago. These speakers were brand new and from a brick and morter electronics store. If you audition the Klispch speakers and like them, you should be able to find them lower than the sticker price you spoke of. I auditioned several speakers and after hearing the Klipsch's, I had no regret plucking my hard earned cash down on them. Still no regret today.

You can find the KL's much cheaper than that. I've got three that I would part with. If interested, PM me. I wouldn't be concerned about a negative impression of the 525's in 2 channel mode. That's not their purpose.

I had the same experience as you. When I was in high school a friends Dad had Khorns with Rotel amp and it was to die for. It's hard to ever eclipse the pedastal that your first impression goes up on. LOL But I must say, my LS's leave me wanting for nothing.

I like the sound of my KL's over the LS, but they don't have the horsepower to fill the large room the same. Your room will be less than 2000cf. The KL's with good subs would give you an incredible HT experience. Again, I've owned both and would choose the KL's in a 2000cf room. Either would make your ears bleed with dynamics.

Oldtimer, I'll give you my 2 cents.

Although I've literally heard the RF's, it's been too long ago and for too short of time for me to give you any honest side by side.

That said, I've owned LaScalas for 32 years and frankly, consider them one of the more functional speakers made by Klipsch. You get fully horn loaded speaker AND it doesn't require being in a corner!

I think in the world of Klipsch, the horn loaded speakers are where it's at. I've not yet seen where you live, you might add that to your profile in case someone is near enough to you for an audition.

ok, on to my 2 cents.

First, I think if you can hear a pair of LaScalas, that is of course the best scenario. Here's another idea for you.... buy some used LaScalas and modify them into "JubeScalas" You can do this over time since it won't be a $50 upgrade. You would sell the existing tweeter and midrange horns and drivers, using only the existing bass bin. You could then set either the Klipsch K510 or (much larger) K402 horn on top of the bass bin, biamp, add in some signal delay and be done. You could also modify the cabinets and stuff the K510 INSIDE the cabinet where the other horns currently reside.

"Why do this" you may ask...

Doing so converts the LaScala into a 2-way speaker with giant sound. If you go balls to the wall you will then have a fully signal aligned biamped speaker. So what you say?

I had Khorns for several years. I have also dragged a single LaScala outdoors to use. I learned that these sounded distinctly better (more coherent) when I was about 30 feet away. Long story short, it takes a while, therefore distance for the sound from 3 drivers to merge into a more coherent 'bubble' of sound.

Drop a horn, drop a crossover point and all the sudden the speaker gets a whole lot more coherent a lot sooner and therefore closer.

Meaning.... you will have better sound while sitting 10' away as a signal aligned 2-way speaker than you will using them as a stock 3-way.

If there is any chance you are in the Knoxville, TN area or ever pop through, I can set up a "JubeScala" for you next to a stock LaScala (updated with ALK extreme slope crossovers) and let you hear for yourself.

I will wager you a nice dinner/lunch at a place of your choosing that you will LOVE what you hear. We can even do it outdoors to take any room issues out of the equation.

I'd take the horn loaded bass anyday over another type. Then again, I admit to being biased so you need to water down my comments by about 1,000 percent

To be honest, I have very limited experience with RF series. But the La Scala is in a league other than conventional speakers, being fully horn-loaded. The dynamics will surprise you. But... your 14x16 room is on the small side for them, specially is you don`t use the wide wall. They won't image at that separation, but they will still rock dynamics for HT. The advice to buy some used ones and slowly investigate converting them into Jubscalas is very interesting!

And in all, this has been your afternoon on this thread! You have gotten some valuable advice even if it hasn't directky answered your question!

I've had the Rf line & I went back to Cornwalls ,they just sounded more accurate,detailed,true to the whole recordings, Then I Modded the Cornwalls into CornScala's, (4 of them )all new drivers , woofers,Crites crossovers , his woofers & tweets & use them now in a 7.2 HT & I feel I have a sound that is good as I ever heard before .I can not match it with any speaker system that I have listened to , it still blows me away on a daily basis
I feel like I'm in the room & in the center of the musicians , weather it be a recording Or @ a live Concert
I now listen to Classical Music something that I Never would have dreamed that I could enjoy...........

Comparing the "RF line" to Cornwalls negates the fact that Cornwalls are considerately more expensive and that the former has various degrees of quality...That being said, Cornwalls can be found in the used market and the RF-7s would be the only RF comparable, imo.

What are cornScala's? Just the swapping of drivers or do you have to build a whole new cabinet?

Do a search on the Klipsch forum and you will find a number of threads....
EDIT: Here you go http://community.klipsch.com/search/...la&o=Relevance

use of the old cabinets & adding a larger mid horn much like what a Lascala uses . the CornScala has a better bass response due to the woofer being directly radiated instead of folded
The Cornwall & LaScala use the same woofer stock ,Cornwalls have a better bass response than a LaScala but lack the mid range punch due to a small midhorn ,the driver on the mid horn is the same . Just the horn size is different

Has anyone heard or know of any reviews for the Klipsch Reference II series.
I have found two package deal that peaks my interest.
My dimensions are 18x19, seating is at the wall of the rear.
I listen to 90% Movies/PS3 rarely music.
I love to listen to my audio at very high levels, I have no neighbors
I have not a professional in anyway nor are my ears.
My last system was a basic onkyo htib from best buy $500 about 2 years ago.
I have looked Axiom but they are more geared towards a 50/50 mix.
I have also looked at aperion but do not know that much..
My budget is up to $4000 that is speakers and amp.
My current sights are set on two packages

$4000
Klipsch RF-62 II Tower Speakers (1 pair)
Klipsch RC-62 II Center Channel Speaker
Klipsch RS-52 II Surround Speakers (1 pair included, add another pair to get a 7.1 system!)
Klipsch RW-12d Subwoofer (add another subwoofer and Y-cable to get a 5.2 or 7.2 system!)
Yamaha RX-V3900 7.1 Surround Receiver
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player

And
$2000
Klipsch RF-52 II Tower Speakers (1 pair)
Klipsch RC-52 II Center Channel Speaker
Klipsch RS-42 II Surround Speakers (1 pair, add another pair to get a 7.1 system!)
Klipsch RW-10d Subwoofer (1 included, add another to get a 5.2 or 7.2 system!)
Yamaha RX-A700 7-Channel Surround Receiver
Oppo BDP-80 Blu-ray Disc Player

One is twice the price, could those upgrades speaker be worth twice the price.

Well, there's definitely going to be some diminishing returns. Cant say whether the one system is $2000 better than the other, but you've got a decently large room, and you say you like it loud - then in that case, youre going to want large speakers and lots of power.

Both sets are fairly large with decent amounts of power, but one is unquestionably more powerful. Not twice as powerful for sure, but that's where the whole dimishing returns come in.

I personally have the older models (RF/RC-35) thats comparable to the $4k system. I'm quite happy with it, in a smaller room, and I play it plenty loud.

If I were spending YOUR money for you, I'd get the higher end one, or at the very least, the larger center and sub with the smaller fronts if possible. I really feel like the rc-52 is going to be too small for your size room. It really depends how much that extra $2000 means to you....both will be capable, and a huge upgrade over what you have.

laidbacklarry79 -- You would be much better off getting your $4000 system, but substituting RS-62s for the RS-52s (for about $300 more). You should also consider the Rythmik F12 (http://www.rythmikaudio.com/F12.html) instead of the Klipsch RW-12d (same price). It's a lot better sub -- you don't need to use a Klipsch sub with the other Klipsch speakers.

The other thing is that if you want the older Reference line, you better act fast. They are being closed out and replaced with a new reference line (RF-62 II replaces the RF-62, etc.). You can save a significant amount of $$$$, if you do (I saved over 30% on my order). The newer line is using a different woofer (my guess, because all the "II" models have significantly lower crossover frequencies).

Well I would much rather have the $4k system verses the $2k system (who wouldn't ?).
I also think the $4k system is still a long way away from diminishing returns so no worries there. I think even a very casual listener would immediately prefer the $4k system over the $2k system.

I know the Oppo is the #1 machine and I am not knocking it by any means, but I use a PS3 slim and it does an excellent job plus its a nice game console.... so I would not spend the money on the Oppo.

If you don't have a PS3 I would take the $500 the Oppo costs and use $300 to get RF-82's instead of RF-62's and then just get one of the higher rated BD players that costs ~$200.

The first place I looked had the Yammy for $1k so its not overly expensive in a ~$4k system... I have not kept up with any issues Yamaha has with this model so if it is a trouble free machine its probably still worth the money (I highly value trouble free) but if there are any significant issues with it I would probably look at a different AVR.
I don't know if I think the 3d or HDMI 1.4 is worth getting into at this time or not (1.3 is just barely working at this time) but having said that if I was shelling out the money right now I would have to look into the machines supporting HDMI 1.4.
When it comes to AVRs everyone has their favorite and everyone has their Kryptonite so FWIW the Pioneer AVRs have a lot of features that are useful at pretty decent prices.
Front panel HDMI and USB have been very useful to me and ethernet (wireless would be better) may finally be ready to come into its own... but I have not been keeping up with what is going on with the AVRs.

I would also rather have the Rythmik F15 over the Klipsch RW12d.

And don't forget other fine sub companies like HSU, SVS, eD and Outlaw!