Switching to Klipsch THX Ultra2 system? Whats your opinion of it?

I am currently running a complete Klipsch THX Ultra II system - with the dual subs and amp - and couldn't be happier with the performance. It is the first system I have had that actually makes you feel like you're in a commercial theater. The dynamics of the system are stellar, and the dual Ultra II subs slam harder than any sub system I've had - which includes SVS, M&K, and Velodyne.

What I also really enjoy about this system is the way it handles music. DVD-Audio, SACD, and concert DVD's are simply amazing and sound better than any previous THX speakers I've heard. The subs blend seemlessly with the mains for music, so it's a perfect match.

I had a pair of the big Def Tech towers (with the SuperCube subs) and while I liked the speakers, I feel the Klipsch system outperforms them - especially on movies. The top of the line Def Tech center can't hold a candle to the Ultra II center (which is also the left and right).

You can't go wrong with the Klipsch Ultra II system in my mind.

here is a review from people that own this system. most of them are postive reviews. http://www.audioreview.com/cat/speak...8_4282crx.aspx
and another review,http://reviewboard.com/articles_ektid435.aspx

You mean a total of 4 - Ultra II subs?!?!?!?!?

How big is your space?

The more important question than whether or not *we* like it, is whether or not *you* like it. If you have heard it and liked it, that's all you really need to know. If you're looking for confirmation of your impressions from the forum, you'll get a mixed bag of comments. But they're *all* just opinions and preferences. If you have not heard this system yourself, you should definitely do so before you buy it. Certainly don't rely on opinions people post on the internet to make your decision.

Having said that, I have heard the Klipsch THX Ultra2 System and *I* thought it was fantastic. Great dynamics, excellent imaging, incredible bass, (unless you have a HUGE room you won't need more than two subs), etc. The thing *I* prefer about the Klipsch system over Def Tech speakers is their mono-polar directionality. Def Tech's, being bi-polar, throw up a large soundstage. However, it can sometimes be difficult to precisely localize specific sounds within that big wall of sound. A tightly directional speaker, like the Klipsch THX speakers, will make imaging more precise. For me, this makes HT much more enjoyable.

Also, as a previous poster stated, multi-channel music sounds great with these speakers. Once again, I believe this is partly due to the pinpoint imaging.

Good luck.

Craig

Hi,
I used to own these speakers. I only like one set of speakers better than the ultra 2's but they don't make them anymore. I am talking only movies. They are very impressive and have that great big sound of commercial theaters which is very important for the theater. You will not think you are home but in a high end commercial theater. I hope you have a big screen to match these. I think you will like them better than the def tech's. The subs are great but I think you can get the same performance for less. You can't go wrong. What are your components to mate with these?

Being a Klipsch dealer with an Ultra 2 system on display and a number of them under my belt...I'd say go for it. The difference between that system and the Def Tech system will be night and day. As long as your room is 7000 cubic ft or under, that is a VERY hard system to beat. Sub wise, 4 of the Ultra 2 subs is a good setup if you have a larger space. I've also sold (and display) the Danley Labs DTS-20 sub which is a great match to the U2 sats. If you DO have a large room, and plan a screen wall, you may want to consider a 5 sub setup...only use 3 of the subs to run the LCR's with electronic crossovers (cross the mains in higher up depending on how the response curve in the front reads), and 2 of the subs as dedicated LFE. Set the mains to full range and use the twin setup as an LFE only channel (route the rears to them as well). This SERIOUSLY opens up the screen channel dynamics on that system

Use PLENTY of horsepower. 2X RMS is where the system gets REALLY happy and make sure you get them from somebody who does or will lend you a laser alignment system with adjustable beam spread...makes quite a difference getting them aligned properly and really helps set the side wall acoustic treatment on them (which with the odd horn spread, is very different than conventional speakers). By the way, doing a system of that calibre in a non-treated room isn't really an option...if you aren't treated...get so.

Enjoy!

HI soundood,
Now that I think of it there is another thread that asks what speakers to replace M&K's and I would say these Klipsch. Compared to the M&K S-5000's The M&K's have slightly better highs and the Klipsch have a slightly bigger sound(midrange). I wish I can combine the 2, then perfect. Soundood how would the heresey's compare with the 650 thx ultra 2? I have always wanted to try the heritage for theater. Is it even worth it vs the ultra 2?

Heresy theaters are fun...but it takes a lot more work to get a fully integrated Heritage theater set up. It CAN be done. There ares some significant differences between them in terms of setup...

The Heresy and bigger Heritage speakers have more midbass punch. This makes them better suited for larger theaters. Integration with an LFE system is definitely more work because the roll off on the Heresy happens in a range that is more critical and they are a bit less controlled. They also don't benefit from a baffle walls setup like the KL-650's which you can use to increase the midbass extension for room dips. Also, the dispersion pattern on the Heritage horns is radically different than the Ultra 2 horn and your acoustic treatment will be very different. Just look at the horn design on each and it will tell you a lot.

Is it worth it? Yup. An all Heritage theater is very old school. Not the most accurate sounding...but just flat out satisfying and damned fun. They also don't need the sheer horsepower the U2 system needs to have. The biggest pain is trying to figure out how to mount and align Heresy's in the rear.

As for the top end on the Ultra 2's, there several things that can seriously effect the top end on the Ultra 2's. First is that they do have a very different dispersion pattern to them and this means they will need different acoustics. Also, because they are a controlled dispersion horn, the alignment on them is more critical than the M&K's (the horn giveth...the horn taketh away) and few setups I've heard have been properly aligned. It makes a difference.

Another issue on the Ultra 2 system is one of under powering and the quality of amps used. This is endemic with people buying Klipsch because too many salespeople do not take the time to understand the systems they sell. Too often I've seen setups where salespeople sell the clients amps that are inadequate. I have one client who bought an Ultra 2 system from an online place and they sold it to him with a $599 receiver telling him it was all he needed since they are so efficient . It worked but he wondered what all the fuss was about and wanted to sell them off. Then we let him hear our setup. After all was said and done...needless to say, he is now impressed.

As Craig said, it's only if you like them. I personally thought they were unimpressive, with poor imaging and transparency, especially for such a high price. But I don't typically like Klipsch or horns or anything with with ports or stacked midranges and these fit all the stereotypes of that kind of design. However, yes, they sounded like real theater, but I don't think that is a good goal. There are many speakers that provide much *better* sound than a theater. Most, in fact.

yawn

I feel the same about the glowing comments. It's a PA system, not a high-end, high performance system. A bus, IOW, not a sports car. For that price, I'd get a Triad, Revel or Aerial Acoustics system for instance. Much better stuff. And there are others.

adammb,

Well, just as I predicted, you'll get a mixed bag of opinions. You've received opinions from 2 dealers, one who sells it and highly recommends it, (Soundood), and one who doesn't sell it and doesn't recommend it, (Alimentall). No surprises there. Is either opinion more valid than the other? Your call. However, to put things in perspective, I suggest you do a search on John's username (Alimentall) and read some of his other posts. The other day, another member called him a "controversy magnet", to which John *proudly* proclaimed: "Yes, yes I am."
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=848848&page=2
I will leave it at that. You can form your own opinion.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

Craig

I would be willing to bet this person has never heard this system in a properly calibrated, high end theater. If he did, I'm sure his almost laughable comments would be a bit different.

Please.....

Adam, here's the modus operandi on AVS. If you ask about any speaker, you'll get 10 people who own that speaker tell you that it's the best, most amazing thing in the world. No surprises there, everyone who buys something seems to think they've made the best decision ever. Then you'll get one or two like me who've heard it and aren't as impressed. The owners immediately try to discredit those opinions by implying (or just saying) that we're biased or bad people or something.

If you want, I'll rattle off 10 or 12 systems you should go hear (if they're around) before buying a Klipsch system. Now, if you have a very bright, echoey room with tile floor and such, the controlled directivity may help you, but others have other ways of doing this as well. If not, then I think you'll find that they're kind of boxy and speakerish, just like a real theater. I am a dealer, but I also used to work for a Klipsch dealer, so rather than biased, I'd prefer to think that my opinion has a whole lot of experience behind it and none of the recommendations I've made are anything that I currently sell just to avoid the appearance of bias. The Klipsch is a step up from what you have, but I wouldn't stop looking and listening because $10K and get you a real thoroughbred.

That's good advice from John. Listen to the Klipsch setup, and then listen to some other speakers in the same price range, and some more expensive and less expensive speakers. Then, *you* decide what *you* like best.

I will also agree with Soundood's advice that room treatments are essential to getting the best sound, either from the Klipsch THX Ultra2's, or from any other speaker system.

Craig

Adam

Take the opportunity to go and listen to the Ultras as well as other speakers out there. Make a decision based on the inputs that your ears give you. You have a wide variety of opinions on this board. At the same time, you should make your decision based on what your own senses tell you that you prefer.

And be wary of what you read... As an old saying goes... "Advise is one of the most damaging things that a human being can give to another"...

When I say sounds like a theater I mean the big full sound, it makes it sound you are sitting in a big theater. The sound quality is much better than any theater I have ever been to.

What is your room like? How will you set up the speakers? That makes a big difference too!

Soundood,
Lets just say everything is setup perfect for either speakers set, Ultra 2 or Heresy? How about la scalas?

MKtheater,

I realize the question wasn't directed to me but having heard all of the speakers you are inquiring about I must say the best HT setup I have ever heard was 3 La Scala's up front with 2 Belles in the rear, and dual THX subs taking up the low end.

Out of the 30 or so people that heard the THX system compared to the La Scala set-up, I only remember one person who liked the THX system better. Imo, unless there is a space restraint (or lack of good amplification) there is NO WAY that an all Heresy HT can compete with the La Scala's (especially for your front 3 speakers) or the THX 650's in a Home Theater environment.

That being said there is a tremendous price difference (5-6 times at least, as well as availability) in the Heresies and the La Scala's with the THX system falling somewhere in between. BTW, I didn't like the Heresies in a surround situation with the Cornwall HT I heard, but I am sure some would disagree and are happy using them in Heritage HT's. My 2 cents.

Thanks Zen,
I would of thought so. When I am ready I am going to go all horns. My subs are horns already and they are fantastic. I have owned the THX ultra 2 system and wanted some opinions. To the op the klipsch are worth it.

Funny, last time I went to the theater, I don't remember any Triad, Revel or Aerial Acoustics in there...only PA speakers. I'll make the assumption you've set up, calibrated and auditioned a Heritage theater setup to make your statements from personal experience. Again, nobody...including myself, ever said the Heritage series was the most accurate speaker system out there. BUT...it does have a certain warm, very live, large theatrical sound presentation that a lot of people find far more compelling and pleasurable to listen to than the sterile sound you get from an Aerial or Revel system. To give credit where credit is due, at least Triad uses those nasty PA horns in their BEST product (cough, cough). Every top notch commercial theater in the world, without a single exception (and yes, there are some VERY good sounding ones), uses "PA" speakers...many of them (coincidentally), from Klipsch...who dominates the high end commercial theater market.

La Scala II's are awesome in a home theater setup as an LCR front stage.
As for the Heresy...were they the new Heresy III's? If not, the newest version is a far cry from the earlier speakers in an LCR setup. If you can swing La Scala III's across the front stage, they are fantastic. The only drawback is that you need a sub system capable of keeping up with them. A quad THX Ultra 2 sub works well, but my favorite has to be the Danley Labs DTS-20 tapped horn sub that mates PERFECTLY with them (hey...if you are going to go big...go BIG).

Good point. The Heresies I heard in the HT situation were older models. I heard the Heresy III in a 2 channel set-up but it still wasn't something I really was impressed with as much as the other offerings.

John,

This may be the problem with you and Klipsch speakers. If you think they work best in a bright, echoey environment, then I'm not surprised you don't like them. I personally find they work best in a very controlled, somewhat dead environment.

My listening room is a "Live-End/Dead-End", (LEDE) room. The front half of the room is well treated with mineral wool, OC 705 and SelectSound acoustic treatments, as well as bass traps in the ceiling. It is so acoustically dead that, if you stand in the front corners of my room, you can hear your own heartbeat. The acoustic absorption creates a 'ReflectionFree Zone" where only the direct sound from the speakers hits your ears.

The back half of the room is acoustically very "live", with drywall walls, tiled floors, etc. There are also some diffusive treatments back there. The "point" of the LEDE concept is to absorb the early reflections which impair imaging, and to augment the late reflections which provide the sense of spaciousness. You can place 10 people in the front half of my room having a conversation and they will be talking in a normal tone of voice with excellent speech intelligibility. Move those same 10 people to the back half of the room and they are raising their voices to be heard over the other conversations, and it's much harder to understand the dialogue.

This is the environment my current Klipsch Reference system is in, and I really enjoy the way they sound. (I also have a set of Strata Mini's in there right now and I really like the way they sound as well).

When I heard the THX Ultra2's they were in a dedicted showroom theater that was treated acoustically. I think Klipsch speakers sound best in this type of acoustic environment. In fact, I think *most* speakers will sound their best when the room works "for" them, instead of "against" them. Acoustic treatments make this happen. I'm sure that's why Soundood recommended them above, and why I agreed with him.

Craig

Soundood

Come to think of it, when you look at several speaker manufacturers, you find many of them using those "nasty PA horns" in their best product for two channel applications as well. Its not just HT, and it's not just Klipsch doing this anymore. We often equate horns with HT or theatre applications, but the fact is that you see more manufacturers using them, (or wave guides as they also call them), for their high end music systems as well. And efficiency or "playing loud" is not the main reason that these manufacturers use them. There is something about a properly engineered and executed horn loaded speaker that is very compelling in it's sound rendering, imaging, and delivery. Thing about it is that they tend to occupy a lot of space and they tend to be pretty pricey.

I agree with you

I'll be honest here, I haven't heard this system, but I definitely have read about it. It costs anywhere from 7-9k dollars. I would read reviews and such, sure...but if I was spending that money I wouldnt care what people said about it on the internet, I would let my ears do the talking. Even if I had to drive a few hours to listen to a few choices, its better than blowing 8k dollars on something you might not like, and lets face it, these aren't light and would cost a fortune to return if you didn't buy them local.

These speakers are very popular with the professional install market segment for its ability to be placed in cabinets or in-wall. Together with this system's ability to simulate the movie theater experience/sound (which is what THX Ultra 2 dictates) is what dedicated home theaters strive for.

Basically this product covers a specific market segment, which may not be for everybody. There are more musical speakers out there, but I would hesitate if they can produce the loud dynamic output that cinema viewing requires amoung other things.

That said, I plan on purchasing this system based on what I heard and what I want for my dedicated theater.

Dave