Help me buy a fierce sound system

i have this. sounds fantastic.
http://www.klipsch.com/rf-52-ii-home-theater-system

Let's hear someone bash their system for once.

Originally Posted by roastbeef

i have this. sounds fantastic.
http://www.klipsch.com/rf-52-ii-home-theater-system

I'm in the process of building this exact system in pieces. So far I have the fronts and centers and I love the sound that they make. I hope to get the rears this year but I'm not overly sold on the subwoofer.

With Glock's recommendation on the Polk subwoofer, I might give that a try as it's substantiallly cheaper than the Klipsch one. The last thing I want to do is pay for a name over performance.

If it was my money, I wouldn't do the Polk. One of the worst speakers I ever heard from an entry level. I rather have Klipsch bookshelfs which are rather bright but still a higher quality speaker.

If you go on audiogon, you can get the Focal 714/716 for $500-600 all day long when they generally retail between $1200 to $1500.

Speakers are important, but the speaker wires and interconnect wires can make or break a system. You can get great speakers but bad wires can make a speaker sound muffled, have no separation between low, mid and highs and have bass that sounds muffled.

To start a system, I would worry about getting a decent tower first. Yes, you need a center speaker and a sub to have a great HT system and get all the separation that your mind can handle but it's not essential to start a system.

Look into Marantz or Denon for AVR's because they have quality sound processers that can never go wrong.

I would look into Paradigm Millenia series for a center on audiogon which can be had for a couple hundred bucks all day long. Paradigm, Wilson, Focal, Thiel make some of the best speakers in the entry level of HT.

I would go to MONOPRICE.com for cable or bluejeancable to start with. Then as time goes on and you add(mod) pieces to your HT system, I would do a wire upgrade first from either Nordost or Synergistic Research...

If it was my money, I would do the focal towers, monoprice wires, denon or marantz avr and oppo93 blur rayer player and hopefully stay under $1500.

Originally Posted by SamDoe1

I'm in the process of building this exact system in pieces. So far I have the fronts and centers and I love the sound that they make. I hope to get the rears this year but I'm not overly sold on the subwoofer.

With Glock's recommendation on the Polk subwoofer, I might give that a try as it's substantiallly cheaper than the Klipsch one. The last thing I want to do is pay for a name over performance.

well, let me tell you this- i had to turn it down when watching indiana jones because when they opened the hangar in "the kingdom of the crystal scull", it was a tremendous sound... i loved it, but i didn't want to piss off my neighbors.

each speaker contributes to the bass, so the subwoofer is really there for the big booms and huge sounds. it really depends on the movie. indiana jones is a fun movie to watch because the sound enhancements and effects are pretty big. i haven't really fine tuned it beyond turning the center speaker up a little bit, but the subwoofer works well.

Klipsch makes fantastic speakers. If you bought their subs, you wouldn't be paying just for the name...

My friend has two of these at his vacation house and they are absolutely ridiculous:
http://www.cerwinvega.com/home-audio...s/xls-215.html

If you want loud speakers for listening to music, these are probably as "fierce" as it gets. They are each the size of 2 mini fridges stacked on top of each other. I am not sure if anyone else has heard them in action and can vouch?

Originally Posted by roastbeef

i have this. sounds fantastic.
http://www.klipsch.com/rf-52-ii-home-theater-system

Those speakers define fierce

Originally Posted by DangerousMind

My friend has two of these at his vacation house and they are absolutely ridiculous:
http://www.cerwinvega.com/home-audio...s/xls-215.html

If you want loud speakers for listening to music, these are probably as "fierce" as it gets. They are each the size of 2 mini fridges stacked on top of each other. I am not sure if anyone else has heard them in action and can vouch?

looks pretty "fierce" to me.

Samdoe: Klipsch has quite a solid reputation in mid-fi, particularly for their subwoofers. I wouldn't assume that the Polk is equal. That said, I don't know for sure between the particular models.

Originally Posted by phrankandbeanz

If it was my money, I wouldn't do the Polk. One of the worst speakers I ever heard from an entry level. I rather have Klipsch bookshelfs which are rather bright but still a higher quality speaker.

If you go on audiogon, you can get the Focal 714/716 for $500-600 all day long when they generally retail between $1200 to $1500.

Speakers are important, but the speaker wires and interconnect wires can make or break a system. You can get great speakers but bad wires can make a speaker sound muffled, have no separation between low, mid and highs and have bass that sounds muffled.

To start a system, I would worry about getting a decent tower first. Yes, you need a center speaker and a sub to have a great HT system and get all the separation that your mind can handle but it's not essential to start a system.

If it was my money, I would do the focal towers, monoprice wires, denon or marantz avr and oppo93 blur rayer player and hopefully stay under $1500.

You're exaggerating. As long as you get 14 gauge or so OFC wire, in this price bracket (and speaker setup), it'll be hard to hear a difference.

I doubt he'll be using single conductor or cheap sh!t Amazon wire for the setup.

I wouldn't discount Polk based on one speaker you heard. Infinity is decent, but it's also bright. Focal is good, but you can do as well for a little less money (generally speaking) if you do your homework.

If you're going to have a center speaker, it should be of roughly the same quality if not the same series as your front towers. Towers become accessories to the sound signature and don't produce the core signature of the sound once a center channel is in use. Rear doesn't matter as much as I previously stated.

Originally Posted by zhp43867

Let's hear someone bash their system for once.

I hate Klipsch. There I said it. Way too harsh for my taste.

That is why there are 100s different speakers out there to choose from.

Originally Posted by phrankandbeanz

If it was my money, I wouldn't do the Polk. One of the worst speakers I ever heard from an entry level. I rather have Klipsch bookshelfs which are rather bright but still a higher quality speaker.

Speakers are important, but the speaker wires and interconnect wires can make or break a system. You can get great speakers but bad wires can make a speaker sound muffled, have no separation between low, mid and highs and have bass that sounds muffled.

I could not disagree with you more if I was paid to.

If you really really think that speaker wire makes more difference than speakers do you really should not be helping anyone buy audio.

The ONLY time speaker wire makes ANY difference is when it is NOT speaker wire to start with, extremely too thin for the power (24ga on 100w) or the system is ULTRA high end.

If you think that 20ft of 16ga OFC is going to sound any different than 20 ft of 12ga on a 100w reciever and $250 speakers, you are nuts, deaf, or extremely misinformed. Do I use cheap wire? Absolutely not. But I do not have a $1500 system and I get everything at cost. I used CL2 14/4 doubled up for in wall speakers. It is fine. Interconnects make much more difference than speaker wire will ever. Before the amp is much more important than after.

To even compare a horn to a silk dome tweeter and claim the horn is superior is absurd.

You named some nice equipment, but comparing used to new is not fair for this argument. Used will always get you better stuff cheaper.

As far as Polk, read the reviews from both the professionals and the consumers. There are few brands that can have the satisfaction they have earn from price points as low as $100 per speaker to $2000 per speaker.

I have sold a lot of speakers over the years and I have NEVER had a customer that was not happy with them.

You are absolutely entitled to your opinion, but please do not state it as a fact when it is so easily debatable at minimum.

Do something like what my friend did to his car

Originally Posted by GlockMan

To even compare a horn to a silk dome tweeter and claim the horn is superior is absurd.

You named some nice equipment, but comparing used to new is not fair for this argument. Used will always get you better stuff cheaper.

As far as Polk, read the reviews from both the professionals and the consumers. There are few brands that can have the satisfaction they have earn from price points as low as $100 per speaker to $2000 per speaker.

Where was the debate between horns and silk domes posted? And was he actually talking about used equipment, or did you think that he was me?

The fact that you believe that the difference between silk dome and horn tweeters SQ difference is so clear cut is equally absurd. You cannot make that kind of a blanket statement.

Originally Posted by zhp43867

Where was the debate between horns and silk domes posted? And was he actually talking about used equipment, or did you think that he was me?

All of that was towards phrank not you.

Originally Posted by phrankandbeanz

Klipsch makes fantastic speakers. If you bought their subs, you wouldn't be paying just for the name...

Originally Posted by zhp43867

Samdoe: Klipsch has quite a solid reputation in mid-fi, particularly for their subwoofers. I wouldn't assume that the Polk is equal. That said, I don't know for sure between the particular models.

Originally Posted by GlockMan

I hate Klipsch. There I said it. Way too harsh for my taste.

That is why there are 100s different speakers out there to choose from.

I'm positive that Klipsch makes good stuff, that's why all of the speakers I own are Klipsch. But when it comes to subwoofers, is there really that much of a difference until you get to the high end of stuff? If so...then what makes a better subwoofer? A $200 Polk or a $700 Klipsch. I imagine that there is a bit of badge pricing on speakers no matter what you buy, but how much is there?

Originally Posted by SamDoe1

I'm positive that Klipsch makes good stuff, that's why all of the speakers I own are Klipsch. But when it comes to subwoofers, is there really that much of a difference until you get to the high end of stuff? If so...then what makes a better subwoofer? A $200 Polk or a $700 Klipsch. I imagine that there is a bit of badge pricing on speakers no matter what you buy, but how much is there?

A lot. But what makes you think the badge markup percentage is different between a Polk and a Klipsch?

What distinguishes a decent subwoofer from a great one is musicality and tone. Cheaper subwoofers go BOOM! that's not hard. Some are even called "bass creators" or "bass generators." Yikes. They can't keep up with the intricacies of complex music, and sound bloated.

There are other brands in your range (for subwoofers) like Velodyne, REL and Paradigm to investigate.

I'd give this a shot if you're up for it:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=300-627

Or you could go with the 10" version

IMO bigger is not always better. That also depends on where you're crossing the sub over to your speakers. I'd buy that in a heartbeat for a budget system. It's supposed to be very decent and costs next to nothing. You have very little brand markup with a brand like Dayton as well.

I had a Velodyne servo subwoofer. I wasn't all that impressed. I thought it sounded constipated. I have a hack of a subwoofer setup now, but it is awesome and uses a phenomenal driver:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...umber=264-1106

Any powered subwoofer using a driver of that caliber would cost $1000+ by my estimation.

I've heard that Klipsch makes quality speakers but they tend to be heavy on the bright side of sounds.

Originally Posted by phrankandbeanz

Speakers are important, but the speaker wires and interconnect wires can make or break a system. You can get great speakers but bad wires can make a speaker sound muffled, have no separation between low, mid and highs and have bass that sounds muffled.

To start a system, I would worry about getting a decent tower first. Yes, you need a center speaker and a sub to have a great HT system and get all the separation that your mind can handle but it's not essential to start a system.

This is 99% complete horsesh1t.

WTF does "separation between low, mid and highs" mean?

The difference cables can make is about the same difference that moving your main speakers 3 inches will make. Different cables CAN sound different. Slightly. But different doesn't mean better or worse in 99$ of systems.

Personally, I think center channels are overrated. Properly positioned stereo mains can give you the same effect. And when center channels are D'Appolito configured and laid horizontal (like 90% of center channels are, for some reason), they can flat out suck. D'Appolito (mid-tweet-mid) = awful off-axis response. That's the whole point, to let the two speakers partially cancel each other out off-axis in order to reduce ceiling reflections. When laid on its side and used as a center channel, it means that people sitting to one side or the other get a crappy center channel performance.

Originally Posted by cowmoo32

I've heard that Klipsch makes quality speakers but they tend to be heavy on the bright side of sounds.

Vintage Klipsch is the tits. Klipschorns and Lascalas are awesome. Big horns, compression drivers with giant magnets, big cabinets, sensitivities in the 105 db range. Known for insane dynamics. The new stuff uses smaller cabinets, smaller horns, smaller compression driver motors = they took away the only things klipsch had going for it. Now known for edgy, peaky, bright sound = which could work if you're having a dance party in your living room . . but not my first choice for music or tv.