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gargonp
11-14-2009, 04:07 PM
Hi, I have a European Kenwood home speaker system that I bought in '04 while I was stationed in Germany. Is is made up of of FL and FR LS-9070-B towers, Center CS-7070, with SL and SR RS-7070. Kenwood doesn't even sell home audio in the states anymore and I am looking at getting in-ceiling speakers to upgrade to 7.1 surround. I can't afford to replace all of the speakers right now... I want to use the RS-7070's as rear L and R and get two in-ceiling speakers (budget around $250 or less) to be the surround L and R. How can I best match what I have with some in-ceiling speakers?

Specs:
LS-9070:
3-way 6-Speaker Wide Range System
Magnetically Shielded
Frequency response: 48 Hz - 30 kHz
Sensitivity: 83 dB
19 mm Dome Tweeter
Impedance 8 ohms

RS-7070:
2-way 3-Speaker System
Magnetically Shielded
Impedance 8 ohms
Maximum input power 130 W
80 mm Woofer x 2
19 mm Dome Tweeter

CS-7070
2-way 3-Speaker System
Magnetically Shielded
Terminal-Banana Plug Support
80 mm Woofer x 2
19 mm Dome Tweeter
Impedance 8 ohms

I also have a matching Kenwood Subwoofer, not sure the specs right now...

blackraven
11-14-2009, 04:44 PM
Because you are using them as effects speakers, matching won't be as critical unless your a perfectionist. Here's a few speakers-

http://www.crutchfield.com/g_101500/In-ceiling-Speakers.html?tp=193

I'm partial to the Boston Acoustics but they all will work. You may want to match Sensitivities kenwoods, so that the sound levels are similar but you should be able to adjust that through your AVR.

Mr Peabody
11-14-2009, 04:53 PM
Yeah, replacing the entire system would be expensive. It will be nearly impossible to timbre match but if you are intent on putting them in the ceiling if you got close you'd be alright. I'm not familiar with your model of Kenwood speaker but you might try something with a dome tweeter like Polk Audio. Of course, you already know you will match level using your receiver's internal set up.

Your speaker's sensitivity looks awfully low. Just an observation. 83dB would be extremely hard on a receiver.

gargonp
11-14-2009, 06:13 PM
I am only vaguely familiar with sensitivity, but it doesn't surprise me that it is low since the speakers in the towers are all 3" with 3/4" tweeters. But, my trusty Sony STR-DB1080 has been faithfully working along with them for 5+ years through 4 moves with 2 different power sources (110 vs 220 in Germany). I would love to replace the entire system but not this year... we just built a new home and had it wired for 7.1, so at least I get to justify buying the in-cieling this year. Thanks for the tips, the polk audio speakers look like they aren't too expensive, any words on quality? Are they a good option if I am thinking of updating the rest of the system in a couple of years? Thanks again!

Mr Peabody
11-14-2009, 07:50 PM
Polk is a respectible option. If you plan to upgrade though you make a good point, you may want to take your time and pick out something from the line you plan to go with in the future. If you plan to stick with a "mass market" receiver (Sony, Onkyo, Denon etc.) my recommendation would be to look at maybe Paradigm or B&W which offer better performance over "mass market" (Polk, Infinity, Boston Acoustic etc) in similarly priced options. If you planned to use a higher end receiver or separates you can go higher up in those lines or expand into other brands. I am personally a Dynaudio fan. A set up in their entry series, Excite, would still cost a fair bit of change.

There have been some nice affordable separates hit the market lately from the likes of Rotel, Onkyo or Marantz. Adcom and NAD are usually in there too but I'm not convinced on how strong NAD's reliability is and I'm not up on what Adcom is currently offering.

Also, for excellent price per performance consider: www.emotiva.com and I'd be remiss in not showing www.svsounds.com which is an excellent sub.

gargonp
11-19-2009, 10:22 AM
so it turns out my Sony STR-DB1080 is only capable of 6.1... more expense for me in the near future.

blackraven
11-19-2009, 04:17 PM
Stick with 5.1 and you will never miss a thing.

Mr Peabody
11-19-2009, 04:32 PM
Well, I tend to agree 5.1 is good enough but good reason to switch from Sony.

gargonp
11-20-2009, 09:57 PM
I would stick with 5.1 but I now have speaker wires coming out of my ceiling and back wall to accommodate 7.1. I was just looking at an open box onkyo TX-NR807 for $531, but as soon as I clicked to buy, it had just gone out of stock.

Mr Peabody
11-20-2009, 10:16 PM
With Blu ray I think more is being done with 6 & 7.1. Have you checked Amazon.com for the Onkyo? Those are good units, I think you'll like them. Denon or Marantz would serve you well too.

gargonp
11-30-2009, 09:36 PM
After researching for a while, I got the itch to upgrade my entire system. I gotta tell ya, I went all out and way over budget, but I don't regret it. Here is what I ended up with:

Receiver: Onkyo TX-NR807 (696.99 from Newegg, free shipping)
L/R: 2 x Klipsch RF-62 (323.50 each plus tax from local retailer)
Center: Klipsch RC-62 (340.00 plus tax from local retailer)
Surround: 2 x Klipsch CDT-5650-C (313.00 for both plus tax from local retailer)
Rear: 2 x Klipsch KSB 1.1 (late nineties) (67.00 shipped on Ebay)
Sub: Klipsch Sub-12 (220.00 plus tax floor model from best buy)
total for audio = $2375.19 after tax

I also caved in and bought a new 52 inch Sharp LC-52E77UN for $1019.99 (no tax in-store)... and matching BD-HP22U Blu-ray for $106.95 shipped (refurb from Amazon.com)... I previously had a 6 year old 42 inch fujitsu plasma with an ailing power supply.

Grand total = $3502.13 for a complete (and most awesome) makeover of my home entertainment system... all just to upgrade to 7.1 :). so much for sending the kids to school :wink5: .

gargonp
11-30-2009, 10:01 PM
I do have a question, though, would I gain or lose anything by keeping the Kenwood (much less powerfull and smaller) Sub in for a 7.2 config? I doubt I will even have a good spot on the other side of the room for it, but I would like to know if that would even be an option.

Mr Peabody
12-01-2009, 07:25 PM
Congrads on the system. I bet it rocks. You could probably still use the Kenwood sub, there are various ways you could integrate it but to be honest I doubt if it would keep up with the rest of your system. The Klipsch are very sensitive, meaning they will play loud with very little input power. You can't always tell by specs on how loud a sub will go. You'll have to hook up the Kenwood to see what it will do. The simplest way would be just to put it in place of the Klipsch for a bit. If it gets drowned out or you have to max volume on the Kenwood to hear it, I wouldn't use it. You'll just end up blowing it.

If by chance it does have the output to keep up, the easiest hook up would be if the 807 has two sub outs. If not you could use speaker terminal hook up and use the sub on your center. You can use Y adaptors at the preamp outputs to run it with really any set of speakers in your system.

Also, if you do hook it up don't forget to run the speaker auto set up again.