need advice

[armyman884]

hi all can you help me i am think about upgrading my home theater system i am running a yamaha RX-V765 7.2 and i am wondering i can get a preamp that will push all my channels because i don't thing my resever has enough power. what can you suggest for me to do. and i am also going to up grade my speakers i am running klipsch referance than are about 8 years old i want to spend about 2500 on fronts, center, and 4 surrounds i want very good home theater i don't lisen to alot of music. i watch alot of movies and play video games.can you guys help
thanks
kenneth

[woofersus]

How much power you need will depend on the sensitivity of the speakers you choose, but if you're happy with the features of the Yamaha then you could always add an external amplifier and just use your AVR as a pre/pro. Emotiva is closing out the UPA-7 (125w x 7) for $599 right now - I'm assuming in anticipation of a new model coming soon. There is definitely other stuff out there but that seems to be one of the best deals for what you'd get.

What Klipsch Reference speakers do you have now? Are you looking for a different type of sound? (i.e. not horns)

[blackraven]

Ditto on Emotiva. What is it that you don't like about your speakers?

Here's a suggestion for new speakers-

http://saturdayaudio.com/picturepages/psb_bstock.htm

PSB Image T5's for fronts
Image B4's for surround
Image C5 for center

[harley .guy07]

Another option is Audiogon has used multi channel adcoms all over the place for cheap prices and they would definitely be a step in the right direction since Klipsch are bright by nature and the higher powered adcoms are balanced sounding so they would not make them overly bright sounding. I have a friend in my home town that owns a pair of Klipsch reference and he runs a Yamaha receiver and thought he needed more power so I turned him on to a Adcom 5500 and he is happy as a lark with his setup and I know they made multi channel versions of the 5000 series amps that can be had cheaply as far as power amps go.

[Mr Peabody]

Before discarding your Klipsch you need to realize; 1. Klipsch is in many movie theaters, you mentioned you are mostly into home theater so it would seem Klipsch is a reasonable choice for authentic theater sound , 2. Klipsch is one of the most sensitive home speakers on the market meaning they will play louder than most every other speaker with the same input power which would also make keeping them a good choice. It's hard to understand how you need more power but the addition of a power amp as suggested already, is your most logical step. That is unless you don't like your Klipsch but you've had them for 8 years which leads me to believe they couldn't be that bad. In my opinion the current Reference or the line they most recently replaced are better sounding and looking than the older RF but that's subjective. After writing all of this I should have just said buying new speaker will not resolve the needing more power issue.

[armyman884]

thanks all for helping. i like my klipsch but i want to upgrade to a thx system i feel that my klipsch are not that crisp. i know getting new speakers isn't going to solve me power problem the reason i want a amp is for more power but also cleaner and better sound.
so i guess the better question is whats the best speaker that have a great range that are 6 ohm unless there are 8 ohms out there that are better and cheaper very crisp highs and very life like sounding i like to watch a move and feel like i am there.

[blackraven]

From what you describe you should consider B&W 685's for fronts and 686's for rears. The PSB's that I mentioned are also excellent.

[pixelthis]

thanks all for helping. i like my klipsch but i want to upgrade to a thx system i feel that my klipsch are not that crisp. i know getting new speakers isn't going to solve me power problem the reason i want a amp is for more power but also cleaner and better sound.
so i guess the better question is whats the best speaker that have a great range that are 6 ohm unless there are 8 ohms out there that are better and cheaper very crisp highs and very life like sounding i like to watch a move and feel like i am there.

Klipsch that is not "crisp"!!!
When I had mine you could cut glass with em.
My B&W 600 series is cheap and very accurate(around 2500 bucks).
Speakers tend to be either four or eight ohm. Modern receivers aren't as sensitive to
speaker impedance as they used to be, especially ones advertised as "high current".
HARMON and Onkyo both are good for four to eight ohm speakers.
One of the best "bargains" in the speaker market is AXIOM. There top of the line M80
is A chevy version of other brands of Canadian speakers. I run a pair of these for
awhile, really nice.

[Mr Peabody]

Army man, no offense but if Klipsch isn't crisp there's a problem. Are your straps in place on the back that connects the two sets of terminals? If no flat metal pieces in place between upper and lower terminals your horns may not be working. I'm being serious with this suggestion, have you had the hearing checked lately? The horns on the Klipsch are very crisp, to the point a lot of folks cannot tolerate it.

From your statement about wanting to feel the movie it sounds like you need a better sub or maybe yours needs adjusting. I find some people turn the sub up too high trying to feel it but it doesn't allow the sub's internal amp any head room, it's over driven. I've found it better to turn the volume located on the sub to about 9 o'cloc and set the level with the receiver's set up menu. Have you used your receiver's auto set up feature for the speakers. I used to set up by ear and then used an SPL meter, with the meter I was surprised at how much difference a dB here or there makes in the balance of things. Any way when your sub's amp has reserve power left for spikes it will hit harder and cleaner.

I just hate for you to spend money and still not be happy. Klipsch, especially some of the stuff sold at Best Buy, is sometimes not very refined in sound and I can understand maybe wanting something you think sounds better but crisper I'm not sure exists.

[armyman884]

what you think about jamo speakers and Canton Electronics Corp. speakers

[armyman884]

what you think about jamo speakers and Canton Electronics Corp. speakers

[harley .guy07]

Jamo and Canton have both made speakers that are good and will satisfy a lot of people. I do agree with Mr. peabody in that the first thing you need to do is find out what about your Klipsch speakers are not crisp. I have Dynaudio which are smooth and totally apposite of what the presentation klipsch usually gives and I know I know several people with them and have set up several pairs of them in different configurations and I have never heard a Klipsch speaker that did not sound bright or crisp but first we need to find out what you mean by crisp. Do you feel the treble is not detailed enough or that the midrange or bass does not have a tight sound to it. I have heard a lot of people refer to crisp in different ways and after determining what you mean by crisp and what you don't like about your current setup I would be more comfortable giving suggestions based off that information. And also I would not pick up a piece of equipment just because it have a THX logo or certification, there are plenty of products out there that will do great with audio and home theater that do not have that logo, I would not make purchasing decisions based on that is what I am saying. All it is is a test by THX labs in order to see if a piece of equipment meets their requirements for home use. I have seen many of theses components and have found superior products to them without this logo.

[armyman884]

i feel that my Klipsch speakers dont have the detail and clairty that i like the mids are ok and the bass is there i want to feel like the sound is all around me with the set up i have now it seams like there little to nothing behind me. so i guess i am looking for fuller sound all around and brighter and clearer sound in the highs

[pixelthis]

i feel that my Klipsch speakers dont have the detail and clairty that i like the mids are ok and the bass is there i want to feel like the sound is all around me with the set up i have now it seams like there little to nothing behind me. so i guess i am looking for fuller sound all around and brighter and clearer sound in the highs

THAT IS WHAT Klipsch is known for.
I had a complete set, incl sub. They were too bright for me.
Are your strips connected in the back? If Klipsch is not bright enough for you then you
are in trouble. SERIOUSLY.

[TheHills44060]

The B&W 6 series or the PSB's are both great suggestions. Also agree that an Adcom maybe a Rotel, NAD or other amplifier easily found on audiogon for food prices would fit the bill as well. Don't waste your money on an Emotiva.

[Mr Peabody]

Canton, is a very good idea. The mids and highs are detailed and you will definitely know they are there. The imaging is excellent as well. Paradigm may be another brand you should check out.

I wonder if you are hearing what I hear in many models of Klipsch. They do play loud, it's just at high volume the clarity is lost, it's not necessarily distortion, it's more like glare over takes the music.