Klipsch Ultra 5.1s

Well I was about to buy the Klipsch 2.1s from Dell for $120 shipped when I decided to take a quick look around to see if any local peeps were selling them... and somehow I lucked out.

I found a dude selling a 1 year old pair of Promedia Ultra 5.1s, with 2 stands (for fronts) and 2 wall mounts + cable (for rears) for all of $130. No shipping, no tax, nada. Just a bit of a drive to the far side of LA. (With gas prices what they are, better make that $170 :mad: :mad: :mad: )

Now, I don't really want 5.1's but it's ridiculous not to pay an extra $10 for them over the 2.1s. My problem is that I have the EMU 0404 and I have to jump through some pretty big conversion hoops to make this work.

I guess I might put them on the second PC up in the loft which has the Intel HD Audio on it.

I'm starting to regret the EMU since getting speakers for it is really getting to be a pain. I can't make up my mind on any 2.1 system. I think I might just live with headphones for now and look at getting some sort of console system or whatever they call home stereos these days. A nice pair of floor speakers should sound better than 2 minis & a sub, yeah? I've been wanting a nice pair of Energy C-9s for awhile now.

I don't really want a big bulky receiver though. Is there a "simple" way to hook up regular stereo speakers to the EMU 0404?

I'm kind of meandering here. Anyhow I would just like to congratulate myself on finding a killer deal. :D

-MrD

The new panasonic xr55 digital receiver is inexpensive, powerful, and a space saver...If i were trying to avoid those big bulky receivers Id give this unit a serious look...I will never buy a pair of multimedia speakers again after buying my Onkyo tx sr602. The difference for music is night and day.

I agree that the difference between receiver vs desktop speakers is night and day...I can't listen to desktop speakers anymore, it almost hurts. But whether or not you're gonna get a receiver...the adapting wouldn't be that awful. I think you'd only need two 1/4" to 1/8" adapters, and a simple AV to miniplug cable. Probably had for under 10 bucks, however it really just defeats the purpose of owning that E-Mu 0404. It's made for lower end recording and outputing to receivers, simple as that.

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Originally Posted by exocer

The new panasonic xr55 digital receiver is inexpensive, powerful, and a space saver...If i were trying to avoid those big bulky receivers Id give this unit a serious look...I will never buy a pair of multimedia speakers again after buying my Onkyo tx sr602. The difference for music is night and day.

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The XR55 is 7.1 though, which is overkill for my needs. All I really need is a stereo receiver. Does anyone make those anymore at a decent cost?

That still looks like a pretty big receiver. I guess I could always just invest in a proper home theater receiver for "future-proofing" for the day I actually want a home theater.

-MrD

The Klipsch subwoofer is like a house, that's crazy big! Man what a deal I got, unreal.

If anyone hasn't ever checked out craigslist.org before for local deals I'd seriously get on it. I see at least 3-4 amazing deals a week, depending on what you're looking for.

Quite a step up from the Altec Lansing 251's I was using. :)

-MrD

well, you can use the ultras as a 2.1 setup as well...there's no absolute NEED to plug all the speakers in.

Yeah but that's like playing "just the tip". ;) (For anyone who's seen wedding crashers)

Nah, I put em on the loft PC. Unfortunately the sub is too much for this weak apartment. I need to buy one of those sub stands to absorb a lot of the vibrations. It sounds like crap because the bass is too boomy due to vibrating the entire loft area.

I'll get 1 or 2 of these: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SubDude

-MrD

Get the ultra's but don't worry about the whole 5.1 thing. You can still run them in 2.1 mode and they sound great. Honestly what you should end up doing anyway is throwing away your sats from the Promedia’s and replace them with RSX-3's 4's or 5's. You can just start with a single pair and run your speakers in 2 channel mode with the RSX's. This is a great way to get higher fidelity out of a lower priced system.

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Originally Posted by Remotia

Get the ultra's but don't worry about the whole 5.1 thing. You can still run them in 2.1 mode and they sound great. Honestly what you should end up doing anyway is throwing away your sats from the Promedia’s and replace them with RSX-3's 4's or 5's. You can just start with a single pair and run your speakers in 2 channel mode with the RSX's. This is a great way to get higher fidelity out of a lower priced system.

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I agree, that would make a great system.

Neat man
will this reduce or increase the bass from my Ultra on my carpeted room?
I could use more overall deepbass to engulf the room, its uneven and lost in half hte room and very strong near the closet walls and outside the room!

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Originally Posted by MrDigital

I'll get 1 or 2 of these: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SubDude

-MrD

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by MrDigital

Yeah but that's like playing "just the tip". ;) (For anyone who's seen wedding crashers)

Nah, I put em on the loft PC. Unfortunately the sub is too much for this weak apartment. I need to buy one of those sub stands to absorb a lot of the vibrations. It sounds like crap because the bass is too boomy due to vibrating the entire loft area.

I'll get 1 or 2 of these: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SubDude

-MrD

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got some Egg cartons - and some foam ? MrD ?
I'm not kidding :cool: heck spray paint them - much cheaper

also what brand are the RSX-3/4/5 's that;'s being ballied about

I'm not a multimedia spkr liker type guy at all

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Originally Posted by I4one

got some Egg cartons - and some foam ? MrD ?
I'm not kidding :cool: heck spray paint them - much cheaper

also what brand are the RSX-3/4/5 's that;'s being ballied about

I'm not a multimedia spkr liker type guy at all

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the RSX Series is also made by Klipsch, a line of compact sattelites for ht/music.

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Originally Posted by Buster Sword

Neat man
will this reduce or increase the bass from my Ultra on my carpeted room?
I could use more overall deepbass to engulf the room, its uneven and lost in half hte room and very strong near the closet walls and outside the room!

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I have not the slightest idea. I think it's just absorbs the vibrations to give a more "thumpy" bass and less of a "boomy" bass. I've never used them though but they sound like what I needed.

If you need more bass you may want to consider a second sub or something? I think the Klipsch's can use a second sub can't they?

-MrD

Quote:

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Originally Posted by I4one

got some Egg cartons - and some foam ? MrD ?
I'm not kidding :cool: heck spray paint them - much cheaper

also what brand are the RSX-3/4/5 's that;'s being ballied about

I'm not a multimedia spkr liker type guy at all

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High end near field sat from klipsch. I own em all if you have any questions. Because of the simialr frequency response, They work very well right off the promedia amp.

http://www.bpbackup.com/Conclusion_files/image003.jpg

To give you an idea of thier size, The smallest ones (RSX-3) are about an inch taller than promedia sats. The 4's and 5's are of course, noticeably larger. I recommend the 5's if you can afford em.

3 and original pm sat
http://www.bpbackup.com/Crossover_files/image010.jpg

4 and 5 and ultra sat
http://www.bpbackup.com/3sats2.jpg

3, 4, 5
http://www.bpbackup.com/3rsxs2.jpg

Unfortunate that they are so ugly. :(

-MrD

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LTech221

the RSX Series is also made by Klipsch, a line of compact sattelites for ht/music.

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thanks for the info Ltech221 and Remotia for some details ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Buster Sword

Neat man
will this reduce or increase the bass from my Ultra on my carpeted room?
I could use more overall deepbass to engulf the room, its uneven and lost in half hte room and very strong near the closet walls and outside the room!

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this happens for many reasons - but primarily b/c of the much longer wavelengths found at the lower frequencies (IIRC - 50Hz = 11 feet or so). The "hi-end" is never easily heard outside a room primarily due to their short wavelengths and they're very directional nature.

The Location of the subwoofer can factor in, but will not be helpful in quieting it "outside" the room. The "Type" of subwoofer and the cross-over frequency are more of an overall factor.I forget the exact names of the different types of bins (baffle, etc,etc) - but center-mounted inverse firing 18" "W" bins are what we used for our PA subs...2 bins driven by a Crown 2000w. We had a real expensive 32(?) band Stereo EQ (can't recall the brand), of which 1/2 was used for the voice, and the other 1/2 was used to tweak the Bass Drum :eek: (talk about being anal about nice Bass) -- everything was Mic-ed using XLR.

I'm not trying to sound 'impressive' at all (b/c frankly, it isn't, and I've been out of the loop for a pretty long time now) - but when we used other types of more expensive Subs (b/c of area/footprint limitations for that gig) - the so-called Front firing "Scoop" bins ...the Bass wasn't nearly as Deep, Full, nor True or Warm (but supposedly they are "Truer") - nor didthe scoop bins give you that 'pounding in the chest' feeling ;) Plus the W's , while not front-firing also kept and reproduced my marshall stack's tonal and resonance quality...as well as imitating my "clean" setup nicely, though not as well.

...so depending upon the shape of the room and the location of the sub - the best you can likely do , when using a bottom/down-firing sub - is move the sub around and/or incorporate some sort of passive EQ for tweaking those lower frequencies. I doubt a Parametric Eq will help much, but I haven't messed with those alot. The other options include using a diff 'type' of sub...

Thanks that so much, i understand all of that.


I have the Ultras.
which are SIDE Firing subs and using carpeting. Since the closet is next to the wall, and other corners occupited, their is no Corners available. One speaker is facing the wall.

Questions:
To trap more bass and push the low 24-30hz regions Inside the room what could i do?

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I still dont know if that Bass lifter stand recommended would help, or if adding bass trap foam across from the sub would help matters.

well - as far as the Subwoofer Stand -- a "CHEAP" test is toi utilize my egg carton suggestion :)
perhaps with some plywood or similar to span across/spread the load - lay an old piece of carpet (or similar) over the top of plywood to keep the unwanted reflections down to a minimum

Those things are strong ...stand on one and see

Can you draw an ASCII version of the room and layout with furniture placement and spkr placement , etc ? - or take a digital Photo and post a screenie ? - or use mspaint ? ask PCJ, he can draw anything in mspaint :)

It's hard to determine/follow from just a description of the area

Plus - I'm not familiar with those spkrs and subs - so I'll look around for some pics/specs to see what you mean about side-firing

Sorry mr. digital didnt mean to hijack your thread, its just things were mentioned here that usually never get mentioned in an MM forum!
Maybe you could use a gamer card too?
If it were possible i would use a gamer card and have audiophile type card M audio as external

----oh for the acoustics:

Thanks man i will have a diagram and picture tomorrow.
I think i wil buy some bass traps about 2 of them with some spongey foam
around 8 bucks each and place it in the corners of my room.'
www.partsexpress.com

Dual side firing:
Means theres one sub on each side opposing each other
iE x2 8 inch subwoofers, on on west, the other on east.
one sub is pressed against the wall.

No sweat. :D It's informational for me too.

-MrD

I really want to try and help fellas - but, I'm having a big nasty issue with staying within any kind of a multi-media equipment confines and components. :eek:

Also note - I have like no experience whatsoever with trying to setup fairly inexpensive 5.1 systems. My ears just aren't interested (no offense intended at all fellas). Plus there are s-o-o-o-o-o many variables involved, and 5.1 from2.1 just multiplies the complexity

Here's where my web travels have taken me;
Ok ...first off - I recall finally what the "type' of cabinet design for subs we used -- it's called a Folded Horn. Now, note that everything I say/praise about them has to do with a LIVE band, and not prerecorded material (CD's, MP3s,Movies, DolbyDigital, DTS, and alll that stuff). As a matter of fact, in most Live setups, everything is MONO (perhaps there's some more Stereo nowadays, but, it's not only much more expensive, but trying to fill a Hall using stereo has many nightmares to try and overcome).

Folded horns in general don't have a reputation for "true" tight bass - but believe me when I tell ya -- for PA gear, it's awesome and they're quite efficient as well. Here's something similar to what I've used Folded horn Sub - but note - this has an AMP built in ...yuk! - and this is 2x 18" in 1 Cab, whereas ours are 1x 18 per cabinet (this image looks a little smaller too).

-- Seems google ain't cooperating ....either that or MS and their cronies have completely cornered the market on any kind of Free spkr design kits (schematics). I recently picked up a Hi-Fi mag today and whoa!!... It seems everybody and their mother is building/selling spkrs these days, and charging the amt that equals half the USA defense budget :eek:

Now - on to the gory details of my travels;
Go Get one of these 15" spkrs or it's 18" brother
Next - d/l the schematics for $10 - and find a local carpenter (such as moi) to Build you one of these Housewreckers :D

I'm not saying this is the best setup by any means at all - but I have a hard time justifying $20,000 on anything less than atleast a Baby Grand :p :)

I did d/l the Klipsch PDF for the Ultra 5.1's and there are some settings to tweak with in there -- but lots and lots of extra Clean Power (AMP) and Spkr placement and perhaps some sort of bandpass filter (?) ...something/anything to help a Ported type sub.

p.s. ..I just posted the housewrecker b/c it looks cool to build and impressive looking - even though it's not a folded horn -- I'd prolly find a nice set of schematics for a folded horn if I were to actually build one.

Oh;
I'm not certain of this - but I think I recall hearing a discussion here about real trouble with getting the Front/Center spkr and the Subwoofer separated, as far as volume controls ??? where adjusting one, affects the other ??
I dunno - I'm tired folks ..
¡hasta mañana!

and just to give ya some links for recording/ripping music to PC ...use flac, EAC/LAME, foobar2000, dbPowerAmp, etc... see this site for mucho mas info - clcik on the FAQ and you'll be in there for weeks :)