Help picking Klipsch Synergy Speakers

[AaronJ]

My current setup includes a Sony STR-DG920 reciever, Klipsch Quintet surround speakers and Klipsch 12" subwoofer.

I'm looking to pick up a set of floor standing speakers either the Klipsch Synergy F2 or F3 mainly to have more power when listening to music. I have a couple questions about how this change will affect my surround sound when watching movies.

1. Will I see any difference with the floor speakers as opposed to the small quintet satellite speakers?
2. Is there a big difference between the F2 and F3?... and do I need the F3's?
3. With the larger floor speakers will it be neccessary to pick up a larger center speaker the C2 or C3 or will I be ok with the center speaker from the Quintet?
4. Will I be ok with Quintet satellite speakers as my surrond speakers.

Thanks, Aaron.

[AaronJ]

Anyone?

[nova]

First off, Welcome to the Shack.

Second, I don't really know much about Klipsch but here goes;

1: Yes, especially if your room is very big.

2: Don't think so, the F-3 probably digs a little deeper. As for value and bang for the buck you'd probably be better off going with the RF-62 (priced right between the F-2 & F-3) I have not heard or read very many positive reviews of the Synergy Series but many people love the Reference Series.

3: Necessary,...No. Will you want to,...Yes, that is unless this is primarily a music system. It is important for the front three speakers to be sonically matched. That little Quintet will not do justice to the bigger floor standers. If this system is primarily for music it may not be that big of an issue for you.

4: Simple answer,...yes. But again, if this is primarily a movie system you will enjoy matched speakers much more than mismatched. Though it will not be a big issue using the Quintet's as surround.

[salvasol]

AaronJ wrote:

My current setup includes a Sony STR-DG920 reciever, Klipsch Quintet surround speakers and Klipsch 12" subwoofer.

1. Will I see any difference with the floor speakers as opposed to the small quintet satellite speakers?

Yes, I can't tell you if it will be a lot, the F2-F3 have a frequency response from 39Hz/35Hz to 23KHz so you can use it as large. Probably you'll notice a better sound for music in stereo.

2. Is there a big difference between the F2 and F3?... and do I need the F3's?

After reviewing the specifications, the difference is dual 8" woofers on the F3, it also has a frequency response from 35Hz instead of 39Hz and it can handle more power.

3. With the larger floor speakers will it be neccessary to pick up a larger center speaker the C2 or C3 or will I be ok with the center speaker from the Quintet?

Is better to use the matching center speaker ...you can try the Quintet, and if you don't like it ...just phantom the center channel until you can get the C2 or C3.

4. Will I be ok with Quintet satellite speakers as my surrond speakers.

You can start with those speakers and upgrade later ...I'm not sure which Quintet model do you have, I read the specifiactions and it says that frequency response of the surrounds is 120Hz to 23KHz, so if you use a crossover of 80Hz ...What will happen from 80Hz to 120Hz on the surrounds??? ...you need to use the 120Hz frequency instead....

[AaronJ]

You can start with those speakers and upgrade later ...I'm not sure which Quintet model do you have, I read the specifiactions and it says that frequency response of the surrounds is 120Hz to 23KHz, so if you use a crossover of 80Hz ...What will happen from 80Hz to 120Hz on the surrounds??? ...you need to use the 120Hz frequency instead....

Thanks for the info. Could you explain this to me a bit more I'm not sure I understand what you mean wen you say if I use a crossover of 80hz. Where would I be selecting the crossover, on my receiver? How big of a differnece is 80Hz to 120Hz?

Also how would the surrounds differ from the F3's being from 35Hz to 23kHz vs the C3 being from 73Hz to 23kHz?

[salvasol]

AaronJ wrote:

... Could you explain this to me a bit more I'm not sure I understand what you mean wen you say if I use a crossover of 80hz.....Where would I be selecting the crossover, on my receiver

THX recommends to send all signals below 80Hz to the subwoofer (that's why you set the speaker to small not full range/large) ...I use to own a Sony (STR DE995) and if I recall correctly it was a fixed crossover (120Hz), check the manual or write to Sony to find out if the crossover on your AVR is fixed or if can be changed ...

How big of a differnece is 80Hz to 120Hz?

Most of the time you'll be able to localize the subwoofer (you'll know where the sound is coming from) ...when using 80Hz youll feel the bass and won't be able to localize the sound ...

Also how would the surrounds differ from the F3's being from 35Hz to 23kHz vs the C3 being from 73Hz to 23kHz?

If you set the crossover @ 80 Hz and the surrounds plays from 120Hz up ...you'll be missing that range 80Hz-120Hz; you'll have a gap in the frequencies ....that why you need to look at all your speakers and set the crossover in a frequency where there is no gap in their frequency response ....maybe this won't be your case if your AVR has a fixed crossover ...

As you can see the F3 plays from 35Hz to 23KHz and C3 from 73Hz to 23KHz, so if you set the crossover at 80Hz you'll be fine ...

Does your AVR has the autocalibration feature??? ...if it does, it will automatically adjust all speaker.

[AaronJ]

salvasol wrote:

THX recommends to send all signals below 80Hz to the subwoofer (that's why you set the speaker to small not full range/large) ...I use to own a Sony (STR DE995) and if I recall correctly it was a fixed crossover (120Hz), check the manual or write to Sony to find out if the crossover on your AVR is fixed or if can be changed ...



Most of the time you'll be able to localize the subwoofer (you'll know where the sound is coming from) ...when using 80Hz youll feel the bass and won't be able to localize the sound ...



If you set the crossover @ 80 Hz and the surrounds plays from 120Hz up ...you'll be missing that range 80Hz-120Hz; you'll have a gap in the frequencies ....that why you need to look at all your speakers and set the crossover in a frequency where there is no gap in their frequency response ....maybe this won't be your case if your AVR has a fixed crossover ...

As you can see the F3 plays from 35Hz to 23KHz and C3 from 73Hz to 23KHz, so if you set the crossover at 80Hz you'll be fine ...

Does your AVR has the autocalibration feature??? ...if it does, it will automatically adjust all speaker.

I just bought the receiver so I haven't received it yet. I checked the Sony website and found the manual which says you can select the crossover from 40hz to 200hz in 10hz increments.

If THX says to push everything below 80Hz to the subwoofer and I set the Tower speaker to small am I really going to gain anything for movies going from the Quintet to the Tower? It doesn't seem like it. It seems like I would gain from 80Hz to 120Hz with the Towers will having that range make that much difference?

[salvasol]

AaronJ wrote:

I just bought the receiver so I haven't received it yet. I checked the Sony website and found the manual which says you can select the crossover from 40hz to 200hz in 10hz increments....

...somebody edited the post, I didn't read this the first time

Yes that's correct ...you'll be able to set the crossover to each set of speakers.

If you get the F2-F3 you can use 40Hz, for C2-C3 80Hz and for the Quintet surrounds 120Hz (or whatever the lowest frequency that it can handle)

Use the autocalibration first, then manually adjust anything that is not set up properly; most of the time is distance, speaker size (small or large) and crossover frequency. If you don't own a SPL meter, I suggest you to get one to fine tune the speaker level (each one needs to read 75db and if you want 80db or 85db for the sub)

If THX says to push everything below 80Hz to the subwoofer and I set the Tower speaker to small ?

According to manual, you have two choices:

1) Set the front speakers (F2-F3) to small and cross it over @ 40Hz,60Hz or 80Hz

2) Set the F2-F3 to large ..then all bass from speakers set to small will be directed to Sub and any speaker set to large (fronts).

You'll need to play with the set up to find out which one sounds better to you.

In my case I'm using the second option because is how I get the best response .

I'll recommend you to use REW (Room EQ Wizard) to fine tune your set up, is not hard to use ...

[savior sound]

Let us know what you end up with and how it sounds!

[tomscave]

I did a similar setup using my existing Quintet III's as surrounds along with a Sub-12 and upgraded my fronts to the B3 bookshelfs with a C3 center. As Salvasol recommended, use the autocalibration first, then manually change settings as needed. You should purchase a Db meter (Radioshack or similiar) to assist with setup. You can try using your existing center, but you'll probably find you need to upgrade it to the C2 or C3. On my setup, I have the fronts set at 80hz and the 4 surrounds set at 120hz with the lpf of lfe set at 120hz for the sub. I think my setup sounds excellent setup this way. You can see my setup by clicking on "my photos" under my avatar.

[tommyboy1587]

AaronJ wrote:

My current setup includes a Sony STR-DG920 reciever, Klipsch Quintet surround speakers and Klipsch 12" subwoofer.

I'm looking to pick up a set of floor standing speakers either the Klipsch Synergy F2 or F3 mainly to have more power when listening to music. I have a couple questions about how this change will affect my surround sound when watching movies.

1. Will I see any difference with the floor speakers as opposed to the small quintet satellite speakers?
2. Is there a big difference between the F2 and F3?... and do I need the F3's?
3. With the larger floor speakers will it be neccessary to pick up a larger center speaker the C2 or C3 or will I be ok with the center speaker from the Quintet?
4. Will I be ok with Quintet satellite speakers as my surrond speakers.

Thanks, Aaron.

Coming from a fellow Synergy owner/lover:

1. Yes. Floor speakers will definitely sound better/louder
2. No. If you have a good sub, you don't need the F3
3. Get the C2
4. yes, for the time being. But upgrade to either S1's, or S2's later