Room Dimensions and Klipsch RP-260-F vs Chane ARX5 - Expert Advice

13388 Views 11 Replies 7 Participants Last post by bigbadbow, May 22, 2015

Styles

Discussion Starter · Apr 11, 2015 (Edited)

Hiya Guys!!
I recently posted on another site which shall remain anonymous hehe but after reading Sonnie's thread on the speaker evaluations I knew I had to ask and get some real expert advice from this awesome community.

I moved to a new apartment in NYC (so this limits things quite a bit as I can't just knock down drywall, apply insulation, or annoy the neighbors among other things hehe). However, here is what I'm working with and where speakers would go:

(Quick AutoCAD/Sketchup design with exact dimensions/measurements of the room)
- https://imgur.com/a/8XL6R#0

Due to money constraints (college student here) I'm starting with a 3.0 system and maybe adding a wireless sub-woofer in the future. However, I'm still a bit undecided on which L/R and Center speakers to go with and could truly use your expert advice. I was originally looking at the Klipsch KF-28's as they going for $250 each but after reading a few posts on Reddit about the Reference II speakers being much better I contacted Eric at SoundDistributors to see if he had any in stock but sadly it seems only the premiere series are available (which are way above my budget) but his offer has me thinking.

Based on my room dimensions/measurements I could maybe go one size down from the RP-280-F and see if I could save some money by getting the Klipsch RP-260-F which should be adequate and let me still blast my music or watch Interstellar and hear Hans Zimmer fall sleep on the organ while my solar plexus vibrates lol.

As you can tell I'm a total newb to this but trying to learn as much as possible and trying to prevent making a purchase I would regret as I don't have the budget to do so nor want to replace all of it in 5 years.

Based on this setup, is there anything you would recommend or advice? I know the L/R speakers are close to the wall but truly have no choice as it would block the way (if the bass is accentuated too much by being close to the wall, is it possible I could place an acoustic panel right behind the L/R speakers to fix or improve that?). Should I not purchase one of these or any of these? If so what should I buy instead and why? Someone recommended the Chane ARX 5 speakers over the Klipsch RP-260-F. I noticed they are highly rated and well reviewed on Sonnie's lengthy and well setup speaker showdown/battle however, in this review they compared them to the Klipsch RF-62 which are from the cheaper Reference II series and not the premier series. Do you guys think if I could find a good discount on the Klipsch RP-260-F that they would be a better choice over the Chane ARX 5 speakers?

Lastly, I'm having a hard time figuring out which A/V receiver to purchase. All I know is that I need it to have WiFi and Bluetooth built in as I don't want to buy adapters and I will be using Spotify to stream music. What do you guys think of the Onkyo TX-NR626? I was recently told to look into the Denon AVR-X1100W (refurbished cause new is $499).

Lastly, what's your opinion on the 60" Samsung 7150 (I was debating between 4K and 1080p but I've heard there's a lack of 4K content and the 7150 has a higher refresh rate than similarly priced 4K TV's). I'm pretty set on this one as I can get it under $999 and seems to be a popular choice so far. I was recently told to look into the 60" LG Plasma's which are cheaper and highly rated but I'm not sure as my living room will be brightly lit most of the time with the movie nights every once a while.

Note: I'm already looking into at ways to prevent echo/reflections/distortions by buying some wall panels from Acoustic Mac (or might make my own with some Roxul). However, I'm unsure at to their placement (I know the sides tend to be the most important but ZeosPantera from Reddit pointed out that the walls are so far apart it might not be worth it) how about behind or next to the speakers?

Thanks for reading. Any help, advice, or suggestions are truly appreciate it.

See less See more

Save

1 - 12 of 12 Posts

gdstupak

· #2 · Apr 11, 2015 (Edited)

In general, Chane and Klipsch speakers are very different. Chane speakers accurately reproduce the original content, and Klipsch speakers do not accurately reproduce the original content. This can be good or bad depending on the listener.

To make a visual comparison...

With Chane speakers: if an ugly pig is presented, then an ugly pig is seen. If a beautiful woman with no makeup is presented, then a beautiful woman with no makeup is seen.

With Klipsch speakers: if an ugly pig is presented, then a cute cartoon pig is seen. If a beautiful woman with no makeup is presented, then a beautiful woman with makeup caked on is seen. They can make audio sound more exciting than it really is, great for home theater and heavy metal music. Good without a separate sub (but might be too much if you're not wanting to disturb the neighbors).

If you want to hear audio as it was meant to sound, go with Chane.
If you want the audio to sound fake but good all the time, go with Klipsch.

NOTE: I have not heard the Klipsch RP-260-F model so this analysis could be wrong with these. But, so far for me, all Klipschs have had a certain Klipsch 'sound.'

See less See more

Save

Tonto

· #3 · Apr 11, 2015

One thing I notice right off the bat is that you could/should rotate your set up 90 degrees clockwise. That wall with the pole & window would be best for the TV. I would frame a false wall to hide the pole/window & place the speakers in front of that. This will improve the acoustics by moving them out further from the solid wall. When you move out, just dissasemble the false wall.

A small equipment rack could accomodate your system & the wires be pulled through the false wall & connect to the speakers.

This will also allow the couch to be a few feet (~3 ft) off the other wall which will also improve acoustics.

You will then be able to treat the 1st reflection points on both side walls with panels. A triple play so to speak!

And I highly recommend the Chane speakers.

Save

theJman

· #4 · Apr 11, 2015

Styles said:
I moved to a new apartment in NYC (so this limits things quite a bit as I can't just knock down drywall, apply insulation, or annoy the neighbors among other things hehe). However, here is what I'm working with and where speakers would go:

Based on my room dimensions/measurements I could maybe go one size down from the RP-280-F and see if I could save some money by getting the Klipsch RP-260-F which should be adequate and let me still blast my music or watch Interstellar and hear Hans Zimmer fall sleep on the organ while my solar plexus vibrates lol.

You seem to be contradicting yourself here; on the one hand you don't wish to annoy your neighbors, yet then you talk of blasting your music? :huh: The two are competing desires I'm afraid, and ultimately you'll have to decide which is more significant before proceeding. Reason being, that might help you determine which type of speakers to get.

Without a sub towers almost become mandatory, but your proximity to them creates a challenge because you'll be awfully close. Given that, bookshelf speakers are probably a better choice, but running them with no sub will leave you wanting. And then there's the volume aspect I alluded to... if you want lots of it - especially without a sub - towers are the only option.

It may be better to decide what you're looking to achieve before trying to select specific products.

Save

Styles

Discussion Starter · #5 · Apr 11, 2015

First of all thanks for the quick reply guys, truly appreciate it. Now let me comment/answer some of your questions below.

gdstupak said:
In general, Chane and Klipsch speakers are very different. Chane speakers accurately reproduce the original content, and Klipsch speakers do not accurately reproduce the original content. This can be good or bad depending on the listener.

To make a visual comparison...

With Chane speakers: if an ugly pig is presented, then an ugly pig is seen. If a beautiful woman with no makeup is presented, then a beautiful woman with no makeup is seen.

With Klipsch speakers: if an ugly pig is presented, then a cute cartoon pig is seen. If a beautiful woman with no makeup is presented, then a beautiful woman with makeup caked on is seen. They can make audio sound more exciting than it really is, great for home theater and heavy metal music. Good without a separate sub (but might be too much if you're not wanting to disturb the neighbors).

If you want to hear audio as it was meant to sound, go with Chane.
If you want the audio to sound fake but good all the time, go with Klipsch.

NOTE: I have not heard the Klipsch RP-260-F model so this analysis could be wrong with these. But, so far for me, all Klipschs have had a certain Klipsch 'sound.'

That was a funny comparison but explained it very well lol. It sounds like I need to hear both the Chane and Klipsch speakers live to see which "sound" I like more. Heading over to the city right now and checking out what they got in stock.

Tonto said:
One thing I notice right off the bat is that you could/should rotate your set up 90 degrees clockwise. That wall with the pole & window would be best for the TV. I would frame a false wall to hide the pole/window & place the speakers in front of that. This will improve the acoustics by moving them out further from the solid wall. When you move out, just dissasemble the false wall.

A small equipment rack could accomodate your system & the wires be pulled through the false wall & connect to the speakers.

This will also allow the couch to be a few feet (~3 ft) off the other wall which will also improve acoustics.

You will then be able to treat the 1st reflection points on both side walls with panels. A triple play so to speak!

And I highly recommend the Chane speakers.

I actually thought about putting drywall and closing that side completely off when we moved in for exactly that however, the girlfriend is against it as she liked opening the windows, letting light in, and what not. She has already accepted I put any speakers regardless how big so I will run it through her once again but I know windows being open and light shining through are a big one for her.

theJman said:
You seem to be contradicting yourself here; on the one hand you don't wish to annoy your neighbors, yet then you talk of blasting your music? :huh: The two are competing desires I'm afraid, and ultimately you'll have to decide which is more significant before proceeding. Reason being, that might help you determine which type of speakers to get.

Without a sub towers almost become mandatory, but your proximity to them creates a challenge because you'll be awfully close. Given that, bookshelf speakers are probably a better choice, but running them with no sub will leave you wanting. And then there's the volume aspect I alluded to... if you want lots of it - especially without a sub - towers are the only option.

It may be better to decide what you're looking to achieve before trying to select specific products.

What I was referring to is, when watching movies really late at night/morning, having the ability to watch something and hearing the dialog clearly without having to blast the speakers. However, I recently heard I could just turn off the L/R speakers and leave the center worse case scenario. Everyone in this building seems to play their music as if is their last day on earth/apocalypse and is the last time they will go to a club (think club + massive thundering sub-woofer) however, they do turn it off by 10-11PM.

See less See more

Save

480dad

· #6 · Apr 12, 2015

I bought the TX NR626 for my son for Christmas and the Chane A5rx-c's for his birthday a few weeks ago. He's currently driving lower model Polks as the Chanes are supposed to arrive this Wednesday. I'm anxious to set them up and hear them for myself. If they sound half as good as the $1,000 speaker eval says they do, not sure you can wrong. We'll see.

I believe the 626 only has sub pre-outs but that is ok for him. I think it's rated at 90-100 wpc continuos into 2 channel so that is plenty of power as his listening levels are moderate and it's not a large room so adding an amp shouldn't be necessary. He is currently into vinyl and the 626 has a phono input which was a nice feature. I found the 626 for $249 iirc...once listed for $599 I believe. I like it, seems like a nice receiver for the price. I don't have input wrt HT duty, only 2-channel, so ymmv.

Save

Styles

Discussion Starter · #7 · Apr 13, 2015

480dad said:
I bought the TX NR626 for my son for Christmas and the Chane A5rx-c's for his birthday a few weeks ago. He's currently driving lower model Polks as the Chanes are supposed to arrive this Wednesday. I'm anxious to set them up and hear them for myself. If they sound half as good as the $1,000 speaker eval says they do, not sure you can wrong. We'll see.

I believe the 626 only has sub pre-outs but that is ok for him. I think it's rated at 90-100 wpc continuos into 2 channel so that is plenty of power as his listening levels are moderate and it's not a large room so adding an amp shouldn't be necessary. He is currently into vinyl and the 626 has a phono input which was a nice feature. I found the 626 for $249 iirc...once listed for $599 I believe. I like it, seems like a nice receiver for the price. I don't have input wrt HT duty, only 2-channel, so ymmv.

Thanks for the reply!! I'm really interested in the Chane A5RX speakers however, I haven't seen any stores carrying it around here (let alone one that has both the Klipsch Premiere series for comparison). Further, does anyone know if any online store or physical store sells them with a discount (anything less than the retail price)?

Lastly, it seems a lot of people are commenting even the Klipsch RP-260-F might be a bit big/too loud. Do you think with my room dimensions (Aproximitely: Length = 11.8 ft, Width = 17.25 ft, Height = 8.6 ft) that the much much cheaper Klipsch RP-250-F would be a better idea? They seem to have similar specs with just a smaller sub woofer drivers.

Save

theJman

· #8 · Apr 13, 2015

The Chane speakers are known as ID, Internet Direct. That means there is no store that sells them, Chane works directly with the customer. It's a very popular model in audio and has been around for years now.

Save

Styles

Discussion Starter · #9 · Apr 13, 2015

theJman said:
The Chane speakers are known as ID, Internet Direct. That means there is no store that sells them, Chane works directly with the customer. It's a very popular model in audio and has been around for years now.

Thanks for the incredibly fast reply (this forum rocks). If no discount are offered for the A5RX-C's, do you think based on my room dimensions that the A3RX-C's would be more than enough? Furthermore, in comparison to the Klipsch RP-260-F's or RP-250-F's, would I then need a subwoofer right away for either the A5RX or A3RX? Lastly, if I was to go with the Chane Speakers what should be the center?

On a side note, anyone knows a good wireless subwoofer I could place next to my couch if I ever wanted to upgrade to having a subwoofer (even though I'm more interested in saving the money at the start as to why I was looking into the Klipsch's which are supposed to be quite bassy, and get a better receiver and L/R + Center speakers).

Save

theJman

· #10 · Apr 13, 2015

The ID model, by design, comes replete with discounts; by not having a 'middle man' the manufacturer is able to reduce the price from the outset. Having heard (and reviewed) more than one set of Chane speakers I can attest that they offer tremendous value from the audio perspective. Aesthetics are probably not their strong suit, but if you want purity of sound they're virtually unmatched in their price point. I suspect you'd be hard pressed to find something as capable for twice as much.

Given the size of your room the A3rx-c should be more than adequate, provided you get a subwoofer. The A5rx-c should be augmented with a sub as well, but it's less critical to do so right up front. The 5's might be overkill though. For a center you should use the A2rx-c. The front three speakers need to be 'voiced' the same, otherwise you risk having some inconsistency in the sound field (75%-80% of everything you hear in a 5.1 mix will be from the front three speakers, so it's imperative they match). Surrounds are less of an issue and you can often get away with using something from a different manufacturer.

See less See more