I just bought a pair of Klipsch F-3s and I am looking to pair them with a center speaker and a pair of surrounds. If I am going with the Synergy series, will it make a difference in the sound quality (given the varying power of the series) if I mix it up with say a c-2 front and S-1 surrounds, or should I just stick with 3 series all around. The room is about 9ft by 30 ft so not overly big. Btw. I am connecting it to a Harman Kardon AVR 340 and using a Klipsch SUB-10 ten inch subwoofer. I want good quality sound for music first and foremost, but also want good quality sound for movies/TV as well. thanks.
I am remotely familiar with the klipsch synergy series. The older models use different tweeter and mid/woofer material than the newer models, and as such have slightly different timbre.
To my ears, the highs in the newer models are slightly less brittle, and are closer to the reference series due to the use of the titanium tweeter drivers. Some may disagree with me though. It would be wise to aquire some different opinions and of course to listen for yourself if you can.
Mike, I have the Klipsch RF-35's, I matched all the way around with the 35 series. However you really SHOULD match the center speaker to your fronts. Most of a movie dialouge is in the center speaker, you may not want to skimp on this speaker, so i'd go with the C-3 center speaker. Surrounds you could go with the S-1's. If you have the funds i'd do 3's all the way, but that my own opinion.
I believe that the older syn series speakers are not voice matched to the newer ones.
Although klipsch may say they are, it may be like matching a cheaper model in the same series to the most expensive one. You may hear a difference although the timbre may be the same.
that is my opinion in a nutshell, watered down from the explanation above.
Gavin, It looks like he had just bought the F-3. I agree the old to new probably aren't matched perfectly, but if the F-3 is the new "series" than matching the front three would be the best choice.
Mike Even if they are old to new series it would be best to stay with the C-3. Otherwise you'd be going to the second paragraph in Gavin's statement which is trying to match the cheaper model center to the more expensive fronts and this probably will not yeild the results your looking for.
Thanks guys, I've decided I will definitely go with the C-3 center speaker. Now onto the surrounds. Will the S-1s be okay, or would it be worth the extra money to go with the S-2s or even the S3s? There is a $180 price difference between the S1 and S3 models. For the price, will it make a noticeable difference to my home theatre experience? Thanks for your input...
You may get a little deeper/fuller sound out of the s-3 with the 6-1/2" cone as opposed to the 4", but I dont know how much of a difference. Again I'd say if you have the extra disposable income i'd keep them all the same, but not required.
An option that may be ok would be to buy both hook them up and listen. If you can't hear $180 difference then go S1 if you can then go S3 and return the one that you don't want to keep. Think bestbuy's return policy is decent you should be alright.
I agree as well, unless you are into (the possibly dying) multi-channel music formats (SACD and DVD-A). In that case the surrounds are a bit more important than they are for movie surround soundtracks.