Picking out a new sound system

[Orange]

Hey guys, so...im picking out a new system for my home and im looking to spend about 400 on a whole solution plus about 150 for the super t-amp if need be (sounds like i cant go wrong with that one). The setups that I found so far are as follows (Prices are a bit skewed because of a BB discount):

1) Klipsch RB-61 (pair, bookshelves) + RW10d (sub) = 379
2) Klipsch RF-82 (2x floorstands) = 400

so...the question is which set up is better for music? Having a pair of bookshelves plus a sub? or having 2 floorstanders. What do you guys think? Oh, and are those good deals at that price?

[musichound]

You will need to listen to them to make a decision because everyone hears differently. FWIW a powered subwoofer usually delivers deeper bass than speakers alone, but the floor standing speakers might be just what you need.

[ZenChick]

I prefer tower speakers personally. To me, they just sound richer, fuller. Don't get me wrong, there are some really good bookshelf speakers out there, but honestly, they're more suited for home theater use, whereas towers are better at music.

The thing is, tower speakers have woofers that can comfortably handle 60Hz to around 800Hz, with some going lower. However, you can always add a subwoofer to the setup, and tune it to cut off at around 80Hz, to get the deeper bass subs are good for. With bookshelf speakers, however, there are no woofers -- only tweeters, midranges, and a sub that's forced to fill in the upper bass range right up to where the midranges cut off. To me, this leaves a noticable void between 150Hz and 800Hz, and the poor subwoofer ends up being overworked.

[dfkt]

I got a Klipsch KSW-10 subwoofer myself, and wouldn't want to live without it anymore. If you don't want/need an exaggerated amount of bass, I'm sure the floorstanders deliver enough without the help of a woofer.

Bookshelves are easier to place than floorstanders, usually, since they take up less space. Placement of the woofer doesn't matter much.

[Aardvark]

The biggest impact on how the system will sound is actually the room in which they are placed.

It is critical therefore that they are listened to in this environment.

Generally a quality pair of bookshelf speaker, placed on solid stands and away from room corners and the back wall will give a faster and more accurate sound with clear top/bottom, front/back, and left/right placing of instruments. They should offer a fast and hard bass that is not a fully extended as a quality floorstander. Adding a matching sub will add to bass extension but unless done correctly and the crossovers set just right, they can slow down the sound and make it a bit wooly and fat. However if done right, this set up should outperform a floorstander in a small to medium sized room. It is very rare to find a bookshelf speaker that actually sounds good placed on a bookshelf!!!

For a larger room, I would recommend full sized floorstanders and an amp with plenty of current, and then spend a long time setting up the positioning relative to where you will be sitting. Fully enclosed speakers can stand to be placed nearer to a back wall and ported speakers , in general, need to be further away from walls or they tend to chug or boom a bit on the low frequencies.

Lastly, room interaction and critical placing of speakers is essential, even the very best speakers, jammed into a corner or up against the back wall in a room with lots of hard reflective surfaces will sound utter crap. I rooms like this, I would recommend that you save your money and use good headphones until you get a better room. Rooms can be tamed with the addition of absorbing panels, rugs, soft furnishings, carpets hung on the walls.

Don't belive me?, just carry your favourite system into a glass conservatory with a tiled floor and tell me that it still sounds great.

Editted to add

Find a dealer that you are comfortable working with. Talk with them about which speakers need to be placed out into a room and which are designed to work with their backs to a wall. Don't get conned into buying very expensive speaker cable and interconnects, as long as they are made of good copper and thickers than bell wire, they should do the job, spend your money on components. Buying pre loved, traded in kit and second hand from a good source will make your money go futher. Also consider ex dem and models which have been recently superceded by a later version.

[Orange]

Well, if everyone thinks those prices are a good deal, then ima get them directly through Klipsch (retail 1k, after discount - 400). I also pay "cost" for all cables and such so...not really worried. Just wanted to know if i could do better for 400.

Probably going to audition the Klipschs next Wednesday. We'll see how that goes.