Polk CS 1000 (RT5000 kit) vs Klipsh Reference II

neils

I know that there have been dozens of posts trying to compare Polk and Klipsch, but my comparison question is VERY specific. I own the full blown RT5000 kit, which includes their famous CS1000 center, you know, the one that is wide as a floorstanding speaker with 4 X 6.5" woofers/subs.

I will be honest with you, even with the CS1000 wired up to a Carver TFM-35x with 250w on tap, I never was able to get the center to really slice thru my 25' deep room (seating about half way). I always found the tweeter to be too soft. Furthermore, I have a Samson RTA in my rack, and you should see the horrible high-end roll-off, the last 4-5 LEDs on the 30 band is way down, rolls right off, and this is post Audyssey XT32 as well.

Recently I was at an audio store to repair one of my Carver's and stumbled across the stunning looking Klipsch Reference II center. When I got home I looked up the specs and it is a very efficient speaker with about the same overall bandwidth. I know if I hook this thing up to my Carver, I will probably get a lot more "bite" from the center channel, more so than what I have now.

I know some people in the past have complained about the Klipsch horn sound being too much, too high frequency, too sharp and piercing. Is that still the case with the Reference II ?? It seems that Klipsch is now using a rubber horn to reduce some of that excessive high end.

The RT5000 rig has been my dream system for years, and man can I crank the crap out of it, and it does hit hard, especially those RT3000's. But I am less impressed with the center for some reason, and wanted to get your thoughts on this comparison, to find out if anyone else tried out the Klipsch Reference line. I am looking at the 4 X 6.5" Reference II model.

Thanks
Neil

Gatecrasher

Have you tried increasing the center channel level? Usually you can crank it up to the point it becomes too dominant.

ken brydson

neils wrote: »

I know that there have been dozens of posts trying to compare Polk and Klipsch, but my comparison question is VERY specific. I own the full blown RT5000 kit, which includes their famous CS1000 center, you know, the one that is wide as a floorstanding speaker with 4 X 6.5" woofers/subs.

I will be honest with you, even with the CS1000 wired up to a Carver TFM-35x with 250w on tap, I never was able to get the center to really slice thru my 25' deep room (seating about half way). I always found the tweeter to be too soft. Furthermore, I have a Samson RTA in my rack, and you should see the horrible high-end roll-off, the last 4-5 LEDs on the 30 band is way down, rolls right off, and this is post Audyssey XT32 as well.

Recently I was at an audio store to repair one of my Carver's and stumbled across the stunning looking Klipsch Reference II center. When I got home I looked up the specs and it is a very efficient speaker with about the same overall bandwidth. I know if I hook this thing up to my Carver, I will probably get a lot more "bite" from the center channel, more so than what I have now.

I know some people in the past have complained about the Klipsch horn sound being too much, too high frequency, too sharp and piercing. Is that still the case with the Reference II ?? It seems that Klipsch is now using a rubber horn to reduce some of that excessive high end.

The RT5000 rig has been my dream system for years, and man can I crank the crap out of it, and it does hit hard, especially those RT3000's. But I am less impressed with the center for some reason, and wanted to get your thoughts on this comparison, to find out if anyone else tried out the Klipsch Reference line. I am looking at the 4 X 6.5" Reference II model.

Thanks
Neil

Could be your tweeter is going south or your crossovers need a refresh. Just sayin...

Easy Runnin

You do know there is a volume control on the front of the speaker?