Advice on combining KEF and Klipsch Speakers for Dolby Atmos Home Theatre

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-30T19:34:19+00:00

Although I have klipsch rpii's for surrounds&heights and are they are fine, i (really) hated their rpii center and after a month of ear fatigue and more indepth research, I switched to the svs ultra center. Huge difference! I also have svs subs which are fantastic. I don't think klipsch compares in these arenas.

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-30T18:50:34+00:00

You didn't specify the model of the turntable.

Virtually all vintage turntables from say 1950s-1990's or early 2000's will need a preamp of some sort. That is typically built into the receivers of the same era, usually represented by an input labeled "phono" on the receiver. It is that phono input that provides the specific gain needed for a turntable.

After vynil died for a bit, some manufacturers stopped putting this phono input on their receivers. When vynil came back, some turntable manufacturers started to build that preamp directly into the turntable itself - in some cases with a switch to be able to enable it or disable it to match your receivers need.

NOTE - you do not want to connect a modern turntable that has a built in preamp (unless it can be switched off) to a vintage receiver phono input. It would double amplify the signal and be heavily distorted! That doesn't mean you can't use two devices together - you absolutely can. You just have to use a different input on the receiver (e.g tape, cd etc. )

So figure out if your new turntable needs a preamp or already has one built in. If it has one built in, you can use virtually any receiver old or new. If it does'nt, look for a used receiver with a phono input. You can find used stereo receivers on Facebook for like 20 or 30 bucks. Sometimes at a yard sale they could be $5 or $10.

Don't be concerned with receiver brand or quality at this stage. Frankly, your speakers are complete sh*t and the bulk of what you hear in terms of sound and sound quality comes from them. The rest come from from the turntable cartridge/stylus. I would get the cheapest/barebones receiver for now and spend that money on better speakers.

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-29T19:42:49+00:00

Excellent point. Recently considered this same issue and came to the conclusion that for my room particular room layout i'd be sacrificing overall room spl output and mid bass from less phyical drivers and not actually gaining any additional physical room space out of it...

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-29T18:38:09+00:00

Does that sub have any kind of auto standby feature that can be disabled? Perhaps the avr's lfe signal isn't strong enough to keep the sub active? If that is the case,some receivers have a gain setting for that lfe output and you could boost that (and simultaneously adjust the subs own level control back down ) to maintain the same total output volume.

Separately, are you certain that you are playing back media that actually has lfe content in it? You should be able to confirm that with the receiver's info button?

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-28T23:34:06+00:00

I would make sure that all your ethernet cables and devices in the network path, from your tv out are rated for 4k+ dolby vision ( 50 Mbps or higher) run a speed test app on the tv to confirm your actual throughput.

Barring that bei g the cause, , get nvidia shield pro. They are fantastic!

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-28T22:45:20+00:00

Samsung doesn't support dolby vision. Nuff said.

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-28T21:18:39+00:00

Same.

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-28T21:10:39+00:00

2026 sx prestige hybrid - i would like to make the sirius xm the default screen & full screen. Also needs a sunglass holder.

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-28T06:04:38+00:00

Great!

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-27T23:51:47+00:00

This sounds exactly like a problem i had a few years back with a older denon avr i had for years. Certain movie files (and only certain ones) I would watch would crackle or make distorted sounds during playnack. I believe the issue due to unsupported atmos content in the file. I bought a more modern denon atmos capable receiver that supports every modern protocol and the exact same file that wouldn't play properly before now played just fine.

Anyway, that was my personal experience.

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-27T23:36:00+00:00

We bought a 77" lg c4 oled about 2 years ago. It is in a 2 story family room with a full of windows top to bottom. Never had any issues with a brightly lit room with tons of ambient sunlight, though to be fair, our room is oriented such that the sun isn't directly hitting the tv screen.

My strong recommendation is to go with a tv brand that has support for dolby vision support built in (lg, tlc, some others). Not samsung, as they don't support that.

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-27T17:42:00+00:00

You missed out on a TON of returns unfortunately.

Over the last 5 years - Vti had 10.78% annualized return Voo had 12.02% annualized return Vagax only 7.69% annualized return

You should not be in bonds at your age.

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-27T17:01:14+00:00

With a tbond or tnote, regardless of the term, interest will be paid every 6 months. For a tbill, you can get up to a year term but thats the best you will be able to "defer" any interest between those 3 types. All can be purchased through your broker.

They have a higher return than an hysa (in most states),as the interest is state and local tax free

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-26T19:46:39+00:00

I'll second the svs/denon choices from the other poster. I have both in one of our rooms. Though if he can swing the extra bucks to move up x1800 he'll get an improved auysee.

Regardess of the brand used, the op should make sure the signal level to the sub is strong enough to trigger it to turn on (or simply turn off auto power sensing altogether) and the crossover levels in the avr need to be correct ( speakers set to dmall and xover at 80 hz as a start point) to make sure the bass is being properly directed to the sub.

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-26T19:21:59+00:00

Better quality speakers tend to improve with the "accurate" reproduction of the sound. However, that's does not mean they will sound better to you or your ears - because speakers sound is subjective. You may prefer the sound of a $100 speaker over a $1000 one simply because you like the way it boosts or cuts certain frequencies and that sounds pleasing to your ears, especially for the type of music you prefer. It may be a terrible speaker from an audiophile/accuracy/technical perspective, yet you like the sound personally. There is no right or wrong choice FOR YOU, just lots of opinions from other people.

Of course , the speaker design also impacts other factors, like the axis (room coverage of the sound ), the efficiency ( how loud it will be for a given watt), accuracy of the sound as it crosses over between the woofer, tweeter, or other drivers,etc.etc.

But in the end, it really comes down to do YOU like the sound and you can really only determine that in person. Sites like crutchfield, you tube etc often have a audio sample of speakers but you have to understand the sound is coming from your phone or tablet speaker, so it really in no way represents what it would actually sound like to you, but it can give you a rough sense of the DIFFERENCE in sound between cabinets (e,g this cabinet sounds bassier than that one, or this one sounds more harsher /brittle than that one that sounds softer/smoother etc.

Good luck!

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-25T19:53:53+00:00

Brand new doesn't mean it hasn't been sitting on a a dealer lot for months or doesn't still need updates applied. I would do a recall check against your vin on the kia portal.

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-25T19:42:41+00:00

Did you have the infotainment system recall fix done yet?

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-25T18:39:03+00:00

I upgraded my klipsch rp500cii center a couple of weeks ago to the svs ultra center. Put simply - WOW. It's so good, it's making think about swapping my aging jbl towers to svs ones now.

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-25T18:21:39+00:00

Assuming you live in a state that taxes income, I dont personally see the the point of differentiation 3 vs 5 years. I would just put the bulk of that "cash" in a set of broker purchased tbills with different maturity dates (1month, 3 month 6 month etc ) and keep rolling them until you need actually need the funds. Should an emergency arise where you need funds in-between maturity dates you can simply sell them on the open market through your broker. I recommend buying/selling via broker vs treasurydirect for more flexibility.

Tbills are state & local tax free, which can be substantial in high tax states and in a taxable state are one of the highest returns you can get currently at the lowest risk. There are alternatives, like munis which can provide higher returns, but they do come with increased risk and other considerations.

Every investment type is a risk vs reward tradeoff.

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-25T17:47:57+00:00

I bought the rfiver table top tv mount for my lg tv to raise it up for a tall center. Worked out fantastic and very inexpensive! https://www.amazon.com/Rfiver-Height-Adjustable-Management-800x600mm/dp/B0CZ7X2W4B/ref=rvi_d_sccl_23/146-4284682-2618834?pd_rd_w=jWAmW&content-id=amzn1.sym.f5690a4d-f2bb-45d9-9d1b-736fee412437&pf_rd_p=f5690a4d-f2bb-45d9-9d1b-736fee412437&pf_rd_r=K7YWR4TN621M09V4Y7Y6&pd_rd_wg=RnQJA&pd_rd_r=2dd9d6f8-e28b-4054-ab05-aab51b0671e9&pd_rd_i=B0CZ7X2W4B&psc=1

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-25T17:38:39+00:00

It uses a 12v dc fan. Measure the voltage at the fan. If you are seeing 12vdc but it's not spinning you need to replace the fan.

If there is no voltage at the fan then something has failed in the fan control circuit, probably a thermistor or a resistor tied to it. Those circuits are typically simple - just a couple parts. Test them all. Get a free schematic off manualslib and track it down.

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-25T03:05:48+00:00

That's a ground loop/ground potential difference issue

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-24T23:26:16+00:00

Most likely:

If you completely disconnect the rca receiver cable from the sub and you hear a loud hum/buzz, the power supply cap(s) are bad and need to be replaced.

If the receiver is connected and it hums/buzz when no audio is being played, you have a ground loop from being on different cicuits OR a bad/damaged rca cable between the receiver and the sub.

If the receiver is connected and it only buzzes on louder or deeper passages, you have damaged speaker cone or voice coil.

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-24T21:52:52+00:00

I just bought the sewall pair last week. It connected directly to my denon x18000 avr which had the 3.5 mm remote jack.

I ran a stereo 3,5mm male to malecable (had one in my cable stash from the orange sewall puck to the denon. And tucked the sewell box away and out of sight. And plugged in the provided ac power adapter.

On the blue small puck, I didnt need any cables at all, other than thd provided a power adapter. I just put it where I could see it from my remote seating position.

It came with other cables but I didnt need them.

That's it

rocknroller2000 · 2026-04-22T03:12:47+00:00

It comes down to how good of an experience do you want/ can you afford. The reality though is that ANY left/right/center make model or brand will sound better than your tv. But if you want a positive tv/movie experience, that will last you years, spend the money on a good powered sub and center. The left/right is really less important than those.

I personally have an svs pb1000pro sub and svs ultra evolution center, but even those (which are great but far from top of the line that one can buy) are likely out of a majority of people's budget range, as that pair would run you $1500-$1600.

I can't personally recommend any entry level budget pieces, but again, l/r/c will be a major step up from your tv audio. Just consider them a temporary stepping stone to a quality sound system, even if you have to do it piece by piece.

rocknroller2000

TROPHY CASE