#MONDAYSHOWCASE: A HISTORIC SETUP
Klipsch speakers are often referred to as, “heirloom pieces,” designed to be passed down from generation to generation for future listening. For one recent #MondayShowcase winner, his love of Klipsch was passed down to him from his parents.
George Gasser lives in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. “About 25 years ago, when I was a kid, my parents upgraded the surround sound system in their house to a Klipsch 7.1 setup,” he says. “From that time on, it’s been all Klipsch for me. The first speakers I purchased when my wife and I bought our house were Klipsch SF1 speakers. They served us well for 10 years and, throughout 2021, we started the process of making major upgrades to our listening experience.”
Klipsch Home Theater Setup:
Gasser has a very robust Klipsch home theater setup.
- Fronts: Klipsch RP-280F
- Center: Klipsch RP-450C
- Receiver: Pioneer Elite VSX-LX505
- Amplifier: Emotiva BasX A2
- Streaming: Bluesound Node2i
- Turntable: Pro-Ject T1 Phono SB
- Equalizer: TEAC EQA-5
- Power Management: Panamax MR4000
"I also just bought some custom speaker cables from Prosper Cables that bi-wire via rhodium-plated banana plugs to take advantage of the quality dual binding posts on the speakers," he says.
The next addition will be a Klipsch SPL-120 subwoofer.
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"The speakers are so great, it really ruined my ability to just ‘make do’ with what was previously on that tv!”
What made you pick Klipsch for your setup?
“Klipsch speakers have such an immediately recognizable sound that draws you into the music, there really was no other choice,” he says. “After getting the main system all set up, I couldn’t help but buy a pair of RP-160M speakers for another TV in the house. The speakers are so great, it really ruined my ability to just ‘make do’ with what was previously on that tv!”
What was your first impression upon hearing your Klipsch home theater setup?
“The sound was recognizable to me since I’d been listening to Klipsch speakers for so long, but these RP-280Fs really push out such a clear audio image and take advantage of the power available from the Emotiva amp,” Gasser says. “I would recommend adding a stand-alone power amp to anyone for their Klipsch speakers. The speakers were great with only power from the Pioneer ELITE VSX-LX505, but the separate amp woke them in ways I didn’t expect to be quite so impressive.”
Favorite Things to Watch or Listen to On Your Klipsch Home Theater?
I’m kind of all over the place when it comes to music. I’m definitely heavy into electronica but 90’s alternative, funk, and classical strings are excellent reprieves. Heavy in the rotation of music lately has been Flux Pavillion’s “.wav”, Lettuce’s “Elevate,” and Kid Cudi’s “Man on the Moon III.” When we’re listening to music, we use Pure Direct on our Pioneer ELITE AV Receiver to listen in stereo. It’s astounding how well the RP-280Fs can make it feel like the band is in the room with you. Those Tractrix horns are no joke!
“When it comes to movies and tv, we watch a lot of Marvel, Star Wars, and other action-heavy titles,” Gasser explains. “The center channel speaker is crucial to our enjoyment of what we watch. I tried out several different speakers and ended up upgrading from a Klipsch RC-34 to the RP-450C Center Channel.”
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Why would you recommend Klipsch to others?
“Klipsch offers such a massive range of speakers which makes it easy to get into quality audio - no matter the budget,” he says. “Upgrading from the SF1s to these RP-280Fs has only cemented me as a Klipsch person for life.
“A buddy of mine has a pair of Fortes and I feel like those are next on the list! Start small and upgrade slowly. Add components slowly. It took a long time and lots of trial and error to find the sound that I wanted my system to have and to get it dialed into the specific room. Luckily, Klipsch speakers seem to be able to adapt to whatever components you have and their high level of definition makes it easy to figure out if the last component you added was a step in the right direction,” he says.