Welcome to the forums Trent!

You have a large room to fill so my opinion is to either go with the RF or Ultra2 systems.  I really don't think you can compare the RB-81's to the Ultra2's.  They are in two totally different leagues.  

Do you have a local Klipsch dealer that you can visit to demo the RF-83's and the Ultra2's?  That would be ideal because ultimately, your ears and your wallet are the only things that matter.  With all electronics and speakers, there is the law of diminishing return.  The question I would ask myself if I were in your shoes is can my ears hear $$$$ difference between system A and system B to justify the price difference.

I personally have not heard the Ultra2's so I cannot comment on them.  I did own the RB-35's which are very similar in design to the RB-81's and I don't believe they can even remotely be comprable to the sound quality and dynamics the RF-83's produce.  I own the RF-83 system and absolutely love it.  I just watched The Book of Eli and they blew me away.

Some have used the RF-83 system with the Ultra2 subs and achieved very good results.

You could even look at the Heritage line.  There are many heritage fans around here that have some truly killer Heritage HT systems.  

Everything is subjective and you will find many different varying opinions but hopefully we can help steer you in the right direction to help you make the best decision that will work best for your situation.

Ask all the questions you want.  We love helping other people spend their money.  

TThumper89:

20 ft'ish by 23 ft'ish

Dare I say that is a great size for (used) Klispchorns.

 http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/j8MVrKt5ZXOqA3bS1Qmiyg?feat=directlink

Good afternoon Youthman,

Thanks for your very timely reply and advice. Great considerations. I'm certainly following your law of diminishing return. This is my consideration completely. I really enjoy quality sound and picture, but there is also a point when an extra thousand dollars does not gain you much at all in terms of increased audio or picture quality, SPL, imaging, etc. I'm trying to identify the best value for my dollar given, I must admit, I might tend to kick myself if I don't end up with the "best" in the end. That's when I tend to let the better get in the way of that point of dininishing return philosophy again. Somebody stop me please!!!  

I will certainly try to locate a local Klipsch dealer in the Kalamaoo/Grand Rapids area, contact them to see if they have the models in store I might be interested in, and give them a try. I've enjoyed Paradigm in the past, but always felt they lacked a bit of high end clarity I believe Klipsch brings to the table. I hadn't even considered the Heritage series, but I will look into the line further. Is there a down and dirty sound characteristics differentiation or focus someone might be able to summarize for each of the Klipsch lines? RF, Ultra 2's, Heritage, etc? I know many of you out there have heard, and probably owned, more than one of the Klipsch lines and can provide a summary from personal experience.

I certainly enjoy you all enjoy helping others spend their money.  :0)  I can relate, although this time the joke is on me it appears. Looking forward to a superb, no regrets, HT when all is said and done.....if there ever is such a thing.  Thanks in advance folks!

TThumper89:

I must admit, I might tend to kick myself if I don't end up with the "best" in the end. That's when I tend to let the better get in the way of that point of dininishing return philosophy again. Somebody stop me please!!!  

Oh my friend, you are in the wrong forum.  LOL  It's a disease and most of us are infected with it....just some have it worse than others.  

You can locate Klipsch dealers here.

Here are two that are within 1hr drive that sell Reference Speakers.

LIFESTYLE CONSULTING
12748 Sandy Dr., Unit 112
Granger, IN 46530
United States

Here are some a little further away but they carry the Ultra2 and Reference

MERKLE AUDIO VIDEO
418 E.Dupont Rd.
Fort Wayne, IN 46825
United States

I just posted a reply but it is "Awaiting Moderator's Approval".  I'm assuming because I copy/pasted several hyperlinks to websites of Klipsch Dealers from the Klipsch website and the forum sees it as potentially SPAM.  In a nutshell, I found 2 dealers that carry Reference and several that carry both Reference and Ultra2.  Use the Our Dealers , plug in Kalamazoo, MI. 

If you select "All", you will not see any of the Ultra2 Dealers so be sure to select Ultra2 from the dropdown list to see the ones closest to you.  There are 3 that are "Retail" so hopefully, they will have them to demo for you.  It would be worth the 80 mile drive to hear them first hand, especially if you can demo both lines.

LOL....Thanks PSG....Any inferrence you might have a pair for sale in your message?

Thanks again Youthman. I'll certainly locate the K-zoo dealers and "make an appointment." I certainly prefer to remain an educated..and well listened consumer.

Thanks for the tools.

Welcome to the forum.

To break it down easily the THX Ultra 2 are mostly for movies hence the THX ultra 2 certification. This will go above and beyond most people's expectation with the movie experience in a nice package that can be built into the wall and away from view. It can do music well but remember that most music is recorded in 2 channel thus the center and rear channels are useless. That is unless if you had DVD audios or SACD. Think of this system as the be of one of the most versatile systems. 

The RF series tends to be more for music as people use this as a 2 channel with usually the flagship (currently RF-83, and will be RF-7 II in september) But the whole system does great for movies as well. Currently I have the RF-83, with RC64, and Side RB75 with a custom made subwoofer, TC Sounds LMS5400. It does movies and music great but again I switch to two channel for music only as any pseudo surround sound to me sounds well pseudo. Also to note sometimes the best music for certain instances is without subwoofer. I find that sometimes I play music without the subwoofer, just the rf-83. In this instance the RF-83 can go deeper alone than just tyhe THX ultra 2 without the subwoofer. Those THX Ultra 2 subwoofers are pretty impressive though. Remember the bigger a speaker the more efficent and deeper they can go.

As with the RB series, I suggest that in a severely compromising situation and not in the situation where you have a basement. I would recommened bookshelf only when its a office setting or background music settings, or a situation where floorstanding cannot go. If you have the space always go for floorstandings.

And again try and hear them out. I prefer the sound of the current reference series over the THX but I have only heard them twice. I tend do prefer the compromises of the reference series over heritage (heritage series is the oldest of the series that many on the forum just love and you might want to look into as well) The palladiums in my honest opinion sound like the current reference series +1 and definitely not worth the price but your mileage will vary. 

I hope this helps and by all means please as more questions and we collectively will try and help.

Wow, it took 14 days for my post to be approved.  LOL.

Guess I won't be copy/pasting from the Klipsch website again.  

TThumper89:

LOL....Thanks PSG....Any inferrence you might have a pair for sale in your message?

Sorry, I missed your reply...  No, nothing to sell here.  Since I have custom-built my room around these speakers, with an front inset for a La Scala and a side inset for a Heresy II, I have no plans to replace them with anything else! I'm also in the wrong country.   No, I just really love my Heritage system and figured you have the perfect room size for one too.