First, I can't find anything on an RP-800F; there is lots on an RP-8000F; is that what you have.?

The 150 watt rating of the speakers is the MAXIMUM power that can be applied to them without damaging them. The actual power that is used is typically much lower (10 to 40 watts) for usable listening levels.

Your receiver should be able to easily produce way more sound than your ears can stand with those efficient speakers. Your description of what is happening does not make any sense at all.

You do not say what is supplying the sound to the receiver, however. You mention an HDMI cable; how is that used? Is the sound coming from a TV? If so, either analog or digital sound outputs from the TV can be used, but the HDMI is not what I would recommend.

Those are good quality speaker cables and should work well in this setup. I have used Audioquest cables for over 30 years in high-end systems with very good results. Anyone who knocks Audioquest is full of horse patooties.

I suggest that you connect a CD player to the analog inputs of your receiver with RCA analog cables, and see what you get that way.

If you are sending the sound to the receiver via the HDMI cable, that may be the problem; the audio level may be too low using HDMI.

In any case, I recommend that you connect between your receiver and your source components with analog cables for best results.

r1glasstech wrote:

Hello everyone,
I'm new here. I joined and am posting because I desperately need help. A while back I purchased some Klipsch Reference Premier Speakers off ebay in refurbished conditions at a discounted price. I knew I would need to upgrade all my other components to get the most out of these speakers. Well I ended up at a local big box store one day and was just browsing. Even with my lack of knowledge on the subject I was instantly aware that my speakers were not going to live up to their potential off a $300-$500 receiver. So I got talking to a salesman who told me about a program they offer where a professional makes a house call and will help you finish out the system, free of charge.
Sounded good so I signed up. A week later their "professional" showed up at my house and we began discussing the system. He seemed knowledgeable so I went ahead and went with some of his recommendations to start out. Just a receiver and speaker wires to start.
So at this point let me take a quick interlude to give you a run down of what I have as well as what the "professional" recommended.

Off Ebay I purchased:
A pair of KLipsch RP-800F floorstanding speakers
One Klipsch SPL-120 12" subwoofer
One Klipsch RP-504C center channel

And this is what the "professional" recommended to me:
Audioquest Chocolate 10' HDMI cable
3x Audioquest Rocket 33 8' speaker cable
Audioquest 6.6' power cable
Panamax 9 outlet surge protector
Marantz SR6014

So at this point I would like to mention a few details. When we discussed the receiver I made sure to tell him the speakers were 150W at 8 ohms. (turns out this Marantz receiver is 110W at 8 ohms). Second I just want to say before anyone decides to troll me about the Audioquest components just know i'm well aware these are much maligned products to some and i decided to roll the dice on the speaker wires and I am satisfied with the money I spent on them.

So obviously my biggest issue right now is the Marantz SR6014. It seems to drive the RP-504C center channel all right but even maxed out the floor speakers don't seem to do much of anything, it's almost like they aren't even there. Needless to say i'm not thrilled about my current situation.
I decided to come here in hopes that I can get the help I've needed all along. I do like the warm yet still rich tone I seem to get from the Marantz so I would not mind sticking with Marantz, unless of course there is something else that you think is better. I'm open for any and all suggestions to get the full potential out of this setup. Ive tried to read a bunch of different forums on the relative subject before I came here but I just didn't feel like it was getting me any of the information I needed. That being said Im sorry for being such a newb to all this so I absolutely appreciate everyones patience in dealing with my ignorance on the subject. This is something that is very important to me and I don't want to make another expensive mistake. Thanks in advance to anyone that takes the time to help me. I'm excited to be here and I'm looking forward to hearing your suggestions and learning as much as I can along the way.

The sound quality you describe is the classic description of what happens when the two speakers are wired out of phase with each other.

You need to check that that is not the case.

r1glasstech wrote:

Thanks for the reply. And yes 8000F...typo on my end. So I run HDMI out of the PS4 for music DVD's as well as some youtube music. But I also run a Audioquest Big Sur RCA to 3.5mm to my laptop for music as well. No difference between the two in sound or output that I can notice.
And if this amp has plenty of power then why do I have to turn it up past roughly 50% before I can even get any noticeable sound out of the system? And why does it have to be over 90% to really fill the room, yet again almost entirely from the center channel. With just the two 8000F's hooked up the sound is flat and dull, like its muffled coming from the end of a long hallway. The center is the only speaker that is rich and clear with any notable presence.

Those speakers are like 98db efficient, if they are functioning and wired properly you should be able to blast your ears out in a large room with 30 watts per channel. Have you ever been able to test and hear those speakers? There is definitely something wrong. Like the other poster said, check your speaker cables. Everything should be color coded and labeled on the back of the receiver; Left front and right front go to the left and right RP8000 speakers. the center channel goes to the center speaker. the connectors on the cables, and the binding posts on the speakers have colored markings on them. Make sure the Banana plugs or spades are plugged into the bindings with the right colors, Black to black, red to red.

If everything is hooked up properly, either you got bad speakers in your ebay transaction or your receiver isn't working. Sometimes digital circuitry gets a hiccup while you're plugging and unplugging things. You might try unplugging the receiver from the surge protector, giving it a minute and plugging it back in