Klipsch 504c Gen II vs Gen I? Which to buy?! Center Channel Review / Tests

With Gen I components at half the price, should you really fork out for the Gen II center? Let's find out!

[@johnnycorona8851]

Love your setup, I recently purchased the RP-8000F II and one Monolith THX ultra 13, I can only imagine what 2 of them would be like since one already shakes my hardwood floors 🤯. PS. the slim baffle is a benefit as it will reduce reflections. Also what you’re seeing in REW is your in room response and not necessarily representative of the speaker itself, but how well it works in your room. What the Gen 2 will have over Gen 1 won’t make sense for someone who is using something like Dirac Live or REW room EQ, you basically need a center that matches your Klipsch towers and the Gen 1 fits the bill. Congrats on your beautiful setup, cheers 🥂

[@aussieexpat]

Thank you man and enjoy yours too! 2x monotliths... hrmm not sure how much its worth 2 vs 1.. i could turn one off and let you know... in the end I think adding the 2x old subs in different spots and using the minidsp makes a bigger difference at my listening volume. But if i got above my listening volume there no way those budget subs will keep up and fill that 50 to 70hz gap.

[@djenk12345]

Mad max has super center channel sound in the begining at the movie

[@jamesianv]

test it with your voice, the male vibrato is a problem with my Triangle center, the female voice r great but the you know when the voice cracks a bit is a huge deal breaker.

[@BigBidNus]

I just got a 450c for 250 bucks on amazon and it was a huge improvement over what it replaced

[@aussieexpat]

Yeah I was initially hesitant about upgrading my center... but it really does a lot more work than just dialog.

[@leatijoseph828]

Is there a big difference between 450c and 504cii??

[@asmodeus6631]

Great setup, unfortunately your home theater is setup in your living area and with all that area in the back kitchen , windows etc. Acoustic are out the door as frequencies are bouncing all over the place unless you sound proof that as well.

[@aussieexpat]

Yeah the decay is perhaps longer but hey, less need for sound treatment.

[@blove9387]

Gen 2 stuff def looks a lot better imo

[@aussieexpat]

I agree. Although with the covers on, i disliked the non centered badge.

[@avi12188]

$420 and $800 can't find them anywhere for this. Not happy with r52c sometimes struggle wirh dialogue with r620f. Unless its the nr656 amp.

[@aussieexpat]

It may not be possible, gen 1 was discontinued.

[@bumkrilla5339]

At 2k it's from the internal crossover point causing a dip they take well to eq so they kindof could sound however you want you can kill all the highs in the speaker

[@aussieexpat]

You're right. But it's surprising that the cross over on the gen 2 center, seems better positioned to sound consistent with my gen II floorstandings.

[@bumkrilla5339]

@Aussie Expat 2 yup gen 2 slightly high crossover makes it a little smaller dip and the highs aren't as elevated but any dsp will flatten most of that stuff out I personally perfer a brighter speakers to begin with klipsch rp series focal chora b&w 7 series are some of my favorites

[@aussieexpat]

@@bumkrilla5339 I don't have EQ outside of my miniDSP for subs. don't think the higher ranges matters as much. Happy enough to buy the speakers I like the sound of. But multi sub without a dsp... just seems like a waste of money.

[@sachinb8199]

The fact that the linearity has differences around the 1000-2000 mark more or less just confirms that these speakers have poor off axis performance. The 504cii starts to loose vocal intelligibility after +/-10 degrees from center. Quite narrow. The mid range takes that dip due to lobing issues from the MTM design of the speaker. Your room is wide, a quality 3 way cevter is best for your setup imo. Try a Monolith 365c.

[@aussieexpat]

Yeah I 100% agree. I was very concerned about the testing... erin... did on it. Ultimately again, you are right, but I am happy with it and I'm sure the 365c would be an upgrade (and I did research that exact model actually), I just don't want to spend any more money on the center right now. The main thing to focus on is my surrounds are currently my old towers and would benefit from being higher (so some kind of stand). And my rears are not in line of sight of peoples ears because of the couch design.

[@mseker66]

where do you hookup the HDMI cable you referencing to? I thought the miniDSP is USB.

[@aussieexpat]

I have a laptop running REW. It drives the receiver with hdmi and hooks up to the mic with USB.

[@MetalsForBrunch]

Gen II towers are brighter than Gen I towers. I prefer Gen I towers with Gen II center.

[@aussieexpat]

Ive read the opposite but never tested the gen 1 towers myself. But as you can see here, the center from either gen is much brighter than my gen 2 towers.

[@MetalsForBrunch]

@@aussieexpat someone uploaded sound test gen 1 vs gen 2 back to back so you can hear both. I also read opposite but I would say gen 2 is definitely tighter in mid bass. Gen 1 and 2 both sound great in different ways. you have a very nice setup.

[@aussieexpat]

@MetalsForBrunch thank you. Was a monumental upgrade over my pioneer Andrew Jones budget set up! Now... the room is what holds it back. Need a new house.

[@MrAwol007]

Would the gen 2 be a good upgrade from the r34c thanks in advanced

[@aussieexpat]

Sorry not familiar with it.

[@jake-jp3vb]

Just replaced my 34c with this.. Yes it’s better on every level and then some..not even in the same ballpark.

[@MrAwol007]

@@jake-jp3vb same here made the purchase around a month ago loving it sounds epic

[@timlong8559]

How much better is thr 504c2 vs thr R-52c

[@jake-jp3vb]

@@timlong8559 I have the 52c as well. It’s a great center don’t get me wrong but the 504c ii is just on another level. If all you can snag is the 52c you won’t be disappointed.

[@yournightmare9999]

And Klipsch rp450c is $329 or cheaper

[@gina4008]

I just bought the RP-450c at a sale price of $349 (was $650) ..... Love it.

[@stephenyoud6125]

As both of them will have messed up responses and activating the room slightly differently, those observed differences are probably not so relevant. Get them fixed !😂

[@aussieexpat]

agreed, there isn't a marked difference between either to overcome I suspect most in room testing. The high ends of the gen II do seem to be more consistently higher than gen 1, but also the crossover being puzzlingly higher is also a consistent thing people should look out for in a comparison.

[@stephenyoud6125]

@@aussieexpat g’day mate, have you had a look at the GR-Research test and upgrades for Klipsch?Well worth it. I’m busy doing new crossovers and upgraded on some other speakers thanks to Danny’s inspiration. Cheers from Pommie Steve in Germany

[@Audioenthusatic]

Klipsch rp 504c 2 is much better than gen 1 ...Really remarkable difference. ......gen 2 sounds good better in mid frequency...voice..delivery..

[@aussieexpat]

I honestly can't really tell the difference by ear if I recall. My gut response is I liked the Gen 1 better. And in my room, it's frequency response matched the RP-8000F IIs better. But to your ears, and your room and set up, maybe Gen II is the correct choice and that's the main thing. That you got to listen to both, and come away picking the best.

[@Audioenthusatic]

@aussieexpat yes what you told was a right !! Every systems sounds better upto there room settings and placements. But I have used both klipsch rp 504c gen1 and gen 2 ...I found some different in sound, mainly in crossover they do done some changes that really noticeable when compared to gen 1 !!....and it's can be really audiable too!

[@aussieexpat]

Yeah reviwing my earlier comments. The change between gen 1 and 2 IS noticable. However, the gen 2 cross over is about 500hz ABOVE the RF8000 II cross over, so it doesn't sound as good in terms of match to me.@@Audioenthusatic

[@aussieexpat]

In isolation, gen ii v gen 1... hard to say except for maybe a little hotter high end on gen 2.

[@timlong8559]

​@Audioenthusatic I have a R-52c how much of a difference with the 504c 2 be

[@sds4810]

It's not very accurate being the purpose of the toe in is to get better center image when listening to 2 channel material! You need to point them straight out into the room for better balance when watching movies or anything mixed in multi channel

[@aussieexpat]

I have experimented. Direct at the center listening position offers the best imaging. But all toe angle still have a strong phantom center for that center seat. For the left and right seat, ONLY the toe angle crossing ahead of the center seat (as you see in the video) offers any phantom center when listening to stereo.

[@sds4810]

@@aussieexpat exactly so now with an actual center channel you do need to have a phantom center and as it will cause cancellations in the frequency response and overlap some which will degrade and blur/muddle some sounds played across the front stage! IMO 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@aussieexpat]

@mike frost yeah but i don't do any kind of upmixing of stereo.

[@sds4810]

@@aussieexpat I'm speaking only in regards to movie watching not music! I think you're misunderstanding me! I have the exact same set up! Well I choose the mk2 over the 1st gen! And I found that pointing my 8000fs straight on into the room! And ran ARC genesis on my Anthem mrx1120 receiver. That it adjusted the curves correctly and expanded the front stage to beyond the speakers themselves while allowing the 504c2 do its thing in the center! Watching READY PLAYER ONE! I get the sense of being inside the car while dialogue and engine roars stayed locked dead center! All I suggest is give a try rerun your room correction (whateva you have) and see if you notice a big difference in your room!

[@aussieexpat]

@mike frost that makes sense to me. My room dimensions are not ideal so the angle to my fronts is already very wide. I think my seats are 9ft back but the fronts are 11ft apart. So the sound stage is very wide physically.