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imperfectcircle25

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Everything posted by imperfectcircle25

  1. My RF-3s have been in storage for a while and im in need of a new project so i thought of doing some simple mods to them. Id like to add a brace or two to the cabinet and then maybe rebuild/relocate the xover outside the cabinet. Any other mods that can be done to these speakers?? I know there was someone who was doing mods to the Xover a while back when I used to hang around this forum. Thanks Frank
  2. How much are you willing to spend on an amp?? Heres a few I found on Audiogon SS: Monarchy Sm70 $350 Forte Model 4 $650 Naim Nap90v3 $299 Bryston 2b-lp $495 PS Audio HCA-2 $700 Threshold t50 $700 Pass Aelph30 $750 As you can see thiers alot of choices in the under $1000 range and thats not even getting into tube amps!
  3. $400 or best offer, in good condition, sound great. Email at Fsatsil@optonline.net ps-will also consider trade for a nice pair of bookshelf sized speaker preferably British(Epos, Linn, Spendor..)
  4. I just heard about the new Cornwall and Heresy 3 and was wondering if they are available yet and how much do they cost. Also has anyone heard them?? I may be interested in ugrading my Rf-7's to the Cornwall 3's thanks
  5. NAD c521bee new Ah! Tjoeb 4000 used Rega Planet used
  6. Do yourself a favor and spend a few more dollars and get something new. Redbook technology has gotten significantly better in the past few years, even budget players now are mostly better than the Hi-end players of 10 years ago. What is the rest of your system like?? Are you starting from scratch? IF so check out the entry level NAD stuff. If you shop around you could find an NAD c320bee/521bee and maybe a pair of Forte's for around $1000. That would make an awesome entry level budget system for a beginner.
  7. WOw and I thought I was young for this forum at 26!! Quite a nice lil setup for 15, I didnt really have my first decent system till I was about 18 or 19 it was a used marantz cd67se/Jolida 102/Klipsch RF-3 and I absolutely loved that system, used it for many years. Glad to see that thier are some young people out there that actually know good sound and arent just listening to ipods and "cd quality" mp3's:) BTW what amp are you using to drive the RF-3's? If you an solder well, definitly think of replacing the caps in the Xovers with some Sonicaps or Auricaps and replace the padding resistor with a nice Mills wirewound resitor. I did these upgrades on my old RF-3's and it definitly made a differance the sound was more transparent and the highs were much smoother.
  8. Wow great Forte's I wish I lived closer id definitly go for them!
  9. The Denon 2000ivr is a very high quality integrated and will be more than enough power to drive the RF-7's. I donno were this idea that you need tons of power to drive these speakers, it simply not true. HYes they are not the easiest speaker to drive since they dip down to 3 ohms, but by no means are they an extremely difficult load. Alot of high end speakers do have some impeadance dips down to 2 or 3 ohms, not a big deal. As long as you get an amp with decent current capability and the ability to be stable into a 4 ohm load you will have no problem driving the RF-7's. A would say 25 wpc is a good minimum to drive the RF-7's in a small-mid sized room. Some of the best sound ive heard from the RF-7's were with a 25w and 30w amplifier(Sugden a21, Pass Aelph 30). Quality is far morew important the quantity with these speakers, they need very little watts to play loud but do need a good quality amp that can put out some current and drive lower impeadances. With all that said, depending on what your planning on spending I think you may be able to do better than the Denon which sells for around $1100 I believe? Heres a few ideas. NAD c372 $700: tons of power for an integrated amp and stable all the way down to 2ohms, this amp can rock! Maybe not the most refined but offers alot of power and sound quality for the money. Portal Panache $1295: Rumor has it that this amp was designed by the legendary Nelson Pass. Its basically a power amp with a volume pot and a few inputs, very minimalist integrated with a passive preamp section, 100w/200w into 8 or 4ohms, high current design, very good build quality. 60 money back trial period. Sim Audio I-5(used) $1200: Probably the best amp on the list all around, very smooth and natural sounding bur with great drive and PRaT, 70wpc can easily drive the RF-7's to extremely loud volumes and sound smooth doing so. Sugden a21(used) $1000: 25wpc class A British integrated, some of the smoothest sounds i ever heard from the RF-7 came from this amplifier, dont let its low power fool you it drove the RF-7's with no problem. Very musical amplifier, beautifuly smooth midrange. If you more interested in refined sound than rock concert loudness this is the one for you. A bit hard to find on the used market Creek 5350se $1500: Got a class A rating from stereophile, plenty of power 85wpc and current output 25A, very clean and detailed, midrange is among thebest ive heard at anywere near this price, does sound a bit dry though which may not be the best match for the Klipsch's, but definitly worth a listen. One of the best integrateds out there. These are just a few of the better integrateds around that I have heard personally with the RF-7's except the Portal Panache which I havent heard and the Creek which Ive heard but not with Klipsch. If you want power the NAD or Portal is the way to go, if you want smoothness and refinement the Sugden and SIm are the way to go and if you want something in the middle with good power and refinement the Creek may be your ticket. There are also alot of other integrateds out there that are very good as well. Check out integrateds from Musical Fidelity, Arcam, Unison, Pathos, Audio Analogue, Plinius, Rotel, Bryston, Naim...etc Good luck and happy listening!
  10. Ive descided to keep my RF-7's for the basement system, I found alot of other speakers, but the Klipsch's were still the best with metal and hard rock. So now I would like to get myself some decent amplification for them. My cd player is the Ah! Super Tjoeb 4000/upsampled, which I am very happy with. I would like to keep the price under $1500 for a pre and power amp, new or used it doesnt really matter to me. Ive heard good things about Rotel, Parasound, NAD, Nuforce if I want to go with something new, on the used market ive heard good stuff bout Mccormack, Aragon and Bryston. What do you guys reccomend, am I better of going with something that is used but a bit higher end such as the Aragon 8008/18k, or something brand new but a little lower nd such as the Parasound Halo p3/a23?? Thanks
  11. Were can you buy one of the SI2?? Way better looking than the origional although at much more money its still a bargain at $130!! Great amps for Klipsch or other HE speakers.
  12. Ive tried Vibrapods under some of my equipment and for the price they arent bad, but they can make the sound a little to dead in some systems, hey tend to warm things up a bit which can bbe a good or bad thing depending on your taste and your system. But I think vibration control can make a significant differance in sound quality. For the price its definitly worth a try.
  13. Most of the rock I listen to is from the early 90's and newer, of course I still listen to alot of 60-70's rock as well but the majority is from the grunge era and newer, I think by then the recordings have started oto get much better and cd's really started to sound decent in the 90's.
  14. Yes the one thing that really disapointed me with the RF-7's is the midrange, but it wasnt a surprise really a 10in driver running up to 2000hz is never gonna sound as good as a smaller midrange driver in a three-way system. I wonder why they didnt go the 3-way route on the Rf-7's? So one of the three way's like the Forte, Cornwall...etc will be far better in the midrange than the RF-7's? Thanks Frank
  15. How would you guys say the Forte or Chorus compare to the newer RF-7?? I own a pair of RF-7 and was wondering how they compare with the older Klipsch speakers. The Lascala and Cornwall are probably out of the question I doubt his wife will allow such mosters in the house...lol She would probably be happiest with the more modern looking RF-7's, but they are a bit more than I think he is looking to spend, and they require serious amplification. I think the Forte's could get by with a less amplification I dont think they are as dificult a load as the RF-7's.??
  16. DRwho, Why do you say the voices would sound bas through the PSB because its a three way?? Im not following you on that one?? What did you mean exactly?? Ive found 3ways to usually sound better on voices?? The PSB's sounded very good to me in the midrange, id say a slight step above the RF-7's in the mids as far as smoothness and natrualness. Id be interested in hearing the Klipsch Forte, a few of my audio buddys whose opinions i respect have told me thatthe Forte is one of the best Klipsch ever made and the best normal sized speaker they made, the Khorn may be better but most people dont have the room for such a monster. If the Fortes are as good or better than my RF-7's, i could save a bunch of money and buy more music! Do the Fortes need a high current amp like the RF-7 or are they an easier amplifier load?
  17. Having owned both SS and tubes, I have come to the conclusion that for the music I listen to metal, rock, hardcore... a SS amp is definitly the way to go. Try using tubes someplace in the system though, a tube cd player or pre-amp is a good idea. The Njoe Tjoeb 4000, Eastern Electric Minimax and Unison Unico cd players are all great tube cd players which can be had for under $1k used. The Eastern Electric Minimax pre, Rogue 66, Quicksilver linestage, Manley Shrimp are some great tuibe pre-amps that can be had under $1k. And here are a bunch of amplifiers both power amp and integrateds that will give you a taste of how good a hi-end SS amp can sound with out breaking the bank. If your using some high effciency speakers remeber you dont need a ton of power and one of the lower power Class-A amps may give you excellent results, the Pass Aelph is an example of a lower powered class A amplifer that is excellent and can better much more powerful and expensive amps. POWEER AMPS: Mcoormack DNA-1 Aragon 4004, 8008 Pass Aelph 3 Monarchy SM70, se100 Naim Nap250 Forte model 4a Krell KSA50 Belles 150a hotrod Classe 25 INTEGRATED AMP: Creek 5350se Naim Nait5i Exposure XV, XXV Sugden a21 Unison Unico(hybrid) Plinius 8200 Bryston b60
  18. Im not quite sure I understand what you mean that power is power and quality has nothing to do with it. I donno how you could possibly think that the quality of the amplifier has nothing to do with how good it will sound?? Compare a cheap Sony 100watt reciever to a "high quality" hi-end amplifer of even 25 watts say a Sugden a21, and then tell me the quality doesnt matter. As for the specs, I didnt mean that they dont mean anything, they just dont mean anything when it comes to an amplifier sounding good or not sounding good. An amp with great specs can sound aweful and vice versa. Regardless this post went in a totally differant direction then I was hoping, I really was interested in hearing opinions about other sub $3k speakers compared to the RF-7's. I have heard the Paradigm Studio 100v3 a few weeks ago at a dealer, and currently have a pair of PSB Stratus Goldi in house for audition. The PSB's are quite good, they require more power than the Klipsch's and arent quite as powerful. My Mccormack DNA-1 is putting out over 300watts into the 4ohm load and it plays very loud and clean. Ive only had them in house for a few days, but this is what I have found so far. Both the RF-7 and the Stratus are big and powerful speakers, the Klipsch;s are more lively and the PSB are more laidback. The PSB's seem to have the edge in the bass power and impact as well as extension, this came as a surprise considering the RF-7's use a pair of 10in drivers compared tot he PSB's single woofer, I guess thats the advantage of a three-way design and lower sensitivity. The midrange was more laid back and definitly smoother on the psb's, compared to the Klipsch's they are more refined but not as lively. The treble is one place that I really did prefer the PSB's none of the shouty horn type sound that you get with the RF-7's, the highs are sweet and extended with out ever getting to bright or harsh. Soundstaging was quite good with both, the Klipsch's more foward and the PSB more laidback but deeper. So thats what ive found so far with limited listening time so far, the PSB's are at least as good at the Klipsch's in most areas, the only place the Klipsch's really had a big edge was in senstivity and dynamics, but the PSB's equaled the field with thier more extended low bass. So basically I think they are both great speakers for the money, its mostly a matter of taste, do you want upfront and in your face but a little roough around the edges, or do you want a smooth and refined sound with excellent bass, take your pick. I personally must say I think I prefer the easier to listen to sound of the PSB's on most music, especially on alot of the rock recordings I listen to that are recorded a bit hot in the highs, the PSB's are more forgiving. Has anyone else compared the RF-7 to the STratus Goldi and wish to comment? A few others id really love to hear compared tot he rf-7's.. NHT 3.3 or 2.9 Paradigm Studio 100v2 or v3 Gallo reference 3 Legacy Classic Klipsch Forte Snell c/v Just to name a few, anyone heard any of these? Wish to comment on how they compare tot he RF-7?
  19. Heres a few good ideas from Agon. http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1132497804 http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1131917363 http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1131232288 http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1130883508 http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1133613860 http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1133557653 http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1133487350 http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1133336953 Pick any of these an youll blow the HK reciever away! The Arcam Alpha 9 is an especially good amp and should match well with the Klipschs it has a warm and smooth sound. Good Luck
  20. The RF-7's are very revealing speakers and they need alot of current to sound best as they dip down below 3ohms in the bass. You don't wanna skimp on amplification with these speakers, and I really dont think the HK is gonna get the best sound from these speakers. If you can do with out the tuner, a high quality integrated amplifier is the way to go on a budget. The nad C320BEE would work great, its rated at 50 watts but will have much more current capability than the HK reciever and if you can swing a bit more money a NAD c372 is really the way to go, used you can pick them up for $500 or so. It doesnt pay to spend $1400 on a good pair of speakers only to pair them up with a cheap $200 receiver, they deserve better than that. its basically a waste of money to spend that kinda of money for a good speaker if your gonna use it with crappy upstream electronics, crap in crap out. Do yourself a favor and save your money for a few more months and get yourself a decent integrated amp and cd player. i would say the NAD c520bee/c320bee cd player and integrated amp is the absolute minimum you would want for a pair of RF-7's for best performance.
  21. A friend of mine recently asked him to hgelp him set up a decent stereo system for his new house. He doesnt wanna spend big bucks, maybe $2.5k total for speakers, amp and cd player. I mediately though of a used pair of Klipsch Forte or Cornwalls, they can rock and dont require big expensive power amps to do so. My question is, whicch of the Klipsch's is best suited to this kind of music, his room is mid sized about 20x14ft. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. BTW my basement system is coming along great, I have a pair of PSB Stratus Goldi's in the house right now to compare to the RF-7's Im driving them with Mccormack TLC/Dna-1 amplification and I must say the PSB's are giv ing the RF-7's a run for thier money, the bass is one area the PSB's have the Klipsch's beat for sure, everything else is quite close with the edge in dynamics and loudness going to the Klipsch's. Its gonna be a tough descision, the PSB's are more forgiving than the Klipsch's which may be the determining factor considering how bad some of the rock recordings are. Happy Listening!
  22. I think you put far to much importance in if an amp can double its power into 4ohms or not, it really is not important. Some of the most musical sounds ive gotten fromt he rf-7's was with a little 35w/4 or 8ohms Exposure XV integrated amp. This amp certainly isnt a high current design although it does have a very well built power supply for a 35 watt amp, every section of the amp including the power amp section are fully regulated which is rare even in very expensive amps. The XV sold for $1300 in 1992. But it had no trouble driving the RF-7's to pretty loud levels, and as long as you stayed within its limits and werent trying to recreate a rock concert in your living room, it sounded better than a bunch of other much more powerful and high current amps. My point is, one specs mean nothing, two quality is far more important than quantity, and third more power isnt always better. Most of the amps that sound best to me ar between 50-100 watts and use a single pair of output transistors. Some of these amps are Pass Aelph 3, Naim Nap250, Exposure 4DR, Monarchy SE160, Sugden A21 and the Lavardin IS.
  23. Sorry to cause any arguements, I was simply trying to point out that a 400 watt amp is not always better at driving a diffucult speaker than a 100 watt amp is. It has much more to do with how much current they can put out. Im not sure were you got the idea that a 100 watt amp has more difficulty doubling its power output into 4 ohms than a 400 watt amp does?? Ability to double the power into lower impeadances has nothing to do with the watts an amplifier puts out. I am going to stick to my origional statemtn that a good qualiuty 100 watt amplifer is more than enough in most cases to drive a pair of RF-7's. If a 60 watt tube amp can drive them well then a 60 watt SS amp can do an equally good job. A watt is a watt wheter its SS or tube. People seem to forget that, with this crazy idea that tube watts are twice as powerful as SS watts, that is the biggest load of BS ive heard yet people still believe this for some reason. A good high current SS amp will almosty always be better at driving difficult speakers due to thier ability tobetter deal with lower impeadances and output more current.
  24. A 400w power amp is over kill unless you are using them in a stadium or something... Ill take a high quality 100watt amp like my Exposure IVDR over a similarly priced 400w amp with the Klipsch's. Im just saying, for example if you have $2000 to spend on an amp and there is one thats 100w and one thats 400w the 100w amp is most likely of higher quality, and with speakers such as the RF-7's quality is far more important then quantity as they only need a few watts to play extremely loud. Thats one of the great things bout Klipsch power output is not that important, so you can spend your money on a quality amp instead of a quantity type amp. Regardless there is no way u need anywere near 400 watts to get good sound from the RF-7's. You will never be using more than a few watts anyways, having headroom is nice, but 400watts is overkill. On the other hand an amp with large curent reserves will be a good idea as they do pose a slightly difficult load to the amplifier. I think people often confuse current and watts. You can have an amp with alot of watts that still wont be able to drive a difficult speaker, on the other hand you can have an amp like the Krell I mentioned before that is only 50 watts but has almost unlimited current capability and will drive almost any speaker load. Most likely something like a 50w Krell KSA50 would drive the Klipschs better than your average 200 watt amplifier. If you dont mind me asking, what 400 watt amp were you using with the RF-7's? Im in no way saying you wont get good sound with that much power, just that its overkill. For example my neighbor has a brand new pair of Bryston SST monoblocks im not sure of the model, maybe the 14bsst? But its got a ton of power probably about 500watss. We hooked it up in my system with the RF-7 just for fun and the sound was amazing, but it wasnt all that much better than my 90watt Exposure power amp in its ability to play loud and clear. So I still say 100watts of very good clean power is as much as most will ever need with the RF-7's. Anyone agree or disagree? BTW if you guys arent familiar with Exposure, its a smaller British company, very similar in design to Naims power amplifiers, if you are familiar with the Naim Nap 250, my Exposure IVDR is quite similar although with quite a bit larger completely dual-mono power supply. This amp is a monster for a 90 watt amp, and every part of the amp even the output stage is fully regulated with descrete regualtors.
  25. 400 watts for a speaker that is 101db/watt sensitive, I think that is overkill to say the least. Youll do much better with a high quality 100 watt amp, there is no reason you would ever need 400 watts with these speaker!. The amount of watts doesnt really have anything to do with being able to drive low impeadances, its about curreent capability. Something like a 50 watt Krell Ksa50 wouldporbably do a better job driving them then a similarly priced 400w amp, because it has tremendous current output capability .
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