PhilH

And Happy Holidays to everyone here from all of us at Klipsch! PhilH

In Order: 1- The original Quintet center 2- Another Quintet satellite 3- The SC.5 PhilH

Deam: Uh...wrong, but nice guess. And again,ANY "RF-7" woofers out there outside of the confines of our Hope facilities did not come from Klipsch. They are, most likely, rejects which should have been destroyed but made it into the wrong hands. PhilH

SOUPNAZI: Great name! I'm surprised it wasn't thought of before by those Seinfeld fans out there. Anyway, it is rare for a crossover to go out, but if it is your speakers have a 5 year warranty if you are the original purchaser and bought them from an authorized dealer. Call our tech support at 1-800-KLIPSCH and they'll help you out. PhilH

Bill: At 98 dB sensitivity, the RF-3's (and the new series II's) are very efficient. Denon and Yamaha are considered by most here good matching receivers with them also. Something was definitely incorrect in the hookup/settings of what you listened to. KlipschDaddy's guess may be right... The RB-5 has a wood cabinet (3 different flavors) while the RF-3 comes in a black vinyl wrap. Thus, the reasoning for the pricing. PhilH

Some KSW-10 and KSW-12 subs got out of the factory over a year ago with fast blow fuses instead of the proper slow blow type. That was the only issue and easily fixed by installing a 1 amp slow blow on the 10 and a 1.5 amp slow blow on the 12. PhilH

Jay: You might want to post your problem in the ProMedia section of our forum. You will be in communication with people who are a lot more experienced with soundcards than many of us home audio guys here. PhilH

Our RS-7's (along with our other surround specific speakers) are not actually true bipolar. Bipolar speakers have drivers approximately 180 degrees from each other radiating sound in opposite directions. We identify our surrounds as WDST (for Wide Dispersion Surround Technology). Each of the two horn loaded driver's radiates in a 90 degree horizontal pattern on their own. The two combined (not radiating opposite of each other) radiate 180 degrees to provide excellent ambience. Because their radiation pattern is not dependant on wall reflections (like bipolar and especially dipolar speakers) they have many more placement options plus they are able to create localized sounds the other types cannot. Gandalf, if you cannot put them on the sides of your listening area, I would put them above your listening position on the back wall. Since they radiate sound 60 degrees vertically, you may need to angle them down a bit to make sure the effects don't fly over your head. PhilH

A retail storefront dealer wants to provide a particular mix of product that they feel will sell the the best for their particular customer base. This mix is influenced by budgets, physical space, price points, styling of the product, etc., etc. One of the reasons Heritage product is rarely displayed is the amount of space it takes up on the showroom floor, especially if you consider the need to corner load K-Horns. Of course we would love all our dealers to carry and display properly all of our product, but so would the other 4 or 5 speaker manufacturers represented by a given retailer. Therefore, some select certain models to carry by each manufacturer, displaying a mix that gives logical steps and choices without, they feel, confusing their customer. Anything they do not carry by a given manufacturer can be special ordered, therefore the customer can still enjoy the benefits of a manufacturers warranty and support. Our new Reference bookshelf and floor standing speakers just hit the market within the last six months and our new Reference subwoofers have only been out several weeks. PhilH

ATLdriver: Welcome to the Board! Stick with the advice you are getting here on the center channel. The center speaker needs to be matched to the front left and right speakers in high and midrange information especially. If not, any Home Theatre sound that goes, for example, left to right will cause you to notice the difference as the sound changes in the middle. An 8 cylinder muscle car can turn into a 4 cylinder with with an overpriced muffler as it hits the center...it will cause you to look at the speakers instead of what is on the screen. Stick with an RC-3(or series II)or an RC-7 with the RF-3 or RF-5 and go with RS-3's or RS-7's for the rear. PhilH

mcqueene: I should have asked you in your other post what you had for the fronts. SS-1's are certainly a mismatch as surrounds for Heresy II's, especially in dynamics. You also mentioned possibly taking the Heresy II's out and going all Synergy series in your system. I know I will not be the only one to tell you...don't do that unless it fits better in your decor. Synergy speakers are an excellent value for the money, but Heresy II's are definitely a step-up in sound. Build on your front sound. If smaller is what you need for the rear and you liked the effects produced by the WDST SS-1's I would definitely look at the new RS-7's for the rear. Their dynamics will work well with the Heresy II's so rear effects will sound much more realistic in comparison with your fronts. I don't know if you have a subwoofer or not and if you don't, the RS-7's will crank out some serious bass for surrounds. If you can't fit another Heresy II for the center, a KLF-C7 (if you can find one) or a new RC-7 would be the recommendation there. PhilH

The RF-3II's also add convoluted foam insulation to the inside box, larger feet (now factory installed) and new snap lock bass ports. PhilH

mcqueene: Definitely try the SS-1's if you can. The main difference you will notice is that they will provide a wider, or more ambient sound for many surround sounds you hear. This is due to their use of 2 compression drivers creating a 180 degree pattern with their 90 degree each horns. A 5.25" woofer vs. a 6.5" inch one on the SB-2's will give you slightly less bass (no effect if you're channeling the bass to a sub)but that will be more than offset by the additional sound envelopement. As far as your room configuration, do you have the ability to place the surrounds on the wall or on stands to either side of your couch? PhilH

deang: Nice post there to counteract their lack of knowledge...couldn't have said it better! PhilH

All manufacturers have parts that they reject, just a way of life. Not every produced part meets the specs they are supposed to. Those parts are either sent back to the supplier for credit or disposed of by the manufacturer. Any separate RF-7 woofer available out there (including ones that recently appeared on eBay)that is not purchased directly from Klipsch falls into that category. If I were trying to sell those, I would probably tell you they were fine also. PhilH

These drivers did not come from our factory. They are most likely units that did not pass our QC specifications and instead of being destroyed like they were supposed to be, wound up in someone's hands. PhilH

Call 1-800-KLIPSCH. PhilH

I just thought there might be some interest here on a new "happening" on our website. If you click "Home" above(to go to our website main page), then click on "Powerful Progress..New Webcam" on the right, it will take you to a page where you can see the progress being made on our new Klipsch Engineering and Technology Center in Indianapolis. What you are seeing is an addition being made to the building that houses our new Klipsch World Headquarters. That addition will house part of the new Center. The groundwork has been laid and (weather permitting) the steel should be going up soon. PhilH This message has been edited by PhilH on 12-14-2001 at 01:31 PM

Although the RF-3 (and II series) share some of the same drivers as the RF-5, their sound differences are very notable. The RF-3 series is a tremendous value in it's price range, but one of the goals of the RF-5 was to develop a smoother overall sound with even more natural sounding vocals. This was accomplished as a result of numerous listening tests, which yielded different crossover points. It is not because the larger horn was more limited at the bottom. The higher crossover point was selected because it helped produce the final overall desired results. If you have not compared the two in your own listening tests, please do...I think you'll hear the differences yourself. PhilH

jperrewe: The RS-3II's have two metal surrounded holes in the back of each speaker to hang them on two screws mounted on the wall. Due to the weight of the speakers, make sure you put the screws in studs so they will hold the weight. PhilH

Sony and JVC worked on their two formats independent of each other. Although JVC started experimenting with a home video taping unit in the 1950's, Sony was first to hit the market with their "U-Matic". In the early days of Beta vs. VHS, before either one was dominant...RCA became the deciding factor. VHS, at the time, was a 4 hour recording format. RCA went to JVC (which was an old offshoot of RCA in the 1930's due to antitrust legislation...Japan "Victor" Corporation)and told them that if JVC made VHS to record up to six hours, RCA would jump on their "bandwagon" and debut their line in the VHS format. JVC, knowing the dominance of the RCA name in the huge US market at the time was no dummy...out came a 6 hour VHS deck. RCA then introduced their line of VHS machines and the US market jumped all over them, making VHS the dominant format. Beta, even with it's faster write speed leading to a superior picture and it's first on the market HiFi Stereo sound could not keep up with the American public's love and trust of the RCA name at the time. A marketing example in its best form.. PhilH

TNT does a pretty good job with NBA games when they broadcast them in surround. Playoffs are always that way for them, and some of the major regular season games come through that way. It's like sitting at center court! PhilH

Cee60: I have the KLF-30's, KLF-C7 and the RS-3's. They sound good together, but my upgrade desire is to use the RS-7's. PhilH

Forte Lover: The Academy would be the best Center match, followed by the KLF-C7 (neither speaker still in production). Forte II's would be the best surrounds, followed by KSP-S6's for surrounds with our WDST feature (ambience and direct sound for the rear). Both of these are also no longer in production. A good current surround match would be our new RS-7's. PhilH

For the KSW-10, use a 1 amp slow blow fuse (Radio Shack part #2701021). For the KSW-12, use a 1.5 amp slow blow fuse (Radio Shack part #2701022). PhilH