gagelle

I recently wrote about my Epic CF3s lacking the sound quality that they used to have when I bought them. I was runnung them with a mid level Dennon receiver. Then it came to me what the problem was. When I origionally listened to these speakers, they were powered by a Harman Kardon receiver. These receivers have a reputation for quality and their power ratings are understated. They use discrete circuitry and their RMS power ratings are calculated with both channels driven. So I bought a Harman Kardon AVR 3600. This receiver produces a full sound out of the Epic's with the deep bass I remember. It also automatically calibrates the volume for each speaker to produce a good home theater sound. The calibration is very effective, as the receiver comes with a quality microphone. The point I'm trying to make (which I think was made in a previous post) is that the amplifier quality has a significant affect on the speaker sound. (I have already received several noise complaints!) I recently won a bid on a pair of Klipsch Fortes, supposedly in mint condition. I may use these in the rear but I'm not sure yet. I know the kind of sound that this combination produces may be a mismatch for home theater but with my receiver calibrating the output, I may get a reasonable sound. Just a note on the receiver. It goes for about $1000 on Amazon. I don't know how this happened. It may have been a posting error. But I picked up the receiver new, on Amazon for around $599 about two months ago.

Thanks Bill. Sounds like they both have their positive qualities.

Anyone know if the Chorus ll sound as good as the Cornwalls? I'm looking for excellent bass response. Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Best Buy is selling the floor standing VF-36 speakers today 11/25/10 for $237.49 each on their web site. I've never seen the price that low so I just wanted to let the community know. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Thanks for the advice. I read somewhere on this blog that the only change in rev 2 was the switch from 5 in. to 3 in. ports, but I could be wrong. Needless to say, I'm very happy that I have Rev 1. In my opinion, these speakers sound incredible. They just love power. I'm into classical, but put on a remastered copy of Led Zeppelin 2, and these things just pump out clean sound. I'm still in the process of putting everything together with rear speakers. Your system is quite impressive.

Hello All, I have a pair of Epic CF3 speakers that I bought new in 1994. I read on this forum that there were three versions made. I wrote to Klipsch to find out the crossover so I can set them up with a new Harman Kardon receiver. Klipsch was nice enough to write back with the following information: "You may have the Rev.2 Yours were built the 246th day of 1994. If your ports tubes are 5” long, they are Rev.1’s. 2 ½” would have been Rev.2 There was never really an owner’s manual for the Epic series. A product brochure was attached to this email. The CF-3 was rated down to 35 Hz, you could set them to large in the receiver setup The CF-3’s crossover point was 1,500 Hz. Internal crossover point." The question I have is whether I should change the port tubes if they are Rev. 2? And if so, where would I obtain the 5 in. port tubes? I understand they are very easy to get out. Thanks in advance for any help. PS. Good news! The port tubes are 5 in. long. ____________________________

Thanks Wuzzer. You answered my question. The next model up (about $150 more) has preamp out jacks and much more power. I wish I could afford state of the art, seperate components. But my room is small, and I would probably be wasting money anyway. It's strange. When I was a teen, I wouldn't have considered anything integrated like a receiver. But then, I didn't have a kid to put through college.

I own a pair of Klipsch CF3s which I love. I was previously running them with an old Harmon Kardon Promedia receiver. Unfortunately, I had to give up this receiver and am now using a Dennon AVR 888 rated 100 watts. The problem is that the speakers don't have the beautiful "clear" sound they had with the Harmon Kardon. I want to buy a new model and was wondering whether the Harmon Kardon AVR 2600 rated 65 watts would have enough power? I've read on your blog that the CF3 speakers need more power, although Harmon Kardon's power ratings are VERY conservative. I also have some small satellite speakers in the rear, a small harmon Kardon speaker in the middle (Came with the sattellites) and a self-powered subwoffer in the back. I believe the sub is unnecessary as the CF3s put out plenty of bass. The CF3s get loud enough, (I'm in a small room) but as I mentioned, the Harmon had this beautiful clarity. Thanks in advance for any help. I was overjoyed to see a writeup on my CF3s. I thought I was the only one who knew about them.