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Hey guys, I hear so much about the Dean G crossovers in the RF-7's. I'd really love to hear the difference for myself. I have a few pair of the RF-7's which I am very happy with, but I wonder if I'm missing out. Is there anyone with the modded crossovers in the NY/NJ area that would like to invite me over for a listen? It's always fun to have another audio enthusiast to talk shop with[8-|]

How did you do this and what material did you listen? Well... I'm a bit of a nut when it come to testing gear. I need an instant A/B comparison when trying to hear the difference in equipment. Disconnecting and reconnecting, just leaves too much time for an accurate comparison. My memory plays tricks on me. I have an amp I use just for testing (I also have a great amp selector made by Niles to A/B amplifiers with the touch of a button). It's a Yamaha MX-1. Really a nice little amp. It has an A/B selector on it, so I can switch back and forth with only the touch of a button. I sit on the couch and make my daughter switch back and forth when I say[] She kept pressing one button before releasing the other. Which is ok, the amp handled the efficient Klipsch like a champ. It's made to take two 8 ohm speakers at the same time. So every time I had both running at the same time I could'nt help but be impressed by the sound. I am looking to move soon. In my new home I may do something like this again, but I would probably use two amps (I have plenty lying around) One like the MX-1 that has gain adjustments to match the speakers equally. I have my B&W 804's next to the RF-7's now that I use for different types of music, or I would have left the RF-83's there. The B&W's have an amazing midrange. On a side note to the op.. I use a RF-7 as the center channel in my RF-83 system (extra from the all RF-7 system) Which is awesome! I've always used towers for my center channel. In a movie you will not notice the the difference between the RF-7's or RF-83's, but you'll notice a hugh difference in presence of the RF-7 compared to a RC-7 or RC-64. I'm sure you could sell a single RF-7 to someone looking to upgrade their center channel. Just thought I'd throw that out there[H]

Bro, this is one of those things you need to find out for yourself. It'll only take a few minutes. Technically you shouldn't, but some people claim a world of difference just by changing speaker wire. If you really want to be sure you're doing a fair comparison I'd try switching positions (if you haven't already) when you A/B them if one pair was on the outside and the other on the in, switch them. Positioning can make quite a difference.

LMAO I agree more with FISH in the RF-7 vs RF-83 discussion, but clearly everyone has ther own opinion. That's why my advice to you is if you like the 83's better than keep the 83's. Don't risk selling the speakers you like best and later regret it. One should sell as easy as the other, and for close to the same price. What some hear in the 7's as harsh to me is detail. Bad recordings will be revealed, but good will really shine. I'd also say that no floor noise equipment with tone controls is essential. I had my 83's and 7's hooked up at the same time right next to eachother for a while. Playing both at the same time was preety cool. I had the (IMO) better midrange and midbass of the 83's with the better highs and lows of the 7's. It created this awesome wall of sound. I felt that each speaker picked up what the other lacked. I would have left it that way, but it would have meant the B&W's would have had to go into another room.

Or if you're wanting something more musical, the JL subs are the cleanest subs I've ever heard. I'm sure the Velodyne is great. They were definitely the sub to beat years ago. However, I don't think that they're as good as other subs in their price range.

Hey Nic, I didn't see this before. Those DD's don't come cheap. I've heard some pretty good things about the Epik dual empires. For 15+ money you could be talking quad empires with two 15" subs each! I've heard some pretty good things. I'm the worst at this, but check out this link http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1231824 Copy and paste it.. There's a guy that paired them against the Seaton Submersives which were supposed to be next great thing

I've seen a lot of things like this online. Makes me think twice about a lot of money I've spent over the years. I literally have closets full of extra gear, plus all that I've sold over the years. As far as the CD players go, I think a lot of people use analog connections, which the DAC's in the players will make a difference. I think that each manufacturer has their own idea of what the end result should sound like. It's kind of a give and take. A lot of the "warm, smoothe"sounding gear tends to give up a little bit of that high frequency detail. We all have a different opinion of what the end result should be. Then of course it makes a big deal what components are being paired together. I would say that most people on the Klipsch forum like a different sound than the average "audiophile." Don't agree? Go on Audiogon and tell them how much better your horns are[] I love listening to music. I spend so much time in there, sometimes I think I just want a change. I really like the looks of the Emotiva stuff. Even though I don't really hear a difference, I am starting to like the CD player. I've put some old scratched up CD's in it and it hasn't skipped yet. CD's that definitely wouldn't play through on my other players. It's got some other pretty cool features too.

Update: I know it's been a couple weeks. First I'd like to say thanks for all the great suggestions, I looked into them all. Fish suggested the Emotiva ERC-2 which was the obviously the cheapest solution. Then they gave it a pretty good write up in stereophile magazine.I figured for $370 I had to give it a try. I ordered it then, but it was back ordered. I planned on ordering the Oppo 95 when the Emotiva was ready to ship to do a side by side comparison and return the loser. I hear so much about Emotiva I've been dying to try them out. Even though I've bought a lot of gear used, a CD player I'd prefer to buy new. There's too many moving parts, laser alignment, etc. I've got a Rotel CD player that I bought used only a year or two old at the time. It's never played right. It sounds good, but doesn't want to read the CD's half of the time. Maybe it happened in shipping? Anyways... The Emotiva actually showed up today. I played with it for only 45 minutes before I had to go to work. First impressions... I was overall very pleased with the weight and feel of the thing. Fit and finish was nice. Sound wise... I didn't hear much difference from the Sony DVP-S9000ES. Like I said, I didn't have time to really play with it yet. I will post more thoughts after I have the time to really compare it. Also, I won't be ordering the Oppo to compare now. My less than 2yr old 52" Sony LCD is apparently on it's way out. Which I'm really upset about. Looking online it is a very common defect in the XBR and Z series of Sony TV's, but they don't want to acknowledge the problem. That and I just ordered the Emotiva XPA-2 to match, and I'm thinking about the XPA-5 as well. I really don't think they'll sound any different, but after one day I realize why all the Emotiva stuff is so addicting. It just looks so cool when all stacked together. The blue lights stick out like a sore thumb in my rack right now. Similar to the way guys have all McIntosh gear... It just doesn't look right with other components...

I also own both the 83's and 7's. Appearance wise I give the win to the 83's but sound I definitely prefer the 7's. The 83's I had to do some EQing to get the sound I wanted. That being said, the RS-7's will work fine with either speaker for home theater. If you'll be listening to a lot of music on surround sound you may notice the difference in horns. Obviously we all have different tastes. You've already got the speakers there, you're ahead of the game. If you open them to try them out won't make much difference in resale. Grab some music and movies this weekend and just experiment. That's what it's all about! When your done you'll know whats best for you. Heck... look at most of us with rooms full of speakers. Not a sickness... a hobby I tell myself

PM Sent

That's awesome Nic! What kind of current draw do those five beast use? Did you make electrical upgrades?

Thanks! You all have gave me some nice options. I've got to do some more research now. PSG- The Sony still sounds good through through the digital outs, but it's getting finicky on playing CD's. It takes a minute or two to warm up. It is definitely on its way out. Plus a lot of times in this hobby I think we replace things just to get something different. Even when everything is working perfectly fine. Youthman- I really appreciate the offer. I think I just want that for the collection. I'm going to look it up and I'll get back to you. RDA-1 had no results. I'm guessing it's a RDV? But I still found almost no info on it. Pretty rare piece. You said it sounds great as a CD transport. What about the analog audio outs? This piece may work better for me in my 2 channel set up which is all analog. Fish- Wow! Small world. I didn't check the model Technics CD player I have in the closet, but I know that I have the matching receiver to the DVD A10 in the closet. It's the SA-DA10. I used to manage a little audio shop back then and I sold those. That receiver is one of the pieces I said I'd never sell. I got it for next to nothing, but the sound was superb. You are correct in Panasonic owning them and those units were their attempt into high end but they never caught on. My store bought them for next to nothing. I think I paid 200 or less for the receiver and we sold them for only 300-400. The unit should have cost a couple grand. Not many people know about those units. I'm definitely going to have to do some closet searching tomorrow. I bet that receiver might even sound better than my current 2 channel setup. I remember it has the options to biamp the A and B channels and you can put it into a pure audio mode that kills the display, tone controls, and changes the signal path. The CD player I bought at the time to go with it. When the new technology came out it got stored and forgotten. Now all my systems are seperates. Bigger and newer is definitely not always better. Not easy to match that gold... Unless you have the even rarer black one.

Hey Fish, I love that advice. You're the first one to try to save me some money! With the savings I could even buy a Emotiva amp to play with. I've been wanting to try some of their stuff. I hear great things about their amps, but haven't really heard about their CD player. Do you own the CD player? I didn't see it in your profile. Also I'm curious of what model Technics you're talking about. I've got a technics CD player in the closet somewhere, I might have to pull it out and give it a listen. Could you tell me what about the Oppo that didn't appeal to you? How did you hook it up? My understanding is that the 93 is the same as the 95 for video, but not audio.

Thanks Bill, I believe your Denon is comparable to the Sony I'm looking to replace. It would still be a great player, but it is giving me some problems. I want something at least as good in performance. I received some pm's for tubed cd players that I want to look into as well. I've considered ordering both the Oppo 95 and 93. See the differences on my system and keep the winner. I don't like return shipping though. I've bought other hyped gear in the past that didn't live up to the expectations. I'm also well aware of the price to performance ratio once you get up into that upper tier. I'm really just wanting the best bang for the buck. I appreciate everyone's input

Lmao..No wife here youthman! I've dodged that bullet for quite some time. I've got a long time live in girlfriend who is fairly supportive of what I do with my money. New components don't bother her too much, but my dozen plus pairs of tower speakers are a slightly different story. The day I put a ring on I'll probably be trading it all in on a Bose;) I am currently house hunting, which is putting a damper on my upgrades for now. I really should start selling off some of my surplus of gear, but I enjoy the buying much more...

I was afraid you'd say that... Unfortunately my carpentry skills aren't up to par. I feel I'd do more harm than good. I have 2 systems with RF-7 centers. The other one is higher and the speaker stands under it. That's not a option for this one. Do you think standing it up on the side of the tv would be better than laying it down?

Thanks for the input. As far as the Mcintosh, it looks beautiful as all the Mac stuff does. I feel I would need to upgrade the rest of my system to match, which is not a option for me at the time. I also read some mixed reviews on it. A lot of people had them modded to get the desired sound. I also looked up the Tascam... It's a tape player with a CD recorder built in. Not exactly what I was looking for. Willand, I see you currently have an Oppo in your set up and also a Denon CD player. Do you feel the Denons are much better? If there would be a considerable difference in sound quality a extra 250 wouldn't be the end of the world. The 95 is supposed to be an nice improvement over the 83 as well. I was hoping with all the new internet direct deals that this would really do it all. Yeah... No respect for a man's budget! Maybe you guys could talk to my boss for me and explain how badly I need a raise;)

Hey guys, hoping for a little friendly advice. My current CD player is a Sony DVP-S9000ES. I was very happy with it, but it seems to be having some issues.When used as a transport to my processor (Integra DHC-9.9) It still sounds great. However something has happened to it and the sound out of the analog outs isn't what it used to be. I have two sytems running off the same CD player in the same room. The analog out went to my 2 channel setup, while the digital went to my processor. I may be moving the 2 channel setup out of that room any ways. I keep hearing that the Oppo BDP-95 is as good or better than most stand alone players for the same price. I'm mostly interested in the CD playback, but I figured if it would be a upgrade over my current bluray player it's a win/win. Before I order one, I wanted to know if anyone recomended a CD player or bluray player that may be a better value. Also, is the DAC in the oppo BDP-95 better than the Burr Browns in my Integra? If not, am I better off saving the 500 and getting the BDP-93? Any advice is greatly appreciated, and I will also consider any other recomendations for new or used players. I would like to stay under $1000

Very nice! I use a RF-7 as my center too. I wasn't quite as creative though... I just laid it on it's side. Do you think moving the horn to the center makes a big difference?

I think you said it best. The horn sound may just not be for you. I agree with the others that bi-amping won't help. I'm not sure how long you've had you're RF-7II's, but I can tell you that they do slowly warm up as they break in. I have a similar setup and understand where you're coming from. My advice to you is to experiment with the settings on your processor. After running the Audessey calibration that preamp puts your speakers in this dynamic mode which is good for movies, but not music. I constantly change the settings on my Integra DHC-9.9 depending on what I'm listening to.Go to "set up", then down to "speaker setup", then down to "equalizer settings", Make sure it's not on Dynamic EQ. Try MultiEQ XT and Dynamic volume heavy. I know our processors are different, but they are very similar and you should have similar settings. There is also a manual setting that will let you EQ around 15 different frequecies. This should tame those highs for you. Also make sure on your tone controls the treble isn't boosted at all. Maybe these are things you've already tried, but I hope this helps.

Hey Nic, I've been meaning to see how that parasound worked out for you. I told you before you ordered it I had a similar experience with the Halo stuff I had. Don't orders those XPA-1's just yet! I'll try to give you a call later today and ad my 2 cents.

I've got a Integra DHC-9.9 which is great for movies, but I feel could be better for music. I was at a fellow Klipsch forum member's house who had a Denon 4810 with a emotiva xpa-5. I think the Denon's warmer highs complimented the Klipsch horns a little better. I've been looking into the Denon's ever since. I'm not sure if you're planning on using the internal amp or your Emotiva's. The thing that really caught my eye about the 4311 was I just read in the latest home theater mag that you can actually shut off the internal amps of the 4311 when just using it as a processor. I don't know why, but it's always bothered me to use a receiver as a pre and still have the amplifier section still on generating heat. Just my 2 cents. I saw a site selling refurbed 4311's for $1069 with free shipping I believe. I can't remember which site. If interested, I'll try to find it again.

Was the driver actually blown or just the cone cracked? When a speaker is blown (burned voice coil) its usually not from too much power. It's unclean power that blows speakers. When the amp starts to clip, or possibly distortion from your pre. I know myself and others have cranked these speakers with more power and they just keep performing until you can't take being in the room. Do the original driver you replaced still work, but are just cracked? I'd love to see a picture of that.

I'm very interested in the attenuators you're talking about, Rich. I have a very similar setup. Integra DHC 9.9 with RF-7's all around. With the Audyssey it sets all of my speaker levels at nearly the max negative level as well. It really puts a damper on everything. I feel that it's taking away all of the power that I paid for. Sometimes I like to set the dynamic eq to heavy to keep the effects from getting too out of hand, but when I do that I can turn the volume up 100% and feel like it's not enough on certain movies. I recently raised all of my levels with my spl meter. The test tone becomes nearly unbearable in the upper range. Now I have all the power I could ever want, but it seems to have thrown the other settings out of whack. Now if the regular dynamic eq is on there is so much bass it shakes all of my windows even at low levels with no subwoofer. I realize that this isn't the thread to do this, but I found your attenuator reply above. If you'd rather send me a pm or I could start my own thread. I'd really appreciate any advice.

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