chriswhotakesphotos

They're quite handsome! I do wonder how they'll fare as far as two-way vs three-way, especially with the Forte III sitting at exactly the same price. I hear fairly often that two-way designs are superior, especially with the Jube and many professional speakers as examples. To my own ear (and only having RP-280Fs and KP-201s to compare) I think three-way is much better. The RPs seem to have no mids at all by comparison. But I've never heard the RF-7 either!

They look phenomenal! You can definitely see the big mid-horn through the grilles there, I thought it was visible in the press photo but it's for certain now. Very excited about these.

I'm looking forward to hearing more about it, definitely an exciting and unexpected re-release. They really did a great job owning the modern-retro look with that cabinet and grille combination too, they should commission matching furniture!

Whoa, cool! As a consumer, you get so accustomed to disappointment that you start to expect it after a while, so it was great to keep scrolling and seeing more and more awesome things. I'm most excited for the Forte III, especially with that grille/cabinet design. It's a very cool modern-retro look that nobody else could pull off with such authenticity. I do wonder about that woofer cone though, it looks awfully shiny through the fabric. Maybe it's a similar design to the ones on the Fifteens? I'd dig that. Speaking of, the Fifteens are super cool looking, what a visual statement! Between those, the Sixes (very handsome!) and the One and Three (love the tophat look!) you guys are doing everything right about tackling modern listening without losing everything Klipsch does right. The Heritage headphones look fantastic too, the Klipsch design language is very strong across all these new products. RF 7 III looks really cool too, I worried the RF7 was going to be discontinued again so it's nice to see that it's instead being updated. I look forward to hearing more about all of it.

I understand the 450c is actually a 2.5-way, meaning the outermost drivers are crossed at a different frequency. I read somewhere a little while ago that this is to prevent some sort of audible artifact you'd get from sitting off-center.

I'd look at the Emotiva A-100 for that price. That should push them very well, especially for desktop listening. I just got an A-300 for my Heresies and it's excellent, noise floor is quiet and it's very, very nice to listen to. It doesn't have sub outs though, it has RCA jacks labeled 'Output' but I think they might be passthroughs so you wouldn't want to plug a subwoofer in there!

I'd say it's almost certainly a matter of the sensitivity bringing out the noise. A lot of amps have a bit of noise but since most speakers aren't so sensitive, it's usually not that audible. Whenever I look for new equipment, I like to see if I can find folks' impressions with Klipsch speakers for that reason

Personally, I've never heard a receiver I didn't want to turn off. They're good for Best Buy showrooms, but good speakers will do nothing but magnify what they do poorly. For $500, I'd look for a NAD integrated amp (the C 316BEE is inexpensive and very well-regarded) or one of Emotiva's new pieces. The TA-100 integrated would be great because if you want more power later, you can use the pre-outs for a new power amp and have it function just as a preamp. I just got an amp from that same series and it's phenomenal. If you buy full separates (I'd get an Emotiva PT-100 preamp and A-100 amp to stay in budget) you'll also have your upgrade path to multiple speakers, you can swap the preamp for a home theater preamp down the line and add amplifiers for the other speakers. It'll sound much better than a receiver, too.

Air shouldn't be a problem, it's on an open shelf. I'll be surprised if the fans ever turn on! I'm using my Adcom GTP-500 with it currently. Down the line I want to replace it with one of those new-age preamps that has high and low pass filters for the speakers and subs (what took them so long to realize that was a good plan?) In the interim, I might get a Schiit Vali 2 as a shot at using a tube preamp. I'm definitely curious about that and it seems cheap enough to be worth getting. (A new DAC would probably make the biggest difference right now, though) How is the PT-100? The A-300 is my first Emotiva product, but I'm definitely a fan now.

My preference is that if budget is any kind of concern, it's best to build a great 2.1-channel system and forget the rest. That's what I've done and I've been very pleased. Start with a sub for sure, even bassy speakers like the RP-280F will benefit significantly. You'd be amazed by how much better it gets just adding that extra oomph to the very low end of the bass! Down the line, keep your RP-280Fs and your subwoofer, then buy a separate power amp and preamp (or a home theater pre/pro, if you're definitely going for surround later on) before you branch out to more speakers. You won't believe how much of a difference that makes coming from a receiver! Just build a killer 2.1 system, you can always turn it into a surround system later. I think you'll get much more fulfillment out of quality 2.1 than decent 5.1 or 7.1.

I've been listening to it for a bit now and my first impression is that it sounds really great! The treble continues to be a stand-out quality to me, the Heresies sound less rolled off and have much more air and sparkle than I thought they were capable of. I have a great recording of Glenn Miller's Here We Go Again that I've always liked, and on the A-300 the horns on the track scream! Well-recorded music sounds very much separate from the speakers. I'm also impressed by how well loud and soft can coexist at the same time, background sounds seem undisturbed by whatever happens in the foreground. It reveals a lot of depth. I was concerned that sensitive speakers would reveal a lack of delicacy or finesse on an amp this powerful, but it's instead proving to be very capable. I've been using it for a few hours now for music and video games and it still hasn't generated any heat, either.

Thanks for the input, mr clean! Mine came today, I had a chance to unbox but couldn't play with it before I had to go. It's definitely a healthy size! I'm excited to set it up when I get home in a few hours.

I have the second version (the one with two tubes.) It's a fun toy and has a better build quality than you'd expect! The treble is the best part, though I get the impression that it's not much of a brute when it comes to current as it seems to really lack midrange. It plays best on my Heresies, and it's surprising how loud it can get! Distortion does start to set in at moderate levels, but it's fairly comfortable driving sensitive Klipsch speakers loudly. It was a real mess on my KG 5.2s though, it could manage low bass better than you'd expect but overall the sound was glaringly bright. I swap it in now and then for fun, and to laud how well Klipsch speakers can play on so little power, but I do miss the midrange when I use it.

I generally avoid eating at Chipotle as much as I can, but I recognized them right away the first time I saw them at one. I thought it was pretty cool that they were there at all, other than that I wasn't impressed or unimpressed with the sound given the placement and setting. I'm sure the employees like to turn them up after hours.

Thanks for the helpful feedback, teaman! I went ahead and ordered, Emotiva sells through Amazon so if it really doesn't seem like an improvement, it can be sent back (plus my Discover gets 5% back on Amazon until the end of December, woo!)

If I were processing pictures of Klipsch speakers, I'd add a heavy contrast contour to those cones to make them (visually) explode. Since most interior lighting is very diffuse, it will reduce the appearance of contrast on almost anything. Use a few Ikea Dioder (or other) lights at an angle on each speaker to bring out that luster!

I know there's another Emotiva thread, but I thought I'd start a new one in case someone types this into Google nine years from now and wants to know how it might sound with their speakers. I've been using an Adcom GFA-535 for a while and I like it plenty, but it seems a bit on the bright side. It also does tend to lose some composure when pushed loudly. The Emotiva A-300 seems like it should be a good fit spec-wise, but what sort of sound can I expect on these speakers from an Emotiva amp? To be clear, mine are KP-201s and were manufactured in 1989. Aside from how the amp will sound, my other concerns would be whether 150w is too much (I'm less worried about blowing them and more concerned that they might not be able to play at low volume on that much power!) and whether it's worth fretting that they recommend against anything less than a combined load of 4ohms. Thanks!

Where did you get them in FLAC? Reminds me of the old Arthur Murray's Music for Dancing series!

Personally, I'd get the new speakers if I could. You won't have to worry about their technical condition, refreshing your crossovers, or anything like that, and the cabinets will be in pristine condition since they're brand new.

My preamp has a loudness contour (only affects bass), but I've never found it necessary. I used it when I wanted to speed up the break-in of my KG 5.2s (they were unused when I got them) but I think it was designed with less sensitive speakers in mind, since the effect was still somewhat strong into higher volume levels. It works well for running Heresies without a sub, but I run mine with a sub so it's not needed there either

We know that one of Paul's goals for the Klipschorn was to create the sound of a live orchestra at home. But did his music taste change throughout his career? Since Paul was around for a lot of different kinds of music, I'm curious about what else he ended up liking, and whether that influenced any of his later designs. Thanks!

I've been very curious about the XSP-1 as well. Between that and the Parasound P5, it's great to see more serious means of bass management for two-channel systems. I've always wondered why that wasn't a consideration more often, why would anybody need their mains to produce anything lower than 30hz? I'd rather save the driver excursion and protect the midrange. The HT bypass is a cool feature too, it's like they thought of everything! If it sounds good on LaScalas, then it must be good. Edit: And while we're here, has anyone tried any of their BasX series of amps?

I think we've all been that person once or twice!

After getting my Heresy 2s, I'm much convinced of the superiority of the Heritage line. There was nothing wrong with the way my RP-280Fs sounded, but I'd just never heard Heritage before and didn't think it could be that much better. There's an extra edge of dynamic that the Heresy has that the RP-280Fs don't, and the Reference line doesn't touch the richness of the Heresy's midrange. I definitely noticed at first that they don't have as much 'air' or as clear a top-end as the Reference line, but any time I set them back up I end up plugging the Heresies back in. At least the RP-280F looks good!

I'm glad to see this thread since I've wondered the same. I adore the Heresies I have, but I often wonder about the LaScala.