[Klipsch Epic Owners Group]

I really don't know but I do remember him saying they were 'the better ones'. Whatever that means.....something about the port length?

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Gotcha. What preamp and amp were they on? I can see that factoring in as well. I think the CF4s are the pickiest of Klipsch speakers to match with gear. They also absolutely need the horn to be damped. Its very thin. Worst part of the speaker. Raising them or tilting the horn to ears is ideal for placement as well. I have a slight toe in with the speakers raised at an angle toward my ear height.

I use Accuphase and previously McIntosh. I can see a pimped out KLF30 being great though. Wish there were more options for a Chorus II to be modded as well. Id like to have CF4 + a 3 way traditional Klipsch, although I'm desperately missing Klipschorns right now. I have CF4 and CF3 version 1 in both and id probably pull the trigger on selling the CF4 to get Khorns again and keep the CF3s.
Of course things don't ever go as planned and I may have to downsize to bookshelf or Heresys altogether some time soon. I originally sold the Khorns to downsize to more manageable speaker which was my Chorus II I already had, then came the CF3 and It was better than the Chorus II. Then came the CF4.

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[Klipsch Epic Owners Group]

You got that right, but.....

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Which CF4? Revision 1,2 or 3?

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[Klipsch Epic Owners Group]

This serial number is likely to be version 2 right 212596971?

Day 212 of 1995. Version 3 off the top of my head

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[Klipsch Epic Owners Group]

KV4 is the matching timbre center but im personally looking around for bigger and better centers. The timbre match doesn't do much for me unless its 3 front speakers all the same- thats where its most effective and amazing experience.

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[Klipsch Epic Owners Group]

Yeah i'm sure it's just in my head. I overthink things. Speakers are built with an tilt all the time. What we also know, is the Legendary series of Klipsch speakers of the era that followed had a notorious issue with factory glue and baffles being loose. I still believe the likely cause was a previous owner possibly using them as full range for movies and really loud bass heavy music=loose dust caps he had to reglue and loose rubber surround he had to reglue and loose baffles he likely overlooked.

I'll add bracing to the cabinets when i get a chance and replace the cheap foam with some wads of poly fil. 

[Klipsch Epic Owners Group]

3 minutes ago, billybob said:

Suggest, putting flat on floor and see if it changes any at all if not too much trouble.

Even if you know the rattle fix.

Well the right rear baffle is clearly bulging out where the rattle came from and that was there from the get go. This left speaker just happened, so it's either new or i just couldn't hear it before. Putting them flat at this point wont change anything since the damage is done, be it from tilting or age and being run hard.  The evidence - glue residue all over all the dust caps and one reglued rubber surround + baffle issues tells me someone went pretty hard on these speakers. Luckily, the compression drivers are fine and other than aesthetics, the 12's seem fine.

[Klipsch Epic Owners Group]

I had mentioned previously that my right CF-4 had a loose rear baffle. I put  a clamp on it as i believe Shiva suggested and i just left the clamp. Haven't had the chance to reglue and brace yet.  Well, now i heard a strange sound from my left CF4 and i walked around the room thinking it was something rattling against the wall.  Unfortunately, i caught it when i put my head behind the speaker and heard it was the top middle of the rear baffle. When i press my palm against the baffle, the rattle stops. Put a clamp on it and it's fine. But, that's 2 rear baffle issues and it got me wondering if it has anything to do with me having the speakers tilted up? I have them on the floor still with no feet, but put cork pads on the front to tilt the speakers up. Does the unevenness of the bass damage the cabinet? I know it could very well just be the baffle just needs bracing and reglue, but don't want to damage post repairs if tilting up is doing harm.

[McIntosh MX151 pre/pro F.S. On Hold]

On 3/4/2021 at 6:27 PM, USNRET said:

If there is a concern about the 4K  issue you can get past that if your BR player has an HDMI audio only port (my Oppo and Panasonic does). HDMI video to TV and HDMI audio to the pre pro. I just used that as an excuse to buy the 160
 

And you can also use an HDMI dac with 8ch analog out. Essense Evolve II 4K. $299 iirc. Cheaper option. Its 1 out to TV and 1 in, but you can add a cheap 4k hdr hdmi switcher if you have more devices. The analogs out to the mx151 and there you have it. Uncompressed audio from all your 4k hdr devices.

Really wish I got this deal. I paid 1500 more than his asking price just recently.

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[McIntosh MX151 pre/pro F.S. On Hold]

Wow no way. I spent a lot more just a month ago could have saved money and had a steak and beer. Someone is going to get a hell of deal!

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[Klipsch Epic Owners Group]

Suppose you’re right. Could get fancy with the iron on veneers. 
 
I’ve not seen a white washed one outside of their original brochure. Klipsch sold probably  
Next to that, I hardly see any walnut examples; I like its grain characteristic a bit more than the oaks, granted I’ll always be fond of those, growing up around my uncles’ Fortes, Chorus IIs. I actually prefer that and cherry—black satin has grown on me too. I personally find it handsome, reserved.. monolithic. 
 
I guess ‘unfinished’ deserves mention. My dad’s ‘79 Heresys (Heresies?). 

I saw a walnut v.1 pop up somewhere between here in Houston and San Antonio. I missed it. Walnut is my favorite.

I saw one of those white washed(not sure what the official name was) CF3 v1 pop up in Dallas.

Thats it. All of these speakers are pretty rare. I believe there's a CF2 local. I had no idea they used the same compression driver. Thought it was phenolic diaphragms. Cf2 Might make a good center for me

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[Klipsch Epic Owners Group]

Wow, yeah. Those are big center channel shoes to fill, for sure. 
 
Your KLF idea gave me a quirky idea. One could possibly swap KV4 drivers and XO into a KLF-C7 box to gain wood finishes that strangely weren’t availed to the KV4. Again quirky, but I think it’d work. 

Yes for sure. Ive thought of this as well. I even took my Forte III mumps horn with k70g? Compression driver and dropped it into a klf c7. Obviously there needs to be some crossover mods when doing these types of swaps, but the kv4 for c7 swap is drop in and you get the wood veneer.

Epic series came in a unique washed white from what I recall that I dont find particularly attractive with the black horn and drivers, but there were a lot of nice veneer options so its strange the kv4 wasn't given wood veneer. It would be simple enough to put a nice veneer yourself though.

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[Klipsch Epic Owners Group]

Meant to ask you about this but was obviously flustered at that moment. When you say you were running 320wpc or 120wpc to it, was this in an all-channels driven audio setting running music? Watching cinema in surround sound?
 
I agree the C7 is very similar save for the KV4’s tweeter, which’s 100% bigger. There’s some discord about whether it’s exactly the same cd as the CF3-4. Allegedly the latter sports a heavier magnet with the K63. Diaphragms are definitely the same. 
 
I’ve got a unique situation given the mishap with my KV4—I’ve got 2 XOs for it now. I’m going to have the original repaired and recapped, while leaving the other XO alone in original condition. I’ll let you know if the refreshed XO “lifts the blanket.”

320wpc was from a MC7106 with a pair of channels bridged to 320wpc. It is a mac amp without their auto former. Sounded great with the Cf3s- havent used it on the CF4.

The 120wpc is from a unique 6ch tube integrated from Pathos. 6 tube pre sections for the L/R, C, Surround L/R and Tube pre on the sub as well. Power amp is Mosfet design. For 2ch, the amp auto bridges surround L/R and L/R for 450wpc at 8ohm stereo, center also shut off. 120wpc into every channel during 5.1 movies or music. Its a powerful and beautiful sounding amp.

Don't get me wrong about the KV4, im just spoiled. Until recently I had a single Forte III as my center, had a front 3 La Scala set up, had a Chorus I center with Chorus II, had a front 3 KLF-10 set up as well so im used to large floor standards as centers. All regular centers feel small for me.
Im sure my KV4 just needs a recap.

I just got an idea. Going to take my KV4 horn and compression driver and drop it into a KLF10 for a center



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[Klipsch Epic Owners Group]

1 hour ago, Shiva said:

See if this guy would ship.  The price is right.

 

https://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/ele/d/vista-klipsch-rc-center-channel-speaker/7279122262.html

Price is right for local pickup. I'll pay up to $350 for a nice condition, but they usually have dented in woofers and veneer is beat up. There was a nice one in cherry local, but it's gone now. Either they removed it or it sold, but i passed because they wanted too much.  I think some people see the original msrp and price it on that. There's a guy local with a nice Cherry Klipsch RT-12d sub that i've wanted for a while, he's asking for 1,500 and notes that they were over 3k with tax. Hopefully it comes down, but i want it even more now that i have my Cherry CF-4s. I'm not missing much with my RSW-15 though, so not desperate. It's mostly a matching aesthetic based change that i want. The RSW-15 is a tank and surprisingly very good with music. I expected it to just be a movie workhorse. 

Here's a photo of my previous RC-7. Hated the dented woofers, sold them and replaced them with newer drivers with inverted colored dust cap-forget which speaker, smaller RF-7II brother. Much nicer aesthetic. I also had to sand the really beat up cherry veneer and as my Chorus II were black sanded down, and walnut danish oil applied. I went ahead and applied walnut danish oil on the rc-7 to try and match- i didn't know what i was really doing. Didn't match- too light-but nice!
 

[Klipsch Epic Owners Group]

My main interest in terms of experimenting is grabbing a cherry rc7. I loved the rc7. It was a beast and my favorite of the klipsch center speakers minus the matching one for the rf7III. I have only heard it as a rear center, but I bet it sounds great.
I do remember thinking the rc7 was a bit too bright but would love to see how my tube pre tames that or if solid state mcintosh room perfect would tame it.

I also would like to try the kv4 compression driver on the rc7. Ultimately i think I'd like to end up with 2 KV4s veneered by me in cherry on stands as surrounds.

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[Klipsch Epic Owners Group]

Anyone have an opinion on this though? [emoji846]

I always thought a klfc7 crossover would work just fine. Similar crossover points as well but I never tried it. I have both right now, and with my kv4 lack of love, I might try swapping crossovers and see how it sounds and report back

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[Klipsch Epic Owners Group]

Interesting I always thought the cf2 and the cf1 were phenolic diaphragms in different cds? Is that just the cf1?

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[Klipsch Epic Owners Group]

Speaking of the kv4. Ive had 320wpc and last night I had 120wpc with a tube pre on it, and its always the weakest link. I used to use full range towers for surround but currently have klipsch ss1 on the wall which apparently have aluminum diaphragms too- even those sound more clear and robust when I give them 320wpc McIntosh amp.

 

Did Roy design the KV4 and the smaller cf2 and cf1?

 

I wish the KV4 was front ported in a longer and deeper cabinet. The horn is nice and solid. The 8" drivers are neo and should be good. The compression driver is the same as the cf3 and 4, so its either the cabinet or the crossover thats the problem. Maybe it needs a recap? Sounds muffled.

If the big KLF30 had the KLFc7 match, the much bigger cf3 and cf4 should have gotten an even bigger center to match their line as well but the kv4 is nearly identical to the c7

 

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[Can i use any of these inputs for 2ch+home theater?]

So to be sure, IF i wanted to use my McIntosh MX150 or MX120 as my primary home theater along with  the Pathos for 2ch analog, i would use my Pathos AUX L/R input to my L/R Pre Out on my MX150 or MX120.  So when i want to watch movies, i'd switch my Pathos to the AUX input to my McIntosh, and adjust my volume level manually to be level matched with the McIntosh center/SR/SL channel levels powered by a McIntosh MC7106.  For analog 2ch from my balanced DAC, i wouldn't need to power on anything but the Pathos and DAC. I haven't tried, but something tells me this will be a very distorted and noisy solution for movies. I'll give it a shot.

[Can i use any of these inputs for 2ch+home theater?]

19 hours ago, Ceptorman said:

That Pathos does have a subwoofer out, why not use it? That's one robust amp, it doubles it's power from 8 to 4 ohms. Did it come with a manual, I know it's made in Italy.

It's a print out, not the original, and a lot of it doesn't make sense. Like it was translated poorly. And only really goes on about how to do the level trims and turn on/off and not to leave on 24 hours. That's basically it. I'm using the sub out, single subwoofer cable to my Sub. Tried the LFE on my Klipsch RSW-15, it was very low volume and barely kicked in during movies. Tried disabled LFE and lowpass enable-crossover at 70hz, but still using single rca cable, still very low volume. The level trim had to be turned all the way up and still it was quite low, but then movies it was loud. So it's kind of mismatched with the test tone. I had to raise the subwoofer volume all the way up and the trim on the unit all the way up. I tried both right and left rca inputs on the back of the sub at a time with a single rca cable.  I'm not sure if this has to do with needing to use a L/R stereo Y cable into single rca into the sub out in order to double the output? I'm just used to LFE, 120hz pass and using the crossover in my AVR's. This unit is all analog and i can only trim levels.

[Can i use any of these inputs for 2ch+home theater?]

5 hours ago, Ceptorman said:

That's a 5 channel integrated. You would not have to connect your Mcintosh 120 to this, it already is a pre-amp. Unless you wanted the Mcintosh sound but only using this as an amp. But this unit has a tube pre and a ss amp section.

You can easily connect any source to the aux 5, 6, or 7. 

Switching it from 5 channel to 2 channel puts it in mono block mode.

Yes, i understand. I'm not liking the unit for 5.1 surround. The Mac is more dynamic w/ movies and i can't really integrate the sub properly with this tube pre, so the idea is the integrated acting as a stereo amp for analog music only and change the input to the one that would be connected to the mcintosh multi channel pre amp to use as L/R for surround. I would need an INPUT to use with the McIntosh L/R OUT? So would one of the AUX inputs work?

[Can i use any of these inputs for 2ch+home theater?]

Considering purchasing this multichannel unit. It sounds wonderful for 2ch. It's a 6ch tube pre amp, the center shuts off and the left and right surround auto bridges with the main L/R for 450wpc for a powerful sound combined with tube pre lush warmth that makes my v.1 CF-4 truly sing and hit me in the chest. It kills my McIntosh set up for 2ch, but i do have an MX120 and a 6ch Mac power amp which would allow me to sell my more costly Mac pre and power amp, IF i can use this unit pictured below for my 2ch integrated with the MX120.  Anyone got any ideas? I know i'd have to manually adjust the volume level every time i'd use it, but what do i connect to the MX120 for it work?

Thanks

[Klipsch Epic Owners Group]

I love the sound of 15" drivers personally. If i sell the CF-3 now that i have the CF-4, it'd probably be a trade for Chorus II just to have best of both worlds. Admittedly, i never gave the Chorus II's big McIntosh power when i had a pair like i'm giving the CF-4s and the CF-3s and really wish i could recap a set of Chorus II and feed them big, clean power. Right now i'm playing with an integrated from Pathos, with a tube pre. It's a fully tube pre for multi channel purposes, but with a primary focus on 2ch, the center turns off and the Pathos auto bridges the left/right channels to 450wpc and it's heavenly on these CF-4s. This combo blows away the Mac gear i have. It's on borrow and demo, and the only thing i think about is reliability. Mac lasts a lifetime. This Pathos unit has already needed repair. I got lots to mull over!

Power just came on and the first thing i want to do is write this and now listen to my CF-4s and relax in the warmth

[Klipsch Epic Owners Group]

V.2 for sure.
I do miss the Chorus II though.

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[Klipsch Epic Owners Group]

As an owner of both v.1 (cf4 needing some cabinet work), you are not losing much with the cf3s. Dont underestimate those dual 10s. The CF4s do have a bigger and fuller sound as Moray described but don't pass on a CF3 if available and especially if you're going to integrate a sub anyway.

I was recently having my own issues with low end, but that was unrelated to the CF3s ability. Ive had the CF3s without a sub overwhelming my room with bass-a lot has changed in the chain though. I moved on to a new pre and my low end is back...so much so that I would have never found my rear baffle issue with the old pre.

(My previous distortion issue was unrelated to the speakers as well as I found out last night)

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[Klipsch Epic Owners Group]

Sorry for no input on your current issue. I’m contending with a purely aesthetic issue myself and have already harassed a member in private about it lol

I always go into it understanding there may be issues but if repair is easy, there's nothing to worry about. All these speakers reaching 20 to 30 or more years old need some tlc. I feel happy enough just to have a version 1 of the Cf4 and Cf3 now.
Usually I end up with really poor veneer condition but no sound issues, this time I got my nicest veneer condition, but some cabinet structure and sound issues! Nothing that can't be fixed!

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