mimalmo

Beautiful - these should sell quickly. Friendly note for the Buyer: those spikes on the bottom are just screwed into the wood cabinet (there's no threaded steel insert) so avoid "walking" the speakers on the spikes. I learned that one the hard way. ☹️

He also has it posted here on the forum for $400 shipped.

KV4 would be a much better match than those Martin Logans. Other Epic owners (myself included) have also found the KLF-C7 to be a very close match.

My current setup uses a high quality AVR functioning as a preamp-only. Tube amplification, a subwoofer for the bottom octave and modern digital sources. Denon AVR-5308CI Dynaco MkIII amps Klipsch R-115SW (now powered by Dayton Audio SA1000) Sources: Denon DVD-3800BDCI Bluesound Node2i Denon DCM-560 Pro-Ject Debut Carbon I like the sound quality & convenience in the preamp of the AVR-5308. Plus, these flagship receivers can often be purchased for a fraction of their original MSRP on the used market.

Lots of options. Budget? New or used? Solid state or tube? Primary listening?

RP-500M bookshelf speakers have the same mid/woofer and tweeter as your center. The RP-600M would sound very similar but give you better midbass on sounds like kick-drums.

Based upon the frequency response of those little cubes in the theater pack, the Denon appears to be correct. Crossovers are typically not a cliff where you don't get any output above or below the crossover frequency - they're more shaped like a hill or slope. Additionally, the frequency response of the speakers isn't absolute- they can increase or decrease certain frequencies based upon placement. Bass is enhanced in corners is a common example. The placement of those speakers in your room is likely causing some mild boosting of certain frequencies so that's why you're seeing a crossover point that doesn't exactly align with Klipschs documented frequency response. You mentioned that you're not happy with the sound. Compared to what? How it sounded in the store? Or compared to full-size Klipsch speakers? How your buddy's system sounds? Usually I'd start by assessing placement of each speaker. We might need some pictures or a diagram to make recommendations on that.

Well clearly I'm not making the progress I had originally hoped. I did however make a number of baby steps over the last few weeks. 1. Wife agrees that she'll paint if I just move stuff & take off outlet covers and such. 2. Moved lots of big, heavy gear from main floor to the basement. 3. Dropped off 2 amps to get them looked over and have out-of-spec parts updated 4. Purchased 3rd amp (needs to be dropped off for repair) 5. I "test-fitted" the gear in the space I'm working with. Still needs a listening session to verify it'll work. Preamp/Processor: Denon AVR-5308Ci Amplification: Dynaco MkIII for Left, Center and Right. Dynaco ST-70 for Rears. Full tubes list is TBD. Main Speakers: Epic CF3 version 1 for all 5 channels Subwoofers: Pair of R-115SW Disc Players: Denon DVD-3800BDCi, Denon DCM-560, Denon DVD-3910 Other Sources: Sonos Port and (hopefully coming soon) Bluesound Node 2i, TiVo for OTA HD signal and Netflix, Prime, Hulu... Display: 60" Pioneer Elite PRO-151FD Power Management: Monster Power HTPS-7000 Control: Harmony 900 Cables: Monster and Audioquest Future Goals: 1. Re-do lighting 2. Demolish old gas fireplace and shelving for more seating room 3. Some sort of platform/stage setup

Very nice. If I was closer, I'd be coming to take a listen. These should sell quickly.

The plan for the new space includes several upgrades: Sub upgrade TV upgrade Receiver upgrade "More" CF-3's.... The space I'll be using is in my basement and while it's not perfect, I think I can get pretty good sound in an area that's about 13' wide and 21' long. I should also mention that there's adjoining areas so it's not an enclosed space. Phase One: The first step will be getting the area cleared out as it's currently full of boxes. Next, I'll place all the gear in there to "get me by" until Phase Two can begin. I hope to have Phase One completed later this week with some pictures and details on future plans.

This has been in the works for a while now. It all started nearly two years ago when I fell in love with the sound of Epic CF-3 version 1. I obviously enjoyed how they sounded with music so why not a theater setup using the CF-3's? This was the first iteration at the home I sold last fall. CF-3 mains, KLF-C7 center, RW-12D sub, Denon AVR 4806 receiver. Nice setup but improvements can be made.

Yeah, I've already got a few different stereo preamps that I use in other systems- both tube and SS but I think you'd be surprised by the sound from my current Denon. It's the AVR-5308Ci; priced at $5,500 when new, it has a stellar preamp section.

Yeah, I drive mine with a 35x2 tube amp and they get plenty loud. Worth noting however that I use a powered sub for the bottom octave.

At first glance, I don't see any issues with what you're proposing since it sounds like your Denon has the necessary preamp outs to connect to your Emotiva 5 channel amp. Likely the only change you would need to do is run the Front L&R outputs from your Denon to the tube amp instead of sending those signals to the Emotive amp. I started down a similar path about a year ago. My previous setup was a Denon AVR-4806Ci with Epic CF-3's as my main L&R, Klipsch center & rears. I found myself listening to more music than anything else so I began to dig into tubes, finally buying a Dynaco ST-70 with all the VTA/Bob Latino upgrades. I connected the Dynaco to the L&R preamp outs on my Denon and used the internal amps on the Denon when watching TV & movies for powering the center & rears. No regrets, it was a very good setup - so good that I recently purchased a pair of vintage monoblock tube amps that are being updated with some new parts. Should be fun to listen to this fall & winter.

Kudos to Jim. He helped me get a pair of KLF-20's with damaged woofers back to a usable state.

Do it.

Couldn't remember if I had posted this pic in a different thread or not but this was my main system for watching TV and movies at my home I sold last November. Unfortunately, with work, moving and projects at the new house, I haven't had time to setup the system in the new house. Hopefully soon though... Here's the "old" setup. New setup is going to have some gear changes/updates but the CF3 v1's will definitely remain part of the system.

I'm sure once this all gets sorted out you'll love the way the sub fills that bottom octave.

I too use a sub with my CF3 v.1 and while it used to be RSW-12D, I recently upgraded to the same 15" via Cory at MLO. Mine was good out of the box, showing only a few handling marks. I run my sub out to a Velodyne SMS1 so that I can control the peaks and valleys before passing the signal to the big Klipsch 15". Sorry to hear about the bad amp. I'm sure Cory will take care of you.

Those are early enough in 95 that I'm thinking they are V1...love to hear anyone else's thoughts.

Also, check to be sure nothing is out of phase.

I would try swapping components between speakers so you can narrow it down to a specific piece....crossover or driver is likely if changing the amp, wires, etc didn't improve it

I agree with Ned. If the transport is of good quality and you have a coax or toslink digital out, consider feeding the digital signal to a quality DAC.

Spotted these on US Audio Mart. Price is a little high based on previous sales but certainly not terrible. Not sure what the goal was with those add-on badges though. https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649543568-klipsch-cf-3-pick-up/?

They certainly are not cheap but I bet they sound amazing. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Klipsch-CF4-Epic-Series-One-Speakers-Cherry-Vintage-1994-RARE-CF-4-Vintage/143349054811?hash=item216044fd5b:g:V2gAAOSwZP9dSgdo