Vivek Batra

Hi @glens Thanks for chiming in. If I have got you right you are proposing me to go for Forte for the kinda music I listen to? What kinds amps you paired with Forte?

For your interest these are my playlists on Spotify to give you an idea of kinda music I like Give it a try sometime

Hi @dtel Thanks for sharing this.

Hi @robert_kc I am getting a lot of information from you thanks for sharing your views. Well I would agree that a universal player makes more sense than just a CD/SACD player. I would search for a universal player but I would prefer a universal player without a internal dac. Reason being If I find a network player and that too without internal dac, I would be having a common sound signature from Universal player/ Network Streamer/ Laptop or whatever other digital source. Another point is digital formats may change in future and it would be easy to replace the dac as well. These are my thoughts for external dac and why would I favor an external dac over an internal one. No doubt, FLACs/CD/LP are hands down better than streaming, but I am bit lazy to and also at times I feel like playing a track that I have not heard in few years then the streaming is quick option. Also I am a fan of FM tuner. Would be great if a network stream I could find has a FM tuner as well (may be not). About separates, I do not have any experience my self. I can not defend why separate pre and power are better than integrated ones. The only reason known to me is the separation of circuits and separate power supplies should be better than the shared ones and of course flexibility to change components in future is easy. The base of all this is my initial mistake of having everything in one box (AVR) but I realized seeking convenience of having just one component is a quality compromise. I know its hell lot of money for me to afford separates but I would start slowly now and as wisely as possible. Definitely I would be getting the speakers first without amps so will post those pictures :-). Fortes sitting alone 😞

What's your setup?

Dear @robert_kc Many thanks that you are trying your best to help me out. Some good news, last night a very nice gentleman bought my Denon x4500H. I was not using this to its full potential at least my new friend would be using it for the purpose its made for. So at the moment no more experiments until I buy something 🙂 Now coming to what you have suggested. I use Spotify Premium account and I never use Bluetooth. I believe you must be aware of Spotify Connect? With Spotify connect you can directly stream the music on TV/Soundbar/AVR/Network stream etc. That works through LAN/Wifi. You need phone/ Laptop/Tablet just to kick start the streaming and your phone becomes a remote after that. So no bluetooth in picture but the underlying device directly connects to internet and streams from Spotify using your premium account. I tried to play the FLAC files via connecting my external hard drive to my laptop and then connected my laptop to AVR via HDMI. Its for sure better than streaming. But till date the best track I have played and enjoyed is from YouTube that sounded the best or Hotel California MTV unplugged version. But still hungry 🙂 Or some tracks from Spotify. I even tried to compare Spotify with CDs. As I do not have a dedicated CD player so used my laptop to play the CD and played the same track on Spotify. I feel that this comparison was not fair. I could not feel any difference may be the CD was crap. My plan now is go for all separates starting from bare minimum equipment that I need to get going, but I plan to add a CD transport most likely over a CD player in near future. I am planning the following 1. Network Streamer 2. External DAC 3. Pre Amp 4. Power Amp 5. CD Player at some point of time I'll be starting now to search about all the stuff. I know its difficult to decide on so many things in a one go and moreover I do not have the luxury to pair the new equipment with my speakers. Now on Speakers, why I am swapping. Actually I found a quality issue with the cabinet of RP-8000F. The veneer is chipping off at some places and have asked my dealer to take it back in warranty and give me either the same pair or something else. The options are Polk/Dali/Klipsch only and I know I would pick Klipsch again. I tried to sell the RP-8000F but found no buyers. So taking this as an opportunity to upgrade the speakers as well. I guess my immediate To Do item is to decide upon speakers and then finding the right amp for those. Will keep you posted what I decided on speakers and then some more advice from you on electronics. Thanks a lot. Regards Vivek

That's right in Pure direct/ direct mode, no signal is sent to sub woofer. I guess that mode is meant for 2 channel only

Thanks @glens I will go through that pdf. Hope that will help me to decide.

Hi @robert_kc I will try to reply to all the points you have mentioned. You said about travelling, Since Klipsch is a very expensive brand in India as compared to other similar brands. For example RP - 8000F, I spent $2000 for the pair which is I guess very steep if compared to US prices. Fortes are $6500 a pair which discourages people here to buy such an expensive set of speakers when they can have similar or better speakers with same or less price. This is the reason most of the dealers do not even stock RF 7/Forte but are available on order only. The nearest place to audition Forte is around 2 hours flight from my place and they have set up a demo of Forte with Roksan integrated amp which I guess is not a tube one? I know its foolish to buy a speaker without even listening to it and just go by with online reviews and recommendations. This might not work with a particular set of amps but may be heaven on earth with another set of amps. Even if I travel to other city for the demo, I am restricted to listen to it with what ever equipment they have paired it with. So not much I can do on this. Regarding appearance, I am a fan of vintage looking stuff. Be it speakers or electronics. I would prefer an amplifier in a wooden body over a metallic one . No doubt I prefer Forte over RF 7 in terms of looks even I love Cornwalls. RF 7 are just bit bigger in dimensions as compared to RP-8000F. So kinda I have already enjoyed those looks from RP-8000F. The other speakers that I have auditioned are some Polk, Dali, Mission and Monitor Audio. I didn't get any oomph factor at that time. I guess they were all hooked to entry level equipment only and when played using a decent AVR I didn't feel any difference. So I think I would still prefer the clarity produced by Klipsch, though bit lean sounding HF but I guess as long as mids are there to compensate, I should be happy. About source, I had a misconception that I can use my phone to play music. Be it Spotify Connect/Bluetooth or MP3 using Laptop via HDMI. This myth got debunked as I started playing. Not every track on Spotify is in hi res. Even YouTube (Free version) at times is much better than Spotify Premium. And the choice of music I have (mostly old recordings of US/Indian) are not very acoustically rich or not very well recorded as compared to today's recordings. It would be unfair to expect every song to play like "Hotel California/Keith Don't Go". I was getting frustrated with this kind of comparisons. Its very true the more revealing speakers are electronics would out rightly expose the flaws in the source. So this is the whole story. My chances are still to go with Forte (most likely a blind buy) in a hope of better quality over RP - 8000F and horn loaded mid range should be more bloomy/prominent than the RP -8000F. I am already in the process of finding a suitable Amp for Forte (again I won't be able to pair with Forte before buying) This time I'll try my best not to be impulsive but rationale. Thanks for your help. Vivek

Hi robert_kc Much appreciated that you took out time to explain things in detail. I will do a write up about my situation.

Thanks for chiming in. I am also thinking about Primaluna pre and power combo.

Hi @robert_kc Thanks for your informative post. So far during my reading about heritage series, it's mostly a consensus that Klipsch sound warm with tubes. I am also planning to venture in to tube world but may be not immediately. Regarding placement, my system is in living room against the 12 feet wall. I can not have the speakers to much in to the room but just 1 feet from back wall and around 6 to 7 feet apart. I have also read about Forte that they are very sensitive to amps. Don't know how true it is. In any case I have to replace my Avr with stereo amps. As RF 7 are rear ported, they would need more space from the rear wall? vs Sealed Forte? I could be wrong here.

Hi glens I have seen that video where Micahel aka @Youthman compared A/B with RF 7. His preference was RF 7 though. I felt that in that video Forte were not loud enough. My inclination is towards Forte hoping to get better SQ from a 3 system having 2 crossovers.

Hi ILI I have Denon x4500H and when I play it in Direct/Pure mode the sound is just flat and awful. So I need to use its room correction Audyssey. My set up is in living room size is about 18x12x10 Feet.

Hi Guys Please excuse me if the similar question has been asked before but I would like to state my current situation and then want to decide. I am trying to setup a 2 channel system only and no intent to use the speakers for HT. Due to my ignorance initially I invested in Denon x4500H with RP-8000F and R-115 SW. I am not happy with the setup and I am not sure its the speakers or the amplifier that makes me unhappy.. My main concern is that I miss the mids a lot. Vocals are very prominent but the bass and mids are dull from RP -8000F. What I listen to : Kenny Rogers, Dire Straits, Jim Reeves,Bob Dylan, Diana Ross Lobo,Abba, Eagles, The Beatles,Buddy Holy, Carpenters,John Denver and similar country and English classical list is very long. I guess you would get an idea of genre I prefer. Now I have an option to upgrade my RP -8000F and I am confused between RF 7 III and Forte III. I had a A/B demo with RF 7 and RP -8000F. The bass was good from RF- 7 but I guess the mids were not much different than RP -8000F. If I am not wrong, the Forte has horn loaded driver for mid range and in IMO the mids should be as sharp/pronounced as highs from the tweeter because both are horn loaded? Please correct me if I am wrong here. If I go with Forte, do I still need the sub woofer as I already have one? If yes then currently I cross to sub woofer at 80hz and the Forte frequency response is 38Hz - 25KHz. May be crossing at 60Hz would be good with Forte? I am sure a number of people here would have experience with both Rf 7 and Forte. What my expectation from the speakers is I want maximum detailing and instrument separation while listening to any kind of music at low volume levels say Jazz. I have no option to listen to Forte so will have to go for a blind buy. I am also going to upgrade/change my Denon receiver to some solid state class AB pre and power amps after this.So any advice what kind of amps are good with Forte will be a boon. Considering my taste of music and expectation should I go with RF 7 or Forte? My audio source is Spotify Premium Thanks a lot.

I guess this would void the warranty as well ?

Sorry this is beyond my knowledge. Could you please explain a bit?

Yeah increase in bass but still bright. I do not have any room treatments. But I guess whole reference range of Klipsch is too bright same was the case with RF 7 III. Did not get any chance to listen to any of the heritage series. Let's see how happy I may end up with tweaks. Thanks a lot for the help.

Yes now I am running them as "Large" and bass as LFE + MAINS

I have followed your suggestion on settings on spotify. I am playing spotify on laptop and through HDMI (DVD port on Denon) routing the sound. Occasionaly I use the Spotify Connect (direct pllayback on Denon via same network) so no wires. Does any of the method makes any difference? I am done with all other options except using a turntable or a cd player. I'll try to arrange that. Thanks for your suggestions.

Hi I have turned off the Audessy, seems better but at lower crossover I loose bass so 80hz sounds best for now. Lets see how this works out for less acoustic songs. Thanks.

@pzannucci @willland Thanks for pitching in. So here are some details. The room size is aprrox 18*12 *10 (L*W*H). My Settings on AVR are Audessy MultiEQ XT32 - Reference Dynamic EQ - On Reference Level Offset -0db Dynamic Volume - Off Speakers - Small Bass - LFE Only Crossover - 80Hz LPF for LFE - 120Hz Now my dislikes I fee that the horn tweeter of RP-8000F dominates the mid range woofers. In other words sound signature is not soft and warm but too thin and bright. I had a audition last week comparing RF 7 III and RP-8000F with switcher and switching intermittently. RF 7 III were surely better than the 8000F. Other short coming I have is I am plyaing from Spotify. And I need to crank up to volume upto -25 or -20 db then I feel some dynamics otherwise 8000f's sound pretty flat to me. I am not aware what other settings I can tweak in the AVR to benefit. I am Ok wiht the bass but not happy with mid range. I tried setting Audessy to off but not much improved rather sound level declined further. My expectation from the system is clarity even at low volume levels without loosing any details and some air around the music. God know my expectation is even real or hypethetical. BTW I am listening to Kenny Rogers, Carlos Santana, Pat Boone, Queen, Beatles, Connie Francis etc

Hi Please excuse me if this question seems to basic to you guys. I am still very naive in understandings some basic things. I have a Denon X4500H with RP-8000F and R-115SW. I am not very happy with the sound quality. I am planning to change the whole equipment. My inclination is towards Anthem STR series Pre and Power Amps and to replace RP-8000F with either Forte or Cornwall. Below are some specs for all the equipments. Planned Anthem Power Amp at 8 ohms 400 wpc Current Denon X4500H at 8 ohm 125wpc From Klipsch Web Site RP -8000F power handling Continous/Peak 150/600 watts, Senstivity 98db Forte III Continous/Peak 100/400 watts, Senstivity 99db Cornwall III Continous/Peak 100/400 watts I did not find anything on Klipsch specs that says suitable amplifer range (as other manufactures list in speaker specs). My doubt is can i pair the Anthem power amp that produces 400/wpc with any of the towers? Am I at risk of burning my speakers? How come 8000F can handle more power but is low on SPL? Or Can I still use Denon and replace to 8000f and Denon will be powerful enough to drive Forte or Cornwall? Thanks for the help.

Hi Jef Are you planning to add a external 2 channel power amp? May be 200w/ch will it make any difference? What other amps you tried?

@MetropolisLakeOutfitters @Cory Hi Guys are you able to watch this thread? Not sure if tagging you would send any alerts to you? I need your help in improving my music listening experience as I am a newbie here. Thanks