Doug C

maxg, Is that your sub between the TV and your left speaker? Not much wall behind it or to the left side to reinforce the sub output evenly? Just for comparison purposes, I sugesst you try it tucked tight into the corner to the right of your right speaker. With low frequencies it won't matter if the right speaker seems to be blocking the front of it. In my system the sub is slam tight in the front left corner. This corner shares the two longest walls in my room giving the maximum reinforcement across all frequencies. This position also produces the most consistent bass levels throughout the room. From my listening position the front of the sub is completely obstructed by my left main but the bass is still great. Doug C

Sounds like your sub has a variable phase knob? Suggest you play the 63hz tone and have someone slowly rotate the phase knob from 0 to 180 as you monitor the Db's. By doing this you should be able to get the peak down a bit. If you flaten the peak completely then you will probably find the problem has shifted to a different frequency, so split the difference. Was also wondering where your sub is positioned in the room? Sub position has a lot to do with what frequencies are reinforced and by how much. I have used a Rane Parametric equalizer before and they are not difficult to use and let you dial right into the offending frequency range. I found however that the bass was tighter (more natural) without the EQ in the signal path. Doug C

maxg, Try the speaker level connection to the sub, If that solves the problem then it confirms a problem with the Preamp driving the amp and sub at line level at the same time. Doug C

Connecting your sub via the Speaker Level inputs (Speaker Cables) will draw virtually no power from the amp since the sub has it's own volume control (gain) and amp. I'm connected in this fashion using a 2-watt tube amp and no problems. I always run my mains full range for best sound quality. Going through the sub crossover and then to the mains is just another set of electronics (and more cable) to do bad things to the sound. Looking at your SLP readings, this is not out of line from my experience. I have room induced dips and peaks that I smooth out (but never get completely rid of) the best I can with a combination of sub placement and phase setting. I have a particularly nasty room induced peak in a narrow band around 36hz. With sub placement and phase setting I'm able to minimize it to about a +10db peak. I'm with you, can't understand how the sub could affect the pre-amp if it's using a completely different power circuit? Doug C

I drive a pair of RF-7's with a 2-watt amp and listen to a lot of Rock at high volumes and never get past 80% on the volume pot at the amp (I do not use a preamp). I see a lot of posts claiming the RF-7's are power hungry and require at least 200 watts? Doug C

I just checked the Radio Shack website for #33-4050 7-Range Analog Display Sound Level Meter. When I selected order it says they have them in stock? http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103668&cp=&kw=sound+meter&parentPage=search Doug C.

I went from RF5's to RF7's a couple years ago and this was a big step up in detail. The 7's will however immediately reveal any weakness in your source. In my case the 7's had more glare in the high end which was just a faithful reproduction of the weakness in my CD player output. I upgraded my digital front end to a Monarchy 24/96 upsampler followed by a Bel Canto DAC-2. The increased soundstage size, detail and smoothness on the high and low end were hard to believe. The imaging is so good I find I typically set the volume about 20% less compared to my setup prior to the DAC upgrade. Music is just a lot more enveloping and satisfying with a good DAC. These speakers virtually disapear. I can sit directly in front of the left or right speaker and still have great center imaging. This was not the case prior to the digital front end upgrade. I've tried a bunch of preamps over the years and all of them seem to sacrifice a tad in the open soundstage department. My 2 Watt Decware amp has a volume control so I run with no preamp for best sound quality. My listening room is 13' x 21' with a large opening into the same sized kitchen / dinning area and I never lack for volume. Primary listening is Rock at high levels. The Decware amp mates well with low impediance speakers and has no problem driving the RF7's to high volumes and this is running the RF7's full range from my amp. Again I find crossovers upstream of the amp tend to colapse the soundstage somewhat so I avoid them. My speakers are positioned to privide best soundstage and imaging which means they are out from the front wall and corners. Since this offers little corner reinforcement for the bass output from the 7's, low frequency output begins to drop off below 70hz. I have my corner placed 18" velodyne sub connected via speaker level connections directly from the amp output binding posts. This is the best bass of any of my systems over the past 30 years, it integrates perfectly. If you want realistic kick drum slam then I don't think you can beat a propely placed quality sub. A sub with a volume remote is ideal since recordings can vary significantly as far as the recorded level of low frequencies. For about 60% of my CD collection my sub volume is perfect. On the other 40% the recorded low frequency levels are a little low (presentation is slightly thin) or high (presentation is slightly muddy). Having the ability to tweak the sub volume a notch or two from your listening position is handy. I have a number of quality amps and preamps laying around and swap things out from time to time. It's usually only a day or two before I'm back to the simplest setup with the fewest components in the chain. From a clarity and openess standpoint none of the SS amps I've tried have been able to beat the little Decware amp. The Decware amp and RF7's just seem to be a perfect match. Just my 2 cents, Doug

Just wanted to get some current feedback from those that may be using the Bel Canto DAC-2, Benchmark DAC-1 or Apogee Mini-DAC outboard D/A converters. I've been using the Bel Canto DAC-2 for a couple of years with a Phillips 963SA DVD/SACD player and like the Bel Canto a lot. About 6-months ago I added a Monarchy 24/96 upsampler between the DVD player and DAC and this was a noticable improvement in soundstage size and extension of the extreme highs and lows. I've been considering trying the Benchmark or Apogee in part because they have volume controls and allow operation without a pre-amp. I assume both volume controls are analog? Any differences between the quality of either volume control? Also was wondering how Apogee users are connecting the analog output of the DAC to unbalanced RCA inputs on their preamps or amps? Are you using the 1/8" mini-jack as the output or XLR to RCA cables since this unit does not have unbalanced RCA outs? Just seems to me the 1/8" mini-jack output is kind of cheesy? On the other hand I've read many different views on the sonics of XLR to RCA cables? Thanks in advance for responses. Doug C

I can only speak based on my experience in my listening room. Over the years I have experimented extensively with multiple subs. Have run all combinations of my Twin SVS and 18" Velodyne. One sub is certainly much easier to calibrate and phase to the mains as opposed to multiple subs located in different areas of the room. Eventually I always end up going back to just the 18" Velodyne in the same corner for best low frequency reproduction. Based on this experience I would opt for a single higher quality sub. Results may differ in a different room. Doug C

I run my RF-7's with a 2 watt/channel Decware Zen Select tube amp. When I compare the Decware with my Musical Fidelity A3CR 120 watt/channel SS amp there is no contest, low power tube wins hands down. The RF series is a great speaker but it's high efficency allows you the option to use a multitude of low power amps that put out just a few high quality watts. Doug C

I made a big mistake when I ordered a Bel Canto DAC2 from Audio-Advisor. Was just curious and was sure that at the relatively high price I would be returning it. Well it sounded much better than the DAC's in my Marantz CD-17 or my B&K Reference 30 preamp. Also found that the sound from the DAC2 was identical when hooked up to my Marantz CD player or my very average DVD player. Improvements included: wider & deeper soundstage, more precise location of vocals & instruments, improved microdynamics, and much better punch and definition of low frequency bass notes. After listening to the DAC2 for about 2-weeks I removed it from my system thinking it was very nice but too expensive. I didn't make it a day before putting the DAC2 back into my system. Needless to say I still have it. I might have been able to find a DAC with equal performance for half the price? But just didn't want to screw around testing a bunch of units when I already had one I loved. Doug C

Vladi, The Decware Zen amp ($499.00 factory direct new)is the perfect match for the RF3's and believe me will play plenty loud. It's not the most beautiful amp but when teamed up with the RF3 plays beautiful music. Decware offers a 30-day money back guarantee so nothing to loose. Replacement tubes are relatively cheap, unit is self biasing, simple and Decware service is great. I've had the Zen for a year now and it's just great with the RF3's, 5's and 7's. Check out their site. I can not say enough good things about this amp. http://www.decware.com/zpage1.htm Doug C

On the question of 1 sub or 2, I find two smaller subs to be better than one big one. In other words I would opt for two good $750 subs over one big $1,500 sub. All rooms are different and so critical to the quality of bass you will achieve. Just about any big sub in any room will get boomy if you turn the volume up high enough. If you have a good quality sub the boomy tendency will be created by room induced low frequency peaks and nulls and not the sub itself. I find two subs placed separately helps to smooth out frequency response (minimize room induced peaks & nulls) in many rooms. The net result for me is that I am able to pump more bass energy into the room with less room induced boom. More natural sounding smooth bass. Smaller subs are generally easier to place. My 18" Velodyne is a monster. I find the SVS subs very easy to move and place due to their relatively small footprint. Most active subs like the SVS active line have all the controls built in. I would not buy a sub without a variable phase control. The 0-180 degree phase toggle switch provided on many subs just does not cut it. An example: If I set the phase on my two SVS to 180 degrees the subs and main speakers cancel each other over a broad frequency range (bad). If I set the sub phase to 0 degrees there is still quiet a bit of cancelation in the 90-100 Hz range (about 10 Db down from average). If I set the phase to about 30 degrees (variable phase control) SPL in the 90-100 Hz range is only down about 3 Db (a big improvement). Smooth room response is kind of like a smooth highway. If the road is smooth you can pour the power to it and go fast with a smooth ride. If you have peaks & dips the road will be bumpy (in the case of room response Boomy) as hell and you have to let off the gas. In either case the result will not be as satisfying. Doug C

Someone mentioned a concern about the horn of the Reference speakers being directional? I had RF-5's and now RF-7's and they produce a wide and deep sound stage. They completely disappear. On most well recorded material it is not obvious that music is coming directly from the speaker itself. The RF-7's replaced my Paradigm Studio 100's. The 100's are a great speaker but now sound flat to me after having the Klipsch. In fact I'm trading in my 100's for the RC7 and RS7 speakers to go with my RF-7's. I'm driving the RF-7's with a 2-watt Decware tube amp and love it. I listen to lots of loud Rock and this combo really puts out. I agree with the earlier comment about power. In reality I think 10-watts will send you running for cover. The Reference series really sounds great with tube amps provided you have a decent source. Doug C

I'm using a Rane PE-17 (5-channel) parametric EQ. Purchased this through the SVS website. This is a nice unit but the BFD equipment mentioned sound good (no personal experience with BFD). In my case I'm only equalizing the sub (20-80hz) so 5-channels is a bit of overkill. I use 3-channels to help correct room problems. For set-up I use the trusty Radio Shack SPL meter, the test tone generator in my B&K preamp (provides tones in 2hz increments) and a spreadsheet to record SPL from 20 to 110hz in 2hz increments. First turn sub OFF and record SPL of test tones through the entire range (20-110 hz) for your main speakers. This will give you a good idea of where your mains start to drop-off and where your crossover should be set. You will also see peaks & dips in low frequency output from the mains. Next turn on the sub with mains and play a test tone around the crossover setpoint and set sub phase to achieve highest bass output (this assures proper phase of sub with mains). Next record SPL of test tones through the entire range (20-110 hz)with sub & mains playing and record dB level for each tone. This will give you an Idea of frequency response peaks & valleys and a starting point for setting the EQ. Doug C