maxg Posted February 12, 2002 Share Posted February 12, 2002 1st friend takes delivery of his new Sony 770 SACD player. Played like crap on his Quad 989's. Much investigating later we discovered that he has to change his speaker positioning to make them sound right (as in change them from the position that works well for CD playback - go figure). Anyway it is all working fine now - obviously it doesnt have the life and joy of playback on my tube/Heresy combo but for a boring British speaker with SS amplification it aint half bad. In the meantime various friends are coming over to my house in a steady stream to hear my newly rolled tubes (the KT88's). All very impressed and all trying to decide whether its time for them to light up their music and ditch the SS amps they all have. Anyway all of that happened by 1 am on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Wife out on Sunday. Another friend heads over to the first friend to buy the RF3's he used to enjoy before he went all British on us (are you following this? - there will be a test at the end.) In a fit a mischief we decide to try these out on my tubes. General opinion is that the tubes wont drive them - WRONG!! After a bit of positioning we get the RF3's belting out Dire Straits Private Investigations. Did I say belting out? I have no way to describe the volume levels we were hitting - but this was way louder than my Heresy's have ever, or could ever go. If I were to guess (no meter) I would hazard a figure of 120 db/m but it is hard to tell - no distortion of course - none! It was amazing - it was agony actually - I did most of my listening from the garden whilst those 2 lunatics (seller and buyer) cranked it up ever further. Even they gave up when the volume control hit about 3 o'clock on the dial. After a while I got them to return to more normal listening levels and we did a proper A/B comparison of Heresy Vs RF3. At normal levels the RF3's were really good and solid. I tested them with the above Dire Straits, with the threee blind Mice sampler disk (Bridge over Troubled water), Dvorak's New World symphony on CD and finally Mendelsson's 4th symphony on SACD. The fact they walked the Dire Straits was not a surprise. Nor, that they did so well with the TBM disk, but it was their performance on the classical pieces that was amazing. Full deep soundstage, excellent lifelike sound, and eminently acceptable sonics. It was so good that I was beginning to worry that it was better than the Heresy's - even to my ears that fell in love with them on first hearing. Switching to the Heresy's put my mind at rest immediately. Nothing in my experience matches the way female vocals are portrayed on a Heresy (or other in the Heritage range). The mids were tighter but maybe not as full, the bass, however, was simply not there at all. These RF3's produce bass by the bucketfull and truely embarass the Heresy. Thank god I have a sub to mask this. As for the rest the soundstage is even more solid on the Heresy than on the RF3 with better sonics to my ears (and theirs come to that). In the end we concluded that the RF3 is probably a far more acceptable speaker for modern demands than the Heresy, and definitely much more of an all rounder. The buyer was extremely pleased with his purchase and next week we will all head over to his house to hear them on his setup (Yamaha A1, Rotel 1080 power amp). All that being said I noted a wistful look in his eyes as he gazed upon the Heresy's. My wager would be that within a year he will own a pair being driven by tubes, but for now the RF3's will do him outstanding duty. As for me, replacing the Heresy's is still going to be a long way in the future. They provide an experience I find very difficult to tear myself away from. ------------------ 2 * Heresy 2 (mains) 2 * Homemade horn speakers (rears) 1 * REL Strata 3 sub Accuphase E211 amp. Tube monoblocks with separate pre-amp (solid state). Marantz CD6000 player Sony NS900 SACD/DVD player Stax Headphones Humax 5400 digital satellite receiver Sharp Video 32" Sony flat screen 16:9 TV Mogami interconnects Silver Synergistic speaker cable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted February 12, 2002 Share Posted February 12, 2002 Nice post Max - isn't if fun hanging out with lunatic friends? I'm glad you found redeeming qualities in the RF3. Not bad for $800 huh? Looks like I may have to break down and find me an old set of Heresy's somewhere so I can give them an honest eval - in my home. It's impossible to simply ignore all the good things I hear about them. Hell, Even Ben says they do good after a good breaking in period. ------------------ deanG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted February 12, 2002 Share Posted February 12, 2002 What in the hell is going on over in Greece? Insanity, it sounds like. I think you have finally gotten KT-88 on the brain. kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenG Posted February 12, 2002 Share Posted February 12, 2002 Hey guys, Max sounds like real fun. I wish some of my friends would have a clue. I tell you, these Heresy's are really in a league of their own. I have not turned off any of my units. The Bolder cable has been running for 4 days now. It started horrible, But, who's in a panic? not me! Now its really settled in. My soundstage is wider and my lows are a bit better. I need a sub most definitely. Words to describe....."presence" ! I will try to load a pic of my gear soon. Thanks again to All. -benny ------------------ Monarchy Audio: SM-70 class A amplifier zero feedback Onkyo DV-S535 dvd player(transport) Klipsch Heresy II mahagony finish with riser stands Monarchy Audio Model 33 dac/pre AudioQuest Slate speaker cable / Diamondback interconnects - Bolder Cables digital coaxials> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.