Experience with RB-75s

[rjsilva]

I am a relatively new Klipsch owner. The RB-75s have been my "dream" bookshelf speaker for a while and a couple of weeks ago I was able to buy a pair (new in sealed boxes even).

Back in 2001 I auditioned the RB-5s and RF-7s and knew one day I'd get a pair of the Klipsch reference speakers. I loved the sound. Though before I bought the RB-75s I was a little concerned the tweeter might be overwhelming.

I was not prepared for how incredibly smooth they sound! I'm using them with a Kenwood KA-7100 integrated amp. I listen to classical pretty much exclusively, and the other day I put on an orchestral recording and was amazed at the sound of the strings. I couldn't stop listening, I can't remember hearing strings sound so smooth on a recording. Simultaneously the percussion had punch and clarity, the brass was in my face ... fantastic! The dynamic range is awesome.

When I first got them I put on some rock just for testing (I don't have much). A 1973 recording of Rick Wakeman (The Six Wives ...) sounded quite good but a 1999 Steve Vai recording (The Ultra Zone) did sound harsh in the treble particularly with cymbals (possibly could be intentional). * Edit: For interest I tried out the Vai disc again (and others) and the harshness was mainly the one song I listened to previously, entitled "Oooo".

The RB-75s really exceeded my expectations. I read a comment from someone who auditioned them saying they were bass and treble heavy and had no mid-range - what was he listening to?? I wonder how they were placed in the room.

One interesting anomaly is that I find myself perceiving the sound as different when I take the grilles off and can see the horn - I can hear that it sounds the same, but I find myself wanting to think it sounds more directional and harsh. It makes me wonder if some of the people who don't like the sound of Klipsch speakers are influenced by their perception of the horn.

[dtel]

The RB 75 is a very under rated speaker, my daughter got a pair about a month ago and I tried them out before she took them to her room. I have to admit for a bookshelf speaker I was shocked with how full and smooth they sounded, I have never had any of the Reference speakers so I had only heard them in showrooms which is always different then when you get them home.

Although I have to say they are kind of big for a bookshelf speaker, they are almost the size of a Heresy, not that I have a problem with the size of any speaker but that's kind of big for a bookshelf but the sound is really nice.

Enjoy you new speakers, where are you from, that's not an easy speaker to find new in the box ?

[rjsilva]

I agree it is a big bookshelf speaker, pictures don't really show it. I even took a picture of one next to a KSB 3.1 and it still doesn't give a good idea of how big they feel. If I don't think of it as bookshelf-sized then I'm quite happy with it.

I live in the Phila, PA area but bought them from a dealer in CA who got them after buying stock from another dealer who went out of business in MS. I would have been happy with a used pair, but I'm not complaining.

[dtel]

That's strange we bought them at an auction in Mississippi of a dealer who went out of business. [] Guess what, the dealer from California was also at the auction and shipped what he bought back to his store.

[dtel]

I just remembered these were also at the auction and were bought by a forum member from Georgia, they are monsters. The date on the camera is wrong.

[Zen Traveler]

The RB 75 is a very under rated speaker, .... that's not an easy speaker to find new in the box ?

I agree and feel the reason it is under rated was because dealers seemed to have scrimped on surround sound speakers when they were showing off their RF-7/RC-7 Home Theaters....I bought the ONLY ones I had ever seen on display (I believe they were out of the box for a couple of hours;-) and it took a while to get another pair to any of the stores in the DFW area, where I purchased a second set immediately upon arrival. []

[Groto]

Hi everyone.

I am not trying to change the subject, but I also own RB-75s as of recently. I bought them for surrounds for my RF-7s because I wanted something similar that could keep up with the RF-7s. I realize they do not have same the same tweeter, but are similar.

Anyway... just for fun I hooked up my amp to the RB-75s just to see how they sounded for music. I think they sound great, but I am getting almost no bass from these... I have slightly smaller Jamo bookshelves that seem to have a lot more bass (and smaller woofers) then the RB-75s. Are the RB-75s not too good with bass? I read that these are supposedly the bookshelf version of the RF-7 (or as close as it gets) and while I think they sound nice I am not getting much bass at all. I made sure that these were set to large in the receiver.

I tried with both a Harman Kardon AVR-335 and then tried with a Crown XLS-802 amp and there just is not much bass at all.

Thanks.

[SWL]

I use RB-75's in my bedroom system with a Klipsch LF-10 subwoofer. I only use them for music and they work very well together.

If I use the 75's by themselves (no sub) with good recordings.....the bass is sufficient. Otherwise, using a sub is a must for my tastes. YMMV.

Congrats on your RB-75's. Excellent speakers. [Y]

[dtel]

Somethings not right if you not getting much bass. see if you can check the wires inside and also if they don't have one crossed making the pair out of phase ? how close are they to the back wall ?

[Groto]

They are maybe 3 ft away from the back wall.

[dtel]

? When In tried them I had them setting on top of some Cornwalls in a bedroom with a CD player and an HK 930 for power and they sounded very good and had plenty of bass. That would have put them about 1.5 feet from the corners of the room which being in corners could have helped them also ?

It was not Cornwall bass but it was nice and tight and had a very smooth sound overall, I was impressed considering I don't care for the RF line overall, just prefer those old style big boxes with big ole horns. [Y]

[rjsilva]

Guess what, the dealer from California was also at the auction and shipped what he bought back to his store.

Isn't that amusing! I bet you got a much better price on yours

I think they sound great, but I am getting almost no bass from these...

I would agree that their bass isn't house-shaking but it's certainly adequate. Actually, when I first took the RB-75s out of the box my KSB 3.1s had a bit more bass and I was somewhat disappointed! But now the bass on the RB-75s is starting to open up - today I could feel the bass in my feet a little bit while standing on my fireplace hearth and even heard a mirror on a nearby door rattling.

[dtel]

What happened was my wife was going to bid for another forum member on that huge setup and was also looking at anything she could get at a good deal. The guy from California bid on a couple of "lots" at they called it and won with a fair price for what he got and there was one other pair of RB-75's off to the side with a few other things and the bidding had moved on to other things. Later when they got back around to the last few things, she bid on the last pair, I don't know what happened except that maby the guy auctioning didn't remember how much the first ones went for or even cared and almost no one was left bidding so she got them for a STEAL, new in the box unopened. We were looking for something for my daughter as she said she wanted some speakers for her bedroom. She is not a kid, she is 30 years old and been around many really good Klipsch speakers for a long time so we knew she would not be happy with just anything.

I don't want to make you sick but they were a steal, we would have bought them even if we didn't want them, for that price. [Y]

[jt1stcav]

My now-sold cherry RB-75s were extremely smooth and detailed with my 6.5Wpc 300B SET amp, 28Wpc 6L6GC PP amp, and even my 85Wpc Sansui SS receiver! The horn tweeters were never harsh or shrilly except for some poorly engineered recordings. Bass was adequate for folk and chamber music, but I'm a huge pipe organ fan...the RB-75s cannot reproduce anywhere near the organ's lowest octave bass frequencies (@ 20Hz and lower), so dual powered Dayton Audio subwoofers were needed for my bass fix! Had I not been laid off in January, I would've never sold 'em (and other unused audio components I had to sell to help pay for my property taxes).

[rjsilva]

I also enjoy listening to organ, though pretty much only Jean Guillou - his creative use of sounds is so addicting that I find many other organists bland :-) His interpretations are appealing as well.

The more I listen to these RB-75s the more I am amazed! I have always bought used speakers so this is my first pair of new speakers. Possibly they're improving because of the "break-in" period (never experienced it before)? The bass is definitely opening up and things just sound better.

[SWL]

Here's an ignorant question. Some of you guys comment on listening to "pipe organ music". What exactly is that kind of music? What in particular would you reccomend?

I've got some big ole SVS subs that dig real deep and would like to check it out. []

I hope I never have to part with my RB-75's.

[rjsilva]

As I mentioned, personally Jean Guillou is by far my favourite. I have also read that some of his recordings are "must haves" for subwoofer owners. Here are a few links to some CDs:

The Sonata of Julius Reubke (apparently good for subwoofers)

The Organ Works of J. S. Bach, Vol. 1

The Great Organ of Saint Eustache, Paris

The Organ Works of Cesar Franck

Hope this helps! I have to say that I've observed on one track (from Vol. 4 of Bach) that the bass from the organ causes some distortion in the RB-75s because the woofer is moving so much and trying to produce some mid-frequencies at the same time - kind of a "ripple" sound. If I listened to it frequently at loud levels I'd definitely want to use a sub with them.