Jump to content

RF82s: Where's the bass?


Klipschter

Recommended Posts

My system includes two RF82 mains and I have to say I am disappointed with their bass output. I'm not one of these guys who needs to shake the whole house, but it seems like the minisystem the dishwashers use at my restaurant has more bumps than my Klipsch towers. I expected a lot more out of a set of speakers that--combined--boast four 8inch drivers. I know a lot of you are going to say what are you bitching about you have a fathom sub (which I haven't hooked up to my system yet, hopefully tomorrow) but I do a lot of listening without a subwoofer--just using 2 channels for music. To get a decent thump out of the towers I have to jack the receiver volume way up. But of course this results in horrible sound quality where the low frequency content is totally disproportional to the much louder high frequency content. When I am not using a subwoofer I have my RF82s set to large on my receiver and the subwoofer setting (i.e. both, subwoofer, front) on the receiver set to front. I'm fairly certain its not a speaker wire issue either as test tones run fine through my receiver's setup process. Is the problem my rather wimpy budget receiver? Or were my expectations of a solid bass foundation from my 82s set too high? I also have concerns about how my RF82s blending with my new subwoofer. I'm worried that the lack of bass in my mains is gonna make the sub stand out like a sore thumb.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

when listening to 2 channel - i normally just press pure direct button and the bass from my 35's is nice and they are 2x8inch drivers.

it maybe your source - when playing music, is it from a cd player or mp3 or other. I am not familiar with that receiver but I would think it should be ok.

i always have my speakers set to small and the bass pounds out on 2ch when i crank it up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

I have the RF-83's and they have plenty o bass. I had a pair of RF-35II's hooked up and they had a descent amount of bass but they were pulled out into the middle of the room where there was not much bass reinforcement from surrounding walls. I would think that the RF-82's should provide you with a good amount of bass though. Does your receiver have an EQ? Might want to check it's settings to see if the lower frequencies have been reduced.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are literally dozens of things that affect bass output. Can you post a picture of your setup so we can see how far the speakers are from the wall behind it? Where do you sit in the room (right in the middle, more towards the back, etc.)? Do you have any kind of automatic setup that you're using on your receiver? Why don't you want to use your subwoofer when you're listening to 2 channel music?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You should talk to my Wife then. She's always telling me to turn the bass down on "those things" and I don't even have my sub hooked up yet.

I think the 82's have good bass for two channel. I listen to all kinds of music on them and never thought they lacked in that department.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry I don't have a camera that I can use to upload pictures of my setup at the moment. But the room is rather small (About 9ftX16ft) and the listening position relative to the speakers is very close. The mains are only about 7 feet away from the listening position and the center is even closer at 6 feet. I am using the manual setup on my receiver. Because the room is rather small the speakers are very close to the wall--only about 5/6 inches away. I know that having speakers close to the walls can affect bass quality but this seems to be more of a bass quantity problem. I'm leaning towards the speaker out of phase problem, unfortunately I have no idea what this means. Could someone elaborate? Is this a problem with the speaker itself or how I've connected it? The speakers are biamped and I did have a friend (who's more knowledgeable and handy than I am) hook my speakers up so its possible he could've made a mistake. It is also possible that I made a mistake hooking up the speakers when I upgraded to the RF-82s from my only RF-10s. The reason I don't use the sub all the time is a matter of courtesy to the other people living in the house. In other words mom yelling "turn that down!" Thanks for your help.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lets start with the basics. Double check the wiring from your receiver (amp) to the speaker terminals. Be sure that the + on the receiver is connected to the + on the speaker. If the + and - wires are crossed then your speakers are out of phase and the bass from one will cancel the bass from the other one out. Let us know what you find.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Figured out what the problem is. The problem is my room which apparently has the worst acoustics ever. It appears that the best listening position in my room isn't the couch but my doorway. It's like day and night. Bass response is solid when I'm standing in the doorway to my room (turning up the bass on the tone control of the receiver helped add a little extra punch too), but when I sit on the couch facing the television and speakers the bass response is totally gutted. Don't know how I can fix this problem. The room is small and the way I have it setup now is basically my only option. It's like a puzzle. There's only one way that all the pieces of furniture fit together. Moving the speakers forward away from the walls would put them right in my lap. I did move them a few inches up and that didn't seem to help any. Do any of you think a receiver with a good automatic room correction system could solve this problem? I will see if I can borrow my brother's digital camera to post some pictures of my setup to see if you guys can give me any ideas.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hey klipschter nice nic name. My other id is Klipschster i am the original Klipschster ! lol

I have a simular problem as what your describing. i notice alot more bass toward the left side of my room toward the door way. I think the problem i have is my entertainment center absorbes some of the bass behind it or something , ive always try to figure out whats going on. Although i still have a good solid bass response where i sit..just not as good as the left side of my room...odd

post-12368-13819487450134_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

hey klipschter nice nic name. My other id is Klipschster i am the original Klipschster ! lol

I have a simular problem as what your describing. i notice alot more bass toward the left side of my room toward the door way. I think the problem i have is my entertainment center absorbes some of the bass behind it or something , ive always try to figure out whats going on. Although i still have a good solid bass response where i sit..just not as good as the left side of my room...odd

Thats easy to fix, change the channel Spongebob has very little Bass ! [:o]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The metal straps are removed because the speakers are biamped. I've fidgeted with the speaker placement and bass settings on my receiver and that has helped a little bit. A friend recommended buying bass traps to put in the corners of my room and Auralex pads (http://www.auralex.com/) to hang on my walls. On a side note I finally hooked up my JL Audio Fathom f113 subwoofer and it sounds AMAZING. Watched the motorcycle chase scene from the Dark Knight and it blew me away. And I haven't even tweaked the settings or used the room correction microphone. To quote Ferris Bueller, "If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...