rshop0103 Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Configuration - Reference series RF3 connected to Onkyo 100 W THX receiver., , no sub woofer connected. No bi amp or bi wiring done. The highs are good, mid OK , but the bass has no strength in it is very weak. I happened to bump into aTotem and a wharfedale - which seem to have a very good bass (tight for totem abd a bit boomy for the wharfedale ) without sub woofers . Are Klipsch reference speakers are made to require sub woofers ? (I'm not very techie interms of crossovers and sort!!) Any help regarding improving the bass performance would be highly appreciated. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldenough Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Have you checked your settings in your receiver?? i.e cross-over, and speaker large/small settings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ69 Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 In phase? Thanx, Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Welcome to the Forum rshop0103, I would check to make sure the jumpers between +/+ and -/- terminals are connected and that you have the AVRs speaker setting to "Full Range"...That should give you the full performance of your RF-3s, but most people prefer running a sub to hit the lower notes. Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Its possible that your receiver thinks you have a subwoofer connected. Go into the setup menu and make sure the subwoofer option is set to Off. Please let us know if that helps or if it still seems they lack bass. Welcome to the forum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 I don't know about the RF-3, but the larger Klipsch speakers such as the RF-7, RF-63, and RF-83 have a low ohm dip in the bass frequencies which renders most A/V receivers incapable of handling. This results in clipping and little bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 After checking polarity, the binding post jumpers, and your receiver's settings, you might also check your speaker placement. A quick way to tell if that's a problem is to listen standing in a corner on the other side of tbe room. If there is a lot of bass in the corner (and I mean a lot), then that would be a sign of room modes. Also, what kind of source material are you listening to? Klipsch is generally much lower distortion which can have theperception of no bass with poor recordings. My guess is it's probably a little of everything adding up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanl Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 Configuration - Reference series RF3 connected to Onkyo 100 W THX receiver., , no sub woofer connected. No bi amp or bi wiring done. The highs are good, mid OK , but the bass has no strength in it is very weak. I happened to bump into aTotem and a wharfedale - which seem to have a very good bass (tight for totem abd a bit boomy for the wharfedale ) without sub woofers . Are Klipsch reference speakers are made to require sub woofers ? (I'm not very techie interms of crossovers and sort!!) Any help regarding improving the bass performance would be highly appreciated. Thanks. I had a pair of RF3's and I was never impressed with the bass in comparison to other speakers. They are about as low as you can go in the RF line-up. I was also driving them with about 150 - 200 watts each. Not that the bass was bad it was tight but not room filling. In the end when compared to other speakers they just fell short. SOLD THEM for 350.00 if I remember correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 ..Not that the bass was bad it was tight but not room filling. In the end when compared to other speakers they just fell short... I have always used my RF-3s with a Subwoofer and now have them as my side surrounds along with 2 RSW subs and they sound excellent with my RF-7s/RC-7 for Multichannel Music and Movies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rshop0103 Posted August 3, 2009 Author Share Posted August 3, 2009 Thank you for taking time to respond. Yes I did check the receiver settiings and every thing seems to be OK., b ut still no improvement in bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldenough Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 Just as something of an aside, I have always been pretty happy with my RF-5's, then to add to my luxman system I picked up a 120 wpc power amp, the additional power I now had made a complete difference to these speakers. I'm not talking subtle this was a complete eye-opener, they opened-up like you would not believe, so much so that I don't bother with my sub, which has always been a problem for other reasons. Sure everyone willl tell you that Klipsch don't NEED high power, but i will tell you that they sure DO LIKE IT. This has also applied to my La Scalas, I can easily switch back and forth and A/B the differences and they are not imaginary. Moral of the story....more POWER to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanl Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 ..Not that the bass was bad it was tight but not room filling. In the end when compared to other speakers they just fell short... I have always used my RF-3s with a Subwoofer and now have them as my side surrounds along with 2 RSW subs and they sound excellent with my RF-7s/RC-7 for Multichannel Music and Movies. Then I guess we are in agreement. I used the RF3 as rear in a 7.1 setup with a SVS cylinder sub. NOt long after I sold them and replaced them with KG5.5 in the rear. I do have to say that more power was a step up but it they are what they are. You have got to move AIR to get good bass and those 2 woofers just can't push that much. Get the RF7 and give them some power and whoooo hooo look out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blvdre Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Just as something of an aside, I have always been pretty happy with my RF-5's, then to add to my luxman system I picked up a 120 wpc power amp, the additional power I now had made a complete difference to these speakers. I'm not talking subtle this was a complete eye-opener, they opened-up like you would not believe, so much so that I don't bother with my sub, which has always been a problem for other reasons. Sure everyone willl tell you that Klipsch don't NEED high power, but i will tell you that they sure DO LIKE IT. This has also applied to my La Scalas, I can easily switch back and forth and A/B the differences and they are not imaginary. Moral of the story....more POWER to you. ..and to add to this; it may also be the voicing of the amp. A low power amp may sound more bass-heavy than a high powered amp, depending on how they're voiced. Of course, when the volume goes up, all bets are off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldenough Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 A question..."voicing" is it safe to say that this would only apply to the pre-amp ? or does a power-amp also have a "voice"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blvdre Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 A power amp absolutely has a voice - different design philosophies can yield very different results. I've had amps that run the gammet (sp?) from cold and clinical to overly warm and fuzzy - and everywhere in between. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Onkyo? Better get a sub.I found the 3's to be a vey nice speaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rshop0103 Posted August 5, 2009 Author Share Posted August 5, 2009 In phase? Thanx, Russ Thanks for the reply. Pardon my ignorance. Would you elaborate what 'in phase' means? Is that the polarity ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 In phase? Thanx, Russ Thanks for the reply. Pardon my ignorance. Would you elaborate what 'in phase' means? Is that the polarity ? In phase means that the + on the receiver goes to the + on the speaker. If one of the speakers is wired backwards then the bass from one will cancel the other one out. It's also possible (less likely however) that if someone worked on the speaker that the speaker could be wired out of phase inside the cabinet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rshop0103 Posted August 5, 2009 Author Share Posted August 5, 2009 In phase? Thanx, Russ Thanks for the reply. Pardon my ignorance. Would you elaborate what 'in phase' means? Is that the polarity ? In phase means that the + on the receiver goes to the + on the speaker. If one of the speakers is wired backwards then the bass from one will cancel the other one out. It's also possible (less likely however) that if someone worked on the speaker that the speaker could be wired out of phase inside the cabinet. Thank you very much for patiently explaining. I will check that out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rshop0103 Posted August 5, 2009 Author Share Posted August 5, 2009 Well , after trying out various things I connected a Bose Sub Ihat I have. The sound is not room filling, but house filling !!!. The highs are extremley good, but there is a lot odf room to improve in my opinion - with a nice tightt sub. You are right , these speakers require a nice well engineered sub. Any recommendations in the not so exotic price range. ? This community is full of really nice people - appreciate the expertise, warmth and the friendliness of every one. Thanks a million.!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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