Klipsch RF7 II Power Reccomendation

[Cfaille]

Hey all,

Just purchased a pair of cherry RF7 II's and they are on their way via freight. Figured it was time to upgrade from my KG4's (they are mint and will be for sale by the way). Do you think my Marantz 2270 will supply enough juice to power the RF7 II's? I believe its rated at 70wpc RMS into 8 ohms, and these speakers appear to be super sensitive. So I should have no problems with clipping or anything like that right? I plan to upgrade my components down the road, so the Marantz will have to do for now. What sort of amps do these speakers love?

Thanks

[willland]

Congratulations on the purchase of the 7II's. When you say via freight you do mean palletized I hope?

Here are my suggestions as what to do with the 2270.

(1) Move it and the KG4's to another room and buy a preamp/amp combo or integrated amp to power those beasts.

(2) Add a 2-channel amp or a pair of monoblocks and use the 2270 as a preamp.

While a very warm/musical amp, the 2270 may not be a very good choice to handle the RF-7II's lower impedence dips. I say add a warmish high current amp to the mix you should be very pleased.

Recommendations if using 2270 as a preamp:

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1311385367&/B-K-Reference-4420-gold-facepl

http://cgi.ebay.com/B-K-Reference-200-2-S2-2-Channel-Amplifier-875-WATTS-/320701491740?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aab4c6a1c

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1310597633&/NAD-216-THX-125-w/ch--NICE

Different system:

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1310933309&/NAD-C375BEE-recommended-by-ste

Bill

[Cfaille]

Thanks for the advice Bill. They better be shipped on pallets! A 3rd party trucking company is handling the shipping, so I'll be sure to inspect for damage before signing the BOL. The KG4's have been great, but due to limited space I'm going to sell them. I've been looking into the Mcintosh integrated amps as an option, but some people say they are too bright with Klipsch. I've heard Mcintosh paired with Klipsch before and it sounds pretty amazing to me. I've had my 2270 cleaned and tuned to spec a couple years ago, but not sure if I want to use it as a pre-amp. What are some good integrated amps that pair well with Klipsch that you would recommend?

On the other hand, maybe I should just use my 2270 as a pre-amp. So all I would need to do is add a power amp to the mix and I'm all set? Sorry I'm kind of a noob when it comes to home audio and the different components.

[willland]

On the other hand, maybe I should just use my 2270 as a pre-amp. So all I would need to do is add a power amp to the mix and I'm all set?

You may want to look for a pair of Marantz MA-500 monoblocks(125w) or MA-700(200w) and mate them with your 2270. I have used both of them with my Marantz 2252B as a preamp powering Fortes, Quartets, Heresys, RB-5's, and RF-63's. They sounded fantastic with each speaker and they never got past warm to touch. What they did was bring out the great qualities of the 2252B while adding more ooomph and of course headroom. Either the 500's or 700's will do your system some justice.

Send BluBitRates on the forum a PM and ask him about the MA-500's and the RF-7II's.

Here is a set of (3) MA-500's for a decent price.

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1310738298&/Marantz-ma-500-Mono-amps-Near-

I don't know your location but this is a great price for the MA-700.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/ele/2386759432.html

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/ele/2399832439.html

Bill

[Cfaille]

I like your thinking willand. Those 700's are actually only 20 miles away from me. I think I'm going to have to go check them out. I wonder why they are so cheap though? Are these mono blocks low on the quality scale?

[willland]

I wonder why they are so cheap though?

Actually, when I sold my (5) MA-700's a year or so ago, the going price range was $200.00 to $300.00 dollars. One sold for $175.00(damaged RCA imput), one for $230.00, and the last three for $220.00. Of course with the economy, the going rate is a bit lower.

Are these mono blocks low on the quality scale?

Let me make this very clear, these monoblocks are not built like Krells but they are well built for their price point($500.00/ea MSRP) and very sweet sounding[8] and detailed and will have no trouble driving your 7II's. They are just plain cool.[H] I had a blast with mine. I was very sad that I had to sell them.[] The "only" 125watt MA-500's can be bridged to produce 360w/ch @ 8ohms while the MA-700's will produce 600w/ch @ 8ohms in bridged mode.

Those 700's are actually only 20 miles away from me. I think I'm going to have to go check them out.

Can't hurt to demo if seller is willing.

Bill

[Cfaille]

Been researching some different power amps that are in my price range and I'm considering paring my Marantz 2270 with an Emotiva XPA-2. I'm not a fan of gear made in China, but all the reviews I'm reading seem to praise their products. This amp is 300 watts RMS into 8 ohms and 500 watts RMS into 4 ohms. At $799 thats not a bad price.