RF7X3M Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Hi there The Gang! Want to share an experience (rather bad) and have some feedback and opinions. My setup is ony 2 channel - as follows - Sony CD player 5400es and Marantz CD6000 NAD C375BEE RF7 Classic And I wanted to add another pair of smaller speakers for casual use (well... this was the excuse...) so without doing an audition I pushed the red-colored BUY button and now there a pair of RB81 (old version not MKII) in my living room too. In the beginging I had mixed feelings how the RB81 sound, but I decided to give it some time to break-in (and I learned that from the RF7 experiance I have). Now 3 days after I received them already I can say am *not* happy at all with them. The sound is muddy. The high, mid, and low spectrum are not good. There is very little of a bass in the sound...Only the dynamic is there, but without crisp sound it doesn't have an impact. Tried to change the amp - the NAD C350 is only worse (not good with Klipsch anyway) and the Marantz PM 6003 did not help either. They are both mediocre amps and largely inferior to the NAD C375BEE so this was only an act of despair Changed the cables.... which helped!... somewhat... Some bass apeared there but the muddy sound is still here with me. .... I dont use connectors btw - just bare wires.... Ok, so what do you think? Am I too used to the RF7 sound and have too high of expectations for the RB81 which is miles behind the RF7? Or have I missed something? It almost sounds to me as bad as if I had done something stupid with the connections, but I havent. When I connect both RF7 and the RB81 to the NAD375 the difference b/w the two is ... depressing Give me your opinion if you bother What to make out of that? What to think? Have a great time anyone and thank you for ... ALL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 ..In the beginging I had mixed feelings how the RB81 sound, but I decided to give it some time to break-in (and I learned that from the RF7 experiance I have). Now 3 days after I received them already I can say am *not* happy at all with them. The sound is muddy. The high, mid, and low spectrum are not good. There is very little of a bass in the sound...Only the dynamic is there, but without crisp sound it doesn't have an impact. ... I dont use connectors btw - just bare wires.... Ok, so what do you think? Am I too used to the RF7 sound and have too high of expectations for the RB81 which is miles behind the RF7? Or have I missed something? It almost sounds to me as bad as if I had done something stupid with the connections, but I havent. When I connect both RF7 and the RB81 to the NAD375 the difference b/w the two is ... depressing If you have the jumpers in place between the two sets of binding posts, it may be that your expectations were to high if there is nothing wrong with the speaker. Fwiw, the RB-81 isn't in the same league as the previous RB-75s that were designed to go with the RF-7s, but it is a nice sounding bookshelf speaker for it's size. That being said and if you aren't using a sub I can't imagine they even come close to the RF-7s, but would work in a multichannel configuration as side surrounds or rears...That's my guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Fwiw, the RB-81 isn't in the same league as the previous RB-75s that were designed to go with the RF-7s, Very true, just as the 83's are good but they ain't classic 7's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elitedemo Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 im not seeing how rb81s and rf7s in 2 channel could even compare? they just arent in the same ballpark, league, or even sport not to mention your used to the rf7 sound which is going to be different than the rb81s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenM Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 How do you have the RB-81's placed within the room? What kind of stands? The RB-81 will not be in the same league as RF-7s, but they should still sound at least half decent all the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted October 4, 2011 Moderators Share Posted October 4, 2011 We have some RB-75's ( the only reference here ) that could make a really nice small 2 CH setup, very nice little speaker. [Y] Didn't the 81's replace the 75's, can't remember ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 They retired the RB-75s with the original RF-7s. Fwiw, the RB-81 is the replacement for the RB-35s, which has a smaller compression driver for the horn...If I am remembering correctly, Stephen Phillips said if you wanted the performance of the RB-75s in a bookshelf speaker you had better get them now (then). (EDIT: He also had a Home Theater with RB-75s as mains and dual THX KLIPSCH subs. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted October 4, 2011 Moderators Share Posted October 4, 2011 They retired the RB-75s with the original RF-7s. Fwiw, the RB-81 is the replacement for the RB-35s, which has a smaller compression driver for the horn...If I am remembering correctly, Stephen Phillips said if you wanted the performance of the RB-75s in a bookshelf speaker you had better get them now (then). (EDIT: He also had a Home Theater with RB-75s as mains and dual THX KLIPSCH subs. That would sound good [Y] RB-75's all around would be really nice also. I would have bought 100 pair at the time for that price. It was a auction and there were about 15 pair, all in a stack in there unopened boxes. and one pair way off to the side by themselves, the 15 pair went for $200-$400 per pair as a lot if I remember correctly. The auction was just about over and many people had left when they realized there were one pair left, my wife bid $35 and WON. NIB RB-75's in black, there in my daughters bedroom. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RF7X3M Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 Hello everyone, thanks for the input! Yes, the RB81 do not play in the same league as the RF7... still I must say I am not unhappy with them anymore - let me show you why - So here's the last result In the YouTube video I have the Marantz PM6003 with "Loudness" button on for more bass and to get rid of the extra noise generated by it I replaced the silver cables which are too sensitive and conduct all the noise to the speakers by some old average quality copper cable. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYJltcTIHEg The difference in bass is not audible with the microphone I used, but the "muddiness" in the mid-frequencies is still audible. In absolute terms the RB81 is not great, but only considering its price it is at least good if not very good choice. For some CD's and watching TV I actualy***prefer*** them to the RF-7 for the more relaxed sound they have. 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.