rhing Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 I have a pair of Klipsch Forte II's that I absolutely love. I've upgraded the crossovers with Bob Crites' crossover upgrade kits, upgraded the internal wiring, upgraded the Titanium tweeter diaphragms and installed higher quality binding posts. These are truly great speakers. Now I am looking for a pair of bookshelf speakers to mount on a bookshelf in my living room. It seems like most people who buy the Klipsch Reference series bookshelf speakers use them in home theater applications, and don;t really comment of their musical performance. I am a music listener. I watch movies, but home theater sound isn't that big of a deal for me. I want to enjoy my music. I am in the process of restoring and modifying a Dynaco SCA-35 integrated amp to go with the bookshelf speakers. I know the Heritage series speakers are a special breed, but will the Reference series bookshelf speakers give me similar Klipsch performance, or should I look elsewhere? Anyone have suggestions for which Reference series speakers I should get? I prefer to buy used to save money and apply the savings toward upgrades like better crossover caps if needed. I did audition a pair of nice Econowave DIY speakers that is basically a larger bookshelf cabinet with an 8 inch woofer and Selenium waveguide for the compression driver delivering mids and highs. There is a lot of discussion about these speakers on Audiokarma.org. Something like that would be nice, but I'd like to consider Klipsch as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennie Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Just get yourself a pair of La Scala's and use them as book shelves! The Dynaco should sound great! Seriously though, I've heard great things about the "Reference" line, but I'm never personally heard them. So, I'm no help, sorry. I am interested in what others have to say about the Reference book shelf speakers with music. Congrats on all the upgrades you've made to your Forte II's, I bet they sound beautiful. Dennie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivernuggets Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 ...the Heritage series speakers are a special breed, but will the Reference series bookshelf speakers give me similar Klipsch performance... The efficiency will be 97dB or below for most Reference bookshelves, and they will not have that three way sound of your Forte IIs. With that said, I really enjoy the RB-5's. I had a par of RB-81s but felt the RB-5s beat them (barely) with vocals. Don't know the Econowave DIYs you mention so I can't offer how they measure up to Klipsch. Are your bookshelves big enough for a Heresy pair? At least you have the floorstanders all figured out. Forte IIs are wonderful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I say a pair of RB-5's will do the trick. Big ole 8 inch driver in a modest sized wood veneered cabinet. I think a very 3-way sounding 2-way bookshelf speaker. Very thumpy with great detail. Oh yeah, they can play loud also. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete H Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I say a pair of RB-5's will do the trick. Big ole 8 inch driver in a modest sized wood veneered cabinet. I think a very 3-way sounding 2-way bookshelf speaker. Very thumpy with great detail. Oh yeah, they can play loud also. Bill+1 if rear ported works for your placement and if not the 61's or 81's are very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vital Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I just picked up a pair of Paradigm Studio 20 v.2 a few days ago. They sound nice but they won't crank loud at all. Pretty weird after listening to Klipsch for so long. I'm going to take them to my buddies house and have a little shootout, he has RB-5's and RB-81's. These Paradigms have rave reviews everywhere, even Stereophile magazine. My money is on the Klipsch RB's though, we'll see soon enough. I found these 5 minutes from me on Craigslist for a good price so I grabbed them to see how they sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I am in the process of restoring and modifying a Dynaco SCA-35 integrated amp to go with the bookshelf speakers. SCA-35 was my first audiophile grade component and, IMHO, the best price/performance integrated tube amp of all time. Tak a look at the FUG (Frazier Users) thread. The SCA-35 will drive ANY Frazier nicely, but for bookshelf size look for a pair of Frazier Monte Carlos. You can still find them fairly regularly at less than 150.00 a pair and if you get some for that and don't like them I'll pay you and shipping. I am that confident. For me, and quite a few others, the best bookshelf speaker ever price/performance wise and a PERFECT match for the SCA-35. 96db/w, 50-15k. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I have 3 Frazier Monte Carlo's and a pair of frazier Super Midgets set up for my dad in a 5.1 arrangement, and they do quite nicely. Great value, as they were about $160 a piece new back in the 70's. The only think needed on the Monte's were new caps. I used Sonicaps 3.0's. The Midgets are one way speakers. Both are slot ported, and need to be paralel to the wall and exactly 3" away from it. It makes a huge difference if they are not. My center is back in a cabinet, and the gain is adjusted likewise. Even at that, the low end response isn't there in the center. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhing Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 Everyone, Thanks for the suggestions. I now have my work cut out to hunt down the right bookshelfs. I have heard a pair of Frazier bookshelf speakers, and they really did sound great. Can anyone recommend any of the current Reference bookshelf speakers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricktate Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 I bought RB-35 for my son and of course i had to test them out..lol...so i had them in front of my K-Horns hooked to 24 watt HK430 and my son walks in and doesnt even think twice cause he thinks the sound is from the Ks. Then he looks at me and says is all that sound comming from those i said yea and there yours..lol..He couldnt believe it and i think they kept up pretty good for thier size.Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 I bought RB-35 for my son and of course i had to test them out..lol...so i had them in front of my K-Horns hooked to 24 watt HK430 and my son walks in and doesnt even think twice cause he thinks the sound is from the Ks. Then he looks at me and says is all that sound comming from those i said yea and there yours..lol..He couldnt believe it and i think they kept up pretty good for thier size.Rick I owned 2 pairs of RB-35's and were very impressed. First pair was my fronts with an RC-62 center and they performed great in HT and music. I only replaced them because I found some local RF-63's that I could not pass on. I bought a second pair just to flip and they are now owned by my coworker and are the fronts in a complete RB-35 system(RB-35's, RC-35, RS-35's). He has been very pleased for over a year with them. I don't think they are as refined as the RB-5's and have vinyl cabinets but come pretty close and do have the placement flexibility with them being front ported. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 The RB's area good choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterMatt Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 My RB-35s have provided a lot of enjoyment, and even after a few years of owning them, they still ocassionally surprise me with how much excellent sound they put out. I've got them powered by a Marantz SR5005, and the combo seems to do really well. I tried powering them with an NAD amp (don't have the model # at the moment), but it just sounded kind of harsh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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