Jaq Posted May 21, 2002 Share Posted May 21, 2002 Can anyone help me... After reading all the ***** reviews on the KLF-C7, I purchased it to match my KLF10's. Everyone says it's timber matched, voice matched but I notice a big difference in peoples tones while talking. Unfortunately I am not a pro audio guy, but love the clear crisp sound the Legend series applies to all my favorite movies. I've only used this center for about 2 months, mostly HT. Is it possible I haven't even begun to break it in? I don't have that good of a system but the KLF10's kick with my Yamaha RXV800 receiver. I noticed the C7 isn't ported at all as the new RC7 is??? Has anyone heard the differences between the two? Any and all insight, direction would be very welcomed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted May 21, 2002 Share Posted May 21, 2002 I think you're saying you notice a big difference in voices between the KLF-10's and the KLF-C7, right? A couple things: 1) Have you calibrated the channel levels in your receiver so that all 3 (well, all 5 speakers, actually) are set to the same output level relative to your listening position? 2) Even the same speaker will sound different from its identical twin, depending on its location in the room. Your two KLF-10s probably sound different than each other, because of where they sit in relation to walls, furniture, corners, etc... So, you won't ever have an "identical" match. Close is what we're shooting for. Make sure #1 is true, and if it is still a problem, you might need to shift the location of the speakers a bit (move them slighty away/towards the wall, angle them in/out, etc...), if the difference is so great it is distracting. Doug ------------------ My System Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mlstrass Posted May 21, 2002 Share Posted May 21, 2002 I had the same issue with my C7/30's combo and it was probably due to some of the things Doug mentioned. My solution was to build a KLF-10 cc. It is much better matched to my 30's and would be perfect for your 10's. You can pick up singles on ebay/ubid every now and then. HTH...Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaq Posted May 23, 2002 Author Share Posted May 23, 2002 Thanks very much Dougdrake and Mlstrass. I did have the KLF10's too close to the wall and not angled evenly towards the center of the couch. Sounds beautiful, will sound better once I can mount a shelf above my TV so the C7 can aim down towards the audience. I noticed center speaker aiming really makes a huge difference. For now my TV is only so wide at the top and can not risk the C7 to accidentally fall off by wedging something under it for directioning. Making a KLF10 into a center channel eh? That sounds very, very, very interesting! Although I kinda wish I would have had the chance to audition the KLF20's or 30's to see if the midrange horn made that much of a difference. Maybe if I can find a good deal on a KLF10, I will test my skills. Thanks again all! Jaq Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boa12 Posted May 24, 2002 Share Posted May 24, 2002 getting my C7 angled down directly toward the sweet spot made a big positive dif. i notice a slight mismatch w/ the rear center C7 & cornwalls, but in the front it seems seamless to me. & it's even cut down to 50hz since i the b&k pre/pro uses only a global crossover for now. amazed how it handles those lower frequencies fine. then again my 1st set of bookshelfs way back had only 1-8" woofer each & i thought they rocked as stereo mains. i've come a long way where 2- 8 inchers in 1 speak is considered a "small center". ------------------ My Home Systems Page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornEd Posted May 25, 2002 Share Posted May 25, 2002 I am afraid, Jaq that nothing quite matches or performs like an identical center to your mains. Sure, not having a ported speaker far enough from the wall... or not having a horn tweeter aimed at the center of your sweetspot (horizontally or vertically) will diminish sound quality... but differing tone & timbre occur even in identical speakers just from the acoustics variance of their relative positions. Sealed speakers tend to be more accurate (dialogue benefit)... but ported speakers have a bigger voice (gain from the wall). If the main is ported and the center is sealed... the center needs to be larger than the main... and the trend is to make centers smaller to fit above TV's. My music Mains are K-Horns and the Center is a Belle... that's the speaker configuration Paul Klipsch designed for his own home decades ago... and that's what he had to his dying day. Once you hear that kind of quality and performance match... it is hard to be satisfied with most "matches" that feature a Center that is significantly downsized from its Mains. Make an A/B comparison with your receiver set to "No Center" or "Phantom Center" and play a comprehensive test passage of a DVD... then play it again with your normal Center. Since the "Phantom Center" is produced from you Mains... the tone & timbre and performance match is as good as it gets. If you stick another Main in the middle... you will get that kind of quality... PLUS you will have it across your "sweetspot" and not just in the stereo center of the room. Since my HT is Legend based, for a long time I used a KLF-C7 for a Center speaker... and to me, it didn't really seem to fit the bill... particularly in HT. At the time I was using three KLF-10's for side/surrounds and rear effects. I came upon a pair of KLF-30's with defective glue joints and picked up the pair for $300... re-glued them... and they were good as new. Having had them apart, I realized that by building a new motorboard to factory specs, I could have an HT Center that ideally matched my HT Mains... and so I built it. You can see it below in my sag photo. Sure, it's a BEAST perched atop the 65" RPHD Mitsubishi... but its a BEAUTY when it comes to seamlessly interfacing between the three front Mains. I agree with Sib on the importance of an adequate subwoofer as a defining difference of reaching HT quality sound... but I place even higher value on the Center... for it must handle upwards of 75% of all the sound being sent to your speakers. Since I too have a Yamaha, I now use my C7's mounted vertically as Front Effects speakers (replacing the Klipsch SB-2's in the photo). While, with careful placement of powerful speakers, the sound is intense in the HT room... it is really much more "neighborly" than you might imagine... another improvement made by replacing the C7 that had to scream in order to keep up with the KLF-30 mains. I have also determined that: ...KLF-10's are the Center of choice for KLF-10's ...KLF-20's are the Center of choice for KLF-20's ...KLF-30's are the Center of choice for KLF-30's! If you are a woodworker with some router skills (as Mlstrass is!) the conversion process can be done in about 2 hours of work... and some time to let the new motorboard paint dry. Mlstrass had a surplus KLF-10 which he was willing to "horizontalize" available for a bargain basement price. Matched with your KLF-10's you will have a system that is far more saleable, IMHO. -HornED ------------------ Photo update soon! -HornEd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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