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Klipsch RF 82 II and Harman Kardon AVR 260 sounds �poor�: Solution ?


Druss

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Ah, I gotcha. I looked at that AVR, but I guess I missed that it had pre-outs. Even though the speakers are sensitive, they still like power. When I went from my onkyo to my denon, the speakers really opened up, and I'm sure if I put an amp on them it'd help out even more since I have 7.1.

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My AVR has a pre out, I bought it for that !

However as t he Klipsch speaker are "high rendement" I saw that only few watts was enought in order to drives the speakers at a low level, like only 2 or 5 watts is deliver / use per channeel.

You're right, horns are very efficient. But the RF-82II likes a little more power to sound their best.

Here are the specs......

t450_x2_d0c15d18e9f065c3c427be344e083bc5

SPECIFICATIONS



  • BUILT FROM:
    2010

  • DEPTH:
    16.3" (41.4cm) with grille

  • ENCLOSURE TYPE:
    Bass-reflex via dual rear-firing ports

  • FINISHES:
    Black Ash woodgrain vinyl

  • FREQUENCY RESPONSE:
    33Hz-24KHz ± 3dB

  • HEIGHT:
    43.9" (111.4cm) with feet

  • HIGH FREQUENCY CROSSOVER:
    1400Hz

  • HIGH FREQUENCY DRIVER:
    1" (2.54cm) Titanium diaphragm
    compression driver mated to 90° x 60° square Tractrix® Horn

  • INPUTS:
    Dual binding posts / bi-wire / bi-amp

  • LOW FREQUENCY DRIVER:
    Dual 8" (20.3cm) Cerametallic cone woofers

  • NOMINAL IMPEDANCE:
    8 Ohms compatible

  • POWER HANDLING:
    150W RMS / 600W Peak

  • SENSITIVITY:
    98dB @ 2.83V / 1m

As you can see, they can handle up to 600 watts peak, so using and receiver or AVR with 25 - 50 wpc is really under-powering them. If you've got a friend or a stereo shop near by that will let you borrow or "Demo" a 200wpc amp, I think you'd notice the difference right off. The bass and mids will really shine and fill out the room. There is a huge difference between a 200 watt amp that is barely breaking a sweat, over a 50 watt amp that is maxed out. [;)]

Dennie

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Hi,

thank for the reply.

I plan to find a Hifi amp in the next month, something about 2*80 or 2*100, which can be plug after my HC amp in order to being able to choose to use the Hifi amp for the CD and the HC amp for the computer.

However I made some change this week end and I noticed that the sound is definetly better now, so here is the change :

nouveaupositionnement.jpg

Speaker are now at about 2.8m away but a little bit closer to the wall (around 30cm, ouch).

Well, the bass are here, a little bit less less precise but in general the sound got a better image, the presence is here and I can really here each instrument per speaker, wich is much better.

So the accoustic definetly play (and I planned to buy some other furnitures, which can help).

Next step is to find a CD player, like a Cambridge Audio 640, but it seem that my problem is fix now :)

Thank for the help, I'll try to find an amp later, even if, to be honest, I'm sure that 100w will do a change for me as I listen music at a low level.

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I can't help but read through this whole thread. Here is my take on the situation.

First, looking at that room, I don't think those speakers are too big for that room. I got RF-7s in a room not much larger than that room.

Second, I have to agree. You will want to eventually get a a reciever/amp with more "balls" behind it. For example, I was powering my RF-7s with a Denon AVR3802, which is rated at some 110 watts per channel, which is not to shabby in of itself. The RF-7s actually did sound quite good with that. However, like you, I also listen to quite a bit of metal, although my tastes run in the power/progressive metal (bands like Nighwish, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Kamelot, etc). I also have that same Opeth album you mentioned. I now power them with a B&K Reference 200.7 amp, which has 200 watts per channel, and holy crap, I could immediatly tell a difference. It really was like my speakers just opened up and let all that music out that seemed to be pent up inside them. Also, the clarity and detail was incredible. As for that 'live' sound! I just saw Trans-Siberian Orchestra the other night and then listened to one of thier CD's, playing some of the same tracks I've heard at the live show, on my rig! It was just like being right back there in that seat at the Richmond Coliseum and seeing/hearing that show live again! As for bass, granted, I am running dual subs, but with a good amp, these RF-7s can certainly hold thier own. I certainly can see the same situation with your RF-82s. Personally your next upgrade should be a more powerful amp, even if you can run it outboard to your current receiver, assuming, as was already mentioned, that you have pre-outs. If you really want to get more bass, then a good sub is certainly worth it.

As for the source, those 128kbps MP3s can sound a bit hoary, especially when played through a system that reveals all. At least my Pioneer Elite N-50 "network streamer/DAC" unit has "Auto Sound Retriever" that does a pretty good job of cleaning that up. Still, no compare to the 96khz/24bit FLAC files that I also have (such as that of the recent Dream Theater and the new Rush albums). In fact, that may be something to consider down the road, getting a decent "USB DAC" to run the computer through. But for now, you would be much better served in eventually getting an amp with more power.

As for heat, don't worry about it. You are not going to cook your amp unless you run it at some totally ridiculous levels. My B&K amp is a friggan space-heater, and I run mine at around -25 on my pre-amp. I've have cranked it all the way up once just to see what it can do. Holy Mother of God and everything Green on Earth!!! I had an SPL meter pegged out at over 130dbs! I vowed to never do that again!!! [:o] It was actually drowning out the dude's car stereo when standing right next to it FROM ACROSS THE STREET! And the kicker was that IT DID NOT DISTORT!!! It was still very clean and actually quite listenable (although a bit too loud). Got some intersting looks from my neighbors when I did that (I hope they all liked Sonata Arctica [6] ). So, the point is that you are not going to "over due it" and blow things up by turning up the volume, as long as you keep listening levels still reasonable.

Looking at that most recent post, looks like you did a bit of re-arranging and found good placement for the speakers. That is a very good start to getting your audio rig in order. It takes some time and futzing around to get things just they way you want it. That is nature of the beast.

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imho, those AVRs are thin and shrill . Regardless of the brand i was utterly disappointed in harman AVRs the other day i went for a demo of the rf7s with and avr perhaps 630.

However your rf 82s rock !!! I have the older rf3s . And had serious issues with bass till i got some room treatment done.

Add some distance between walls and speakers . Imaging should be stellar with those speakers. Those horns image very well.

My speakers are 3feet from sides and 5 feet from rear walls . Room is 14 x 13.

And i have the singer in the room with those instruments all around em.

All the best .

Sherry

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I am pretty disappointed that many people keep suggesting more power. What is this? Tool Time?

[;)]

He listens at -45 dB on a 50W receiver. He never sees 50Watts, what good is 200W going to do? He's playing peaks of about 0.0015 W!!

My first thought is that the reveiver is set to small, but that doesn't seem to be it. Try some music that is meant to be played at -40 dB, like a jazz trio without drums. Do the instrument sounds realistic? Metal is meant to be heard loud and is mixed that way, I'd assume.

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