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RF-7 Vs Rf-7II Vs RF-83 Comparison


Youthman

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They are about to go up for sale soon I think. I love em but I am too addicted to change,so settling down with anything right now isn't gonna happen. Wanna try some other stuff out down there. Prolly will keep lateral moving until I get to hear some 402's in my room. Just don't have the money for that now. And constantly wanting to tinker. Well after I'm done with my sub build I'm doing right now, I'll get bored again.

Edited by Scrappydue
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  • 1 year later...

I recently had the opportunity to purchase an entire Klipsch RF-7ii System (read about it here). After bringing home the new speakers, I knew I had to bring the RF family together to see how they compared in a 2ch configuration.

I brought the RF-83's from the HT into the living room and also the RF-7ii's. As with every purchase, I took several photos before I even hooked them up to listen (strange I know but I really love photographing Klipsch speakers).

After getting them setup, I demoed many CD's and Concert DVD's and here is what I concluded.

RF-7 - Brightest and most detailed sounding of the three. Very "forward" sound.

RF-83 - Most laid back sound of the three. Very soft, silky sound. Very soothing and beautiful.

RF-7ii - Not as bright as the RF-7's but not near as laid back as the RF-83's.

I loved the sound of all three for 2ch. All three had a great amount of bass, midrange was delightful and the highs were full of clarity and detail.

I've never claimed to have a "critical ear" nor have I ever claimed to be anything near an "audiophile". This is just what my simple ears heard.

Honestly, I would be VERY happy with any of these three speakers in my living room and if the wife would let me, I would have loved to keep all three pair in the living room. But since I already have the RF-7's in my son's bedroom and the RF-83's in the HT, I decided to sell my newly purchased Cherry RF-7's and keep the newly purchased RF-7ii's for the 2ch living room.

The RF-7ii's are absolutely beautiful. I love the copper color of the woofers moreso than the gold color on the RF-83's. The front wood veneer looks very classy and even the 2/3 speaker grill is starting to grow on me. I even like the feet (which I originally did not like from the photos I saw online).

Klipsch-RF-7ii-RF-7-RF-83-Showdown-1.jpg

 

Klipsch-RF-7ii-RF-7-RF-83-Showdown-2.jpg

 

Klipsch-RF-7ii-RF-7-RF-83-Showdown-3.jpg

 

Klipsch-RF-7ii-RF-7-RF-83-Showdown-4.jpg

 

Klipsch-RF-7ii-RF-7-RF-83-Showdown-5.jpg

Beautiful pictures... RF-83 did sound velvety, but missed the boat to buy them... While, RF-7 II deliver amazing sound (and bass), it's lacking midrange when I compared to Palladium P-39F. I'm still in search of the culprit !!!

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I will second that! Sold my RF-7 II's for 1979 LaScalas. Got the bug even worse and now have brand new Klipschorns! Using 2-Heresy III's as a center. A sub is needed for the LaScalas for sure.

Youthman- suprised you haven't bit on Khorns for your left and right. They take up a ton less room.

Edited by Trentster5172
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Trent, that's awesome!  I have heard DeafbyKhorns Khorns and they are amazing speakers.  I was close to buying a pair of Khorns for $250 but I was 2nd in line.  I had no idea where I was going to use them or how I was going to pick them up but at that price, you answer those questions after you bring them home.  :lol:

 

Youthman- suprised you haven't bit on Khorns for your left and right. They take up a ton less room.

I really don't see myself moving away from the LaScala Trio.  Having said that....I never thought I would own heritage (never liked the way they looked....old school, dated, etc) and I never thought I would ever sell my RF-83 / RC-64 but here we are.  I actually bought my pair of LaScalas with no intention of keeping them.  I wanted to experience them in my own home with my own setup but after bringing them home, I was blown away at how much more detail they had over the RF-83.  They in no way could keep up with the slam of the RF-83 but the detail and clarity was incredible.  It wasn't long before I began looking for a 3rd LaScala thinking that it would take forever to find and low and behold, wstrickland happened to have a Trio he was selling and MichaelandKlipsch was interested in 2 of the 3 speakers so Billy was gracious enough to drive the single LaScala from SC since he would be in my area for a business trip.

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I think you will be extremely happy with the LaScala trio! And the LaScalas are probably superior because they can be pointed easier without modification. I just figured from reading your posts that as much as you listen to music I am surprised you never nailed down a set of Khorns for yourself. So far I'm loving mine in my theater, but my great room is huge at 18.5' by 48. As for slam... These knock me on my butt with the XPA-1 monoblocks on them. Much harder hitting bass than my RF-7II's and my XPA-3. And way more space filling volume! And I think that's a big call.

Edited by Trentster5172
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I think you will be extremely happy with the LaScala trio!

I've been happy with them for awhile now.  :P

 

LaScalas are probably superior because they can be pointed easier without modification.

Not sure about superior but they are definitely more flexible with placement.

 

So far I'm loving mine in my theater, but my great room is huge at 18.5' by 48

I think Khorns really excel with large rooms so they can open up.

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Few years ago when RF-83 and RF-63 were still sold in the market, we'd a gotten the opportunity to audition both at the local mid-high end audio store (non-Best Buy !!). To me RF-63 sounded forward (brighter) while RF-83 seemed to be bit laid back. While, I couldn't decide which one to buy, there was certainly a placement issue with deep cabinet size of RF-83.

 

When RF-7 II were introduced we auditioned them, fell in love Instantly and ordered few pairs. If I jog my memory how RF-63 and RF-83 sounded and compare with RF-7 II, then I'll say RF-7 II are much more refined with a deeper base/bass. I've not been fortunate to auditon RF-7 but reading on various forum threads and such, it seemed that Klipsch managed to take care of most of short comings of legendary RF-7 when they designed RF-7 II.

 

If there's a possibility to stretch the budget or wait, I would choose RF-7 II over RF-63 or RF-83 in a heartbit.

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Thanks Pite. If you are desiring better midrange, have you heard LaScalas yet? Incredible midrange, but definitely need a quality sub to handle the deep bass.

Have heard a lot about La Scalla that how sweet and detailed they are, but haven't gotten a chance to audition them. Apart from the WAF, space might be a constraint in these tiny rooms of modern homes though.

 

My comparison to Klipsch Palladium is bit unfair knowing the huge price difference. But it's either the crossover or the one horn speaker delivering mid to high frequencies in RF-7 II might be a limitation. I can only say this because I can feed exact same source via same amplifier at the same time and hear the difference. Might be difficult, if they were heard seperately.

 

That said, there're well known pros and cons with 2-way and 3-way designs. With 2-way one will have to sacrifice or spend a lot on speaker selection/design with a relatively simpler crossover design with one crossover point. While, 3-way provides the opportunity to have dedicated 3rd driver seperating mid-range and high frequencies, crossover requirs a special attention and designs are bit complicated to make sure that it doesn't loose a frequency spectrum at two crossover points.

 

Oh well, there has to be a difference between P-39F and RF-7 II... lol

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