kini62 Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 I've have my new system set up for the last 5 days and got to do a decent amount of listening over the weekend. So here goes my brief opinion of the system, Pair of RF52II, RC-500, pair of RS-400, sub I've had for a few months a SVS PC-12+ First the speakers look very nice and have a nice solid feel and seem to be well built. I like the cherry finish better. First thing I noticed was how much more efficient they are than my NHT Superzeros. Easily 7-8dbs based on the volume settings on my AVR. For music I like them much more than I thought I would. This is one area that had me worried a little since the last time I heard some Klipsch references was a couple of years ago at an audio store (not BB) and I remember not liking them that much and thought they were harsh. Must have been the setup and the room because I don't find them to be the least bit harsh. They are forward for sure, but have great detail and the sound stage is much deeper than it was with the NHTs. I noticed a very slight sibilance on some vocals, but this was at volumes I normally would not be listening to for any amount of time. I tried the RFs without the sub to check the bass output. Pretty disappointing actually. I can't ever see these speakers putting out anything of substance below 60hz. Don't know how Klipsch arrived at 35hz as the lower +-3db point. Overall for music (with the sub) they are great. They play very loud with just my 50 watt/channel AVR without distortion. They have added some needed punch to my rock music. Pretty pleased with them for music. For movies I watched White House Down. I won't go into the absurdities of this movie, but it did give me chance to see how the whole system sounded. Again, the Klipsch are super efficient compared to the NHTs. I listened to this movie at -18db (which was loud in my room) compared to before at -10db or more. The first big WOW moment was as soon as the movie dialogue started. The RC-500 was AMAZING. This was by far the biggest improvement in movie/TV of the whole new setup. What huge difference this center made. I don't have to struggle with dialogue anymore. Even when the action if heavy and the sub and mains are cranking I can hear the dialogue. Like I said, by far the biggest improvement in the sound. As for the mains I didn't notice "that" much difference. I'm running the speakers as large and the sub to LR plus LFE so the speakers should be doubling up on the non LFE bass, but I just didn't notice much. I did get the extra punch I was wanting for sounds like gunshots and the like. As for the surrounds, I didn't notice much difference from the Superzeros I had. There may have been some extra detail at times and perhaps a little more volume. Maybe it was the movie(s) we watched didn't make as much use of the surrounds. Although we watched Avatar too. Overall I'm pretty satisfied, but one thing other thing (besides the lack of bass) and this may be related is the actual size of the woofers. Measured from the surrounds they barely make 4.5" and the cone area itself is under 4". A far cry from 5.25". I decided to measure because I had my Superzeros setup along side the towers for some A/B testing and noticed that the 4" drivers looked to be the same size as the "supposed" 5.25" of the Klipsch. And measuring both, they are essentially the same size. I may take the advice some hear gave me and upgrade to the 62s to see if I can get more bass. Maybe then I'll get 5.25" drivers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TasDom Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Nice review Kini. i heard the RF52's a few months back in one of my local audio stores and was very impressed. I think all Reference woofers are measured from the flange. The cone surface of the RF7II's is 8" not 10" fwiw Congrats and enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 (edited) Congratulations on the new system. That is an excellent HT and great for music. Have you ever tried running the mains as small and giving a little more work to the sub. The sub should outperform the mains for deep bass. Many of us run our large towers set to small FWIW. I like running my RF 7's as monster satellites. This will free up some headroom in the avr and many prevent some cancellation issues in the bass frequencies. Edited November 12, 2013 by derrickdj1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Glad you are pleased with your setup for the most part. Wondering if by running to the LR and the LFE to the sub, you are cancelling out the low frequency to the RF-52's as they should go to 35 hertz. Little tweaking here and there and should be all set. Crossovers sometime need adjusting for the front, depending on your AVR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 have you re ran your room correction software? if not that could be why you are getting no bass. the rf-52's have plenty of bass for their driver size. and the rf-52's have 5.25 inch drivers. i just looked up the "rs-400". that is a weird number for sure. to me they look like the old rs-42's which have 4.5" woofers. not sure why you didnt just stick with the regular matching series. rf-52ii, rc-52ii, rs-42ii would have been a matching set. hope they continue to grow on you as they should blow your old speakers out of the water. congrats either way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 You may know but make sure the fronts are at least 6 inches from wall for the rear port to operate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psg Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Congrats on the purchase! I too suggest setting the speakers to small with an XO of 60 or 80 Hz. If a speaker has less bass capability than the sub, then it's small. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kini62 Posted November 12, 2013 Author Share Posted November 12, 2013 (edited) Thanks for the tips/advice. The sub is working full time for sure. It's getting the full range signal plus the LFE and the towers are getting the full range signal (for now). I wanted to see if I could get a little more punch that I was wanting for music. I did very briefly try a 100hz crossover and thought that it sounded better with the speakers set to full range. I will continue to experiment with the crossover though. As for not much bass, I ran them with the sub set to no and the speakers as large (as they would default to) and there just wasn't a lot there. And they are about a foot off the wall. I might play with the crossover some more. My AVR is a HK 1600 and the EZsetEQ as far as I can tell only sets distance and levels. I can' tell that it does any actual "EQing" so I don't use it. Based on my listening and the volume I'm getting I'm not currently in need of any additional headroom, which given my modest AVR power speaks volumes (pun intended ) about the Klipsch speakers. My other speakers are from the "new" "old" re-released reference version 1s. The reason I went with them was cost. The RC-500 was $90 less than the RC-52 and the RS-400s were $140 less per speaker (half price) than the RS-42s. I checked the Klipsch website and the listed specs were identical between the two. Crossover frequencies, weight, size etc... Perhaps there was some small internal change though and the woofers are slightly different looking. The center and towers match seamlessly. Hopefully that continues with the 62s. So I called Crutchfield and inquired about an exchange for the 62s. They were awesome! They are going to send me a pair of the 62s for the difference in price and then credit my account when I send the 52s back. So now I won't be without my towers while waiting for my 52s to get back before shipping out my 62s. Very, very happy with Crutchfield customer service. Hopefully the 62s will be here by Friday. Mahalo nui loa for all the great help and advice. Edited November 12, 2013 by kini62 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Lol now all you got to do is swap the 500 for the rc-62ii. Love spending others peoples money. But on a serious note do some side by side the the 52's and 62's and you will see exactly what I was talking about as far as a big sound difference due to that much bigger horn in the 62/82's. Same with the center. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 And crutchfield is top notch the couple times Ive dealt with them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kini62 Posted November 13, 2013 Author Share Posted November 13, 2013 Lol now all you got to do is swap the 500 for the rc-62ii. Love spending others peoples money. But on a serious note do some side by side the the 52's and 62's and you will see exactly what I was talking about as far as a big sound difference due to that much bigger horn in the 62/82's. Same with the center. Will do. The RC-500 has to stay though. Even if I wanted to spend the money the 62 would crush my center stage speaker bracket. The 500 was a LOT heavier then I was expecting. It's a precarious perch for sure. One day I'll either wall mount the TV or replace it with a projector and screen but for now it will have to do. I was and am seriously impressed with the RC-500. Never would've have thought the biggest improvement would come from the center. Just like when I upgraded my sub, I can now understand that the center is another area where you don't want to skimp. Maybe one day I'll have a projector, RF7s and a RC-64. It is only money after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxx Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Well done.... Enjoy your new system.... Post a photo sometime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philly0116 Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Congrats on the purchase! I too suggest setting the speakers to small with an XO of 60 or 80 Hz. If a speaker has less bass capability than the sub, then it's small. Very well put! A lot of people assume because they have big speakers they should set the speakers to big! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBXeRo Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 i upgrade many a time to what I have now. Size matters most of the time as do the settings from which your source is played from and through. Klipsch has a very good sound to them overall. The efficiency is a big perk and for the most part, they are a bassy speaker but controlled, nothing over the top and that performance sells me each and every time. They are also extremely well priced for what you get and you could pit them against speakers 10 times their cost. Some say the tweeter/horn combos are harsh and sometimes they are but their detail is is so incredibly clear. Klipsch has done revisions of its speakers which is generally denoted by the "II" iterations which are often smoothed out performance wise. Congrats! SVS is a good sub BTW, i heart mine. Sometimes i think there is a 10,000 lb gorilla in my house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kini62 Posted November 13, 2013 Author Share Posted November 13, 2013 Update as to the perceived lack of bass I mentioned. I did a little listening last night to some music that I knew was bass heavy- Sade Soldier of Love CD. With the sub off there was definitely some pretty decent bass and it sounded like it went pretty deep. So I do believe that the speakers have the bass they're supposed to. I guess I was so used to having my sub in the mix where even at low volumes there is a good amount of bass I became spoiled. Since my AVR doesn't have any loudness, Dynamic EQ or Dolby volume, unless I have the system volume up to -30db or more I don't get a lot of perceptible bass. Just glad that it's there, phew! I feel better now. Looks like my RF62s won't be in until next Monday or Tuesday. Not a problem since I can keep my 52s until then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Glad you found the bass with the 52's... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage_Head Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 (edited) It really is the subs that do it. Your so used to that sound that a small floor standing speaker will sound like no bass at all switching back and forth. You got to go really big to get that type of bass from a normal speaker. My cornwalls can push more bass than my ultra from 35hz up. Its pretty cool. The rf-7ii can push a ton too if they are eq up Edited November 14, 2013 by reference_head Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 You need a 12 or 15 in. driver before you don't need a sub. The Cornwall is an excellent all purpose speaker due to the large bass driver. But, for HT, a sub is the icing on the cake! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kini62 Posted November 14, 2013 Author Share Posted November 14, 2013 It really is the subs that do it. Your so used to that sound that a small floor standing speaker will sound like no bass at all switching back and forth. You got to go really big to get that type of bass from a normal speaker. My cornwalls can push more bass than my ultra from 35hz up. Its pretty cool. The rf-7ii can push a ton too if they are eq up I remember back in 81 when stationed at Little Rock AFB, I went to a high end audio store (remember those? ) Anyway I can still remember the shock and awe of standing in front of a pair or Klipschhorns (the corner ones) and seeing and feeling my pants being moved from the bass coming out of those beautiful speakers. I think they were being driven by a 200 watt McIntosh amp. Quite a few guys I knew had Heresies. You could hear them all over the "dorm". I wanted a pair but alas was too poor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kini62 Posted November 15, 2013 Author Share Posted November 15, 2013 My 62s arrived this morning. Took a long lunch to pick them up and put in place of the 52s. Only had time to listen to parts of a few different songs. Can't say if they sound fuller or bigger than the 52s but they do have a LOT more bass. These could be run without a sub for most music with no problem. Will be watching Pacific Rim tonight, maybe Monster's University on Saturday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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