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opinions on epic cf-4's


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i bought my CF-3s new off the showroom floor. over the years i've applied some of the known tweaks, changed what is driving them several times, changed rooms, a few of the combos were losers at times, but the longer i listen to them, the more i know they are keepers. there have been times that i've experienced the same issues as many have complained about, too hot on the highs, etc. but whatever the problem is, it can always be solved by changing some other factor in the setup. i've been to RMAF a couple of times, auditioning many high end rigs, and cannot fathom spending the many, many thousands of dollars it would take to purchase new speakers that could do what these do.

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Thanks for bringing this thread back up, I had just been a member here for a week when this thread started.  A couple of thousand posts later I'm still having fun.  This forum is by far is one of the best I've ever been on, bar none!

+++

 

I still have my CF-4 v1.  I was a complete novice and spend a lot of time and had a lot of fun restoring them as they had the requisite water stained tops.

 

I have now extensively modded them, but I still don't think if I A/B'd the mods and stock with every change I could hear a difference.  The stockers are really, really good.

 

I damped the horns with silicon seal, but I couldn't hear a difference in music listening.  I heavily braced the cabs, but again I can't really "hear" cab bracing.

 

I took out the foam sheets in the bottom third of the box and used a handful of polyfil.  Polyfil is usually used for sealed enclosures, but I didn't go crazy with it and by far it had the best effect, making the slightly nasal sound now incredibly accurate.  A piano now REALLY sounds like a piano, both in dynamics and note-for-note timbre.  Both male and female vocals are more accurate and less thin than before.

 

I also swapped the stock CD's for the DH1506.  They do sound good, but if I A/B'd them the stock CD's sound just a good, with some slight improvement in the mid-range, but you really have to do critical listening to hear it.  I used a shelf to hold the heavier CD's letting them rest against a cut up mouse pad.

 

Although I am very happy with the way they sound I will probably upgrade the XO at some point with better caps, etc.  They really don't need much more right now.  The mods will be just for the fun of it.

 

The other thing I'd like to try is bi-amping and sending some more power to the woofs.  AlexG5775 spoke highly of this in being the ultimate in getting the woofs to not be overpowered by the horns.

 

I originally had them doing living room TV duty in 5.1, but now they are near-field monitors for my computer in 2.1 with a 15" sub, because that is where I do 90% of my music listing,  Now I can enjoy them every day.

Edited by wvu80
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kapsnb01, what did you think of the difference between the stock compression driver and the EV dh-1506?

I guess I'm going to disagree a little with Dave here.  I've done a fair amount of A/B on the mods I've done (except the cabs), and I've actually noticed a fair amount of difference.  If I were to rank them, I'd say that the cabinet bracing and damping was the most significant change.  Really tightened up the bass...everything sounded noticeably cleaner and more defined.  Had another forum member out and that was his first observation also.  YMMV though. 

 

I'd put the DH 1506 mod next.  There I definitely heard a difference when I A/B tested the stock versus the EV driver.  I agree with Dave, it was much more in the mid-range.  Had more punch and detail than the stock driver was putting out (though the stock does a nice job also). 

 

To me, stiffening the horn and adding Dynamat mostly cleaned up the sound coming out.  Less reverb due to the thin horn, so it just sounds a little more natural if that makes sense.  I guess I noticed it, but it was a subtle change rather than that of the first 2 mods. 

 

If I had it to do over again, I think I'd still do all 3 of the mods, in my experience, they were worth the time and effort and were actually a lot of fun to do.  YMMV

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I guess I'm going to disagree a little with Dave here.

 

What are we, married???  :P

 

LOL!  Disagreement is never a problem, my friend.  I think part of my problem is I probably try too hard to be objective, I don't want to "hear" an improvement just because I expect it to be better, the "halo effect."  Still, I think the majority of people who have done those mods would agree with you.

 

There are other variables as well, for instance I have limited engineering and woodworking skills and I probably did a lousy job of bracing.  I also think I don't "stress" my speakers as much as others, as my modestly powered AVR and my listening habits don't push these speakers anywhere near their limits. 

 

And as you know, the more these big speakers are pushed, they are just effortless and so clear at higher volumes.

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What are we, married???  :P

LOL...that got the audible cubicle laugh right there. 

 

There are other variables as well, for instance I have limited engineering and woodworking skills and I probably did a lousy job of bracing.  I also think I don't "stress" my speakers as much as others, as my modestly powered AVR and my listening habits don't push these speakers anywhere near their limits. 

 

And as you know, the more these big speakers are pushed, they are just effortless and so clear at higher volumes.

 

I think that's a good point.  I'd also expect that room interactions also impact what we're hearing in that regard.

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I'll chime in as well.  Over 12 years now with my Epic CF3's version 1's.  Though hearing a great many speakers over the years, there is still no desire to replace them. Before these I had speakers from a company called Audio Physic, their Tempo lll's.  They had a claimed frequency response of 35hz to 40khz.  Extended highs to be sure.  They were a beautiful speaker design covered in cherry wood, and the company's credo was "No loss of fine detail". One of their great qualities was that they would disappear in the room when playing, which was one the things that made me want to buy them and had them for about 2 years or so.  But I wanted to try horns and bought the Epics having never heard them. Bought them on Audiogon for $650. They were shipped from Minnesota to me in  California without trouble. I loved them from the moment I put them in their place and sold  the Tempos soon after.  Wonderfully full bodied at lower night time listening and rock and roll slam when cranked up. The speakers have a lot of bass and to my pleasant surprise the Epics also disappear in my room pretty well too. With eyes closed, I hear music in space without the Epics calling attention to themselves.   Contrary to others here, I have never found them to be bright and found the highs if anything, to be slightly rolled off, perhaps because of its 2 way design. I also love the large sound field the big horn centered between the drivers produce. A Big bold voice on these.   My only complaint is that the sound field can be low at times because of the height of the horn and contemplate elevating them. My visit to the Newport Audio Show this year brought that home again.  I listened to many great speakers there and noticed the height of the presentation compared to the Epics.   The reason I have hesitated doing so is because of the sheer size of them as they are and not wanting to create a more imposing profile in the room.   Perhaps, if I find an ideal stand, I may do so. Here is a pic as they stand with a C-7 for a center.  one day I will get another Epic for center duty as others have done.   Grills off just for show.  The screen is 9ft wide for reference.

post-14172-0-37460000-1442418190_thumb.j

Edited by shiva
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  • 2 weeks later...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Klipsch-Epic-CF-4-Speakers-/321882520768?hash=item4af1b17cc0

 

 

For anyone interested, there is a pair of Epic CF4's up on Ebay.

 

Someone had a big job to get those 108 pound CF-4's up on that table!  :lol:

 

By looking at the horn, it is grayish in color.  That means version 1, a check of the serial numbers might confirm that.  At $650 that is a pretty good price, I would expect $800 is about the going rate for a v1.

 

Any takers?  Michael21 in Florida was recently looking for some.

Edited by wvu80
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the CF4's sold for $650. thats a good price for those. Did anyone here buy them?

 

Not that I know of.   The $650 price was solid, depending a few variables.

 

We had pretty good communication within the forum about those particular CF-4's and they were determined to be version 3 and there was concern they had been taken apart and substantial changes may have been made.  A member listened to them and thought the bass was muddy, so they were passed over.

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Epic CF3's on Ebay, pick up only in Connecticut.  These are version 1's.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Klipsch-CF-3-Floor-Standing-Speakers-Epic-Series-/171961341496?hash=item2809b1d638

 

How did you figure that out?  There were no pics of the drivers and I didn't see any S/N's listed.

 

If those are v1's and end up selling anywhere close to the $299 mark somebody will have gotten a great deal.

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Epic CF3's on Ebay, pick up only in Connecticut.  These are version 1's.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Klipsch-CF-3-Floor-Standing-Speakers-Epic-Series-/171961341496?hash=item2809b1d638

 

How did you figure that out?  There were no pics of the drivers and I didn't see any S/N's listed.

 

If those are v1's and end up selling anywhere close to the $299 mark somebody will have gotten a great deal.

 

Arrow through the pics, the s/n's are there.

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