Berglid Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 So i've recently bought a pair of Klipsch RF-83 speakers, got them for halv price, so i couldn't resist. But now I'm having some troubles figuring out what amplifiers i should buy. I really dont know much about speaker setup in general, all i know is that i have fallen in love with klipsch speakers after listening to a pair of RF-82mk2. So i was hoping that someone here could help me find a good amplifier for my speakers. Currently i am using a pair of Electrocompaniet ECI-3, but i feel I'm lacking some bass with this setup. A friend have recommended Cary Audio SA-200.2 and SLP-03. Have anyone tried these with klipsch speakers? I couldnt find anyone who had these with klipsch speakers. Also i have seen that Parasound Halo A21 and P5 have been recommended for klipsch wich i can get at the same price.. What do you guys think would be the best match between these two? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 (edited) Berglid, Welcome to the forum. I don't know a bunch about Cary Audio amps except that they are a bit pricey and of course are of high quality. Even with that information, amp/speaker synergy is not guaranteed. From my experience, a neutral sounding amp mates very well with Klipsch Reference towers. I have used B&K with my RF-63's but am now totally enjoying Acurus amps and have no reason to switch to any other. Youthman here on the forum drove his 83's with a Parasound 2205 for a few years and was very pleased with the combo. He is now driving them with a "beastly" Sherbourn amp. Again I have no experience with Cary Audio but the Parasound Halo amps should bring out the best the 83's have to offer. I am sure others will chime in soon so don't take my opinion as fact. Where are you located? Bill Edited March 3, 2014 by willland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ski Bum Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 -Try using the tone controls on Electrocompaniet if it has them. -Subwoofer (and if so, you'll probably want something with bass management, such as the Parasound pre amps) -You may need more power than you presently have, but maybe not. Assess this further before spending money. -The Cary is a solid amp, pretty sure it's made by ATI. The Parasound amps are also very good. Neither would likely alter the tonal balance than what you have now, but they would hold their composure at slightly higher levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berglid Posted March 3, 2014 Author Share Posted March 3, 2014 Thank you Bill! and must say i didnt expect such a quick reply. I'll have to take a clooser look at those amplifiers. But knowing that the Parasound amplifiers are better than the Cary would help alot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berglid Posted March 3, 2014 Author Share Posted March 3, 2014 -Try using the tone controls on Electrocompaniet if it has them. -Subwoofer (and if so, you'll probably want something with bass management, such as the Parasound pre amps) -You may need more power than you presently have, but maybe not. Assess this further before spending money. -The Cary is a solid amp, pretty sure it's made by ATI. The Parasound amps are also very good. Neither would likely alter the tonal balance than what you have now, but they would hold their composure at slightly higher levels. Thanks for the reply! The amplifiers doesnt have any tone controls, and is 2x70 watt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 (edited) Thank you Bill! and must say i didnt expect such a quick reply. We are here to serve. But knowing that the Parasound amplifiers are better than the Cary would help alot. I think both Parasound(especially Halo line) and Cary Audio are very respected midfi to hifi mfr's and I am sure either will have an easy time driving the 83's. Synergy is the key of course. Bill Edited March 3, 2014 by willland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ski Bum Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 (edited) -Try using the tone controls on Electrocompaniet if it has them. -Subwoofer (and if so, you'll probably want something with bass management, such as the Parasound pre amps) -You may need more power than you presently have, but maybe not. Assess this further before spending money. -The Cary is a solid amp, pretty sure it's made by ATI. The Parasound amps are also very good. Neither would likely alter the tonal balance than what you have now, but they would hold their composure at slightly higher levels. Thanks for the reply! The amplifiers doesnt have any tone controls, and is 2x70 watt. Yeah, but it can do 120 watts RMS into 4 ohms, which is more representative of what your speakers present. It's certainly no slouch, which is why I suspect that more power is not the solution to your stated issue. Keep in mind that everyone's room is a mess in the modal region (below ~300hz, give or take, depending on the room dimensions). From your description, it seems that you are experiencing this, and if so it's important to realize it's not an amplifier issue, but a room acoustics issue. Simply adding a sub would help ameliorate that, while a new amp won't. Now, it may be that you are running your amp in the red, in which case a more powerful amp would be in order, and you can't go wrong with a Halo or Cary/ATI. It just seems unclear, given the limited info so far, exactly what the problem is, so further assessment is in order. Edited March 3, 2014 by Ski Bum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 So i've recently bought a pair of Klipsch RF-83 speakers, got them for halv price, so i couldn't resist. But now I'm having some troubles figuring out what amplifiers i should buy. I really dont know much about speaker setup in general, all i know is that i have fallen in love with klipsch speakers after listening to a pair of RF-82mk2. So i was hoping that someone here could help me find a good amplifier for my speakers. Currently i am using a pair of Electrocompaniet ECI-3, but i feel I'm lacking some bass with this setup. A friend have recommended Cary Audio SA-200.2 and SLP-03. Have anyone tried these with klipsch speakers? I couldnt find anyone who had these with klipsch speakers. Also i have seen that Parasound Halo A21 and P5 have been recommended for klipsch wich i can get at the same price.. What do you guys think would be the best match between these two? What amp was driving the RF-82mk2 that you liked? Is your bass issue a room related issue? Can you try a more powerful amp on loan from a friend? You may need a subwoofer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 For music, 70 watts is a lot of power for the RF 83's. If you add a sub it will be plenty of power. For HT a lot of us use amps 125-200 watts for the RF 7's and RF 83's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 I have heard the Electrocompaniet amps and cd players and there gear all seems to lean towards the warm sound, there emc 1 up was and is my favorite cd player VERY analog sounding but $$$$$$$$. If you feel you are lacking bass More power will help with that. However amp design will help more. Plenty of people on here know more about SS amps than me, I spend my time with tubes 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Panza Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Great score on re RF-83! Welcome to the Klipsch Forums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berglid Posted March 4, 2014 Author Share Posted March 4, 2014 I will try to clarify things a little better. Now i got Electrocompaniet ECI-3 and EMC-1. I really like the "warm" sound from this amplifier, but i feel that i've dont got as much bass at both lower and higher volumes. This is compared to the RF-82mk2. The RF-82 was runned by a Yamaha amplifier, but i dont remember wich, i've tried the Yamaha amp on my speakers, and it let me play higher, but approximatly the same amount of bass at lower volumes. I also dont think i've got the best room for these speakers, its aproximatly 4x8 meters, and with a opening to another room that i cant close. I've placed the speakers on the short side so i get more use of the room, but thinking of moving the speakers to another room wich is 4.5x4.5m in a couple of months. The speakers have only been played for about 200 hours so far, so i'm guessing that i might see some improvements later aswell. My main plan was to buy the RF-7 II, but i bought the RF-83 since i got them so cheap. So it would be nice if the amplifier was good with these speakers aswell. And I'm planning on buying a subwoofer later. I should also mention that the price of the Cary amplifiers is aproximatly 7000 USD, and the parasound amplifiers are about 6000 USD. (It's expensive here in Norway...)So what i want to know is if the Cary Audio is good with my speakers, if they are better than the Parasound A21 and P5 paired with my speakers, and if its worth the 1000 USD extra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 That is a lot of money for an amp. How is the used market over their. I have used new and used and no real difference if the used amp is in good shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 I should also mention that the price of the Cary amplifiers is aproximatly 7000 USD, and the parasound amplifiers are about 6000 USD. (It's expensive here in Norway...) So what i want to know is if the Cary Audio is good with my speakers, if they are better than the Parasound A21 and P5 paired with my speakers, and if its worth the 1000 USD extra. Berglid, I think you would be very pleased with the Parasound Halos/Klipsch RF-83 combo. Use the $1000.00 saved to put toward something else you may need. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ski Bum Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 i feel that i've dont got as much bass at both lower and higher volumes. This sounds like a Fletcher-Munson type thing, not an amp thing. You can spend as much as you can afford on an amp and it won't address this particular problem. The Cary is a re-badged $1700 ATI, fyi. Again, you can't go wrong with the Halo or Cary (or ATI equivalent); they're all superb amps that you likely couldn't tell apart using just your ears, but none of them will impart an equal loudness curve or fix your room issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max2 Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 i feel that i've dont got as much bass at both lower and higher volumes. This sounds like a Fletcher-Munson type thing, not an amp thing. You can spend as much as you can afford on an amp and it won't address this particular problem. The Cary is a re-badged $1700 ATI, fyi. Again, you can't go wrong with the Halo or Cary (or ATI equivalent); they're all superb amps that you likely couldn't tell apart using just your ears, but none of them will impart an equal loudness curve or fix your room issues. Does ATI assemble their tube Pre's and tube Amps as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinmi Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 Cary tube amps and pre's all used to be built in Cary, NC. Since Dennis Had sold the company, the company is expanding into home thearer and digital products. I haven't heard of them sourcing out their tube stuff, but a quick letter to the company should tell you. I love my Cary SLP98P preamp. It is hand wired and built in Cary, NC, USA! As a side note, Dennis Had is building tube equipment again, and sells them direct on E-bay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max2 Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 Cary tube amps and pre's all used to be built in Cary, NC. Since Dennis Had sold the company, the company is expanding into home thearer and digital products. I haven't heard of them sourcing out their tube stuff, but a quick letter to the company should tell you. I love my Cary SLP98P preamp. It is hand wired and built in Cary, NC, USA! As a side note, Dennis Had is building tube equipment again, and sells them direct on E-bay. Thats great info, thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berglid Posted March 6, 2014 Author Share Posted March 6, 2014 That is a lot of money for an amp. How is the used market over their. I have used new and used and no real difference if the used amp is in good shape. Yep, all audio components are about double the price here in norway, but used you usually get them for half price, but its not that many or often these kind of amplifiers are for sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berglid Posted March 6, 2014 Author Share Posted March 6, 2014 I should also mention that the price of the Cary amplifiers is aproximatly 7000 USD, and the parasound amplifiers are about 6000 USD. (It's expensive here in Norway...) So what i want to know is if the Cary Audio is good with my speakers, if they are better than the Parasound A21 and P5 paired with my speakers, and if its worth the 1000 USD extra. Berglid, I think you would be very pleased with the Parasound Halos/Klipsch RF-83 combo. Use the $1000.00 saved to put toward something else you may need. Bill Yeah, think i will go for the Parasound over the Cary, and use the extra money on a sub. But it would still be interesting to hear if anybody have tried the Cary amplifiers on the reference series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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