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Going full circle?


CHASLS2

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Thinking about going back to towers.  I have had the RF82's 63's and two sets of the older 7's.  Looking to spend around 4k or under for the towers and whatever for the center.

 

I was thinking B&W CM10's or the newer RF7ll's.  Not sure how much better the new 7ll's are compared to the older 7's i had.

 

 

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This is going to be a hard one.  The B&W speakers are great, as well as the RF 7II's.  I think you need an in home trial of each to see how they blend with your room and gear.  The tweeters on the B&W are different as well as, the bass portion of the speakers.  Will these be for music and HT.  HT, I would think Klipsch might have and edge and B&W the edge with music.  I am looking forward to see what you decide and think after the purchase.  Good luck!

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This is going to be a hard one.  The B&W speakers are great, as well as the RF 7II's.  I think you need an in home trial of each to see how they blend with your room and gear.  The tweeters on the B&W are different as well as, the bass portion of the speakers.  Will these be for music and HT.  HT, I would think Klipsch might have and edge and B&W the edge with music.  I am looking forward to see what you decide and think after the purchase.  Good luck!

They will be used 80% of the time on movies in a 12x 14 bedroom with a SVS sub.  I have had a pair of Paradigm Signature 2 v3's for over 1.5 years and just looking for something else to play with.   I do remember my older RF7's being kinda harsh and bright but would fill my room with pressure waves when cranked up.

 

I have been happy with the Paradigm Studio and Signature line of speakers. I just love trying out new brands and such.

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Honestly, I would put my money on the RF-7ii, plus it's quite a bit less expensive too.  I've owned several B&W speakers and I always kept coming back to Klipsch.  I like to be able to crank my speakers up and the B&W sounded great until I hit really loud volume and then the bass became muddy unlike with the RF-7ii. Seems like the louder I crank them, the better they sound.  The RF-7's are a bit on the harsh / bright side.  My previous RF-83 were very smoothe & laid back.  The RF-7ii are somewhere in between those two and sound fantastic to my ears.

 

Keep in mind too, most B&W require quite a bit of power to bring them to life.

The CM10 needs powerful and stable amplification in order for it to come anywhere close to reaching its potential. When breaking the speaker in, I tried a few smaller amplifiers and integrated amplifiers, and the speakers needed a good deal of power and control to come alive. I would suspect that the impedance of the speakers drops below two ohms at places.  Home Theater Review
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i have had a ton of klipsch speakers over the past couple years. i just recently picked up a pair of salk song towers with the RAAL tweeters. i am looking forward to their arrival. I've only heard one pair of salks before but i remember saying if i ever won the lotto they would be mine. well didn't win the lotto but......they are mine anyways. they were the HT2-TL and 4500 which is not what i got but i did splurge for the RAAL which from what i read is where the magic happens.

 

other speakers i would like to try at some point: magnepan 1.7's, ascend sierra towers with RAAL

 

you could try some supercharged song towers. 3500$$

 

or i know where another set of song towers in a beautiful finish are but they have the dome tweeters and not the ribbons. but i still read they are fantastic. and i was gonna buy these but stumbled upon the deal i got. 

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An RF 7 resistor mod cost about $4.00 and take 15 min. per speaker.  That will get rid on any harshness.  I liked my RF 7's before the mod but after, they even more enjoyable. 

 

I've never heard of such a thing.  Do you have details on this?  Surprised it would be useful on RF-7 ii's.  

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I've owned several B&W speakers and I always kept coming back to Klipsch.

 

 

The B&W towers I've heard sounded awful with that fiber midrange.  Of course it wasn't calibrated, just a straight through direct power off the receiver, but still, it sounded nasally.  A set of Martin Logan Motion 40's ran all over them.  I did like their smaller bookshelves that didn't have this midrange.  

Edited by MetropolisLakeOutfitters
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An RF 7 resistor mod cost about $4.00 and take 15 min. per speaker.  That will get rid on any harshness.  I liked my RF 7's before the mod but after, they even more enjoyable. 

 

I've never heard of such a thing.  Do you have details on this?  Surprised it would be useful on RF-7 ii's.  

 

 

It's used on the original RF-7's, not the II's.

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I've always assumed that the people who say Klipsch is harsh has only heard the lower end stuff with aluminum tweeters.

The RF-7's tend to be on the bright side, even when tested in my HT.  My ears tend to prefer it on the bright side so I like it.  Some people prefer a more laid back sound.  It's all preference.  The RF-7ii are smoother sounding on the top end than the original RF-7's.

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i have had a ton of klipsch speakers over the past couple years. i just recently picked up a pair of salk song towers with the RAAL tweeters. i am looking forward to their arrival. I've only heard one pair of salks before but i remember saying if i ever won the lotto they would be mine. well didn't win the lotto but......they are mine anyways. they were the HT2-TL and 4500 which is not what i got but i did splurge for the RAAL which from what i read is where the magic happens.

 

other speakers i would like to try at some point: magnepan 1.7's, ascend sierra towers with RAAL

 

 

Before I got married 29 years ago, I owned some Magnepan MG-1 (the 4.5' tall ones, not the 6' tall).  They are the best, most accurate speakers I have ever owned. 

 

The caveat is that they radiate out of both the front and back, and they are very demanding of setup.  They need to be a couple of feet from a flat wall with no obstructions and must be toed in precisely.  Then you need to sit in exactly the right place, and they will sound like the instrument they are playing, unbelievable accurate.  If you stand up or move a foot away from the center, they don't sound as good. 

 

They don't do sub-bass, and they don't do MAX loud, but you can listen to them all day without ear fatigue.  Highly recommended for critical music listening.

Edited by wvu80
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If you feel like stepping into high end I can help you out. 

 

For about your budget I will sell you my Palladium P37s and you can use whatever for a center until you decide to get the matching center.  I am using them for surrounds and they are complete overkill for that application. 

 

Alternatively, I have a pair of TAD / Pioneer S-1ex speakers (which are better speakers) that I can do for about the same price. Designed by Andrew Jones of TAD and Stereophile A rated.  These are equally as good as the B&W Signatre 800's that they replaced (B&W's top of the line $20,000 speakers) and they are much easier to drive than the B&W 800 series.  PM me if interested. 

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