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The RF-7 II have Arrived!


artto

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I've been wanting to get back a little more real estate in the living room where the HT is located so the view to the foyer below isn't blocked as much. The Chorus I I've been using, the right speaker's back was open to the foyer (wife always hated that).

 

The RF-7 have a narrower footprint. And I've been using RC-7 for the center and rear/surround. So I think this makes a better fit voicing/timbre-wise.

 

Got a really good deal on Ebay from Wisconsin dealer The Sound Seller. They're supposedly "B" stock. But about the only thing I can see that I could remotely identify as a cosmetic defect is so trivial it's amazing they discounted this almost half-price!! Regardless, with the way I'm setup you can't even see the cosmetic imperfection (if you can call it that).

 

I think he put a few more up for sale so if you're in the market for RF-7 check it out.

 

These things are big. Bigger than what I remember or thought they would be. I checked the specs and it turns out they are the same width as the older model RF-7 but they are taller and deeper.

 

Just got a new Samsung curved 55" 4K UHD TV too.  :rolleyes:

 

Now just have to go through that painful break-in period - one of the downsides to brand new speakers.  :P

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Edited by artto
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Don't you hate it when the wife forces you to upgrade your system!?!?

I have only heard the 7's a couple of times and the Chorus I have not heard in years, but I am sure the 7's will help lessen your withdrawls from the Chorus. Great looking system that I would guess sounds as good as it looks.

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Don't you hate it when the wife forces you to upgrade your system!?!?

 

Thanks guys!!

 

I love her. But believe me, she's used to it. She got what she wanted and so do I :D  This is actually kind of trivial compared to the dedicated listening room which has been undergoing it's 4th, and most extensive upgrading and over-hall in 30+ years during the past 2.5 years (equipment, acoustics, sound proofing, you name it) (for you newbies - see artto's klipschorn room in the architectural section).

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Nice! How do they compare to the old Chorus?

Interesting question.

 

When I first turned them on I guess it was what I should have expected considering their different voicing. We tend to get used to something. So at first it was like "what's wrong?" Well, at first I still had the old AccuEQ settings from the Chorus/RC-7's, so that didn't help things. I re-ran the EQ and things are a little better. They sound great at low sound levels. At higher levels they sound a little too bright right now, which is understandable since it's the bass that benefits the most from a break-in period. And I know the room itself can get a little buzzy at higher SPL. I think a lot of it just has to do with what I'm used to. And this HT setup is (not bragging, but) not in the same league with the 2-channel system in the dedicated listening room. On the other hand I haven't played anything substantial of known higher audio quality yet, movie nor music. But they sure look imposing and impressive, much larger looking than I thought.

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Congrats Artto.  Those things are huge.  They almost hide that SVS subwoofer completely.

 

What are you going to do to break them in?  I am asking because I recently bought some and they will arrive next week.  

 

Any one have anything they typically do to break in or not break in new speakers?

 

Thank you.

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Congrats Artto.  Those things are huge.  They almost hide that SVS subwoofer completely.

 

What are you going to do to break them in?  I am asking because I recently bought some and they will arrive next week.  

 

Any one have anything they typically do to break in or not break in new speakers?

 

Thank you.

I felt like mine sounded good from the start. The woofers aren't exactly real stiff. The subs I have now required a substantial break in period and was extremely obvious, but I never noticed anything like that with the RF-7ii's nor the R-115SW subs.

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Congrats on the RF 7II's and the new setup.  A little toe-out may help with some of the brightness or decrease the treble by 3-4 db.  Give them a couple of weeks to get setup dialed in and then compare them to some of the other speakers.  The RF 7 II have excellent range and IMHO, great SQ.

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What are you going to do to break them in?  I am asking because I recently bought some and they will arrive next week.  

 

Any one have anything they typically do to break in or not break in new speakers?

 

Thank you.

I work from home so they're playing a jazz radio station all day, TV in the evening. At night I've been running them at low volume on the radio station all night. Today I put on Insane Clown Posse's Bizarre  at way louder than I like levels while I went out for a long walk with my dog (LOL). There's lots of deep synth bass on there. I'll probably use some Telarc recordings, the ones with the cannon shots - 1812 Overture & Beethoven's Wellington Victory March.

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FWIW, I have the Onkyo's AccuEQ engaged. I have to try it without that. That alone may reduce some of the brightness. I never really cared for any of that room compensation crap anyway.

 

But, as I mentioned, I know the room gets a little buzzy at higher spl. I suspect since the RF-7 are taller, and considering their radiation pattern (compared to the Chorus) I'm probably getting more reflection off the ceiling. As silly as it may sound considering the components, HT is not my priority so I'm not going to do any acoustical treatments as I've done in the listening room.

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I have the older 7's and found the distance to the back wall determines the soundstang and amount of bass for the speakers. The distance to the side wall affects the midrange.  I have one near a corner and the other in an more open part of the room so the bass and the treble wasn't exactly balanced.  I played with the distances and auto-setup and got a happy medium.

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Wow those look really nice!  I need to gain back some real estate in my living room I should offer my trio of La Scala's up for trade for a pair of RF-7's & RC-7.  Then I still need to part with 4 Heresy's and a pair of Cornwall's.  Man you got me thinking.

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Just had ATT bump up the speed to 25mbps. I'm getting 30. This might also cure some of the buffering issues I occasionally have with audio streaming.

 

Signed up for Netflix free trial with UHD. Took a look at House of Cards since everyone's been raving about it. WOW. Nice Picture on the Samsung 55" curved 4K. I really wish I could find a 65" with the same kind of deal percentage-wise that got on the 55" ($900).

 

The 5.1 sound on Netflix is just fine. Sounds great. So there must be something I have to change at the receiver end for music from radio (FM or streaming) or CD playing from the Playstation. Those sources just sound way too bright and I suspect it has to do with the receiver's room correction feature.

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It just occurred to me that my Onkyo 838 (7.1) has two extra channels I'm not using and they can be used to bi-amp the mains. Any thoughts on this? I wouldn't be doing this to play louder. Just wondering if anyone has experienced improved sound quality.

 

Eventually I plan on getting Klipsch Atmos speakers and those other two outputs will be used for that. But this won't happen for a while until they get some more Atmos movies out there, preferably on 4K Bluray for which I'll have to get a new player. So this isn't going to happen anytime before Xmas at the earliest.

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Congrats on the RF 7II's and the new setup.  A little toe-out may help with some of the brightness or decrease the treble by 3-4 db.  Give them a couple of weeks to get setup dialed in and then compare them to some of the other speakers.  The RF 7 II have excellent range and IMHO, great SQ.

 

Looks like his speakers are straight on forward. Are you saying toe-out further? I have mine toed-in a little.

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It just occurred to me that my Onkyo 838 (7.1) has two extra channels I'm not using and they can be used to bi-amp the mains. Any thoughts on this? I wouldn't be doing this to play louder. Just wondering if anyone has experienced improved sound quality.

 

Eventually I plan on getting Klipsch Atmos speakers and those other two outputs will be used for that. But this won't happen for a while until they get some more Atmos movies out there, preferably on 4K Bluray for which I'll have to get a new player. So this isn't going to happen anytime before Xmas at the earliest.

Biamping? The Onkyo has the filtering necessary to do that?

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It just occurred to me that my Onkyo 838 (7.1) has two extra channels I'm not using and they can be used to bi-amp the mains. Any thoughts on this? I wouldn't be doing this to play louder. Just wondering if anyone has experienced improved sound quality.

 

Eventually I plan on getting Klipsch Atmos speakers and those other two outputs will be used for that. But this won't happen for a while until they get some more Atmos movies out there, preferably on 4K Bluray for which I'll have to get a new player. So this isn't going to happen anytime before Xmas at the earliest.

Biamping? The Onkyo has the filtering necessary to do that?

 

Apparently so. It's shown in the Advanced Manual. The "High" or Atmos channel outputs can be configured for use to bi-am the L&R mains.

 

The Onkyo TX-NR838 is a pretty cool receiver. Sounds great. HDCP 2.2 compliant, built-in WiFi and Bluetooth. Had I known this before I bought it I would have opted for the 9 or 11 channel models so I could continue with Atmos now that the new Klipsch Atmos speakers are available. Not much in the 4K/Atmos media department yet but I'm sure that will come along during the next 6-12 months. When I go Atmos the bi-amp configuration will be lost since I'll have to use those outputs for the Atmos speakers.

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