Do You Have Epic CF-4? What to Look For?

[wvu80]

2 hours ago, Micklipsch said:

The Notorious WVU! I’m not gonna lie, your resto thread initially brought me to the forums. Thank you, and thank your son for his service on my behalf. 

 

Thank you.  -Dave
 

Look forward to me harassing you on restoration advice as I probably will do so sometime down the line. The satin black has seen better days. I’d rate cabinet aesthetics at a 6.5, maybe 7 after I finish cleaning. The sides aren’t bad, the tops could be worse. A couple befores and after the lemon oil. 

 

No problem.  -Dave
 

I’ve also learned the site hates portrait shots, and I’m almost always a landscape shooter but given the vertical rectangular nature of the speakers, portraits work best. With all that said, I’ll be taking landscapes from now on. 

 

Once you get the picture embedded you can double click on it.  A menu box will be at the bottom.  Try 400 pixels, that will make

it more manageable.  Below is 400, then 300, for perspective. 

 

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[Micklipsch]

On 1/9/2021 at 11:51 AM, wvu80 said:

 

Welcome to the Klipsch Forums.  Welcome to the CF-4 club.  You have one of the greatest speakers Klipsch ever made, but as a fellow CF-4 owner I'm biased.  Let's get to the volume issue later.  I just read the thread and I have a couple of comments/observations.

 

1. Everybody ^^^ has given you excellent advice.
2. Your buddy gave you CF-4 speakers worth about $1000.
3. You have CF-4 version 2, 1995.  These are highly sought after in the Klipsch community and sound very similar to v1.
4. The 18 awg wire is adequate.  If you upgraded to something larger I doubt you could hear the difference. 
5. That being said, the next time you order wire go to 12 AWG, OFC (not CCA).  This is overkill.  We like overkill.
6. When you upgrade your wire get some banana plugs.  They won't make the speakers sound better, they are more convenient.
7. I use Mediabridge locking plugs.  The ratings on Amazon is 4.9 stars.  Highly recommended.

 

Here is the "everything you ever wanted to know about the CF-4" thread.

 

About that sound:

I assume you have the sound now balanced, L to R.

I assume you are bi-amping.  I suggest you use jumper wires on the binding posts and ditch bi-amping.  I can expand on "why" if you want me to.

 

Volume: I assume this is your first new AVR.  They work very differently from the amps from the old days.

Back in the old days, turning it up a quarter was loud, halfway up on the knob would run you out of the room it was so loud.  The newer AVR's don't work that way.

 

Assuming a range of 0-98 what you will find is the AVR is almost dead silent at 40.  At 60 you can barely hear it.  70 sounds good and at 80 or above, NOW it sounds loud!  This is the new normal.

 

I'll stop here.  -Dave

 

 

Hey Dave, thanks for the insight on the volume. I think I may have addressed that as well with some internal settings. Either way, what you say about the volume range is consistent with my observations, so I’m probably just getting senile over here. 

 

Nah, it’s not my first new AVR but I am familiar with the now-vintage stuff. My dad had a pair of Heresys, Onkyo amp and turntable, etc. Actually wish I had that stuff today but it wasn’t to be. Anyway...

 

Yes, I would be interested in your opinion regarding not bi-amping. Because I’ve only come to understand that it’s a neutral to positive benefit; I haven’t read about downsides.

 

Lastly, I had some fun last night doing some sound testing. It would seem though, that this AVR is getting punked out, for lack of a better description. It cut off a couple times during some louder sampling, like during the end of the intro drum sequence of Dire Strait’s “Money for Nothing”. Made a couple adjustments and played it safer with the volume and it wasn’t a problem. The AVR did heat up quite a bit; stuff sounded amazing considering not being a dedicated amp. 
 

I did read that there could be an issue with wiring, and it’d seem possible considering I didn’t use connectors. Waiting on those banana plugs, and beginning research on amps and preamps. 

 

 

[wvu80]

4 minutes ago, Micklipsch said:

I would be interested in your opinion regarding not bi-amping.

 

I have run my speakers with bi-amp and without.  I would say there is a slight improvement in mid-range clarity but it's very subtle.  If I simply played the speakers I doubt if I could tell if they were bi-amped or not.

 

I have come to like the speakers better without the bi-amping because I think they are more dynamic, more live! sounding.

 

Bi-amping does not double the power to the speakers.  Rather it tends to cut the power because there are more drivers which need power.  Any excess power is converted to heat by the crossover (XO) and is not used.

 

I see no problem with you bi-amping.  My biggest concern on your behalf was that you were having problems with the volume.  Eliminating bi-amping would cut down on your variables when trying to troubleshoot.

 

Now that you have the sound problems worked out, go ahead and try it if you're curious.  See how it sounds to your ears, in your listening room with your speakers.

[Micklipsch]

17 minutes ago, wvu80 said:

 

I have run my speakers with bi-amp and without.  I would say there is a slight improvement in mid-range clarity but it's very subtle.  If I simply played the speakers I doubt if I could tell if they were bi-amped or not.

 

I have come to like the speakers better without the bi-amping because I think they are more dynamic, more live! sounding.

 

Bi-amping does not double the power to the speakers.  Rather it tends to cut the power because there are more drivers which need power.  Any excess power is converted to heat by the crossover (XO) and is not used.

 

I see no problem with you bi-amping.  My biggest concern on your behalf was that you were having problems with the volume.  Eliminating bi-amping would cut down on your variables when trying to troubleshoot.

 

Now that you have the sound problems worked out, go ahead and try it if you're curious.  See how it sounds to your ears, in your listening room with your speakers.

Good stuff. Once the bananas are in, swapping around wires will be a helluva lot less tedious. 

[Micklipsch]

On 1/9/2021 at 11:51 AM, wvu80 said:

You have CF-4 version 2, 1995.  These are highly sought after in the Klipsch community and sound very similar to v1.

So far what I’ve gleaned from all the reading is that the versions or revisions are all over the map and are really skewed. 
 

For example this person’s story about colored crossover wiring in his v1s. https://silverfacestereo.com/2015/05/13/epic-klipsch-cf-4/
 

Are you able to definitively tell mine are v2 based on the S/N?