Jump to content

Recommended Posts

I use lead filled Sanus stands with my RB-5 in the garage. I used them years ago before the Chorus II and the Belle as my mains with a 12 inch sealed front firing sub.

 

Spend a little money on stands. Not the tippy wooden ones.

 

I replaced the bi wire plates with speaker wire.

 

I am a plastics engineer. The grill pins were not designed by me. A few different design tweaks would have made them more robust.

 

****** them up if you find a pair!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Update...

I located both a replacement K-105-K horn assembly and a Klipsch 2-way Speaker Crossover (PN: 116436) off eBay. I did a "shot gun" replacement of both parts on the suspect RB-5.  It's now alive and making beautiful music.

 

I also remove the round grills and did some cabinet repair to fix the reamed out MDF material the cretin created when he muscled the four screws in.  The grills were reinstalled using carefully sized nylon standoffs under each of the four grill hold-down lugs to fix the geometry  

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/9/2021 at 7:24 PM, Vital said:

I had RB-5's, RB-5 ll's and RB-75's at the same time. For me, I preferred the RB-5's and RB-5 ll's. YMMV of course but the RB-5 was smoother and better balanced IMO. I'd like to find another pair actually. 

I am really interested in this observation. We hear so much about the fabled legendary RB-75.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, duburonf@gmail.com said:

I am really interested in this observation. We hear so much about the fabled legendary RB-75.

 

I have both RB-75s and RB-5IIs and the former has a larger cabinet, cleaner highs because of the larger horn/Compression driver, and was voice-matched to the original RF-7s.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/3/2021 at 12:19 AM, amped said:

I honestly couldn't say if I noticed an improvement but I figured they were old enough so it couldn't hurt. Also they're not in an ideal location so this may be part of the sound issue. Sorry about your grills. As for your sound-  check and tighten all the internal spade connectors.

Interesting...

I did find issues with the "cheap assed" spade connectors on both the diaphragm and woofer. This might have been the source of the original problem. i had to gently crimp the connectors down for a tighter fit on the spades.  I would need to reinstall the original components to see if that was the problem.  I might not as they are singing now!!

Edited by duburonf@gmail.com
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
On 12/1/2021 at 5:44 AM, duburonf@gmail.com said:

I am really interested in this observation. We hear so much about the fabled legendary RB-75.

 

I was trying to find a nice pair of bookshelf speakers for two channel computer/office duty. I went through Paradigm Studio 20's, RB-75's, RB-5's and RB-5 ll's. The RB-5 ll's won the role after a lot of shoot outs. The RB-75's tweeter runs pretty hot IMO for two channel with no sub. The RB-5's were just better balanced and something about them is very smooth sounding.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Nice to see everyone has a fondness for RB5 II. I've owned a pair for about 20 years and enjoy them daily.  I'm looking to add a center channel speaker and would appreciate some guidance. I've read it is best to timbre-match but cannot find a center channel with 8" woofers like the RB5 II.  Any suggestions?  Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, GreyBear said:

Nice to see everyone has a fondness for RB5 II. I've owned a pair for about 20 years and enjoy them daily.  I'm looking to add a center channel speaker and would appreciate some guidance. I've read it is best to timbre-match but cannot find a center channel with 8" woofers like the RB5 II.  Any suggestions?  Thanks

RC-7 has dual 8" drivers 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, GreyBear said:

Thank you. The RC-7 is out of my price range as I wanted to spend less than $500. 

I've found many for well under that price over the years of course good deals get swooped up quick so you have to be fast another alternative for a center speaker is the RC-3 it utilizes dual 6.5" woofers but should still be a good match for the RB-5's as they both use the same horn / driver combo.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, jjptkd said:

RC-7 has dual 8" drivers 

I actually tried the RC-7 between RF-3s and the first thing I noticed was the tonal/clarity imbalance in the front soundstage. Otoh, the RC-3 with RF-3s up front was something we enjoyed for several years before we upgraded. I agree with RB-5s up front the RC-3 would be the one to get. YMMV.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, jjptkd said:

I've found many for well under that price over the years of course good deals get swooped up quick so you have to be fast another alternative for a center speaker is the RC-3 it utilizes dual 6.5" woofers but should still be a good match for the RB-5's as they both use the same horn / driver combo.

Thanks!  I will look into the RC3.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Hey all just picked up a 5 Klipsch speakers today off FB Marketplace because the price was really good, and I buy and sell a lot of electronics in general. I ended up with a pair of Mahogany RB-5, a pair of SB-1, and an SC-1 along with a Martin Logan sub and Denon receiver for a song. After doing some research it appears I really lucked out finding the RB-5. I once owned a pair of RP-160M that I really enjoyed through a NAD C658 and NuForce STA-200 amp. I ended up getting a pair of Dynaudio Evoke 20 and sold the Klipsch but I'm actually excited to throw the RB-5 in and see how they sound in relation to the Dyns and the RP-160. I really liked the 160 and seems like these RB-5 are favored by many here so I have a feeling that I'm going to have a hard time parting with them.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, MK7R said:

seems like these RB-5 are favored by many here so I have a feeling that I'm going to have a hard time parting with them.

 

That's because the RB-5's, when EQ'd properly (even with just flat tone controls), have absolutely no problems acting bigger than they really are - especially when they have power.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, The History Kid said:

 

That's because the RB-5's, when EQ'd properly (even with just flat tone controls), have absolutely no problems acting bigger than they really are - especially when they have power.

I'm going to try them flat and then let the DIRAC wizardry EQ them as it's built in to my DAC/Pre. Hopeful to have time later this afternoon or over the weekend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay these speakers confuse me not going to lie. My RP-160 had good bass in this same room on the same stands and same equipment. These sound thin comparatively. Concurrently with the 160 I had some Dynaudio Excite X14 which were puny little guys with a 5 1/4" woofer. I then sold both and got the Dynaudio Evoke 20 with a 7" woofer and they have been my main speakers for a couple years now. I once had a big old pair of Focal Electras in this room but they were too much so moved them to the home theater. So long story short, these sound more like the X14 with it's tiny woofer than the RP-160. I really like the imaging and soundstage of the RB-5 but they seem to have forgotten the bass. They sound like (good) mini-monitors, not 20 plus pound 8" bookshelves. Equipment is NAD C658 DAC/Pre, Nuforce STA-200 80WPC power Amp, AQ Rocket 88 72V DBS Speaker cables. Played CD, SACD and streaming music. Were these just designed to integrate with a sub despite their large woofers?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, MK7R said:

 I really like the imaging and soundstage of the RB-5 but they seem to have forgotten the bass. They sound like (good) mini-monitors, not 20 plus pound 8" bookshelves. Equipment is NAD C658 DAC/Pre, Nuforce STA-200 80WPC power Amp, AQ Rocket 88 72V DBS Speaker cables. Played CD, SACD and streaming music. Were these just designed to integrate with a sub despite their large woofers?

 

Then you have them improperly set up, improperly EQ'd, or have something defective on the XO's.  They absolutely do not need a subwoofer.  I run mine with a Parasound 200 Pre and a 2125, and they can very easily punch way into the territory of floorstanders.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...