Hey_wayne Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 (edited) For months I've been on the search for a pair of pre-owned Klipsch RF-82s for $500 or less, and have had no luck. Well this week, I have found a pair of RF-7 (first series) for $600. For only $100 more than the price I've been waiting for, I figure this is a no brainier for me. My concern is my current system will not have enough power to drive them. I am currently running a Marantz SR6003 AVR as a preamp and using an Emotiva XPA-200 as an amp. The Emo pushed 150 WPC @ 8 ohms. Unfortunately my budget to upgrade Amps is essentially non-existent. What do you think klipsch, should I take the jump? Edited December 27, 2015 by Hey_wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Hey_wayne, Welcome to the forum. Give that Marantz/Emo combo a whirl and see/hear how it does with your RF7's. Then decide your next move. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hey_wayne Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 My main concern is I may not be able to make a "next move" for around a year, even if I'm unsatisified with the sound. That being said I think they'll be a large upgrade from my Vienna Acoustic Haydn Grand bookshelfs. Here goes nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 I have ran my RF 7's on 80-200 watt amps. I think you will be fine. Music does not take much power and with 150 watts that should cover movies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercedesBerater Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 I run 4 Rf7ii's and an RC64ii Off of a garbage $250 pioneer receiver!! I'm saving up for separates... You have WAY more power than I have... And even mine knock your socks off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etc6849 Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 I think an XPA-2 will be a decent amp with RF-7's. You are miles ahead from just using an AVR, although I don't know if the RF-7's had the nasty impedance swings like my RF-83's had. I recently bought some used Emotiva stuff (ebay and audiogon) and have been very impressed with it. I have no doubt that amp is conservatively rated. I also think that's a decent price if the RF-7's are in good condition. I think I sold my RF-82's for $400. I personally would pay the extra $100-150 to get RF-7's if they're in good shape. The RF-82's are nice speakers for the money too, but I wouldn't pay more than $380 for them to be honest. RF-7's will be made in Hope versus China too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teaman Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 I think an XPA-2 will be a decent amp with RF-7's. You are miles ahead from just using an AVR, although I don't know if the RF-7's had the nasty impedance swings like my RF-83's had. I recently bought some used Emotiva stuff (ebay and audiogon) and have been very impressed with it. I have no doubt that amp is conservatively rated. I also think that's a decent price if the RF-7's are in good condition. I think I sold my RF-82's for $400. I personally would pay the extra $100-150 to get RF-7's if they're in good shape. The RF-82's are nice speakers for the money too, but I wouldn't pay more than $380 for them to be honest. RF-7's will be made in Hope versus China too. He doesn't have an XPA-2, he has an XPA-200. Not nearly as powerful as the XPA-2. Personally I think it will be ample to power them, not nearly powerful to overwhelm yourself with sound though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hey_wayne Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 I think an XPA-2 will be a decent amp with RF-7's. You are miles ahead from just using an AVR, although I don't know if the RF-7's had the nasty impedance swings like my RF-83's had. I recently bought some used Emotiva stuff (ebay and audiogon) and have been very impressed with it. I have no doubt that amp is conservatively rated. I also think that's a decent price if the RF-7's are in good condition. I think I sold my RF-82's for $400. I personally would pay the extra $100-150 to get RF-7's if they're in good shape. The RF-82's are nice speakers for the money too, but I wouldn't pay more than $380 for them to be honest. RF-7's will be made in Hope versus China too. FYI I'm using the XPA-200, which is different from the XPA-2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrow#422 Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Hey_wayne, 1 - Welcome to the forum. 2 - Don't be a tight a$s like many here and 3 - Gather up the necessary 6 Ben Franklins and go get them RF-7's 4 - Don't worry, because either that AVR alone, or with the XPA-200, will be fine for them (in the short term) 5 - If you feel the need to blast 'em, then buy more power later Just because they are rated at 250wpc / 1000w peak, doesn't mean that it is required. I ran 7's, 5's, a RC-7 center, and even a y-splitter for 2-15" subs off a 100wpc - $100 Pioneeer VSX-D411 avr for a long time. The neighbors across the street would just give a shrugging look when I was putting it too them. Amps are available ALL the time, speakers are NOT. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom b. 57 Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 I am powering my RF-7's with my trusty old Marantz 2275 and they seem to be doing just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattSER Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 I could crank my RF-7s to earth-shattering levels with the 60 watt/ch Emotiva mini-x. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etc6849 Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Sorry, misread the post! I think it'll still do a decent job. I used my AVR for my RF-83's which were pretty demanding and it sounded OK. Granted, I heard a difference when I switched to a separate amp. If Emotiva says they are 150 watts, I bet this means with both channels driven at full bandwidth. I'd rather have too much power, but if I was on a constrained budget, I'd be very happy with an XPA-200. I think an XPA-2 will be a decent amp with RF-7's. You are miles ahead from just using an AVR, although I don't know if the RF-7's had the nasty impedance swings like my RF-83's had. I recently bought some used Emotiva stuff (ebay and audiogon) and have been very impressed with it. I have no doubt that amp is conservatively rated. I also think that's a decent price if the RF-7's are in good condition. I think I sold my RF-82's for $400. I personally would pay the extra $100-150 to get RF-7's if they're in good shape. The RF-82's are nice speakers for the money too, but I wouldn't pay more than $380 for them to be honest. RF-7's will be made in Hope versus China too. He doesn't have an XPA-2, he has an XPA-200. Not nearly as powerful as the XPA-2. Personally I think it will be ample to power them, not nearly powerful to overwhelm yourself with sound though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hey_wayne Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 Thanks everyone, planning to pic them up in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 You can drive those speakers with even much less OP... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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