adam2434 Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 (edited) Hi, first post, and just got my first Klipsch speakers last week, RP-280F. I’ve owned (and currently own) many speaker brands over the years and wanted to give Klipsch a try. The RP-280F are for a secondary 2-ch A/V system powered by a Rotel RX-1052 (100 w/ch stereo receiver from ’08). All sources are handled by an Emotiva DC-1 DAC. The speakers are used for music, concert videos, TV, and movies. I also have Energy RC-70 and Def Tech BP10B for the secondary system. The main rig is in the basement theater room. For reference, I find the RC-70 to be a bit too dark sounding and lacking detail. The BP10B sound balanced to me, but I’m not crazy about the diffuse, bipolar presentation. I find the RP-280F to be very dynamic, but too bright unless I turn the Rotel’s treble down to -2 (-2 dB at 10 kHz). Without treble attenuation, they can be piercing at higher volumes. My wife, who never comments on audio, even commented on this. They have great vocal clarity and are engaging, but just too bright without reducing the treble. I hate using tone controls. For those who have heard the RP-280F and RF-7 II, how do their high frequency compare? Are the RF-7 II as bright as the RP-280F? The clarity and dynamics of the RP-280F have me curious about stepping up to the RF-7 II, but only if their high frequencies are a bit tamer than the RP-280F. Thanks. Edited December 27, 2015 by adam2434 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercedesBerater Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 (edited) Welcome to the club. Before you write off the 280's... Try toe adjustments and see what that gives you. My 7ii's can be a bit bright if not toed correctly. Keep in mind too-- depending on what you're used to.. The horn design can be very efficient & revealing. Both can be huge pro's, And cons. If you have a crap recording... You'll have a crap reproduction . Maybe your old speakers were not as clear and the higher freq's were veiled and now you're hearing them truly for the first time?? I'd still try toe adjustments.. Edited December 27, 2015 by MercedesBerater 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeinid Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 (edited) Edited December 27, 2015 by joeinid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeinid Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Amplifier choice and toe in/out are critical to getting proper balance of sound from horn loaded speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrow#422 Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Adjust as previously mentioned. Crap material will sound - like crap. Attenuate & adjust amp settings as needed Speaker placement, room treatments, and acoustics can & will greatly affect the sound. And just know that you aren't be the 1st, nor last, to comment that the Reference series are tonally "bright". With that said, there are some mods available if all the other tweaks do not solve your issue. Best wishes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam2434 Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 I have played with toe-in a bit, from zero toe-in to intersection at the MLP to just behind the MLP. I have the same brightness perception at all toe-in angles. These are the first horn-loaded tweeters I have owned. What are the general guidelines to toe-in to reduce brightness, more or less toe-in? The Polk LS90 in the main rig are my reference for high frequency balance. They sound "right" to me, and are generally considered to be relatively forward-sounding speakers. I feel the RP-280F with -2 treble attenuation have a similar high frequency balance to the Polk's in the basement,. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrow#422 Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 (edited) @ MLP or slightly behind seems to be the preferred location for L/R intersection. ? would the polk's require -2 treble, on this amp, with the same material playing, in the same room, for your liking - also? Edited December 27, 2015 by Arrow#422 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam2434 Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 @ MLP or slightly behind seems to be the preferred location for L/R intersection. ? would the polk's require -2 treble, on this amp, with the same material playing, in the same room, for your liking - also? Great question. I have never tried the Polk's in this room with this amp, but I have tried the RC-70 in the basement system, and had the same dark impression of them with the basement system/room. If anything, I expect the secondary system room (where I'm using the RP-280F) to be a darker-sounding room given that it is about 2x the size of the basement room and has more high frequency absorbing materials (more plush furniture and more carpeted area). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattSER Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 (edited) If your worried about brightness, don't worry about upgrading to RF-7s, as I'm fairly certain that you'd find them to be even brighter. If you just bought the 280s, give them a couple of weeks for the woofers to loosen up the balance will warm up considerably. I prefer to toe-in precisely to the MLP, but you might reduce some brightness by toeing out a bit. Also, maybe push them closer to the back wall to increase bass. Edited December 27, 2015 by mattSER 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam2434 Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 Arrow#422, what are the mods you mentioned in post #5? Are their known mods for the RP series to tame brightness? mattSER, I have around 50 hours of moderate to high level break-in on the 280s. I figured that break-in would be complete by now. Maybe not? Also, with current toe-in, they are 10.5" from the back wall on the inside back corner of the speaker, and 12" from back wall on the outside back corner. I feel this is already pretty close to the back wall. Another positive with the 280s is the solid center image they generate. It's much better than the Energy RC-70 and Def Tech BP10B in this system/location. This is only a 2-ch system, but I notice that dialog is nicely locked to the TV screen with the 280s due to their solid center image. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrow#422 Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 The 7's have well documented horn dampening & even cross over modifications. Those can be found within the forum archives by searching for them. More knowledgable members can chime in on the 280's, and the various nuances of the 7's, as I am not nearly as familiar being a bit green here myself. If all else fails, stuff a sock in it, literally. A sound dampening material draped over the horn, or lightly inserted into the throat may absorb enough highs to make them tolerable for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercedesBerater Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 That's almost the amount of distance I have for my 7's.... Which move A LOT more air... You might try another few inches. It could take you 50-100 hour break in... And 25-50 to find your sweet spot. I still fidget with mine just to see what happens. For high frequency... Do you have a hard coffee table in between you & the speakers? That may be reflecting high freq's right at you. Do you have any photos of the room so we can all see what's going on in there?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeinid Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Has anyone compared the RP-280F to the RF-7 II? Which speaker is technically better for "audiophile" sound quality? I ordered a pair of RP-160M from eBay this morning for fun, and to get the flavor of the new series of speakers. I could see getting the better tower speakers on everyone's recommendation. If it turns out to be the RF-7 II's, I'd like to order them before they become scarce and prices get out of control. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrow#422 Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Wait awhile & buy them used @ 1/2 msrp like the rest of the gang? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeinid Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Wait awhile & buy them used @ 1/2 msrp like the rest of the gang? Ah, yes. But which ones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrow#422 Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 if you get both - used, you might pay approximately the same as buying ONE set new. Atmos or no? That would be the question. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeinid Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Ha! I get it. Klipsch are like potato chips, can't just have one 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeinid Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YK Thom Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Perhaps the RF7 IIs could be improved with the new RP horn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trentster5172 Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 My RF-7II's were a little brighter than my RF-82II's, which yours are a small improvement over. But, the RF-7's were extremely clear with the mids and highs so I loved them. From there I moved on to LaScalas, and now Klipschorns and Heresy's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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