RF-7 II don't need much power

[Grizzog]

In a lot of places around the interwebs, it is said that the RF-7 II need a lot of power. Granted, they will handle a ton of power, but they don't need it.

Tonight, I decided to test the power issue with my NAD D 3020. This is a class D amp with 30wpc into 8 ohms. It is, however, stable to 2 ohms.

I do not have a huge room. It is about 21x14x7.5. The NAD/RF combo sounded absolutely stunning. At low volumes, the sound is rich and full. Turning it up, this little guy has enough power to run you out of the room. The pair honestly sounded like a slightly leaner, yet perhaps cleaner, version of my big setup of Altec 19s.

I've come to the conclusion that the RF don't need a lot of power, but they need clean power. Being stable to 2 ohms, the NAD is able to handle the few dips below 4 ohms that the RF present. For movies you may want more headroom, but for music, this is more than enough.

I wanted to share my experience for anyone that may be concerned about the power issue. I wouldn't say your bottom-tier receiver could power these well, but any quality amp will have no trouble.

[derrickdj1]

Very nice review and I concur that you don't necessarily need a big behemoth of an amp to run them.  I like using my tube hybird amp for music with the RF 7's.

[Grizzog]

Very nice review and I concur that you don't necessarily need a big behemoth of an amp to run them. I like using my tube hybird amp for music with the RF 7's.

That has to sound pretty amazing. I'd love to try these with my tube amp, but I really don't want to move them again and nowhere to put the tube amp in their room.

[Ceptorman]

 

Very nice review and I concur that you don't necessarily need a big behemoth of an amp to run them. I like using my tube hybird amp for music with the RF 7's.

That has to sound pretty amazing. I'd love to try these with my tube amp, but I really don't want to move them again and nowhere to put the tube amp in their room.

 

Longer cables

[robert_kc]

My RF-7’s (actually I have one RF-7, and one RF-7 II) are in my basement system, where I have the following amps:  Scott 272, Scott 222C, McIntosh MX110Z / Scott LK150, Fisher KX-200, Marantz 2325 solid state receiver, Pilot SA-260, Scott 210F (mono), Fisher TA 500 (mono), and an Inspire “Fire Bottle” SE Stereo Tube Amplifier HO (hand built by Dennis Had). 

 

This past winter I spent quite a bit of time tube-rolling the Inspire single-ended tube amp to voice it to complement my RF-7s.  I arrived at the following tube complement:  6N2P-EV / GT6L6 GE (6L6GC) / 5AR4.  This puts out approximately 10wpc, and sounds fabulous.   The best sound compared with any of the other amps in this system.  (I don’t use a pre-amp with the “Fire Bottle” power amp – I utilize the Oppo’s variable output.)   Barely enough gain for high-res (24/192) classical recordings when not using a pre-amp.  Ample gain for big band recordings.   (Pop recordings are typically mastered at much louder average volume levels than hi-res classical.)  And ample bass and dynamics for all but the largest scale orchestral music (e.g., Mahler Symphony 2). 

 

Nonetheless, on Wednesday I plan to try my recently acquired Klipsch R-115SW subwoofer in this system.   (A new Klipsch Palladium P-312W subwoofer will displace the R-115W in my TV room system that has Palladium P-37F.)  My basement system with the RF-7’s currently has an older model Oppo DV-980H SACD/CD/DVD player, which according to the documentation supports a 2.1 configuration.  (As soon as Oppo introduces a new universal player (late 2016), I’ll shuffle players between systems, and a BDP-95 will be installed in my basement system.)   It will be interesting to hear if off-loading the deep bass from the SEP amp and RF-7s improves sound quality.  (I listen to classical and opera.)   As it’s currently configured, I think the sound quality is excellent, and IMO this SEP / RF-7 configuration represents an excellent value.  (But I never stop experimenting ...)

 

Of course “tube watts” go further than “solid state watts”.   IME 10wpc of tube power is adequate to drive the RF-7s to a satisfying volume level in an average size room.  And IMO tubes (particularly single-ended) and Klipsch go together like peanut butter and jelly. 

 

More to follow …