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Amp for Klipsch rf-7?


Chazzz

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Hows it going? I have a pair of klipsch rf-7, rc-7, R-12sw, and a denon avr x2100w. The denon seems fine on movies but at about 3/4 volume on music using 2 channel the speakers get kind of muddy, but it doesnt seem like theyre being pushed that hard. So im thinking its the recievers. Any ideas on what I would need to make them still sound great at higher volumes? Im only 20 and in the army so dont have tons of money but I could swing whatever is necessary. Thanks!

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Chazzz,

 

Welcome to the forum and more importantly, thank you for your service.

 

You have a very nice set of speakers and the potential for you system is endless.

 

What is your crossover set in your AVR for your subwoofer? 

 

Are your RF-7's set to large or small in the AVR?

 

Where are you located?

 

What is your budget if you were to explore getting an outboard amp?

 

Bill

Edited by willland
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Bill,

Thanks for the response. I searched months to find the speakers for a decent price and im pretty happy with them. :-)

I believe my crossover is set to 80, Im on duty and cant check right now. So ill get back to you on that.

Ive tried both large and small, it doesnt seem to change the output or sound at all.

Im stationed on Ft. Lewis, WA right now.

Im not really sure what they usually cost because I have no experience beyond hooking speakers up to a reciever. Id say about $1000 but the cheaper the better!

Thanks,

Chaz

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Hi Chaz welcome to the forms and yes we certainly appreciate your service. One thing you will find the most clips reference speakers is that the Woolford does not move very much. I have a 200 W back to amp in my two channel set up and my RF seven I I woofers barely move as well . They are going to move to inches of excursion like you see in car subwoofers .

I have owned three home theater amplifiers that are at least 200 W each channel and each one of them I spent $750 or less .

Parasound HCA2205a (220 X 5)

B&K200.7 (200 X 7)

Sherbourn 7/2100a (200 x7)

All three of these amps sounded great. I probably could not tell the difference in a blind test between one amp and the next.

What each of them did provide was better separation of musical instruments, more bass even at low volume and crystal clear even at ridiculous levels.

An amp likely will not be a night and day difference but a noticalble improvement.

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Emotiva XPA-3 (200 x 3) or XPA-5 (200 X 5) are often used with great success and would be under budget if purchased used. A three channel amp would save you some money and would provide some slam for your front soundstage. Your receiver could easily drive your surrounds.

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Hey youthman,

Thanks for the reply!

Im sorry, I should've mentioned I only want more power for the front channels. I live in a duplex and I only watch movies at night so my reciever has plenty of power for my speakers with movies. I listen to music when the neighbors arent home though and I only run 2 channel then. 2.1 if im feeling some extra kick.

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I also feel like the woofers dont even move. I feel like for 10s they should be having way more impact, but I have very little bass without my sub on.

Check your crossover. RF7s are full range and you could put them to large ;)  If your receiver has an LFE/Bass setting...set it to "Both" or "LFE + Mains" or whatever the setting is to send the bass to both the mains and the sub. You should look into to getting an emotiva xpa2(probably can score a used one for about $500) or you can check out a used Outlaw amp.

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I also feel like the woofers dont even move. I feel like for 10s they should be having way more impact, but I have very little bass without my sub on.

Check your crossover. RF7s are full range and you could put them to large ;) If your receiver has an LFE/Bass setting...set it to "Both" or "LFE + Mains" or whatever the setting is to send the bass to both the mains and the sub. You should look into to getting an emotiva xpa2(probably can score a used one for about $500) or you can check out a used Outlaw amp.
yeah but this requires power! Which he doesn't have much of.

I say get a nice used 200 watt per channel stereo amp and spend the rest of your budget on a better sub :)

I know I know. He didn't ask about sub. I'm sure he has the 12" he has cause he got a killer sale price on it. Hey buddy I was 20 and in the military as well. I know what your going through. Spent 8 years in. Only thirty now so wasn't long ago. I tememeber sitting for 24 hour posts and spending hours on this forum. Your rf-7 setup deserves a better sub. If not now, down the road. I had a small sub when I lived in an apartment when I was stationed in San Diego. We moved to base housing and I got two big Svs pb-13 ultras after that. Huge difference.

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Neat, I put my system together on an early-twenties budget too!

 

I've been a fan of Adcom for quality budget equipment. I started with a 65w GFA-535 that I used to power my Synergy F-20s, and that was swell. When I upgraded to the RP-280F, I switched to a 125w Adcom GFA-7607.

 

I learned that bigger speakers, even if Klipsch's are more sensitive, prefer more power to -really- fill out how they should sound. The new pair (8" drivers instead of my old pair's 6") had an uneven low end on the 65w amp that smoothed out tremendously when given 125w; the upper registers of an upright bass, for example, would get a bit lost. Now they don't seem to strain for anything.

 

The GFA-535 cost $100 (and was also sold with a $100 GTP-500 preamp, so I paid $200 for the pair) and the GFA-7607 came for $500. I don't have much experience with higher end amps for comparison, but I know Adcom is well-regarded for quality budget power, and in my experience they're worth it. I had rough expectations from the 7607 since it's a 7-channel amp, but to my ear, it performs immaculately for two-channel. Most of their amps are high-current designs, so they're not upset by different resistance levels in different frequency ranges. (The 7607's manual, for example, implies that the transformer's thermal protection should only activate when driving seven 3-ohm speakers at very high volume. Whoa!)

 

Look for either their early GFA-series amps or more recent ones. I understand the GFA II series (GFA-535 II, GFA-545 II, etc) have wonky capacitors that, after years of use, tend to pop and blow the amp up. I don't know how common that is, but that's why I never bought one of those. You can also go for a big fat 7-ch amp like I did; I'm using mine for stereo, but it already solves the upgrade path to surround if I'd like.

 

Also, it could very much be your receiver's crossover limiting how much bass is sent to the RF-7s, but it could also just be their size. The benefit of big drivers is that they don't need to move much to do their work, which is why those speakers will sound so clean and unburdened. Thank you for your service!

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I have a Carver AV 806x, which is 133 watts per channel or can be configured in several other combinations. When 2 channels are bridged a 360 watt channel is produced, so you can have a 360 x 3 amp or 133 x 4 + 360 x 1, etc etc etc.

 

I have owned it since new although it did a stint at Sunburnwilly's pad for a little while :)

 

I also have an Adcom GFA 545II that I sometimes use to run a zone 2

 

I would part with one of these guys so if you're interested PM me.

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