Please help me with my RF7's :(

[Zen Traveler]

It may be just me but I would put the jumpers back on the RF-7s and run one set of wires to each speaker.

 

EDIT: It also looks like the Marantz SR5011 is rated for 4 Ohm speakers and should be sufficient to drive those speakers without the outboard amps.

[Heritage_Head]

On 11/10/2016 at 7:14 PM, Gnfanatic said:

hello everyone, new guy here. I am hoping you can help me with my RF-7's that I finally hooked up after 8 years! They sat in a temperature controlled room and there is no dry rot or anything but my God do they sound harsh and to high. The center channel speaker (RC-52II) that is made in China sounds better then them I am very new to this and did some research, I have noticed I am not the only one complaining about how harsh they are. I have read up on the crossover mod by a man named Dean Wescott but I cannot find his website or contact info??? The speakers are hooked up to a Denon POA-8300 amp and I use a Marantz SR5011 as a preamp. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I tried messing with the receiver settings but cannot get rid of harshness. Please ignore the wiring mess Was trying all sorts of things thinking it was me.

 

 

 

Sorry to anyone who might have posted this already. My advise is the room might need some work treatments or possibly. It looks like a really bright room (lots of hard refection surfaces. 

[Heritage_Head]

7s are some really nice speakers. And that 52 center is a little toy next to 7s. Seriously owned both (well 7ii) and have owned the 52c its not even in the same galaxy. 

[Gnfanatic]

Ok guys.  Dis what you stated.  I have a xbox one for now to test sound.  Thats the best I can do.  Before I had a mortgage I had the money to buy the rf7. Now with a mortgage I dont have tje coin to spend 800 on a center channel.  I am on a budget at thd moment.  What do you guys think about these amps???  Thanks for the help

[Gnfanatic]

16 hours ago, Cinema_head said:

7s are some really nice speakers. And that 52 center is a little toy next to 7s. Seriously owned both (well 7ii) and have owned the 52c its not even in the same galaxy. 

Agreed.  I cant afford to go crazy at the moment. 

[Honeybadger]

18 hours ago, Zen Traveler said:

It may be just me but I would put the jumpers back on the RF-7s and run one set of wires to each speaker.

 

EDIT: It also looks like the Marantz SR5011 is rated for 4 Ohm speakers and should be sufficient to drive those speakers without the outboard amps.

Have you tried this? There is no need to Bi-Wire.

 

HB

[Zen Traveler]

1 hour ago, Gnfanatic said:

What do you guys think about these amps???

I really think you don't need them and should try the Marantz alone--If it doesn't get as loud as you want them after you have troubleshoot the problem then put them back in the mix....I also think rugs in front of your RF-7s could help and maybe a room treatment panel in front of the one that is so close to the wall (and make sure it's toed in). {Heck, then you could sell the amp and upgrade your center channel. :)}

[Gnfanatic]

Guys.  I will connect klipsch jumper wires back on the speakers and connect it to the Marantz.  I have no rear speakers and no decent bluray player.  So what would you do??  Say I sell both amps for 500. What is more important?   Rear speakers or better center channel and which model will work with my setup. 

 

 

[Zen Traveler]

1 hour ago, Gnfanatic said:

I have no rear speakers and no decent bluray player.

I'm really not sure what this means but really any Blu-ray player should do. Hook up the HDMI connection and then set up the AVR properly....If you don't have any surround speakers I would check the local used market for those and possibly a center channel upgrade. I've used older RS-3 surrounds with several systems and they work well.

 

{EDIT: Fwiw, the RS-3s are just one option and insofar as surround speakers go there are others that should work under $500 in the used market including the RS-7s which you may be able to find near that price and those are awesome and designed to go with the RF-7s--If you can find an RC-7 center channel that would be what I would pick up first before any surround channels because the latter you can skimp slightly on financially, imo.}

[wvu80]

On 11/11/2016 at 9:28 PM, Gnfanatic said:

I bi-wired the rf-7's, please look at the amp wiring. Literally I did post to post. BUT reading in back of the amp it looks like I am running at 4 ohms now, not 8 .

For an experiment let's try wiring the traditional way, do not bi-wire.  You are not running at 4 Ohms, I think that is a mis-understanding of how the amp works.  But let's put that aside for now, if you don't mind.

 

Use only the A outputs from the amp, and don't hook up the center channel.  I want to simplify.

 

Then run jumper wires to bridge the terminals on the speakers themselves.  That way one set of speaker wires will supply both the HF and LF signal to the speaker.

 

 

Then run some music and see if it sounds like it should.  RF-7's are top-of-the-line, they ought to sound tremendous.

 

Edit:  I missed the other posts directly upstream ^^^ but it looked like several others suggested the same thing I did.  Sorry for the redundant post.

 

They also suggested by-passing the external amp altogether and running directly from the Marantz.  I agree.  You won't get much benefit from an external amp until really high listening levels, and I don't think you will be able to hear any sound quality difference whatsoever between internal and external amps.

[willland]

Let me start here, the Denon POA-8300 is a nice amp.  Very controlled in the bass region with neutral mids and highs.  The fact that it is triple monoblock is a very good thing.  Use your Marantz as your preamp and connect the conventional way to your L-C-R.  Pull them away from the wall a bit and toe them in so the horns are aimed at a point about 12 inches behind your ears.  Soften that hard surfaced "live" room up a bit with thick throw rugs and fluffy pillows and drapes.  If Pandora is your only source at the moment, play(in stereo/2-channel direct) some acoustic guitar female singer songwriter types and just listen.  Adjust the toe in as needed and just listen.

 

Bill

[wvu80]

1 hour ago, willland said:

 Use your Marantz as your preamp and connect the conventional way to your L-C-R.  

 

I think what you mean by "conventional" is no bi-amp.  I know you know what that is but those kinds of terms can sometimes mean different things to different people. 

 

Even though the suggestions vary slightly, they are all on the right track.  I am thinking any combinations of the above suggestions should get the speakers sounding right.  It's just when trouble shooting I like to go for the least common deliminator to find success, then add components one at a time.

 

 

[willland]

12 minutes ago, wvu80 said:

I think what you mean by "conventional" is no bi-amp. 

That is correct.  I tossed around other terms like "normal" and "traditional" and came back to "conventional".

 

15 minutes ago, wvu80 said:

It's just when trouble shooting I like to go for the least common deliminator to find success, then add components one at a time.

Agreed.  I noted keeping the Denon amp in play because with it's superior bass drive capabilities over the Marantz it may offer a better balance from top to bottom.

 

Bill

[Zen Traveler]

37 minutes ago, willland said:

Agreed.  I noted keeping the Denon amp in play because with it's superior bass drive capabilities over the Marantz it may offer a better balance from top to bottom.

I just don't believe this to be true unless he listens at a loud level and/or experiencing clipping.

 

55 minutes ago, wvu80 said:

  It's just when trouble shooting I like to go for the least common deliminator to find success, then add components one at a time.

Yeah, this and if he wants to listen at louder volume or experiment then he should add the amp later.

[willland]

9 minutes ago, Zen Traveler said:

I just don't believe this to be true unless he listens at a loud level and/or experiencing clipping.

 

I get what you are saying but adding an amp can provide superior qualities like bass drive and detail even at lower volumes.

 

When I first bought my Heresy I's, I drove them with a 70's Marantz 2252B receiver.  The combo sounded great but I had to twist the volume knob a bit to get any sort of bass out of them.  Soon after I added an Acurus A150 to the mix and the difference was remarkable especially at lower volumes.  The bass tightness and thump with the Marantz/Acurus combo at lower volumes was equal to or better than higher volumes with just the Marantz 2252B.

 

Just my experience.

 

Bill

[Gnfanatic]

Guys.  I am going to work on the system tomorrow. I will get the speakers away from the wall a little.  What do you mean by toe??  Does that mean turn the speaker towers a little inward towards middle of room??  also the rs7 will be to big to install.  I am looking for something smaller.  Any ideas??   Possibly ceiling mount

[dtel]

On 11/12/2016 at 3:31 PM, Cinema_head said:

Sorry to anyone who might have posted this already. My advise is the room might need some work treatments or possibly. It looks like a really bright room (lots of hard refection surfaces. 

I agree completely about all the hard surfaces, it can make any speaker sound harsh. Also that left speaker is reflecting straight off that side wall, toe them in a little and some more sound absorbing things instead of hard floors and walls. 

 

Not a good idea to change any parts on the speaker to fix a room problem, imo. 

 

And a little playing time wouldn't hurt, they have been stored a long time.  

[Futurist]

On 11/11/2016 at 7:36 AM, pzannucci said:

If they were new and sitting for a long time, you might want to run them a while.  They will need to be broken in or re-broken in and played semi hard for a while.

Connections/phase, positioning is key also.  Your right speaker will likely be quite bass deficient.

 

With that, there are some crossover mods that Deang came up with to tame some harshness.

Why will the right one have less bass.. I thought there was something wrong with my speakers so I switch them and which ever one is on the left has more bass..

[Gnfanatic]

ok., this is the latest...

 

I got rid of the bi-amp setup and hooked it up the conventional way to my denon.

I moved the rf7's a foot off the wall and towed them in..

 

Sounds ALOT better! Still a tad to harsh but getting there!

now.....

I picked up a Velodyne F1500 for the orig owner and will refoam it this week, I am going to sell my Polk sub and use the Velodyne. Should hit hard

I need sorrounds but the RS7's are way to freaking big. I need something small to hang off the ceiling OR ceiling speakers, PLEASE help me find something that will go well with my rf7's.!

 

Thanks so much guys!! awesome community

I attached a pic of what it looks like behind the couch.

[wvu80]

2 hours ago, Futurist said:

Why will the right one have less bass.. I thought there was something wrong with my speakers so I switch them and which ever one is on the left has more bass..

Has this issue been resolved?  There should NOT be more bass on one side and it sounds like you have eliminated the speaker as the cause.

+++

 

Good job on the trouble shooting.  It sounds like you have the speakers back to sounding decent.  There really is a known issue with harshness on the HF of the speakers.  Once you get them sounding correct several posters here can give you specific advice as there is also a well known solution to the HF harshness.