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Buy Now Or Wait Till Fall


edison

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Okay, my adult son is salivating at the thought of getting my current Klipsch system which consists of RP280s, RP450C,& R15s surrounds.  I’m keeping my R-115 subs. These would be replaced by either RF-7IIs & RC-64II, or the soon to be released RF-7IIIs & matching center.

I realize few have heard the new IIIs (visitors to CES or Hope, AR perhaps). The IIIs will come in at a much higher price than I can get the IIs for currently (at least list price).   I don't expect the IIIs will be discounted as much initially, but I've been wrong before. :D   I've read about the improvements such as the new Tractrix horn, and Reference Premier style plinth and grill, but do you think the improvements will merit the new price differential.  I know, how can you judge the merits of a speaker you haven’t heard or seen?  If the changes are mainly cosmetic, I can live with the RF-7IIs. My son is urging me to buy now before the RF-7II stock runs low.  Of course he's not exactly disinterested. He sold audio for both Circuit City and Best Buy while in college so he knows what he's getting.

I've seen the videos from CES so I know what the IIIs will look like.  Unfortunately, I have this fatal flaw, I like to get in early.  As they say, you can always spot the pioneers, they're the ones with the arrows in the back.  If I jump in now I can enjoy the IIs and not worry about the pending price increase.  It's not that I'm dissatisfied with my current system, but "Please sir, I want some more," always echoes in my mind.

And before you say La Scalas, WAF means the new speakers must have the same form factor as my existing speakers. She who must not be named would not take kindly to the industrial box look of the LS in HER living room.  

edison

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I'm not sure what the current price of the RF-7ii is or what the RF-7iii will be but I don't think you can go wrong with the RF-7ii.  They are fantastic speakers.  Whatever you decide,it would be great if you could do some A/B comparison between the RP280's and the RF-7ii or RF-7iii when you get them. 

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Just re-watched the CES interview with the Klipsch spokesman where he said the RF-7IIIs would be $3800 a pair. One vendor thought the pricing would be:

 

Series III will be September

3699 and 1699 for center

 

edison

 

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14 hours ago, Coytee said:

Well then, I guess a free pair of MWM double bass cabinets is not going to fly eh?

Only if you personally come to my house and convince she who should not be named of the error of her thinking.  I would suggest Kevlar and asbestos at a minimum.  We could make this work. 

edison

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On 5/15/2017 at 0:19 AM, edison said:

It's not that I'm dissatisfied with my current system, but "Please sir, I want some more," always echoes in my mind.

 

KI-396-SMA-II or Jubilee.  Game over.  You gotta make that kind of jump to get a significant increase.  I've ran RP-280F's side by side with RF-7ii and RP-450C's sitting on top of an RC-64ii as to A/B them.  At lower volumes you can't hardly tell them apart with a movie playing.  Only time it really separates in an obvious way is higher volume with glass breaking and similar, or things like cymbal crashes where you can tell where the crossover point is, the compression driver on the RF-7ii really shines comparatively in some of these situations.  Otherwise to get a real and tangible increase in quality of sound, look at the pro line.  Problem is, there's no obvious choice for a center channel with a TV if you're stuck with using a horizontal one.  As for the RF-7III, I am very curious to see if they are a bit more laid back like I suspect but I have not heard them.  I do like the looks.  Most people don't but if you stare at them long enough they start to really make sense and look nice.  

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Well now you've given me a whole new set of variables. I feel I've truly gone down the rabbit hole. But I thank you for that information. I've heard about the pro line, just don't know much about it. [emoji43]
edison

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Or, to throw another variable in the mix, the Forte III is almost out.  It would have very similar footprint of the 7's.

I don't know what the price point difference would be between the new Forte 3 and 7's II or III.

We heard the new Forte's in Hope recently, and they were amazing.  They had Forte 3 and 7 II's and then Khorns all hooked up.

To me, the Forte's were amazing.  I found them more balanced and full sounding than the 7's.  And darn close to the what the Khorns sounded like honestly.

Of course the Khorns sound great, but they quite a bit bigger and have less WAF etc.

But if I were you, I would wait until you could get a chance to listen to the new Forte's and the new 7's back to back and then decide.

 

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I went to a local "high end" audio store to audition a set of RF-7IIs, but unfortunately it doesn't stock the 7s (said it was too hard to sell them at regular prices). It did have the RP280s and they sounded fantastic, better than mine in my living room. Of course my LR will never be as well set up as that listening room. What a fun, and expensive journey. Between watches, cruising, and audio I'm spending all my kids inheritance. [emoji3]
edison

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I recently had the RF-7 II's and even though I do consider them great speakers they really lacked detail and clarity when compared side by side to my refurbished HIP Heresy's. Plus the RF-7 II's have a peaky / screeching sound from the horn at certain frequencies, not always but it would rear its ugly head at least once per listening session. If you're into music at all and want great clarity I'd hold out for the forte III.

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On 5/17/2017 at 8:58 AM, jjptkd said:

I recently had the RF-7 II's and even though I do consider them great speakers they really lacked detail and clarity when compared side by side to my refurbished HIP Heresy's. Plus the RF-7 II's have a peaky / screeching sound from the horn at certain frequencies, not always but it would rear its ugly head at least once per listening session. If you're into music at all and want great clarity I'd hold out for the forte III.

 

what do you listen to and what is driving them? i thought just the opposite but mainly listen to EDM, some hip hop etc. both were driven by an adcom 5500 and 555ii pre amp 

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I run Sunfire separates and listen to a variety of music, classic rock / alternative but some newer stuff as well, kind of a mixed bag. My ported Heresy's have been modified with the Crites CT-120 tweeters, A-55g mids and the crossovers were re-capped with Sonicaps by Mr Crites so they've been improved a bit over stock. The difference in clarity and detail was significant-- going from the Heresy's to RF-7 II's was a big step back, except for the bass obviously.

 

I really like the Adcom 00 amps, had the 5400, 5500 and actually ran the 5800 for quite awhile. I'd probably still have the 5800 if it didn't heat my room up by 20 degrees, which through the winter was fine but summer time it had to go!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just to complete this topic.  I didn't (couldn't) wait for the RF-7IIIs to come out.  I did purchase the RF-7IIs for my fronts and the matching RC-64II center. 

 

Metropolis... As you suggested I did not notice a quantum leap in quality from my RP-280s, but my son definitely thinks there is some.  I plan on playing these for a few days in case there is a break in period.  That Pro series definitely sounds interesting, but it's a moot point until I upgrade again. We all know it will happen sooner or later.

 

Youthman... I did not have time to do an A-B comparison with my RP-280s.  I wanted to swap these out before the wife got home, but that didn't work as she had already spotted them in the garage. :D I figured the II series couldn't be too bad since you use them for the stereo system in your living room.

 

For those who suggested I wait for the Fortes or Heresies, I had already made my purchase.  It will be a WHILE before I buy another speaker. I was really interested in the La Scalas, but that wasn't going to work out for a number of reasons, primarily space and appearance.

I stayed with black since that was what I had and they were readily available.

 

Now if the III series is truly better and Klipsch wants to replace my IIs, I'm on board.  In the meantime, I'll just enjoy my newest acquisition.  Thanks to all who responded.

 

edison

(Boy, these things are massive)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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11 minutes ago, edison said:

Just to complete this topic.  I didn't (couldn't) wait for the RF-7IIIs to come out.  I did purchase the RF-7IIs for my fronts and the matching RC-64II center. 

 

Metropolis... As you suggested I did not notice a quantum leap in quality from my RP-280s, but my son definitely thinks there is some.  I plan on playing these for a few days in case there is a break in period.  That Pro series definitely sounds interesting, but it's a moot point until I upgrade again. We all know it will happen sooner or later.

 

Youthman... I did not have time to do an A-B comparison with my RP-280s.  I wanted to swap these out before the wife got home, but that didn't work as she had already spotted them in the garage. :D I figured the II series couldn't be too bad since you use them for the stereo system in your living room.

 

For those who suggested I wait for the Fortes or Heresies, I had already made my purchase.  It will be a WHILE before I buy another speaker. I was really interested in the La Scalas, but that wasn't going to work out for a number of reasons, primarily space and appearance.

I stayed with black since that was what I had and they were readily available.

 

Now if the III series is truly better and Klipsch wants to replace my IIs, I'm on board.  In the meantime, I'll just enjoy my newest acquisition.  Thanks to all who responded.

 

edison

(Boy, these things are massive)

 

 

Speakers wide.jpg

Speakers RF-7II reduced.jpg

so you dont think those are worth 3 or 4 times the cost of the rp280s? im sort of on the same boat

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If I had paid 3-4 times the cost of my RP-280 system I might have been underwhelmed and suffer buyer's remorse, but I paid substantially less than that.  Yes, there was a premium over my RP280s, but part of that was offset by my son.  BTW, he ended up with my older R28 speakers and not my RP280s.  They've already found their way to the basement to upgrade that system.  I'm going to take some time and really listen to the new speakers.  I learned with the old speakers that you may have to tweak the setup and position to get the best sound.

edison 

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