rf 7 with deang crossover vs rf82s

[billy boy]

Hi I'm a new member here and long time audiophile who loves music.

I have rf82 IV and are now looking at a set of rf7 originals with deang crossovers. I like the nice tight bass of the 82s. However at times I like to listen at loud 105 to 110db levels, usually after a few beers, and can hear the 82s strain, hardening, of the sound. The amp is a 70lb 250 watt ch Perreaux, very smooth and stays in class A up to 15watts  I like a lot of different styles of music,Blues to Classical and everything in between. My room is 21 by 14. Now what I want to know is the bass of RF7 tight as the 82s. The 7s crossing over 2200 hz seems high for a ten inch woofer, is that changed with the deang mod? Does the 7 play louder than the 82s without compression, strain. I like the highs of of the 82s but at times i hear some simbilance on  some female vocals. Are the highs on the modded Rf7s similar to the  not modded 82s. I do like the snappy quick sound of the high end on the 82s and would not want a tweeter damped down to much on the modded 7s, what i would like is the highs similar to the 82s highs but a little smoother more refined.   The reason I ask is the RF7s are 200 miles away and not easy to audition, however I will make the effort if people here could give me some direction on the modded 7s. Oh i forgot I also use  B&W ASW 1000 sub which is very quick and tight.  A Denon avr 4000 serve as the preamp and uses Audessy RM Correction. Any thoughts?

Edited May 17, 2017 by billy boy
spelling

[derrickdj1]

What you are asking is extremely difficult.  Many people like the modded R.'s with the Dean XO.  At the same time some are ok with the original RF 7.  I only went as far as the transistor mod and this will cut out the shrill and other complaints.  This also cuts out the sparkle in the Hi's to some extent.  I would expect the bass in the RF 7 or modded RF 7 to be every bit as thight as the RF 82 since most of this occurs above the XO.  Speaker driver size often get's blame for the bass sharpness and quickness but, those frequencies are higher up and related to phase and time alignment issues.  People do all kind of crazy things like change different gear and that is not the real problem or the best way to solve it.

 

I un-did my transistor mod and ultimately prefer the RF the way the manufacture made them.  I compared them next to the current RF 7 II's.  The RF 7 had the nod on bass and the RF 7 II's had the nod on midrange may not be perfect but, they do so many things right that they are high on the all around list in a lot of circles.  Don't get hung up on the XO frequency and theoretical sound.

 

Others will give their perspective but, in the end, you need to hear the speakers.  Your taste will be unique to only you.

 

[pzannucci]

derrickdj1,

Precisely said.  Many folks like the more "smile" eq'd sound and many like mid-range centric or balanced.  Choose your weapons wisely.

[jjptkd]

I would have to believe that the 7's would easily outperform the 82's, especially at higher volumes. I don't know the details of the Deang mods but thought they had to do more with the woofers than the horn? Either way the 7's are / were the flagship models of the reference line and use significantly higher quality cabinets and drivers plus being the next size up means they will take a lot more power before showing signs of strain. I'd say get them if the price is right and check them out.

[billy boy]

Thanks all.

I guess you are right. I could buy the 7s and if I don't like the modded sound I could remove the resistor in the DeanG mod. Also are the changes in the resistor values such that there are values of resistors in between the original and the Deang mod so one could tailor the sound by using different resistors. Does anyone know what other changes to the crossover other than upgrading the Caps, Coils,  etc does DeanG do to the Xovers.  Is there a lot of other changes in the values/specifications of the components he used that if I don't want that are easily replaceable that change the specifications from the original engineers Xovers . I'm not practiced at soldering and have poor vision. I'm 60 and have not done any soldering since i was a teenager and built a Hafler preamp kit. The other alternative would be to purchase new original Xovers  from Klipsch, however that may prove to be expensive. Any idea's as to what the original RF7s Xovers  cost from Klipsch and if the wires connected to the drivers are soldered to the Xover circuit board or are push on terminals?

Thanks again for any insight provided.

[CECAA850]

Where are you located Billy Boy?

 

I modded mine with the resistor and found them much less harsh, especially at louder volumes.  The difference was very noticeable to me.  I liked the mod so much I eventually sent the whole crossovers to Dean for the complete mod, which in addition to the extra resistor, includes better parts (different parts if we're being P.C.) throughout.

 

The wires for the drivers are soldered to the board.

[CECAA850]

This is the mod.  I just hot glued the resistor to the board, bent the resistor leads around the board and soldered them to the existing resistor leads.  Basically you're just putting another resistor in parallel with the existing one.

[billy boy]

This may be a stupid question but does DeanG mark the Xover so that one can easily distinguish between the original and his xovers. Or does one have to pull the Xover to see the modded components. Like does he sign the the speaker terminal backing plate or something like that? Some unscrupulous seller may say the Speaker has been modded and I would have no way of confirming that without pulling the xover and comparing components on the board. Not try to immune anyone's reputation, just that I have no relationship with the seller other than a PH call.

[billy boy]

Ok thanks I could do that or undo it whatever the case may be. Thanks for the Pic.

[wvu80]

Billy Boy you are listening to SPL that could be harmful to your hearing.  Be very attentive to what your ears are telling you.  If you start hearing some ringing it's not too late because your ears can recover in the short term.  It's god's way of telling you "turn it down."  Don't wait until you're 60 and can't get to sleep because the ringing in your ears is too loud and won't go away.

+++

 

I have not heard RF-7's and I would trust the opinions of those who own them.  ^^^

 

My general take is, if you want more horsepower, get a bigger horse.  I find larger speakers like La Scala and Khorns to be able to play at higher SPL with less effort, ie, less distortion.  You can play those larger speakers louder because they tend to have lower distortion levels.

[billy boy]

Thanks for the advice but is very occasionally that i crank it up to that level and only for a song or 2.

[CECAA850]

There are no external markings on Deans but removing 4 screws will tell you what you have if you know what you're looking for.

 

There was a seller here once that said he was selling RF-7's with DeanG modded crossovers and horns.  Dean never modded horns.  We busted him in short order and he disappeared.  I say that because you never know.  Trust but verify.

[CECAA850]

The easiest way to tell if dean worked on them is he used Mills resistors instead of the white ones in my picture.  They're brown like these.

 

[wvu80]

1 hour ago, billy boy said:

Thanks for the advice but is very occasionally that i crank it up to that level and only for a song or 2.

There are charts and graphs for that, but for every once in a while and only for a few minutes, that is not considered harmful long-term.  It sounds like you have good common sense about that.

 

I usually listen at about -10 from reference which is 82 on my AVR, but I guarantee you I have my occasional times and certain tunes where I like to unleash the Khorns! 

[billy boy]

Thank all for your courteous replies. Does Deang still do mods and if so how does one contact him?

[Mallette]

Just ping @Deang

Dave