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Just ordered RF-7II, did I make a mistake?


bkevind

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Finally decided to buy these.  But being late to the party, I now see the RF-7III will be available, presumably imminently.   Is it a mistake to get the II's now?

Will the III's be groundbreakingly different?  looks like the improved horn is likely the biggest step?  

 

When are the III's for sale?

 

Thanks!

Kevin

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22 minutes ago, bkevind said:

I now see the RF-7III will be available, presumably imminently.   Is it a mistake to get the II's now?

I don't think any of us have heard the RF-7III.  Many have heard the 7II and it is the flagship of the Klipsch Reference floorstanders, highly rated.  Is it a mistake to get the II's now?

 

Is it a mistake to get a 2017 BMW or Mercedes even though the 2018's are about to get released?

 

I honestly don't know.

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Additional thoughts:

 

Without A/B'ing the IIs and IIIs, I'm hesitant to say this, but I wouldn't think you'll be missing anything "groundbreakingly" different between the two. Assuming you got your IIs from Klipsch.com, you probably paid around $2,500 for the pair. The III's are suggested to be released this quarter at $3,800 a pair. Will there be a $1,300 difference in sound quality? dunno

The updated/upgraded "hybrid" tweeter is the biggest change, while it sounds like they're using the same drivers with "refinements" made as was stated in the CES video.

 

I'm tempted to say that at the same price point for the 7-IIIs, a fair amount of us would probably lean towards picking up a pair of the Forte IIIs.

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2 minutes ago, wvu80 said:

I don't think any of us have heard the RF-7III.  Many have heard the 7II and it is the flagship of the Klipsch Reference floorstanders, highly rated.  Is it a mistake to get the II's now?

 

Is it a mistake to get a 2017 BMW or Mercedes even though the 2018's are about to get released?

 

I honestly don't know.

 

Haha nice.  See with the car analogy, "it depends".  You know ahead of time when a particular model will have features / performance that is worth waiting for ;) But with speakers, you have to wait for reviews and a demo.  I was pretty happy to see the updates Klipsch did with the RP line, and I imagine the RF-7III will be pretty magical.  

 

Ah well.  I think I will try not to worry about it.   The II is a known quantity, and I want it as such.  If I must maybe I can mod it to get closer to whatever goodness comes with the III. 

 

But it will bug me.  Maybe if I just stay off the internet :D 

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7 minutes ago, haydukej said:

I'm tempted to say that at the same price point for the 7-IIIs, a fair amount of us would probably lean towards picking up a pair of the Forte IIIs.

That's an interesting observation, I hadn't thought of that.

 

I wouldn't think Klipsch would want two of their own speaker models fighting for the same price point.  I don't know sales figures for the Forte III's but they have had rave reviews so far and I haven't heard a single bad word about them.  Why kill sales momentum and consumer buzz with their own competing product?

 

And you can buy them now.  B)

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20 minutes ago, haydukej said:

Additional thoughts:

 

Without A/B'ing the IIs and IIIs, I'm hesitant to say this, but I wouldn't think you'll be missing anything "groundbreakingly" different between the two. Assuming you got your IIs from Klipsch.com, you probably paid around $2,500 for the pair. The III's are suggested to be released this quarter at $3,800 a pair. Will there be a $1,300 difference in sound quality? dunno

The updated/upgraded "hybrid" tweeter is the biggest change, while it sounds like they're using the same drivers with "refinements" made as was stated in the CES video.

 

I'm tempted to say that at the same price point for the 7-IIIs, a fair amount of us would probably lean towards picking up a pair of the Forte IIIs.

 

That is a great point, I didn't look for what the price of the III's is expected to be.  At +1300 difference, I agree it would not likely be worth the cost difference.  

 

I'm intrigued by the Forte III. For my use case currently it's the main room/media for movies shows and music.  RF-7 seemed like the right choice.  But I contemplated L/C/R of Forte III - that would be quite nice to look at, and probably sound very good.  I thikn of them maybe for our office, where it's mostly nostalgia / vinyl music enjoyment. However the office is quite small at 10x15

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20 minutes ago, haydukej said:

I'm tempted to say that at the same price point for the 7-IIIs, a fair amount of us would probably lean towards picking up a pair of the Forte IIIs.

Maybe so but most will use the RF-7III in a home theater configuration with the matching center and surrounds.  The Forte III has no "matching" center and surrounds so I really don't think they will "compete" for the same $$$'s most of the time.

 

Bill

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10 minutes ago, Ceptorman said:

I say enjoy your new RF7lls. There will always be something better, can't dwell on your past purchases. 

True.  I really have never had the desire to "upgrade" from my RF-63's to 83's or RF-7II's even though I have had the opportunity for little $$$'s out of pocket.

 

Bill

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30 minutes ago, bkevind said:

But I contemplated L/C/R of Forte III - that would be quite nice to look at, and probably sound very good.  I thikn of them maybe for our office, where it's mostly nostalgia / vinyl music enjoyment.

 

However the office is quite small at 10x15

Big speakers in a little room?  What kind of Klipsch whacko would do that?  :P

 

CF-4 Computer setup right 1.jpg

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8 minutes ago, wvu80 said:

Big speakers in a little room?  What kind of Klipsch whacko would do that?  :P

 

CF-4 Computer setup right 1.jpg

 

Well.  When you put it that way.  :D I'm clapping with approval but you probably can't hear a thing right now. :P

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Let's do a little History of some Klipsch speakers.  The Khorn, LaScala, Forte, and Corwalls are owned and loved by many.  Some of these speakers have underwent revision to a newer version.  Are the newer speakers dramatically different in sound, no IMHO.  This is not to say there were no improvements.  The same can be said for the Reference line.  I won't be rushing out to get the RF 7III unless a killer deal pops ups.

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6 hours ago, bkevind said:

Will the III's be groundbreakingly different?  looks like the improved horn is likely the biggest step?  

 

When are the III's for sale?

 

 

Not to make you have buyer's regret, but since you asked and other people are wondering...

 

Supposedly big improvements in the sound in the form of a less fatiguing horn, new compression driver, no bright hot spots anymore if you point the horns right at your head, and better imaging.  More arguably, improvements in cosmetics including the new chamfered matte black baffle and plinth.  I've seen and touched them, just didn't listen to them.  Should have a slightly more laid back sound like reference premier does.  

 

They're actually for sale now, I've been taking preorders for two months.  Should ship in the next week or two I think, sometime this month for sure.  Don't have exact date.  

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3 hours ago, MetropolisLakeOutfitters said:

 

Not to make you have buyer's regret, but since you asked and other people are wondering...

 

Supposedly big improvements in the sound in the form of a less fatiguing horn, new compression driver, no bright hot spots anymore if you point the horns right at your head, and better imaging.  More arguably, improvements in cosmetics including the new chamfered matte black baffle and plinth.  I've seen and touched them, just didn't listen to them.  Should have a slightly more laid back sound like reference premier does.  

 

They're actually for sale now, I've been taking preorders for two months.  Should ship in the next week or two I think, sometime this month for sure.  Don't have exact date.  

 

It's all good.  I know the III's have quite a bit changed.  It feels just fine to buy a well known and loved product rather than an unknown.  Will the III be better?  Most probably!  It will be different, most definitely. 

 

This hobby for me is about change, about exploration. I had and just sold off a pair of very competent SVS Ultra towers for just over a year.  Very good.  Perfect?  No way. But I have never heard something that made me 100% satisfied.  Maybe back when I was more idealistic and impressionable, in my early 20's demoing B&W Matrix 801 on a very expensive stack of equipment...it was really good.  So good, I couldn't even afford the connecting cables - so it must be incredibly good yeah?  A few years later dabbling in the HT biz for a short time, selling/installing M&K stuff and the full Meridian active setup - man I just didn't like this junk at all.  The Meridian was so...sterile to me. Perfectly setup, perfectly dialed in by the pros. Meh.

 

My faves that have come and gone in my life are the unexpected performers.  That $100 dollar pair of 20-30 year old speakers.  Whoa.  And the weird findings - like the old Klipsch KG's I had that sounded terrible on my Denon and on my NAD (which every other speaker loved).  Then randomly hook them up to a cheap Yamaha I had gathering dust - holy hell what just happened?   

 

I'm pretty sure the RF-7II are going to piss me off 10-20% of the time. I know that coming into it.  What I'm counting on is the other 80-90% of the time of incredible satisfaction.  Kind of like dating and marriage.  80% is pretty good satisfaction rating.

 

I like the idea that the RF-7II maybe can be tweaked a bit.  I like to mod things to improve them.  I mean why would you use cheap, resonant plastic as a way to shape sound in a reference level product?  I have no idea.  Well I kinda do, bean counters are the plague of all good engineering efforts.  

 

I guess this thread was to vent that bit of niggling doubt - maybe I should have gone for the III's.   Had there been overwhelming response of - "YOU IDIOT, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?!?"  then... I might have canceled the order :D

 

The good news is, I can always buy the III's later.  Or fortes, or whatever.  Maybe back to B&W (nah)?  or ... so many other interesting choices these days.  Today, I choose the uniquely Klipsch way, incredible dynamics and life like presentation.  Who knows, I might stick with this for the duration.  I need an excuse to explore the many weaknesses of my rather lame system, to improve on the what the Klipsch are faithfully, relentlessly portraying.

 

Yours in single malt Scotch,

Kevin

 

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10 hours ago, Ceptorman said:

Very well said Kevin. Just curious....what kind of music do you listen to? What will power your new RF7lls?

I have a feeling you will really like these speakers.

 

Whoa, I had a lot of Glenfiddich.  Went off the deep end a little bit with my last post!

 

I listen to a very wide variety of music, and we watch a lot of movies.  Ultimately we like rock the most, a little blues thrown in.  But truly almost all varieties, with the least listened to being classical/opera/pipe organ/etc. Some piano music - it's just so often disappointing sounding.  These days mostly stream music from Tidal, but also have an old CD collection (ripped to FLAC) as well as upper entry level record player for that nostalgia sound we enjoy. Too bad we don't have the vinyl collection of our youth!

 

Right now my ht is cheaply powered by a Yamaha Aventage 860, and an Outlaw 5000.  And cheaply cabled. I also have a NAD C372 integrated and the C272 amp.  So. I could bridge those to run a pair with pretty good power.  We'll see how things sound with what I have.  I could definitely use a "better" amp but if I can enjoy the sound with what I have I'll be happy.

 

1 hour ago, pzannucci said:

You may end up liking the IIs vs the IIIs.  You never know but at least you don't have to wait for something to come out, whenever, having enjoyment now.

 

Yeah exactly. And the II price point is pretty good at 2500/pr.  I may get a  little heartburn if/when that drops a lot more.

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