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Wuzzer's Dilemna


vasubandu

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I have a dilemna, so I was doing so research, only to find that @wuzzzer was in the same position back when I was in high school (OK, not really, but it was a long time ago).

 

 

  @jjptkd has a pair of Forte II that I could get for a song, or I could get my RF-7 for $950 to fill out my RC-7, RS-7, PB2 Plus system.  And before you scream, "stay in the same line," there are a lot of people out there who have blended the with good results.  I am not sure where Wuzzer ended up,  but maybe he will say.

 

Then I found a Youtube video comparing the Forte iii and RF-7 ii by this guy named Youthman.  Damn, it is a small world. 

 

 

I have to say that on Youthman's video, I prefer the RF-7, but that may just be because it is louder or because I watched on Youtube with my computer.  To make a really bad analogy, it seemed like the Forte had more flavors, but did not taste as strong so that I had to strain to catch it all, but that turning up the volume would not change that. It seemed subdued.  

 

So the question for me do I take the safe route and get the RF-7 or do I try something crazy and go for the Forte II?  According Klipsch, they both have a range of 32 Hz to 20 kHz.  The Forte has 99 dB and the RF-7 102, but I am not sure it is the same measurement.  Power is 100/500 for the Forte and 250/1000 for the RF-7.  Everyone talks about how big the Forte are, but they weigh 67 pounds and the RF-7 weigh 94.  

 

I have read that the Forte have the magical Klipsch midrange, while the RF-7 do not, but I am not entirely sure what that means.  And something about the RF-7 having a better high end. 

 

These speakers are not going to play classical music.  It is home theater.  So should I go for the Forte II or not?

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Get the RF-7s to match the rest of system.  The 7s really do a bang up job for HT.  Though I do think you should negotiate that price down a bit.

Find another pair of Forte IIs down the road and have yourself a nice separate stereo rig.

 

Bill

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I agree, get the 7's for HT. When I did HT, I had 7's all the way around with the RC-7 center and it was awesome. Combined with some nice SVS subs you might not leave the house for for a while....

Before you run out and get something like the Forte's for two-channel, I'd do a good comparison of the two because they are two very different flavors.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

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OK @willland ,@wuzzzer and @SWL you have convinced me, so I am going to stop overthinking this and just get the RF-7.  But I would point out that Wuzzer overthought this too in 2006, Youthman was still comparing them in 2017, so this actually feels like a really quick decision.  

 

I do plan to do a two-speaker music setup once I get this one figured out, but I had been planning to try to do something with planar speakers.  In know, I know, there isn't any bass.  Except maybe there is.

http://alsyvox.com/

Their main one is rated at 22-40000 Hz, and their largest supposedly goes down to 18.  Magnepan now has a panel that runs 40-200 Hz.  And Infralanar says they have one that goes 10-110 Hz, but is it a 4x4 foot panel.  http://infraplanar.free.fr/LS150.htm.  There is a hilarious 2008 discussion of it in the apogeeacoustics forum here http://www.apogeeacoustics.com/oldforum/007292.html. Oh dang.  He died of cancer in 2011.  No wonder we don't know about them, but some do exist.  Maybe I can find one and make my own.

 

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You have to determine what kind of listener you are. That so called 'magical midrange' is not for everyone. Just like a speaker with prominent bass is not for everyone.

At this point, what kind of listener would you describe yourself as.....and what type of music do you predominantly listen to?

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@SWL I never thought about that.  If I had to pick a band that is representative of my tastes, I would say U2.  I like Bono's voice, and I like the fact that I understand his words and hear the emotion in it.  Not a fan of country. I don't mind harder rock, but not to the point that I cannot effortlessly understand the words, and not to the point where it become a cacophony of noise.  I also like classical music, but mostly live for some reason.  Maybe because I can can watch one of the people and isolate their sound.

 

As far as home theater goes, I am a dialog guy.  In general, I want sound that is as detailed and clear as possible. Don't play things really loud, but loud enough.  

 

Based on my experience with the Millenia speakers, I would observe that in addition to volume, sound seems to have a quality of fullness.  No matter how loud I made them, I felt like I was straining to catch things.  With my current setup (JBL Stadium Venue fronts, RC-7 Center and RS-7 surrounds), the sound just seems to fill the room.  I am pretty sure that the actual voilume is considerably higher than it was, but we don't notice because it seems to effortless and relaxed compared to the Millenia.  

 

Not sure if that makes any sense or not.

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2 hours ago, vasubandu said:

I do plan to do a two-speaker music setup once I get this one figured out, but I had been planning to try to do something with planar speakers.  In know, I know, there isn't any bass.  Except maybe there is.

Unfinished business:  My vote is also for the RF-7's.  They are very versatile and will blend easily into your 5.1 setup, and also excellent in 2.0.

+++

On to planars:

 

I used to own Magnapan Magnaplaners, MG-1.  They were the most accurate speakers I've ever owned, very pleasant sound.  You can listen to them all day long without any kind of "listener fatigue."  The bass is not an issue.

 

What you can't get from simply reading specs is the Maggies are VERY finicky to set up.  They need 2 feet from the back wall because they fire out of the front and back, so they need that boundary "bounce."  They must be toed in just right to the MLP.  You can't put anything between them like a TV or your audio equipment.  I was newly married and my wife hated them because they were 3 feet wide and 5 feet high.  She put a GIANT FLOWER in front of them.  :ph34r2:  The Maggies had to go.  :(

 

For them to sound good you must be sitting (not standing) and be right between them.  Stand up and you lose the dynamic sound.   Move two feet to one side, they don't sound as good, in fact they sound thin.  But while you are sitting down listening to music, it is sheer heaven.  Just magical.

 

I had the Maggies 30 years ago when all we had was stereo setups.  I doubt they would work well in a 5.1 setup.

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Yeah @wvu80 but what if you put it in the ceiling of a room in the top floor of a house so that it had the open attic space to the roof behind it.  Maybe build a box around the back to define the space.  Nothing between it and you.  The sound would just appear out of nowhere.  The wife is now thrilled because there is not a speaker in the room (this is a special planar that handles the subwoofer work).  Life is good.

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15 minutes ago, vasubandu said:

Yeah @wvu80 but what if you put it in the ceiling of a room in the top floor of a house so that it had the open attic space to the roof behind it.  Maybe build a box around the back to define the space.  Nothing between it and you.  The sound would just appear out of nowhere. 

I followed your link to the Infraplaner.  It looks fantastic.

 

I don't understand how you would put a Magnaplaner in the ceiling of a room.  But the bigger point is if you can set them up properly, the sound is like nothing you've ever heard.  You don't hear speakers, (if classical music) you hear the horn section on the right beside the trombones.  You hear the tymp further back and still on the right.  You hear the different sections of the trumpets, 1st part, 2nd part, 3rd part in a semi-circle on your left.  The tuba sound is an umbrella above the rest of the orchestra.  The imaging is amazing.

 

When I auditioned the Magnapans way back when, I used a high definition recording of Chuck Mangione's Feels So Good.  My buddy came by with his flugal horn and I played the opening solo to FSG, then my buddy would play.  With my eyes shut, they sounded the same! 

 

I bought the Maggies.  :D

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