Klipsch RF-7 III vs RF-7 II vs RF-7 - AUDIO DEMO

[Youthman]

Here is an audio demo comparing the Klipsch RF-7 III vs RF-7 II vs RF-7. 

 

 

 

[Lemon string]

Great job! Thanks for sharing and taking the time to do it. 

 

Honestly hard for me to tell on the lap top.... they all sound good:) Maybe I'll cue it up on the Khorns???? 

[Youthman]

Thanks bro.  I hear a difference in person and people claim they hear differences on their systems or nice headphones.  Guys watching on their phones always say "I can't hear a difference on my phone"  LOL.  You are right, all three speakers rock!  My ears prefer the RF-7 III slightly over the RF-7 II for certain tracks but then there have been other tracks that I played that the RF-7 II sounded better.  The RF-7 are a bit on the bright side in my room, especially since I have a lot of hard surfaces.  I hear some differences in midrange between the RF-7 III and RF-7 II but the bass response seems to be on par on all three.

[bkevind]

In person is of course the way to go.  Recording oddities, youtube compression, playback system oddities and headphone or speakers variances etc have an effect on playback. 

 

However I find it at the least an interesting diversion.  I can certainly hear a difference on my headphones.  

 

You got me thinking about the DeanG network tweaks, but then my RF-7II are for multi-channel movie, so then they would likely not match up as well to my 64ii center. 

[Youthman]

6 minutes ago, bkevind said:

In person is of course the way to go.

I could invite the entire Klipsch Community over for a demo.....we might have to have a rotation schedule though haha

 

I haven't listed mine yet but I'll likely be selling my Deang crossovers since Klipsch is sending me another model in March to review and this week SVS is shipping me their Ultra Towers to review.  Since I've got the only pair of Deang for RF-7 II's, it doesn't benefit anyone for me to compare any speakers to them not to mention, it's too much hassle to keep swapping crossovers back and forth. 

[bkevind]

1 minute ago, Youthman said:

I could invite the entire Klipsch Community over for a demo.....we might have to have a rotation schedule though haha

 

I haven't listed mine yet but I'll likely be selling my Deang crossovers since Klipsch is sending me another model in March to review and this week SVS is shipping me their Ultra Towers to review.  Since I've got the only pair of Deang for RF-7 II's, it doesn't benefit anyone for me to compare any speakers to them not to mention, it's too much hassle to keep swapping crossovers back and forth. 

 

I had the SVS Ultra towers and center channel prior to my Klipsch setup.  Frankly I loved their capabilities.  Unfortunately I sold them in preparation for the RF-7II purchase so I could not directly compare.

 

They are excellent speakers, incredibly well built and can handle whatever punishment you choose to dish out.  I think you'll like them.  They do so much well.  One fault people find in them is that they are too neutral and for some come across as a bit bright (they're not, they are ruler flat neutral), so for those that want that British sound, or some other massaged non-flat response - yeah they aren't that.

 

I would say that, after coming to appreciate what Klipsch delivers with the horn loaded tweeters, you will likely miss that right away, for some music anyway.  That efficient, lively sound.

 

I found the bass when run in full range to be a little bit boomy, but that has so much to do with placement and the room interaction.  Give the ports some space.  Mine were too close to the wall, but I usually had them crossed at 80Hz, except for occasional 2 channel listening.  Give them plenty of power while you're at it   During one particularly LOUD listening session with my wife (lots of wine was consumed) we sent my Outlaw 5000 into protection mode.  Listening levels were dangerously loud.

 

The only reason I switched out, was because my wife hated the slanted design of the Ultras.  It bugged her at a molecular level.  Yet she is fine with giant Klipsch towers   Well, that and I had a mission to find some new speakers, which is always a fun pursuit.

 

She is a Klipsch lady at heart, so it was an easy transition.

 

I could not let go of the Ultra bookshelf speakers however, so for now they are performing rear surround duties.  Once in a while I bring them into the office for proper listen.

 

[rbrown0678]

My thoughts are the 11 were recess  slightly  vale. It would have been nice to hear what the Dean network sounded like.  I do understand and respected  your decision .What was the determinate factor was in how the spkr was set up,location wise

Would you say with  a less neutral amp the top end on the seven would bring it closer to the 111.looking to future updates . Thks 

[bkevind]

It's funny.  For me I find the III's to be...more restrained sounding.  The I and II sound a bit more free wheeling.  This could what better control sounds like, what a more refined sound is all about. Maybe the I and II are making more "noise" than intended in the recordings.

 

Again I hear in the 3's just more "thickness" in all the right ways.  It's an excellent, proper thick sound yet with more space.

 

I'd be happy with any of these pairs.  I am happy with my IIs

 

@Youthman thanks again for taking the time and effort to produce these videos.  I enjoy them.

[Youthman]

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement.

[willland]

6 hours ago, bkevind said:

 

 

@Youthman thanks again for taking the time and effort to produce these videos.  I enjoy them.

What he said.

 

Bill

[dmb12679]

Great stuff as always.  Thanks

[Hasty]

Listening on 1080p setting through a restored Pioneer SX-1980, and KEF LS50 monitors the differences were apparent from what I heard.   

 

The RF7-i sounded noticeably bright.  The bass sounded really punchy although not as tight as the others.

 

The 7-ii sounded laid-back on the top end.  The DeanG crossovers really mellow the high frequencies apparently.  I've had 7-ii's in my living room for over a year, so I'm fairly aware of the way those sound.

 

The 7-iii's sound noticeably better at everything.  More detailed,  tighter bass,  although both the iii and the ii are significantly better than the original.  

 

 

[parlophone1]

I guess it depends on reproduction device.

I plugged in my  Beyerdynamic DT990pro into a laptop which can drive the headphones pretty good.

To my ears the RF7 had best highs and lows, but taking into consideration that DT990 have coloration in high frequencies and accentuated bass, I would say Hasty is more close to reality regarding the sound of all three speakers.

[Deang]

On ‎2‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 11:12 PM, bkevind said:

 It bugged her at a molecular level

 

Very funny. lol.

[gago1101]

Reviving this thread. Great comparison video, thank you!

 

Interesting to note how the series progresses from RF7 to RF7iii. Easy way to describe is in-your-face forward sound with the original RF7s and mellowing out with the RF7iiis. From that very limited demo, I kind of prefer the RF7ii, but the video and the tracks heard can be tricky.

 

Anyway, I am wondering if anyone has looked inside the RF7iiis or can share any pictures if for any unlikely reason it has been disassembled. I am trying to see what Klipsch has done when they talk about isolating the woofers to mitigate potential standing waves.

 

[Youthman]

39 minutes ago, gago1101 said:

Great comparison video, thank you!

Thanks gago.

[TVSMusic]

This is a long story, but I feel I should share. Around Christmas I purchased a new pair of Cornwall iiis to replace my Fortes in the downstairs stereo. I noticed a slight improvement over the Fortes, but I was convinced that the Cornwall’s were the best I ever had. After a couple of weeks I was becoming skeptical so I brought the RF-7iis down from upstairs. Thank goodness I did this! The RF-7iis were superior in every way to me. Deeper, tighter bass, clearer mids and highs. I called my Klipsch dealer who agreed to trade my Cornwall’s for a pair of RF-7s, but now the ii’s were out of production so it had to be RF-7iii’s. I was skeptical of this because of this very posting, as it seemed the iii’s were “duller” than the ii’s when I listened to this video. When they arrived I hooked up both sets to my integrated amp so I could have someone switch between the ii’s and iii’s. My skepticism was correct... the iii’s were duller, harder to hear vocals and guitars, and quite a bit of bass punch was gone. I was hoping it was position, so I switched the iii’s to the more advantageous corner spots. Slight improvement, but the ii’s still win hands down for me. I broke the iii’s in for another 3 weeks, but no improvement. To check my results with others, I left this set up for a couple months and have now had 27 different people listen. 25 selected the RF-7ii’s and 2 selected the iii’s. Most of the 25 said they could hear the difference immediately. The 2 that selected the iii’s were my Klipsch dealer rep and someone who admittedly doesn’t listen to much music at all. Since this time I have searched the internet for leftover RF-7ii’s and have successfully found a new pair to replace my iii’s. I strongly encourage anyone to compare these before buying the iii’s. Maybe Klipsch can come out with a replacement crossover for those of us who far preferred the ii’s? I will be glad to test them, I have not sold my iii’s yet but they are unhooked and sitting in the corner for now while I enjoy my ii’s! 

[robert_kc]

3 hours ago, TVSMusic said:

This is a long story, but I feel I should share. Around Christmas I purchased a new pair of Cornwall iiis to replace my Fortes in the downstairs stereo. I noticed a slight improvement over the Fortes, but I was convinced that the Cornwall’s were the best I ever had. After a couple of weeks I was becoming skeptical so I brought the RF-7iis down from upstairs. Thank goodness I did this! The RF-7iis were superior in every way to me. Deeper, tighter bass, clearer mids and highs. I called my Klipsch dealer who agreed to trade my Cornwall’s for a pair of RF-7s, but now the ii’s were out of production so it had to be RF-7iii’s. I was skeptical of this because of this very posting, as it seemed the iii’s were “duller” than the ii’s when I listened to this video. When they arrived I hooked up both sets to my integrated amp so I could have someone switch between the ii’s and iii’s. My skepticism was correct... the iii’s were duller, harder to hear vocals and guitars, and quite a bit of bass punch was gone. I was hoping it was position, so I switched the iii’s to the more advantageous corner spots. Slight improvement, but the ii’s still win hands down for me. I broke the iii’s in for another 3 weeks, but no improvement. To check my results with others, I left this set up for a couple months and have now had 27 different people listen. 25 selected the RF-7ii’s and 2 selected the iii’s. Most of the 25 said they could hear the difference immediately. The 2 that selected the iii’s were my Klipsch dealer rep and someone who admittedly doesn’t listen to much music at all. Since this time I have searched the internet for leftover RF-7ii’s and have successfully found a new pair to replace my iii’s. I strongly encourage anyone to compare these before buying the iii’s. Maybe Klipsch can come out with a replacement crossover for those of us who far preferred the ii’s? I will be glad to test them, I have not sold my iii’s yet but they are unhooked and sitting in the corner for now while I enjoy my ii’s!