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R28fs to replace my beloved Infinity SM155s ?


ckohan

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I am new here and I hope I am doing this right so Ill just start with this. I was quite a stereo buff until I discovered computers and my love for music faded into the past. Well not my love for music. Just my love for my stereo. I will only talk amps and speakers here since at least for me. They are the heart and lungs of any good system so to speak. First off I will say I am pushing a set of Infinity SM155s with a Parasound D/AS 1000 Amplifier and plan on hooking up a Kenwood 4090 AV Receiver to it. I know they are both vintage but they sound great and have a lot of power and features and at the time my budget will only allow for a good set of speakers costing no more than $1000. Anyhow  the infinities have been great but the High and Mid-Range dials are shorting out. (still work but , well you know). I also re-foamed them and replaced the tweeters with external horns. Here is my dilemma and feel free to call me an idiot if you like. Would it be worth it to replace the SM155s with a set of Klipsch R28fs? The Infinity speakers still sound very good and I don't know if the $700 set of R28s will be much better. Should I just wait till they die then replace them. Years ago I had a very nice $1200 Onkyo AV receiver and I did not know a CD was playing and the volume was way up and I pushed CD smoking the Onkyo and blowing a wire out in a Speaker. I did not even know the speaker blew until I got the Onkyo fixed and hooked it up again to more smoke since the speaker still worked on a much less powerful tuner I was using while my good one got fixed. A local repair shop told me there was a wire loose probably from the Onkyo incident and would work at low wattage but the high wattage made it jump and blew up my amp again so they soldered it tight again. Not good times.  Anyhow there is my story. I got the basics to build a nice system. Good amp and AV Tuner...I just need the speakers. So please, especially anyone who has heard the SM 155s and knows Klipsch help me out. My main concern is can 2 8" woffers put out the low frequencies as a good 15" woffer? The lack of any midrange also makes me nervous but I have read such good reviews. Maybe a set of monster Cirwin Vegas would be better. No place near me has any Klipsch on the floor so I cant listen myself. Thank you in advance for any advice. 

Edited by ckohan
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Short answer: No.

 

Long answer: Noooooooo.

 

I think your better option and best bet is to go the route of a good pair of high quality bookshelf speakers and add a sub.  The RP-160M's would torch the R-28F's and can be had for half the price.  An R-112SW, or R-115SW would seal the deal and make a killer setup for speakers.

 

Get with @MetropolisLakeOutfitters.  He deals Parasound and Klipsch and could probably help you meet your budget too.

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THKs idea imo is superior to your current setup and really any set of floorstanders from Klipsch.  A used pair of RF7s can be found at times for 1k and that would be superior in sound quality to any of these options but would have low end extension that stops around 30hz....vs a sub which will dig much deeper.

 

I have rp160ms with subs and have firsthand experience....its awesome.

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Ill buy a used set of McIntosh if I have to. I have a friend with a set of RF7s and he wanted me to hear them. And he has huge Klipsch sub. But from what RK says I will be very disappointed if I expect the R28s to sound anyplace close even though they look the same. Thank you for the food for thought. I want big sound and clear. I also want fuse protection the R28s don't have. Been thinking maybe the Cerwin Vega SL15s may be a little better for me and shopping around here may be just out of my range. I just don't want to spend a grand and not at least match my ancient SMs..lol. I saw someplace here the R28s and down are more low end line. I will look into what HK said to..thankyou ...

Edited by ckohan
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13 minutes ago, ckohan said:

Ill buy a used set of McIntosh if I have to. I have a friend with a set of RF7s and he wanted me to hear them. And he has huge Klipsch sub. But from what RK says I will be very disappointed if I expect the R28s to sound anyplace close even though they look the same. Thank you for the food for thought. I want big sound and clear. I also want fuse protection the R28s don't have. Been thinking maybe the Cerwin Vega SL15s may be a little better for me and shopping around here may be just out of my range. I just don't want to spend a grand and not at least match my ancient SMs..lol. I saw someplace here the R28s and down are more low end line. I will look into what HK said to..thankyou ...

The system I outlined will outperform what you have now and could probably rival the RF-7's on their own.  I probably wouldn't upgrade your AVR unless you need new features.

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HK...I am starting to agree with you. I got this 80s bigger is better thing stuck in my head but a buddy reminded me of the Bose Companion 3 set up I have on my PC and how it sounds pretty damn good, as PC speakers go so what you suggested should be exceptional. I looked at the RP160Ms and those and the R112SW (more In my range) looks like a good deal. Then I should be able to just sell the Parasound Amp and Infinities to make some money back (it is very good quality and I am sure its worth something) and use the Kenwood 4090 alone. It has plenty of punch. I have a nice set of book shelf Paradigms for surround. Just need to replace that crappy RCS center speaker. LOL. I am going to a place called Audio Classics this weekend so I can actually hear some good speakers. Wish me luck. They supposedly have the set up you suggested and I may check it out. I may have to go with small and beautiful and stop with the big and loud. I just want great quality sound.

Edited by ckohan
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I am inclined to concur on RP160m plus a sub-woofer route.

 

I also have old Infinities Qb, but not planning to part with them, at least in the near future. Plan is to recap the crossovers and then to decide.

They have their distinctive sound, which is different from Klipsch but very appealing at low to moderate volume listening.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
On ‎2‎/‎23‎/‎2018 at 11:17 AM, avguytx said:

In all the years of being in audio and the speakers I've sold, owned and heard, I don't think I've ever heard the word "beloved" go along with Infinity SM155/152/150's.  I've owned a pair of the 155's and the 150's for a very (very) short time.

I understand now that I have a Klipsch speaker system. OMG...I had no Idea. 

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On ‎2‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 7:04 PM, The History Kid said:

Short answer: No.

 

Long answer: Noooooooo.

 

I think your better option and best bet is to go the route of a good pair of high quality bookshelf speakers and add a sub.  The RP-160M's would torch the R-28F's and can be had for half the price.  An R-112SW, or R-115SW would seal the deal and make a killer setup for speakers.

 

Get with @MetropolisLakeOutfitters.  He deals Parasound and Klipsch and could probably help you meet your budget too.

OK..I built my system. I went with KF28s (Icon) and a SW-450 and a set of Polk TSi 100s for surround. I actually got all them with a Onkyo TX NR709 Receiver and a Onkyo M282 amplifier everything for $370. I couldn't say no to that. A guy in Courtland NY hooked me up from Facebook Marketplace. I have a Kenwood 4090 which is actually a superior Receiver distortion wise but lacks the HDMI connections. I have not determined what configuration I will use in equipment but the newer  Speakers are so much better than the Infinity SM 155s. The Klipsch sound Incredible. 

Edited by ckohan
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  • 2 weeks later...
On ‎3‎/‎25‎/‎2018 at 6:26 PM, ckohan said:

OK..I built my system. I went with KF28s (Icon)

FYI...by and large there are few dissimilarities between the R-28F and the KF-28.  They made a few minor changes and changed the color of the woofers, they're pretty much the same speaker.

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