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Does the Epic series have matching surrounds?


Jirachi

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Title.  I have four (4) CF-4 in possession currently and hope to acquire a 5th while at the Pilgrimage. I'm not sure how having CF4 as rear surrounds will work in my future house (moving in July) so I'm scouting for possible alternatives right now. I've pondered using KV4 as surrounds which seems like the next best method because of their much smaller size

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What an awful, terrible problem to have 😆

Seriously though, with the tweeter on the CF3 & CF4 being unique there really isn't an exact match...  unless you use another pair of CF3/4's in the rear.

I'll be first in line if you're selling a pair of your CF4's though 😁

 

 

Side note, the  KLF-C7 blends pretty well with the CF's so I would imagine that the KSP-S6 would be worth trying out.

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5 minutes ago, Frzninvt said:

Use KV-4's or CF-1's, CF-2's.  the KSP-S6 if for the Synergy Premiere series and won't match.

 

I agree with this here, if space is really limited I'd go with a pair of KV-4's which are great little speakers anyway. 

 

 

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11 hours ago, Jirachi said:

I'm not sure how having CF4 as rear surrounds will work in my future house

This is probably a matter of semantics so forgive me, I'm not trying to be picky.

 

When you say "rear surrounds" do you already have side surrounds like a bi-pole RS-62?  The usual location for Side Surrounds is to the side of the MLP and slightly above ear level.  Speakers like that are typically mounted on the wall or placed on a stand to get them to the proper height.  That ain't your 108 pound CF-4's.  😎

 

Rear Surrounds tend to be direct firing so in theory that would be a better role for the CF-4's.

+++

 

The direct answer to your question is "no" the CF-4's did not have matching surrounds when they came out in 1994.  In the last year of production in 1996 Klipsch produced a matched center speaker KV-4.  This was a very large speaker and used the same K-63 compression driver as the CF-4 and CF-3.

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Since there are no exact surround speakers, from what I can see you're left to decide which of the following scenarios you want.

 

1. Use your CF4s as rears; this will be the best sound match and performance, not so good on space requirements. Your ears will be happiest with this option. 

 

2. Use KV4 center channel speakers as rears. While the tweeter is a match, the dispersion pattern of a center is typically quite different than traditional speakers. This effect will be worsened if you position them vertically instead of horizontally. Additionally, the horn and the midrange are very different than what you find on the CF4 so despite the tweeter being the same, they are not an exact match. I own a KV4 and have done numerous comparisons. The KV4 tweeter does not sound identical to my CF3 and its due to the horn and (I'm guessing here) the crossover.

 

3. Use another Klipsch dedicated rear surround speaker. This will give you a speaker that is designed to handle surround duties but may not be an exact match for your CF4s up front. This can be helped if you're using a receiver that can apply equalization such as Denon's Audyssey or similar. 

 

Other than option #1, there are no perfect solutions so that's why I would encourage you to be willing to try out a couple different options. Obviously this is easier if you have friends willing to let you borrow some gear to try stuff out. 

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The only problem with using CF-4's as surrounds is making sure you have them elevated so the horn is not shooting into the back of the couch. For surrounds I really like the KSP 1.1 as they have a high output with the tractrix horn and they are easy to mount on the wall. 

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3 hours ago, K5SS said:

Not sure where you are located but there is a single cherry CF3 in the Seattle area, for $275.. 

 

That sure would make a fine center;)

If I was closer, that would have been mine by now. I would love to have another CF3 as a center speaker. 

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12 hours ago, wvu80 said:

This is probably a matter of semantics so forgive me, I'm not trying to be picky.

 

When you say "rear surrounds" do you already have side surrounds like a bi-pole RS-62? 

No I do not. At most I will have a standard 5.1 setup. I've owned a KV4 for a while before selling it again on the prospect of getting a 5th CF4.

 

6 hours ago, twk123 said:

The only problem with using CF-4's as surrounds is making sure you have them elevated so the horn is not shooting into the back of the couch.

Yep, very aware of this

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22 minutes ago, Jirachi said:
13 hours ago, wvu80 said:

When you say "rear surrounds" do you already have side surrounds like a bi-pole RS-62? 

No I do not. At most I will have a standard 5.1 setup. I've owned a KV4 for a while before selling it again on the prospect of getting a 5th CF4.

The reason I was asking is my AVR will not allow me to use back surrounds UNLESS there are side surrounds first.

 

It seems logical to me to simply put the CF-4's in the back if you want, but I am not a big 5.1 expert.  Maybe somebody else could detail why putting surround side (according to the AVR) is a good idea, bad idea, or it doesn't matter.  I don't know.

+++

 

I hope you can run 5.0 CF-4 speakers, the sound stage should be incredible.  I've run lessor speakers with my L/R CF-4's and I always turn the other ones off because the CF-4's are so clean in a 2.1 with a 15" sealed sub.  Adding anything else to the mix, no matter how good the speaker only muddies the sound.

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