New CF3 Owner Advice

[rannydhodes]

I am new to Klipsch and new to this forum.  I grew up in the 80s outside of Hope, AR (in Texarkana) and always new of Klipsch as the pinnacle of speaker quality, although I could never afford them.  Well, I found a pair of CF3 v.1s on my local shopgoodwill.com and go them for $350!  They are in great shape.  I'm looking forward to hooking them up and taking them for a test drive.  However, I have a Harmon Kardon AVR520 tuner that I mainly used as garage listening with some old Sony SS-U7030s that I kept from my college days.  Will this HK do the trick for a non-audiophile or should I look to upgrade the receiver?  Can I just add an amp to boost the output?  Please understand that I know very little at this point about the audio technical world, but I am willing to learn.  So, please use layman's terms if you are able to provide any advice or feedback.

[dtr20]

Great find. It should work fine. If you are only going to listen to music on these, you should look into something specifically for stereo (2 channel) only. 

[avguytx]

Just out of curiosity, what's the serial numbers on them?  Did you get version 1, 2, or 3?  Great speakers!  Give them some real power if you can.  I ran mine with a LLatino Dynaco VTA ST-70 tube at @ 35wpc, a Mcintosh MC250 @ 50wpc and a highly modified Carver M-1.0t MkII amp @ 450wpc.  The Carver really did the best by far.  It's not that you "need" the power, but it sure does wonders for headroom and bringing them to life.  I'm not certain an A/V receiver will do tthem their best...but get them started, maybe.

[avguytx]

Found the s/n on the auction

 

[Oicu812]

17 hours ago, avguytx said:

Found the s/n on the auction

 

 

21 hours ago, rannydhodes said:

I am new to Klipsch and new to this forum.  I grew up in the 80s outside of Hope, AR (in Texarkana) and always new of Klipsch as the pinnacle of speaker quality, although I could never afford them.  Well, I found a pair of CF3 v.1s on my local shopgoodwill.com and go them for $350!  They are in great shape.  I'm looking forward to hooking them up and taking them for a test drive.  However, I have a Harmon Kardon AVR520 tuner that I mainly used as garage listening with some old Sony SS-U7030s that I kept from my college days.  Will this HK do the trick for a non-audiophile or should I look to upgrade the receiver?  Can I just add an amp to boost the output?  Please understand that I know very little at this point about the audio technical world, but I am willing to learn.  So, please use layman's terms if you are able to provide any advice or feedback.

 

I am curious now.  Got a measurin' stick?  Are the tubes on the bottom just over 5"?  Or are they under 3"?

[avguytx]

And might also have to pull a woofer and look at the wire type/color.

[rannydhodes]

52 minutes ago, Oicu812 said:

 

 

I am curious now.  Got a measurin' stick?  Are the tubes on the bottom just over 5"?  Or are they under 3"?

I measures and they are +5”. I also pulled one of the horns bc it is crackling and the wiring is clear. 

[001]

nice find & great price!  they were made in mid sept of 94 so they could be v1 or v2, pics definitely show longer ports & grey horn.  check to be sure the driver is screwed on tight to the horn, i had one come loose on one of my cf-4. 

 

as for power, these are very efficient speakers, meaning they play very loud with little power, so if your receiver is even 50 watts per channel it will likely power them to very loud levels.  if you want to add an amplifier the receiver needs to have rca pre outputs to send a signal to the amp, most low power receivers dont have outputs. if your just listening to music at a non "audiophile" level you will be fine with your current set up, but you can look for a used receiver with 100 watts per channel to make a big improvement... brands like onkyo, yamaha, denon, h/k etc can be had for $100 & will usually have pre amp outputs for a seperate amp if you want down the road. 

 

congrats on the epics, you will love them!

[wvu80]

1 hour ago, Oicu812 said:

Please understand that I know very little at this point about the audio technical world, but I am willing to learn.  So, please use layman's terms if you are able to provide any advice or feedback.

Welcome to the Klipsch forums, and welcome to the Epic Owner's Club!  Here is everything you want to know in one place:

 

https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/159405-klipsch-epic-owners-group/&/topic/159405-klipsch-epic-owners-group/?hl=%2Bepic%2B%2Bowners

 

You are now the proud owner at a good price of the CF-3's version 1.  That also means Year 1 since they were only made for three years commonly known as versions 1,2,3.  Version one's are the Holy Grail of the Epic series well known for their clear sound and excellent articulation.  FYI you have Light Oak which is not all that common. 

 

You mentioned you heard a "crackling."  Could that be a slight "buzz" and it only happens at a particular frequency?  If so you could have a loose dust cap.  Get back to me if you think that is the problem and I can help you fix it quick and easy.

 

-Dave

[Oicu812]

2 hours ago, wvu80 said:

Welcome to the Klipsch forums, and welcome to the Epic Owner's Club!  Here is everything you want to know in one place:

 

https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/159405-klipsch-epic-owners-group/&/topic/159405-klipsch-epic-owners-group/?hl=%2Bepic%2B%2Bowners

 

You are now the proud owner at a good price of the CF-3's version 1.  That also means Year 1 since they were only made for three years commonly known as versions 1,2,3.  Version one's are the Holy Grail of the Epic series well known for their clear sound and excellent articulation.  FYI you have Light Oak which is not all that common. 

 

You mentioned you heard a "crackling."  Could that be a slight "buzz" and it only happens at a particular frequency?  If so you could have a loose dust cap.  Get back to me if you think that is the problem and I can help you fix it quick and easy.

 

-Dave

 

Dave,

 

That was the OP in this thread that said the below, not I:

 

  Please understand that I know very little at this point about the audio technical world, 

but I am willing to learn.  So, please use layman's terms if you are able to provide any advice or feedback.

[Oicu812]

3 hours ago, rannydhodes said:

I measures and they are +5”. I also pulled one of the horns bc it is crackling and the wiring is clear. 

 

Congratulations on your new set of speakers.  They are amazingly loud, even when pushed with a small amp.  Anything with 100 - 150w RMS will blow your skirt up.  (Okay, the bass will thump you in the chest...)

 

I would first contact Bob Crites, and send him a picture of the back of the horn driver.  He might have a diaphragm for it, or might know where to get one.

 

Failing that, I would hit up @Dave A to see if he might have one of the drivers in his stockpile.

[wvu80]

7 hours ago, Oicu812 said:

Dave, That was the OP in this thread that said the below, not I:

I thought I was replying to the OP.  Sometimes when I click on a topic it puts me in the middle of the thread.  I must have gotten lost somehow, I know you're a regular member. 

[boricua2480]

8 hours ago, Oicu812 said:

 

Congratulations on your new set of speakers.  They are amazingly loud, even when pushed with a small amp.  Anything with 100 - 150w RMS will blow your skirt up.  (Okay, the bass will thump you in the chest...)

 

I would first contact Bob Crites, and send him a picture of the back of the horn driver.  He might have a diaphragm for it, or might know where to get one.

 

Failing that, I would hit up @Dave A to see if he might have one of the drivers in his stockpile.

I’m always curious when I hear people say the Epics bass will thump you in the chest. Mine are now fed by a Bryston 8B-ST bridged at 400 watts (if memory serves for total watts). They’ve never sounded better but they definitely don’t thump, kick, or anything similar. All I get (which is great as far as I’m concerned) is fantastic clarity, imaging like no other, and great midrange. But no thump really at all. I didn’t think the 12’s in the cf-4’s were anything but really large midrange speakers. Does anyone’s cf-4’s really bang like this? I’ve had mine on many receivers over the years and never blown my skirt up. Trust me, I’ve tried! 

[moray james]

different gear different rooms and different set ups in those rooms are all going to contribute to how any speaker is going to perform. Why assume that the speaker is to blame if you can't make it do what you want? There are going to be a lot of variables at work here. The fact that there are those who can get their Epics to kick hard should tell you that it is possible to achieve. You can move a lot of air with four twelves in a room. If system tweaking was easy to do most everyone would have a killer system by now but that's just not the case even when lots on money and gear are thrown at it more systems than not do not truly impress at least not in my experience.

[wvu80]

7 hours ago, boricua2480 said:

All I get (which is great as far as I’m concerned) is fantastic clarity, imaging like no other, and great midrange. But no thump really at all.

 

I didn’t think the 12’s in the cf-4’s were anything but really large midrange speakers. Does anyone’s cf-4’s really bang like this?

You are correct, my CF-4's do not have chest thump even with an Emotiva XPA-5 (250 wpc) but they do have a fantastic mid-range dynamic like bass drum kick or a snare drum crack!.

 

Despite dual 12" woofers they don't dig that deep and that's because the woofs have very limited xmax, not much movement in the cone.  What you do get is very low distortion.  I guess I've grown up in the way I think of audio because I don't have speakers but speaker systems, part of that sound can include room acoustics as @moray james suggested. 

 

My CF-4 system is now more of a 3-way than a 2-way because when a 15" sealed sub is added you really get full range speaker dynamics with plenty of chest thump and that incredible mid-range clarity @boricua2480 referred to ^^^.

[001]

23 hours ago, wvu80 said:

Welcome to the Klipsch forums, and welcome to the Epic Owner's Club!  Here is everything you want to know in one place:

 

https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/159405-klipsch-epic-owners-group/&/topic/159405-klipsch-epic-owners-group/?hl=%2Bepic%2B%2Bowners

 

You are now the proud owner at a good price of the CF-3's version 1.  That also means Year 1 since they were only made for three years commonly known as versions 1,2,3.  Version one's are the Holy Grail of the Epic series well known for their clear sound and excellent articulation.  FYI you have Light Oak which is not all that common. 

 

You mentioned you heard a "crackling."  Could that be a slight "buzz" and it only happens at a particular frequency?  If so you could have a loose dust cap.  Get back to me if you think that is the problem and I can help you fix it quick and easy.

 

-Dave

 

ALL versions of epic cf3 & cf4 are known for their clear sound & excellent articulation, IMO.

[001]

my v2 cf4's had excellent bass on even a 100 watt receiver & even better on a seperate 200 watt amp.  lots of things determine a speakers bass reproduction level, room, gear, music/recording etc... but the epics bass is really strong & they dig as low as any other same size speaker ive owned or heard, as good as kg5.5, forte, & other brands known for good bass. 

 

klipsch doesn't currently publish the specs for the cf3/4 so im not sure what the actual freq response is but in my experience they had very good bass that hit hard, even almost subwoofer quality bass on movies & modern music etc.  no, they dont hit you in the chest like a k-horn will in the upper kick drum bass freq, but mine definitely had a low freq hit & rumble you could feel & would vibrate pics on the wall at loud volumes.  to say the 12's are just big mids is not at all what i experienced with my cf4's or friends cf3's ive heard. 

 

i did let my former brother in law borrow my cf4s for a while when they weren't in use & he made the same "no bass" comment... but like ive seen happen before more than once with digital receivers, he had his subwoofer set to "yes", but no sub hooked up, that cuts bass below usually 80hz to the main speakers on many modern receivers.  i came over & knew right away they sounded wrong, i turned the sub setting off & set main speakers to large & he was blown away at the change. 

[Oicu812]

14 hours ago, wvu80 said:

I thought I was replying to the OP.  Sometimes when I click on a topic it puts me in the middle of the thread.  I must have gotten lost somehow, I know you're a regular member. 

 

And here I thought I was the most irregular member.  *<;o)

[wvu80]

1 hour ago, Oicu812 said:

15 hours ago, wvu80 said:

I must have gotten lost somehow, I know you're a regular member. 

 

And here I thought I was the most irregular member.  *<;o)

 

I guess I opened the door to that one. 

[boricua2480]

14 hours ago, EpicKlipschFan said:

my v2 cf4's had excellent bass on even a 100 watt receiver & even better on a seperate 200 watt amp.  lots of things determine a speakers bass reproduction level, room, gear, music/recording etc... but the epics bass is really strong & they dig as low as any other same size speaker ive owned or heard, as good as kg5.5, forte, & other brands known for good bass. 

 

klipsch doesn't currently publish the specs for the cf3/4 so im not sure what the actual freq response is but in my experience they had very good bass that hit hard, even almost subwoofer quality bass on movies & modern music etc.  no, they dont hit you in the chest like a k-horn will in the upper kick drum bass freq, but mine definitely had a low freq hit & rumble you could feel & would vibrate pics on the wall at loud volumes.  to say the 12's are just big mids is not at all what i experienced with my cf4's or friends cf3's ive heard. 

 

i did let my former brother in law borrow my cf4s for a while when they weren't in use & he made the same "no bass" comment... but like ive seen happen before more than once with digital receivers, he had his subwoofer set to "yes", but no sub hooked up, that cuts bass below usually 80hz to the main speakers on many modern receivers.  i came over & knew right away they sounded wrong, i turned the sub setting off & set main speakers to large & he was blown away at the change. 

Idk man but regardless, there’s a reason I’ve held onto these for 20 years. I’ve put these up against Heresy’s, RP-280f’s, KLF-30’s, Forte’s, Cornwall’s, and other high(er) end speakers and there’s just no comparison. I prefer these over everything I’ve heard so far. HOWEVER, I haven’t even been able to listen to my KP-456’s yet so I’m not sure what I’m working with yet with those.