Konan Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Hey, I'm new to the forum and just picked up a pair of Klipsch RF-5 speakers for my HT setup off of FB Marketplace. To my surprise when I showed up to look at the speakers the woofers were all black instead of the iconic copper color. I have been looking around for info about this but haven't seen anyone else mention this or any pics of this configuration. Were the early RF-5 speakers all black? If so is there any significant difference in quality, materials, etc between the black woofers vs copper woofers? I was very hesitant to buy them given this but felt reassured that they were all original upon close inspection. Honestly, I would rather have had the copper colored cone as it is indicative of Klipsch reference speakers! Also, any details about the different iterations of the RF-5 speakers from the inception through the current RF-5 speakers would be helpful. Even just opining on quality between them would be interesting to me. The speakers I purchased were RF-5 cherry in very good condition and haven't been played much at all. I paid 320 for them, which seemed like a good to reasonable price. Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 10 minutes ago, Konan said: Hey, I'm new to the forum and just picked up a pair of Klipsch RF-5 speakers for my HT setup off of FB Marketplace. To my surprise when I showed up to look at the speakers the woofers were all black instead of the iconic copper color. I have been looking around for info about this but haven't seen anyone else mention this or any pics of this configuration. Were the early RF-5 speakers all black? If so is there any significant difference in quality, materials, etc between the black woofers vs copper woofers? I was very hesitant to buy them given this but felt reassured that they were all original upon close inspection. Honestly, I would rather have had the copper colored cone as it is indicative of Klipsch reference speakers! Also, any details about the different iterations of the RF-5 speakers from the inception through the current RF-5 speakers would be helpful. Even just opining on quality between them would be interesting to me. The speakers I purchased were RF-5 cherry in very good condition and haven't been played much at all. I paid 320 for them, which seemed like a good to reasonable price. Thanks, I've never seen an RF-5 with black coned drivers. You might pull one out and see if there is any writing or markings ion the backs. I doubt they're Klipsch drivers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konan Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 (edited) Thanks for the quick response. Edited January 10, 2019 by Konan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konan Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 I inspected them and the speakers perfectly match the recessed shape in the cabinet and they appeared to be of high quality and sound. Also, the screws were original and didn't appear to be worn from removal. I guess I was right to be concerned. Hopefully someone on here can vindicate me... I can post some pics when I get home this evening if there is any interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 I'd be interested in a picture of the back of the driver. The only drivers I've ever seen in those were copper with black dust caps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wstrickland1 Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 There were some black prototype woofers in the RF7 line if I recall, maybe they had some for the 5's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konan Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 I have another question as well. There is a sticker on the back of the speaker that says "Monster Cable Internally Wired with Custom Z-Series Cable. This probably isn't verbatim but pretty close to the wording. Is this typical of these speakers or a modification? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konan Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 I just need you guys to determine that I have bought the original prototypes that are priceless Then I can sell them and upgrade to RF-7s! haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 1 minute ago, Konan said: I have another question as well. There is a sticker on the back of the speaker that says "Monster Cable Internally Wired with Custom Z-Series Cable. This probably isn't verbatim but pretty close to the wording. Is this typical of these speakers or a modification? Typical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 There are black woofers from the Synergy series that match the size and outer metal trim of the 8" woofers in the RF-5. My money is on that's what's in your speakers... If that's the case, it'll be pretty costly to replace all four if you decide to. Probably about as much as you paid for the speakers to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 And, there was only one generation of RF-5 speakers. I believe they were made from about 2000 to 2004 or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 35 minutes ago, wuzzzer said: There are black woofers from the Synergy series that match the size and outer metal trim of the 8" woofers in the RF-5. My money is on that's what's in your speakers... If that's the case, it'll be pretty costly to replace all four if you decide to. Probably about as much as you paid for the speakers to begin with. Good call, that's probably what's in them. The RF-5 (and RCF-7) aftermarket replacements that I've seen are all copper now. No black center cap. https://www.simplyspeakers.com/klipsch-replacement-speaker-woofer-1011974.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konan Posted January 11, 2019 Author Share Posted January 11, 2019 (edited) Man I sure hope that isn’t what I got. I would have to assume that he knowingly swapped the woofers.. here are some pics of the speakers. I have pics of the woofers but I can’t upload more than 2mb since I’m a noob. Edited January 11, 2019 by Konan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 1 hour ago, Konan said: Man I sure hope that isn’t what I got. I would have to assume that he knowingly swapped the woofers.. here are some pics of the speakers. I have pics of the woofers but I can’t upload more than 2mb since I’m a noob. You can download a picture resizing app to make the pics less than 2mb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 On 1/10/2019 at 9:26 PM, Konan said: Man I sure hope that isn’t what I got. I would have to assume that he knowingly swapped the woofers.. here are some pics of the speakers. I have pics of the woofers but I can’t upload more than 2mb since I’m a noob. @Konan Well....?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzannucci Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Klipsch has been using copper cones since the beginning in the RF series. Sounds like these were modified since many times the woofers get damaged from either people thinking they require a lot more bass and over driving them or the copper cones are pretty fragile. Once dinged or warped, it can't be fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjptkd Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 On 1/10/2019 at 7:26 PM, Konan said: Man I sure hope that isn’t what I got. I would have to assume that he knowingly swapped the woofers.. Probably the cheapest and easiest way to correct this is to locate a pair of RF-3's, they are much more common than the RF-5 and use the same exact woofers, I've been able to pick up several sets over the years in very nice to mint condition in the $150 range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konan Posted January 22, 2019 Author Share Posted January 22, 2019 Sorry for the slow response, Here are a few pics, I haven't been able to get any time at my desktop for a while now. Been out in the field primarily. The speakers appear to be in near mint condition aside from this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konan Posted January 22, 2019 Author Share Posted January 22, 2019 You are all probably right, the original woofers must have gotten blown and they used these as replacements since these go for around 40 per speakers as compared to 75. I'm wondering how much of a difference there would be between this and the original woofer. Also, I didn't know that the RF-3 had the same size woofer, I had thought they were 6" woofers instead of 8". I may keep my eye out for some RF-3's in the future to swap from if you guys think it will make a significant difference. I personally think they sound really good but then again I don't have anything to compare them with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konan Posted January 22, 2019 Author Share Posted January 22, 2019 On 1/16/2019 at 7:33 AM, jjptkd said: Probably the cheapest and easiest way to correct this is to locate a pair of RF-3's, they are much more common than the RF-5 and use the same exact woofers, I've been able to pick up several sets over the years in very nice to mint condition in the $150 range. I'll keep my eye out but the few sets I am seeing online right now are going for $450 or more which is a lot more than I paid for the RF5's. Maybe it's my area but I never see deals like other people seem to find. Even a pair of RF5's go for a minimum of 550 after watching them for 6 months straight locally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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