jayphat_1 Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 I'm a newbie on the audio side of things. I recently purchased a B&K Avr-507 receiver. My question is which speakers are best for this receiver? I've auditioned a lot of speakers. From what I've learned and read because I have a warmer receiver(Mosfet Amplifiers) that the ideal thing would be to get bright speakers. In my local town I have 3 shops. Out of those shops there are Klipsch, Boston, B&W, Monitor Audio, Martin Logan, Def Tech, and Phase Technology. I've listen to them all but not a/b conparsion. The the store that sales the Klipsch recommend Klipsch reference series. All the other stores recommend others because of the klipsch horn will give ear fatigue after long periods of listening. Now I'm all confused. I was looking at an RF-5 package. Please Help Me!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Invidiosulus Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 Hooked up to some amplifiers I suppose the horn speakers can be fatigueing after awhile. However to say that the reference series horn WILL cause ear fatigue seems to me to be a bit of a broad generality on the part of the salesperson. Peace, Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 Jayphat - There are several on this forum who use B&K with their Klipsch Reference speakers and love it. It seems to be a good match. WRT other sales people saying you'll get ear fatigue, I always take that with a ton of salt. First, since they don't sell Klipsch, be aware of their possible motivations ("sell what we got"). Second, ya think we'd all be loving our Klipsch if we felt ear fatigue was a problem? You'd be well served to take some of your own demo material and spend some time listening - like maybe an hour - and see what YOU think. Remember it will sound different in your home, but it'll give you an idea. Also, make sure that the bass/treble settings are flat in the B&K. You shouldn't need to boost them with any of these speakers. And, honestly, Klipsch isn't for everyone. We all have preferences. So it's OK to choose something else -- we won't love you anymore -- but it's OK to go off into the ditch (kidding)! DD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayphat_1 Posted January 25, 2003 Author Share Posted January 25, 2003 I that you for your opinions. The store that had the Klipsch sounded very well. The salesman I talked to was a good friend I've have been dealing with him for a couple years so I kinda have a rapport with him. Before I sat down and did a comparsion with the Klipsch against the boston, he let me know that he was partial to the Boston. I brought a movie Episode I and some music Marvin Gaye(DTS CD) and Al Green(Dvd Audio). I listened to them both I liked the movie with the Klipsch the best. The music they were identical. He put in a jazz cd. That's when the Boston showed more detail. The Klipsch was good, but the midrange and highs were blurred together. He explained to me that it was because the Klipsch used an 8" woofer for the midrange and the Boston uses an 6.5"(less air to move). But the Klipsch they had to demo was the RF-3. The weekend before that, I demoed the Klipsch I'm considering buying the RF-5 at a local Tweeter. There the salesman told me that if I was looking for movies that the Klipsch was the best mate for my receiver. I love the Klipsch speaker it sounded soooo good. I just don't want to invest all that money into the reference 7.1 package when there is a better option. Like you said Klipsch isn't for everyone, as a matter of fact I run into more people who dislike the Klipsch sound. All the Klipsch owners could you please reassure me that this speaker is an awsome speaker that we all like. How exactly would you describe the "KLIPSCH SOUND". Sonically, what is the difference between the RF-3 and the RF5. What cause bright sound? Is it the tweet or the tone of a speaker. I'm always hearing that the horn makes it bright or makes it a more detailed speaker. I'm confused on that, too. I'm sorry for all the questions and being unorganized in thought. P.S. I do 95% movies and 5% music Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou8thisSN Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 I myself am considering a Klipsch Reference series 7 system. From what I've heard there is very little difference between the 5 series and the 3 series and its more closely related to the 3 series than the 7 series, which doesnt justify the price increase. I would like you to consider the 7 series for movies, from the reviews/postings and others i've read, its the perfect match for your top of the like B&K reciever that you have. I dont understand why you would splurge on the best reciever and then not go for the best line of speakers, by which I mean the series 7 from klipsch. its probably the best use of that wonderful receiver you have, and the sound will be detailed... prbably moreso than the Boston Acoustics. YOu must realize speaker placement is important as well, perhaps it was too close to the wall or not close enough, giving you the muddled sound. they have rear firing ports so you have to keep it like 2 feet from the back wall to get an optimum soundstage. Think about using the RF7s for your front right and left, and center if possible. If not, use the RC7, and use the RF3 IIs for your surrounds. They are cheaper than the RS7s and are feature a higher frequency response. For the subwoofer, if you're into movies more than music, do not go for the RSW15, go with a company called SVS, they make the best "bang for the buck" woofers out here. www.svsubwoofers.com. Go with the CS Ultra series 2 will be about the same price as 1 RSW15, retail. http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_8_4/subwoofers-12-2001.html read that article and you decide... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasN00b Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 well... the thing is that onces you have established your price range, a lot of choice becomes your opinion. the "Best Choice" for some, could be the worst choice for others. taste in speakers varies as widely as taste in music, and one may dispute Hendrix to be the best guitarest, but another can insist Van Halen or Stevie Ray... who cares? they're all genious, with different strenghts and approaches to what they do. saaame thing with speakers. do a lotta listening to speakers in your price range and see what you like best, and go with that. dont worry too much about what other people say, and ignore sales people, who are generally not in it to get you the best for yourself, as to get money for themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PYRO Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 When I was building my system I considered the B&k AVR307 to go with my RF-7's. They sounded great together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMcGoo Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 The Klipsch sound is not for everyone. It is a very "you are there" or live sound. The Reference series were designed with home theater in mind, but also do an excellent job with music. They show all the flaws in the music too. This bothers some folks others love hearing the recording excatly as it was mastered. The RF-5 has a different horn than the RF-3 so it will sound different. Don't compare the RF-3 if it is the RF-5 you are interested in. The 5 is a bit better. The RF-7s are better yet. The B&K 507 uses MOSFETs in the amp; they sound very good with Klipsch. My rerceiver also uses MOSFETs and sounds very good with my RF-7s. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manufanatic Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 Since you state you will use your system for 95% home theater i believe the ref system will work for you. I would also audition the Def Tech 2002s your new receiver is a great start either of these speaker system i have mentioned will sound marvelous Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Groff Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 Hey Jayphat1, Here's a post I made to the AVS forum when I started my HT speaker search not too long ago. I've related it a couple other times since, but thought you might find it of interest. I've since become a strong Klipsch advocate. I'm planning a system with RF-7's in the front and center (HornEd'ed) and RC-7's for all 4 surrounds and rears (I also am conviced the monopole approach is best for me for surrounds). Keep in mind that "bright" is the inverse of "muddy" and that one man's "bright" is another's "detailed" so the final choice is up to you and your ears! I'm a Believer!! I just heard 'em. Wow! My local Tweeter's has Klipsch systems set up beside others so I could A/B them with various sources. One of which was one of our own albums of solo piano music (I've got a recording studio and am intimately familiar with the sound on this CD, which I recorded and produced). For stereo, it was a pair of RF-7's ($2k) against a Boston Acoustics pair ($.3k), a Vienna pair ($2k), and also some VERY expensive Italian speakers whose claim to fame was their leather wrapping ($4.5k) (the marbled leather texture is what gives them their great sound, don't ya know )(ed. Sonus Faber) I am no golden-ear and am a newbie to high-end audio and HT, so take my opinion FWIW, but the detail I heard on the Klipsch was much greater than any of the others. There are places on our piano CD that the Mastering Engineer induced distortion while taming some peaks (piano is a real challenge to limit or compress). I only ever heard them on my studio headphones, never could hear the distortions on any speaker system I've played it on, so I let it pass through when I had them pressed. Those defects came through clearly at all listening levels on the Klipsch system, and were barely noticable on the $4.5K system but not at all on the others. I could go on about what I heard on the other sources, but suffice to say that the difference in sound was dramatic, leaving the others to sound "muddy" in comparison. I can understand those who feel the Klipsch are "too bright" 'cause that's the way they would sound if you're used to the others. I don't know if that's because some frequencies are unnaturally boosted, but the material that I'm familiar with seemd to have a good tonal balance, with a bit lacking on the low register notes (no sub used on the stereo listening shootout). The Vienna and Gucci (I wish I'd written down the mfg's name for the leather-clad jobs) did better on the bottom than the Klipsch's as stand-alones. For every test, we started with a very low volume and worked up so the much greater volume of the Klipsch so the same level setting on the reciever would not cause an apparent improvement of the sound due to greater volume. Those suckers are effecient noise-makers! Require MUCH less power to get volume out of them. When a gravelly-voiced blues singer was demo'd I felt I could count the pieces of gravel! Everything was descretely distinct. I also understand how some would feel ear-fatigue from listening to these speakers. I liken it to eye-fatigue from a DLP or plasma display as apposed to the softer appearance of a CRT-based display. A few DVD demos with the RF7's, RC7, RS7's and the RSW12 were fabulous. When the sub was added in, any problem I had with low end went away. Anyway, I'm sold and I can understand the strongly held pro/con opinions held here since they are so distintive. FWIW Gordon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayphat_1 Posted January 27, 2003 Author Share Posted January 27, 2003 Thank You Gordon and everyone else for your opinions, pros/cons. I really do appreciate it. The live, detailed, bright, in your face sound is what I'm looking for. The B&K AVR-507 like everyone said is warm receiver(Mosfet amplifiers) also paired with the THX post-processing will tone down the Klipsch's sound a lot IMO. I don't know I only listened to them with music. With my old Pioneer Elite receiver the THX processing toned down the movies and music alot. That's one reason why I would like to have a BRIGHT speaker. From what everyone is saying that would be the Klipsch. Now the only problem is my room isn't that large that's why I wanted to go with the RF-5 system and there's a difference of $600.00 in price. The receiver is 150 into 8 ohms. The RF-5 is recommended 150 into 8 ohms (600 peak). I always learned you would want to have your speaker's wattage rating higher than the receiver's. So, then I'm back to the RF-7's. Is this true or is it safe to run this receiver into the RF-5's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Invidiosulus Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 Running that reciever will propably be fine with the rf5 speakers. As sensitive as the rf5's are I doubt that you would come even close to using all of that power, with my heresies I get about 108dB with around 24 watts. Also running an amplifier that is underpowered can damage your speakers as much as overpowering them. Check out this article from jbl for more info http://www.jblpro.com/pub/technote/lowpower.pdf Peace, Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 Plenty safe with that receiver. Btw, if you really need all that 150 watts, all the time, you might have hearing damage. 150 watts with the rf3II's I own = 119 db. I listen to music with an average power level of 1 - 5 watts rms and it is plenty loud. Sometimes, I will really let it all hang out on a song, but as a rule, I don't listen at loud volumes for extended periods. Even watching movies, you should never need more than 65 - 70 watts for the transients. With that receiver you have plenty of headroom for anything you can throw at it, because the speakers are so efficient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Groff Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 jayphat-1 wrote: "I always learned you would want to have your speaker's wattage rating higher than the receiver's. So, then I'm back to the RF-7's. Is this true or is it safe to run this receiver into the RF-5's." I'm in the opposite camp. Over-amping a speaker is GOOD for it! Seriously, I've experimented with large amps on small speakers and have been amazed at the improvement in the sound. While it's true that you could blow up a speaker that way, the only way that could happen with a set of Klipsch's in a small room is if you first burst your eardrums! Gordon More Power! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manufanatic Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 yes generally speaking amps with more watts per channel have that higher amount of headroom that really makes smaller speakers sing. Believe the B&K is a perfect matchup for any of the ref towers i just wish i could get one for say 12-1300. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 You could use tube amps if the speakers appear to be 'bright'. Thats what those guys over in the 2-channel forum do. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.