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you must be joking?


wheeler

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Having been the former owner of Monitor Audio Silver 5i's, smaller but quite similar sounding to the 8i's (I also auditioned the 8i's), I have to tell you that I sold the Monitor's and bought my Klipsch set up, and never looked back. I have to say that the Monitors are a great sounding speaker for the price, and a great value, and sounded super in the dealer's listening room, but whether its my ear or my listening room, I never adjusted to them after I got them home.

I sold them after I heard the RB-5's, and the Monitors were instantly demoted to my 2nd system, and later sold. The Klipsch brought music and movies to life in my listening room.

And if you didn't like the build quality of the Klipsch, I am absolutely non-plussed as to why you would like the Monitors. If there was any knock I had against the Monitors, it was the minimalist approach to their contruction and internal bracing. The cabinets, in their stock form, really have significant resonance issues (the manufacturer all but begs the buyer to mass load the speakers for best performance). There are plenty of posts on other forums that discuss aftermarket solutions to Monitor Audio speakers design/build quality challenges.

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I'm not surprised one bit. Both the RC-7's I originally bought and used as monitors, as well as the RF-7's -- were very grainy and hard out of the box. It takes at least two weeks of constant listening before they relax and open up. What a shame you weren't more patient.

Also, the RF-7 does not possess a benign impedence curve. It is possible that with your SET amp -- it may have been tracking the impedance curve. You probably weren't getting anything near flat response. Room acoustics may have exasperated this as well.

Fixes for this -- but you visited us too late.

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If you still have the RF7's set up in your room, you ought to give'em some more time. What is the store's return policy? If it's 30 days, then by gosh, keep'em thirty days! With the break-in time for the speakers, and the adjustment time for your ears, they may sound a whole lot better in a month's time.

The real sound of full, undistorted transient peaks may be a shock to your system! After being used to the sound of 89db sens. speakers driven by 20 watts of soft, tube power, I'm not surprised the RF's might seem harsh, initially.

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The poor RF-7. It just can't win. When someone with great hearing listens to them -- they're too bright, and when someone half deaf listens to them -- they're too dark. But when they are heard by those of us with 'average' hearing...ah yes. 9.gif

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Actually wheeler your list of preferred speakers includes some nice units. I have heard the Reference 3A De Capo's many times and can certainly see why they are so highly regarded. That said - Can you direct me to a site where I can insult De Capo owners for preferring them over Klipsch ?

If you want to " Swim With The Sharks" - You have to climb out of the sandbox.

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Dean... I like my RF7s for the most part. I just think they lack in the heavy sub area.... Shoulda put a 12 in place of one of the 10s. 1.gif

BUUUUUUT.

What is the definition of what a reference speaker is supposed to be? If klipsch would have put a 12" or 15" driver in place of the lower 10" driver, would the speaker still have been a reference speaker?

I reserve the right to ask stupid questions as I am still in my learing stages of audioness. 2.gif9.gif

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i auditioned the RF-7's and really loved the sound....but out of my price range...

i settled for the rf-3's.....2 weeks later i found a pair of KLF-30's at a pawn shop for $600!!!!

needless to say i sold the rf-3's to a friend....

moon,

the bass from my 4 - 12" woofers sometimes is too much....i have a velodyne ct-150 that i never use for music....

the RF-7 may be more refined but i really love the huge detailed sound of my KLF-30's....

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Thats funny Lynnm, but keep in mind I would'nt insult a klipsch owner, but the speaker itself. That done I've stirred up quite a hornets nest, which of course was my goal- The thread took more hits than I did ! Oh yeah,I've also owned spendor sp3/1's (too bland, but easy on the ear midrange)

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One thing to remember is that not eveyone has the same tastes. There could be more to it than bad system matching / defective speakers / or break-in issues. The simple problem could very well be that some people just don't care for live music. I personally know some people like that. There are plenty of "audiophiles" that seem to prefer the more "polite" and laid-back sound that can be found in other designs. Those that like the Klipsch sound tend to be people that love live music, including musicians who know what live music sounds like. I have listened to some of the speakers mentioned (specifically Monitor Audio and PSB), and while they do have some good qualities, you won't mistake these speakers for live music. Although the Reference series are not fully horn loaded, they will probably sound closer to the Heritage series than to the likes of Monitor, PSB, etc. For those of us that love live music, there is probably nothing that will get you closer to that than horns (and I'm not talking solely about volume levels).

If you don't like Klipsch and you don't like live music, that is fine. There is nothing wrong with that if those are your tastes and preferences. Nobody can criticize you for that. However, if you do like live music, you might want to investigate the situation a little more thoroughly. You would not be the first person to criticize Klipsch, only to later own (and love) them. There have been converts from the "Stereophile" crowd and more and more people are coming to discover (rediscover?) the advantages of horn systems. But again, maybe you just don't care for that type of sound.

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actually ,I do love live music jmon (acoustic of course) and get this; I've heard Klipsch speakers in differant settings- besides being somewhat hot on treble, I really enjoyed the horny foreward vibe. Horn loading can be a good thing, but I'd have to seek out a speaker with a more even balance than the rf's. (if they exist) Also I should add that I no longer own the psb's and spendors etc. for a reason- they had sonic flaws that I just could'nt live with.

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Wheeler: In that case I would suggest you consider looking into the Heritage line. Matching them with proper upstream components is critical, as the wrong setup could provide less than stellar results. I don't know what your budget is, but Cornwalls, Belles/La Scalas, and of course K-horns will provide the best sound (in my opinion) and can be found for relative bargains if you will consider used. The Heresy is also a great little speaker. I have only heard the RF-7's at Utimate Electronics in a HT setup. For home theater, they are outstanding! However, I can't comment on them for music. I have heard the RF-3's with music. I think that they are great performers in their price range, but I do prefer the Heritage line and would take a Heresy over an RF-3 (for music).

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