FredT Posted April 24, 2001 Share Posted April 24, 2001 I need a reasonably priced hi efficiency speaker pair for use with an 8 watt 300_B single ended triode amplifier. The RF-3's 98dB efficiency and $800 price look good to me. I have seen some generally favorable reviews of this speaker, but I have also seen conflicting comments on whether it has large impedance variations and/or a high order crossover, which might make it unsuitable for use with a SET amp. Has anyone heard the RF-3 with a 300B SET? Comments will be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredT Posted April 28, 2001 Author Share Posted April 28, 2001 Well, I suppose the absence of replies to this post answers my question. I'll be looking for a good used pair of Cornwalls instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted April 28, 2001 Share Posted April 28, 2001 The Cornwall has very large impedance variations. It has a 4 ohm woofer and the midrange gets up to about 64 ohms or so. If you're concerned with the impedance curve and it's effect on an SET amp, the Cornwall must be almost as extreme as it gets. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mangelin Posted April 29, 2001 Share Posted April 29, 2001 The RF-3's are VERY SET-friendly! I have used mine with a pair of 300B-SET's for about a month, and i'm very satisfied. Before the RF-3's, i had a pair of "Magnepan 1.6QRse" and i am very impressed with how the RF-3's handle the music were the Magnepan's excelled. But the Magnepan's were MUCH to low on efficiency, so my love of Rock'n Roll was suffering too much The Magnepan's sound very transparent on female vocals, but the Klipsch is not far behind! Considering the price, the RF-3 is a steal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BobG Posted April 29, 2001 Share Posted April 29, 2001 The impedance of the RF-3 has substantial variation which will cause some frequency related errors when driving it with a SET type amp or any other that has restricted current. On the other hand, those amplitude errors may not bother you whatsoever. They do not interfere with the special magic of an SET based system. In a perfect world, one would have both high efficiency and flat impedance/frequency. Few speakers offer that combination so I suggest you listen and judge or take the advice of Mangelin and others who reply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prana-Bindu Posted May 1, 2001 Share Posted May 1, 2001 BobG: I know I've bothered you with this question before, but it's been a while. So... Any word on the extensiveness of the new RF-7's impedance variations? What about the crossover points? I have read more positive than negative comments on the RF-3's compatibility with low-powered SET's. I'm kind of scared as well, as an audition of the Wright 3.5 wpc monoblocks with my RF-3's will cost at least shipping. FredT: let us all know how you fare with the RF-3's or whatever speakers you choose. Good luck! ------------------ May the bridges we burn light our way.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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