wireless Posted March 23, 2003 Share Posted March 23, 2003 I'm planning on selling my Forte's and KLF-20's and buying either some RF-3IIs or some RF-5s. How do the RF-5's sound for 2 channel music? I'm concerned about the sound quality and not so much about how loud they'll get. Also how do the RF-3's sound compared to the 5's? The specs are so similar but the price difference is fairly substantial. I found a post where BobG says the 3's are severely underpriced. I kind of suspect they are just targeting a different customer with a different price point but with essentially the same speaker. I rarely really crank it up anymore but still listen to a fair amount of two-channel music but need the 5.1 setup for HT. That's why I need shielded speakers etc. Also the Forte's take up a little room as surrounds than I really have to spare. I just can't seem to go to another manufacturer because of my love over several decades for Klipsch products. Clearly Klipsch sound and quality deteriorated during the 90's but I'm not ready to give up on them yet. I've heard a few better sound speakers (Aerials) but at 3x the price. Any comments or suggestions regarding my impending purchase of the 3's or 5's? Have this new line been successful? Is anything new on the horizon that will replace these? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easylistener Posted March 23, 2003 Share Posted March 23, 2003 Servial people told me that the RF-5 are comairable to the fortes. I listen to the 3 and the 5 and I bought the threes. The 5 had a little more open sounding but to me the price differnce ofset this. If you want something that may give you a little more than the fortes you have to go up to the rf7. Take my opion with a grain of salt and it is my opinon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted March 23, 2003 Share Posted March 23, 2003 YIKES! STOP! It seems a little rash. There are not allot of forum memebers comenting on KLF -20s, but I have liked them. Many people like the Fortes for 2 channel. I have the "big brother" Chorus IIs, and I am very pleased. You may have some disatisfaction due to amplification or source hardware or source software. Please list turntable, cartridge, CD/DVD player, and amplifier so forum members can make better comments. If you want to consolidate speakers you could sell off what you have and get a used Heritage speaker like a LaScala(if you have room in the house). But if your "front end" components are not "voiced" to be friendly with Klipsch; you may still be dissatisfied. Let us know where we can help. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wireless Posted March 23, 2003 Author Share Posted March 23, 2003 I'm not dissatisfied with the 20's or the Forte's. The Forte's are the best sounding speaker I've heard in their price range and I love them. In fact I like the Forte's better than LaScala's. I was over in Germany in the Army in 80's where I bought the Forte's from the Rhein Mein audio center for about $750. My roomate had a nice Onkyo amp and a pair of LaScala's. I like the the sound of the Forte's better. The LaScala's had kind of an echo-y bottom end. The bass just wasn't there like it was with the Forte's. Believe me I had plenty of time to compare. The speakers were side by side for about a year or two. I attributed the difference partly to the smallish room we were in. Over the years I've always felt pleasantly suprised at how good the Forte's sound. For that matter, they sound better than the 20's. My theory is the Heritage series on up to the Forte's had a little more rolloff on the treble which makes them sound smoother than the newer reference models. Frankly, I think the Synergy series sound really good, maybe for the same reason. I bought my parents a pair of sf-2's and they sound great on their little Sony amp. The reason I'm going to let the 20's go and I guess sadly the Forte's is because they just don't fit or look that good in my den. I need shielded speakers in black and I'll be going to the smaller surrounds instead of the floorstanding Fortes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted March 23, 2003 Share Posted March 23, 2003 "The reason I'm going to let the 20's go and I guess sadly the Forte's is because they just don't fit or look that good in my den. I need shielded speakers in black and I'll be going to the smaller surrounds instead of the floorstanding Fortes." Sounds like HT is the priotity; if you try to accomplish both objectives 2 channel will suffer. Put youself in the place of the Heritage and Vintage speaker designer. The focus was on phono and tubes. My RB-5s sound great with DVD-A. Fair with phono; I have not optimized the HT system for this purpose. Four RB-5s(Spend real money on shot filled stands) painted black with an RC-7 is a hot setup. With a sealed 12 inch sub for fast bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted March 24, 2003 Share Posted March 24, 2003 I auditioned the RF-5s. I brought my cd player and P6D "digital" amp into Tweeter and checked out the RF-5s and 7s. I liked the RF-5s. Can you put them in a corner? I just found out how much that improves the dynamics of my RF-7s. I'm sure the RF-5s are fine speakers for stereo sound. I only listen to stereo on my RF-7s. The Fortes are 3 way with horn down to 800Hz and passive radiator. They're fast, top to bottom, and I think, very neutral. I'm listening to a Bach double keyboard concerto using the pp amp. RF-7s have a cleaner top end (which I softened somewhat by tweaking the crossover). I attribute this to the single driver from 2 KHz up. Mid and low bass is slower than the Fortes, but now that they're in the room corners, very dynamic and powerful (just a tad sloppy compared with the Fortes). Oddly, the Fortes don't seem to do as well with the Moondogs as the RF-7s. The RF-7s sound less like speakers and more like music. The Fortes continued to sound like speakers .. lots of fun, but speakers. With the pp amp. the Fortes have a territory in which they always beat the RF-7s. The RF-5s should serve you well, esp if you can put them in a corner. Give them an amp that delivers low distortion at low power and you'll get very natural sound with rock-solid image. leok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wireless Posted March 25, 2003 Author Share Posted March 25, 2003 ---------------- On 3/24/2003 8:07:47 PM leok wrote: The RF-5s should serve you well, esp if you can put them in a corner. Give them an amp that delivers low distortion at low power and you'll get very natural sound with rock-solid image. leok ---------------- Leok, thanks for a thoughtful response. So you kept both your Forte's and RF-5's. Do you have them sitting beside each other? What is your criteria for using one or the other? Do you use a subwoofer when listening to two-channel? I've got mixed feelings about doing that. I've heard a subwoofer add a lot to the sound on some systems but my lf-10 - I dunno - somehow I just don't feel 2-channel music sounds right with it. They say if you can hear the subwoofer then it's too loud. Following that advice I turn it down until it just mixes and melts into the music then it sounds okay. I noticed the sounddistributors has a nice package with rf-5's and a rsw-12 sub which I'm thinking about buying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wireless Posted March 25, 2003 Author Share Posted March 25, 2003 ---------------- On 3/23/2003 7:37:55 PM Audio Flynn wrote: Four RB-5s(Spend real money on shot filled stands) painted black with an RC-7 is a hot setup. With a sealed 12 inch sub for fast bass. ---------------- Why would you buy RB-5's and then put them on stands? Why not just buy a floorstanding speaker and get better performance to boot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted March 25, 2003 Share Posted March 25, 2003 As I rember LEOK has the RF-7, he may have RF-5 also. As compared to the RF-3 I think the RB-5 has faster bass response. You do not have to have the larger cabinet to "breathe". And the stands are a better anchor to the ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted March 25, 2003 Share Posted March 25, 2003 I have the RF-7s. I auditioned the RF-5s when I auditioned the 7s, and decided to go with the 7s. I don't use a subwoofer .. I have one, an old Janis, but as often as not it confuses the low end. I do miss the real low frequencies, but .. I have RB5s also and use them with stands. They're a little better with the sub, but I usually don't use it with them either. But, I'm not a good subwoofer reference because the Janis isn't a great match with the Klipsch speakers. If you can drive the mains directly (not using a high pass in the sub) and adjust the sub lowpasss cutin to blend properly with the mains that could be good. My Janis doesn't have adjustable cutin lowpass freq. The Fortes and RF-7s are on different systems except for last wekend when I put the Fortes on the Moondogs to see how that would work. Now they're mack in my office with the pp amps. leok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted March 25, 2003 Share Posted March 25, 2003 SUBS... Many 2 channel forum members would say it clutters up the low end with 2 channel, until you get it so low in SPL you do not hear the sub at all; it is to localized and boomy if poorly integrated into the system. I am a big fan of the sealed or passive radiator sub. Ported subs seem to be sluggish or slow comapred to the below 50Hz frequencies of a Klipsch speaker. I have no experience with the "tubular housed" subs like the SVS or HSU designs. Mnay people in HT forum think they are sweet; a very few comment on pure 2 channel performance as I have read. I am so pleased with my 2 channel peformance gains in the past several months; a sub is not even a mid term(2-3 years) investigation. Too much vintage vinyl to find!LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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