organ Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 I got my first pair of Klipsch about 2 weeks ago. At first I noticed the highs had this sharp and crisp sound. I thought this was due to the horn tweeters and I'd have to live with it. But after a few days it was less audible and now it's completely gone. The tweeters sound really smooth now and much better. The "bite" in certain high frequencies is gone. The sound quality of these speakers is just awesome. The sound quality far exceeded my expectations. I haven't heard another pair of speakers that can sound just like a concert. They do black/goth/power/death metal extremely well. I love Klipsch! Anyways, just wondering if you guys experienced the same thing with the highs on your Klipsch? Maurice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 I think it's kind of ear break-in thing as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GooseChaser Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 The RB-5's had such a bite to the high frequency for the first week. It made my head feel like getting only an hour of sleep after a long day, acid soaked brain and swollen ears. Good thing I didn't return them though, the harshness just disappeared one day and I coudn't help myself from turning them up and up and up... I found a pair of cornwalls at a guitar shop near my home. He is selling them for $250, but he didn't take care of them at all, the drivers are in bad shape. Too bad... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vital Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 Strange. I really think the receiver has a lot to do with it. Your ears have just been broke in IMHO. I have never read a post by anyone with a Harman Kardon that said their Klipsch was harsh or the highs were a little much. I don't think I have heard a change in my RF-7s. I was at Tweeter a few weeks ago and they still had some Klipsch RF-7 demo speakers that were kind of beat up. Scratches and pushed in cones. Anyway the sales rep played 3-4 different cds for me and he used a Yamaha receiver, not sure on the model. The sound was bright, the only thing the Yamaha rocked with was a drum solo, and man those RF-7s cranked it out. If you closed your eyes you would swear the drummer was in front of you. As for the music the Yamaha didnt sound good to me. It sounded harsh or bright or something. He insisted on using the Yamaha in all my auditions because it was the highest watt receiver he had there. Of course in the room with the maggies he had a B&K amp, go figure. I will never understand the logic in these stores. To do a real audition the "audition" has to be controlled. Why don't they have each receiver in every room to do a real test. Listening to Klipsch on a Yamaha and listening to Maggies on a B&K tells you nothing. Anyway, I'm done ranting. I'm not trying to dog Yamaha, they make a good receiver with powerful wattage, they just do much better with speakers like Boston Acoustics or what have you, not horn loaded speakers. Maybe a tube preamp in front of that Yamaha will warm it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cut-Throat Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 I would agree with the other posters that it is your ears that have broken in. It's a lot like a person that goes to the city and in annoyed by traffic sounds the first couple of nights. After living there for a couple years, they don't even notice it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubinhard Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 Maurice, It's not "your ears", it's the diaphragm behind that horn. It typically takes a week of good listening for it to settle in. When I talked to Steve P at Klipsch a couple of weeks ago before ordering the Klipschorns, I told him I was looking forward to reviewing them. The first thing out of his mouth was, "Give those drivers about a week or so to break in before you do that." I said, "Yeah, I know." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whell Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 I'm with Dean on this one. I now own a pair of RB-5's, RF-3's and RF-7's. Each speaker took a week or so of "average" use to come around. The highs smoothed out nicely thereafter, and now, particularly the 5's and the 7's, are truly a joy to listen to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipsch RF7 Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 ---------------- On 12/26/2003 11:35:13 AM whell wrote: I'm with Dean on this one. I now own a pair of RB-5's, RF-3's and RF-7's. Each speaker took a week or so of "average" use to come around. The highs smoothed out nicely thereafter, and now, particularly the 5's and the 7's, are truly a joy to listen to. ---------------- Whell, how do you like your RF-3's? What sort of disadvantages do you notice against the RF-7 in two channel audio? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubinhard Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 The RF-7 is in a different league. Two 10's instead of two 8's means lower distortion levels, and the RF-7 uses a pro-style compression driver with a phase plug -- that is almost twice the size of the one used in the RF-3. It's a substantial jump in performance in every area. Also, the RF-7 is much more sensitive, and will generate as much SPL with 1 watt, as the RF-3 will do with 5 watts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GooseChaser Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 ---------------- On 12/26/2003 12:40:45 PM Hepta Bronte wrote: The RF-7 is in a different league. Two 10's instead of two 8's means lower distortion levels, and the RF-7 uses a pro-style compression driver with a phase plug -- that is almost twice the size of the one used in the RF-3. It's a substantial jump in performance in every area. Also, the RF-7 is much more sensitive, and will generate as much SPL with 1 watt, as the RF-3 will do with 5 watts. ---------------- Always a step behind in realizing I could've done better. Forget the RB-5's and the Yamaha, I could've put down everything for a pair of RF-7's. Could've used the promedia 5.1 amplification if I had to, then use the money I spent on the RSW-12(wouldn't have needed it, it was for 2 channel anyway) on amplification. However, I did walk into the dealer asking for "entry level klipsch bookshelf"(synergy) and came out with my heart set on the RB-5's. Or maybe I'll whine about how I could've gotten some heritage speakers in 6 months or something. Oh well, I am happy with the setup despite what people say about yamaha amplifiers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 I believe breakin is very real with new speakers. I'm not in a position to evaluate the impact of the drivers on this. But new capacitors have measurable and audible defects that are cleared up with use. If you run them for several hours at levels somewhat above normal listening levels (leave the room), the breakin will be accelerated. A good amp will help a lot also. Leo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 Driver surrounds also need time to loosen up. Our Lowthers literally took 500-600 hours of break-in before they sounded more balanced and less harsh. This of course is a mechanical sort of break-in, which is a little different from what Leo is talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Bey Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 Hey Cut Throat, how are the Auris's breakin in? Been playing them a lot? I think it's possible they could become a great speaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arj Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 Breakin is a real thing with speakers. To test that out, the next time you buy speakers,put in your favourite cd listen to it and note down your comments Now to breakin do the following Keep the speakers face to face, and close to each other. Wire one of the speakers with reverse phase (ie red wire on black binding post ..) Stuff some cloth to cover the gap between the speakers Put in a Death Metal CD and play it loud for around 50-hrs and get out of the room (Even if you dont u will not hear much!) You will not hear a thing due to the sound cancellation as well as the cloth insulation. PLay the initial cd and check for the difference...believe me there would be some ..at least with Klipsch and the harsh trebles would have smoothened out and the bass would be really tight.. The theory of "ear getting used to the sound" apparently holds truer to cables and amps since breakin is more of a Mechanical phenomena and Speakerr to a large extent is Mechanical !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 arj, very electrical and measurable with caps. Leo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
organ Posted December 27, 2003 Author Share Posted December 27, 2003 Sounds great guys. I know sometimes it could be your ears, but I'm positive that this time it wasn't my ears. I used my Polk Audio RT800i for a year and a half before getting the LSi9 and I noticed that the 800i had a slight brightness in the highs which I was able to hear until I upgraded to the LSi9. The extra crunch I was talking about with the RF-35 was clearly audible for the first few days and now it's completely gone. Maurice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 speaking of ears, how crazy is this?! I once noticed that if I cup my hands behind my ears, and thereby increasing their 'sound gathering' surface area, that there was a noticeable change in the sound when listening to stereo music. I actually cut some pieces of tag board or light-weight cardboard, and rigged up some 'ear extenders' to listen with. I had been thinking that for so long, the attention of tweaking and altering of parts had always been devoted to the music making machines, rather than my own receiving equipment. Why not try it the other way around, I though!? Try it! cup your hands around the back of your ears, which also gently pushes the ear forward a little. As crazy as it sounds, I'm honestly serious about this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Bey Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 Eric, you haven't been around much then. In the back of Relix magazine, a magazine for deadheads, there has been an advertisment for large "ears" that fit over your own ears and make you look even geekier than a Mr. Spock fan at a star trek convention, or a cross between that and a chain-saw murderer ala Texas Chain Saw... Their claim is exactly what you reference, although the product has not been received by the audio community so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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