KungFuNat Posted February 8, 2004 Share Posted February 8, 2004 im preparing to buy my first hi-fi stereo, and have been considering the belles. unfortunately space in limited, and im not sure i can accomedate 2 belles in my living room.. so i am looking at the rf-7 instead of the bulky belles.. i read a ruser review that directly compared these speakers to the lascalas, and remarked that the sound is fairly similar even though its not a fully horn loaded speaker.. anyone share these sentiments? if the rf-7 retain the heretage horn sound, this may be a better alternative for me. not only that, but i mostly listen to rock and the extended bass range of the rf-7 may suit my tastes a bit better. im gonna go audition them at a local store, but they wont have any heritage speakers to compare the rf-7 too. its been 10 years since ive heard any of the heritage line, so comparrison will be difficult. any thoughts, comments will be greatly appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted February 8, 2004 Share Posted February 8, 2004 Hey, I've got a thought/comment. Keep your eyes peeled for a pair of Chorus II's or a pair of Forte II's. Either one will make a great 2-channel system and not require using a sub. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted February 8, 2004 Share Posted February 8, 2004 Hey.... I can't comment on the speakers that Keith mentioned as I have never heard them, but I can tell you that the belle and the RF7 don't sound alike. At least not to my ears. The belles are really smooth, great for some smoother sounding music. I listen mostly to rock. I didn't find the belles to be the best for rock. They were great for new age, classical, and that kind of music. Even Pink Floyd sound outstanding... But if you want that hard hitting deep bass, cruncy rock sound, you would be better looking at the RF7s. Belles are just too smooth. That's not to say the belles are a bad speaker... Oh no no no. I'm not saying that at all. It's just my experiance that the belles are better at a different style of music is all. I have heard however that the cornwalls are supposed to be an outstanding rock and roll speaker with the good heritage sound. Again, I have never heard them though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted February 8, 2004 Share Posted February 8, 2004 I second the Chorus-II or Forte-II suggestion, along with the RF-7. Chorus-II will give you a bigger, more dynamic sound than either. The Forte-II actually goes a bit lower, but without quite the overall power and dynamics. The RF-7 is a 2-way sound .. very clean on top and goes very low, but lower midrange is a bit soft. Leo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynnm Posted February 8, 2004 Share Posted February 8, 2004 The Belle and the Lascala are basically the same. Think of the Lascala as a beautiful lady in her housedress and the same lady dressed for a formal ball. They sound the same but by heaven they sure don't look the same! The Lascala and the Belle are simply the same speaker in different clothes. The RF series (and the earlier KLF series ) are superb speakers and do well with all kinds of music but are clearly optimised for rock and Home Theatre use.The KLF and RF series are true Klipsch's and blow any other comparably priced speaker system out of the room I have owned KLF 30's and now have Khorns. I would not/could not go back. That said I traded up because it occurred to me that only the Khorn would represent a worthwhile upgrade and my main interest is in two channel stereo. In any event I would suggest that you go with the Belles even though they will initially seem a little lacking in the bottom as compared to the RF's but over time you will come to appreciate the incredibly realistic sound of the Belle/Lascala. The KLF/RF sound is superb and the bass does sound better to many at first hearing but over the longer term ... the heritage speakers deliver by far the best/most realistic/most intimate/most clearly you are there sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted February 8, 2004 Share Posted February 8, 2004 ---------------- On 2/8/2004 8:19:06 PM lynnm wrote: In any event I would suggest that you go with the Belles even though they will initially seem a little lacking in the bottom as compared to the RF's but over time you will come to appreciate the incredibly realistic sound of the Belle/Lascala. The KLF/RF sound is superb and the bass does sound better to many at first hearing but over the longer term ... the heritage speakers deliver by far the best/most realistic/most intimate/most clearly you are there sound. ---------------- Not to discredit lynnm at all, I do what to stress to you that from one rocker to another... The belle is NOT a rock and roll speaker. It is a mighty fine speaker no doubt, but if you are looking for those nice crispy cruncy highs, and deep pounding bass rifts, I'm telling you, you will not get it out of the belle. It has a much mellower sound and why should you have to learn to appreciate a speakers sound? If it does not do what you need, why spend well over $1,000 on a set of speakers that you have to learn to like? I had a pair of belles and I sold them. Several reasons. They were not a rock and roll speaker and I felt they lacked. My wife and I had odds on good tube gear. (she would not allow any in the house - ugly factor) I took money away from my home theater to buy the belles. I realized I wanted to put the money back into my theater. This is just the belle experiance according to m00n... I am by no means an audio know it all, nor do I try to pretend to be... These guys here can teach circles around me. But I can say this... I know what I like and what sounds good to me. The belles did not do good in the rock and roll area to my ears. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoggy Posted February 8, 2004 Share Posted February 8, 2004 No offence but have to disagree Moon. Maybe because my Belles are older ('76) and go a bit lower than the new ones do I can tell you they do Rock n Roll damn well. The Who, Pink Floyd, Led Zep you name it. Ought to hear that helicopter from the wall come through your house at a 100plus watts. You need a really good amp to make the bottom end shine though. In the 28 yrs I've owned them everyone that has heard them really cranked up will agree no matter what music I've played through them. Of course all of this is my opinion. You push 100watts continuos threw a pair Belles it will "rock" you for sure and anything else in the house. I have never heard the other non heritage speakers so on that account I have no opinion. hoggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipsch RF7 Posted February 8, 2004 Share Posted February 8, 2004 Hmm, should i purchase a pair of Chorus II's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Garrison Posted February 8, 2004 Share Posted February 8, 2004 NatGun, You should try to audition a pair of Belles or La Scalas before you consider buying them. They are *GREAT* sounding speakers (I loved my 1974 La Scalas more than any other speaker I've ever owned, and I've owned rather a lot). However, as m00n found out and as many of us forum groupies keep repeating, they have *NO BASS*. At least, no bass if you're talking the lowest octave. Below about 50 cycles, both Belle and La Scala response drops like a stone. You can offset this drop off to some extent by corner placement, room acoustics, etc. but you can't change the laws of horn physics. Compared to the RF7, you'd be missing most of the entire bottom octave (everything from about 35 Hz to 55 Hz) If you put on something with really really low bass (say the intro to Richard Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra) (you know, the famous 2001 Space Odyssey theme), turn up the volume on your Belles or La Scalas, and you hear anything at all, it's not the fundamental at 32 Hz, it's most likely heavy amounts of second order harmonic distortion at 64 Hz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted February 8, 2004 Share Posted February 8, 2004 How can the Belle sound like the LaScala? They are quite different after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted February 8, 2004 Share Posted February 8, 2004 ---------------- On 2/8/2004 9:51:12 PM DeanG wrote: How can the Belle sound like the LaScala? They are quite different after all. ---------------- You are forgetting that PWK was a clever designer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted February 8, 2004 Share Posted February 8, 2004 ---------------- On 2/8/2004 9:51:12 PM DeanG wrote: How can the Belle sound like the LaScala? They are quite different after all. ---------------- You are forgetting that PWK was a clever designer. ================== One of the most underapreciated inventors of the last century. It would be interesting to learn more about his WW II munitions work. Maybe Father Bill couold chime in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted February 8, 2004 Share Posted February 8, 2004 I wouldn't forget that. The midhorn in the Belle is much shorter. It should "sound" different. What do you think? Hear anything like that when you're in 5-channel? BTW, I stumbled across an email of yours I never answered. The stuff you need is Howard's Restor-A-Finish. For now though, you need to break down that linseed oil a little on the surface (a little thick and tacky). Get some Boiled Linseed Oil and some Denatured alcohol. Mix a solution of 50/50 and start rubbing. A little goes a long ways. Wait a week, and then hit it with the Howard's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted February 8, 2004 Share Posted February 8, 2004 Thanks for the finishing advice, Dean. Actually, some weeks ago, I very lightly sanded the tops of the Khorns (they were a bit rough) and applied some new stain. Improved them quite a lot with a ridiculously small amount of effort. No, I don't have any problems with Belles in my 5 channel mix. I haven't ever A-B'd Belles and La Scalas. People with discriminating ears on this Forum have said there's no difference, and that there is a difference. But people hear differently, they listen for different things, they interpret things differently, and so on. It's safe to say the La Scala and the Belle are darn close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrench_peddler Posted February 8, 2004 Share Posted February 8, 2004 http://forums.klipsch.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=45418&sessionID={8E821BAA-E88D-4473-8318-B6B8C707C22E} Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLKlipscher Posted February 8, 2004 Share Posted February 8, 2004 Buy Heritage of one kind or another and be done with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seadog Posted February 8, 2004 Share Posted February 8, 2004 Cornwalls rock, and have been typically selling for a little less than Lascalas, quite a bit less than Belles. The Cornwalls have the bass, and they have the Heritage sound. My brother swears by his Lascalas for listening to SRV and other rock, so it is largely a matter of what sounds good to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBrennan Posted February 8, 2004 Share Posted February 8, 2004 Dean---Not quite different, just a teensy bit different. If you can discern a difference in sound because of the slight difference between the 2 mid horns, because one MIGHT reproduce the range between 400hz and 500hz a little better, my hat's off to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted February 8, 2004 Share Posted February 8, 2004 I was only guessing Tom. I just knew the horns were different. I probably wouldn't be able to hear the difference. To hear the Belle as being described as smooth and laid back in comparison to the RF-7 is a shocker though -- especially if the Belle sounds like a Scala. Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 ---------------- On 2/8/2004 11:54:37 PM DeanG wrote: I was only guessing Tom. I just knew the horns were different. I probably wouldn't be able to hear the difference. To hear the Belle as being described as smooth and laid back in comparison to the RF-7 is a shocker though -- especially if the Belle sounds like a Scala. Go figure. ---------------- Hey what can I say, they just sounded smoother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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