Cleve Posted February 23, 2004 Share Posted February 23, 2004 Shades of 'Soylent Green', ay? At any rate, Friday I'm taking the day off to drive down to the Klipsch Dealer 'Audio Classics' in Binghamton and pick up my new-used CF-4's. I'm starting to get psyched! I plan to audition them/examine them carefully at the store before finalizing the purchase - Any suggestions on how to do this or exactly what to look for? What's the best music for coaxing drivers into revealing their hidden problems? Thanks! Jim 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMcGoo Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 The crossover in the CF-4 is at about 1,600 Hz. Take music that you are very familiar with, preferably with some vocals and some bass. The CF-4s bass output should be prodigeous with a good amp. Vocals should sound natural and clear. The only problem that I had with CF-2s was that the speaker terminals became loose. All that was required was to retighten them to make the intermittant sound loss stop. The surround on the woofers were perfect when I sold the set. I had put huge numbers of hours on the speakers, but never approached clipping them. Dynamics should be second to none on the Epic series. Bill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Bring your Visa Titanium or your American Express Black card with you Audio Classics is pricey on everything they sell and you will most likely be paying a premuim amount for those speakers. Their price on single Heritage units in less than stellar condition borders on ridiculous. The service is top notch though but it costs! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Off to Vestal, eh? My family's from Binghamton/Chenango Bridge area. Have a speedy for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleve Posted February 24, 2004 Author Share Posted February 24, 2004 Yes, Doug, headed to Vestal! Ahh, Binghamton! lots of memories from that town! - in college, I had a roommate from Johnson City who introduced me to the joy of Speedys - I love em! Also, in 1987 I spent the summer after graduating college working on a research project at SUNY Binghamton. Then in 1991 when I was first hired by my current employer they sent me for two weeks of training in, you guessed it, Binghamton! Since those days, I've enjoyed fishing in the Susquehanna - used to go there every opening day of walleye season, but I've fallen out of the habit in the last 6 or 7 years. I was a little saddened to learn from Frank Gow at Audio Classics that the Vestal Steakhouse had closed about a year ago! Their steaks were incomparable - I had wanted to dine there after picking up my speakers. However, Frank said there's a nearby restaurant in an old firehouse (can't remember the name or location) that's supposed to be stellar, so I may stop there and check it out. Jim 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Garrison Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 I had a pair of CF4 for quite a while. Couple of caveats: If you get curious and want to open them up to look inside, be very careful, particularly with the woofers. I stripped the MDF when I went to put the screws back in, and had to drill holes through the metal flange on the frame to seat new screws to hold them in tightly. The crossovers are not too happy with a lot of jostling. One of mine had some kind of weird intermittant short (or something...) that caused all sorts of weird side effects. First time I moved them from one room to another and bumped them around a bit, I had to take the crossover out of the speaker and fiddle with it until it started working correctly. I found the CF4 to be extremely revealing of differences in upstream equipment, particularly amps. I think this is a good thing, as it means the speaker is not masking subleties in the program, but it can mean they are a bit persnikidy about whether they're happy with any given amp. Mine, for exampe, sounded kind of blah when I had them hooked up to a Krell KAV300i (go figure). Loud, but blah. They liked my little Rotel integrated better. The Jolida with the 6550's was a good match as well. Play around with the toe in. The horn tweeter has a fairly constrained directivity. This is good, I think, as it means the speakers interact less severely with the room than most others. It also means that minor (few degrees) changes in angle can have pretty significant impact on the soundstage and overall tone. I found the best angle was when, while sitting in the listening position, I could just see the inside back corner of each speaker - that is, toed in a slight bit less than pointing directly at me. If you want to try something cool, blocking the reflex ports (those plastic noodles sold in swimming pool stores that are about 5 feet long and a couple inches in diameter are the perfect size, but you can wad up a couple socks and use those also ) changes the bass balance. Depending upon your room and the speakers location, you might find it interesting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avman Posted February 28, 2004 Share Posted February 28, 2004 soylent green...what a classic movie! anyway,today is saturday,WHAT'S UP!? avman. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleve Posted March 5, 2008 Author Share Posted March 5, 2008 soylent green...what a classic movie!anyway,today is saturday,WHAT'S UP!?avman. I can't believe I've had my CF-4s for over 4 years now. Knock on wood, they still seem to be just as perfect as the day I picked em up. Happy belated birthday to my CF-4s. [<)] 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleve Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 10 years ago today I got my pair of CF-4s with cherry cabinets from AudioClassics. How time flies! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Panza Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Congratulations!!! Divide that extra you paid back then by 10 & it was a bargain. Now we just need some NOW pics & narrative of any maintenance/refresh you've done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 10 years ago today I got my pair of CF-4s with cherry cabinets from AudioClassics. How time flies! Have you tried raising them up so that the centre of the horns is at your seated ear level? This will make for much improved stage and image not to mention a much better treble response. Congrats and continued happy listening. Best regards Moray James. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleve Posted March 2, 2014 Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 Congratulations!!! Divide that extra you paid back then by 10 & it was a bargain. Now we just need some NOW pics & narrative of any maintenance/refresh you've done! They really don't look any different now than a decade ago. Been no issues with them whatsoever. They'll still handle the full power of my 2205 without breaking a sweat but I rarely push them that hard 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.