Vital Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 Well, I spent about two hours last night in the Home Theater store here in Houston listening to the above two speaker systems. I must say Klipsch is simply amazing. First let me tell you that I was a little disappointed by the Dynaduio 3.4s that he quoted as $2,500 each I think. Of course that is highly negotiable but that is suggested retail price maybe? They were being powered by a Denon DVD 2200? and Rotel preamp and some type of really cool looking Rotel processor that showed the screen image on it's own little display on the face of it. The sound was nice, but not amazing by any means. My girl and I both thought our RF-7s sounded better with the song we used as a demo. (Celine Dion - Seduce Me - "crystal clear highs with nice bass")I can only imagine how our RF-7s would perform with DeanG's crossover upgrade and the same gear powering them. We are talking about a set of Klipsch RF-7s for $1,800 + $500 or so crossover upgrade vs. a $4,500-$5,000 dollar set and the RF-7s simply smoke them. I was very interested in hearing the Dynaudio after hearing TheEar go on about his. I simply did not hear what he hears. Now, on to the B&W 802s, now we are talking. These speakers were simply amazing. They were powered by an all McIntosh setup that looked hella expensive. The sound that came out of those speakers was awesome, but not by any means $3,000 or however much more than RF-7s. They were incredible, but I truly think that RF-7s with a simple $500 upgrade and powered by the same gear will be just as good if not better. The B&W has a much better presentation as far as build quality and the finish on the speakers but when we talk pure sound, the RF-7 & even a stock pair gives the B$W a run for the money IMHO. The point of all this? Klipsch is simply outstanding. Put a pair of brand new Khorns against the 802s and I doubt it's much of a contest and that is what Klipsch offers in that price bracket. To me clarity is one of the most important details in music or HT and what can possibly beat a crystal clear horn? Nothing is better than a females voice and nothing can produce that sound like a horn IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 You will not get much arguement here, on the Klipsch forum, over the RF7's and your assessment of their strengths. I would also agree with your assessment of the B&W 802 - I have heard it several times and think it a truely wonderful speaker I really wouldn't mind owning. The problem with any comparison is that there are so many variables involved. It sounds like the quality of source and amps behind the B&W's was rather higher than the Dynaudio's so comparing the 2 probably isnt very fair. That is not to say that your assessment isnt correct - merely that it is not definitive. On the subject of the 802 though. Does anyone know of people driving them with tubes? I have a concern that they might be a bit too soft on an all tube setup like mine. I dont have a worry over power - good old Tsakiridis can provide me with a couple of pairs of Electras kitted out with KT88's to the tune of 400 wpc....of course that is with 32 tubes!!! Not the most practical solution I fear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vital Posted March 18, 2004 Author Share Posted March 18, 2004 You are correct about the powering source not being the same and maybe that was the problem. Is McIntosh quite a bit nicer than Rotel? The Dynaudio also has very small drivers though. Maybe with better gear they sound much better. I was really expecting to be blown away after hearing ThEar talk about his sounding better than his RF-7s. The 802s are awesome though. The guy told me people fly in from all around the state to audition B&W. I think he said George Lucas uses them in his mixing studio. We tried to audition the big boy B&Ws but the processor was doing something wierd to my MP3 cd. Whatever McIntosh gear he was using had like 3 settings, Music 1, Music 2 and Music 3 and it was adding a flange type of sound to it. I'll go back with a real cd next week to hear them. He said they rock the house. It was the B&W sig 800 I think that we were trying to audition. Now, if we only had a Klipsch dealer with Khorns to demo~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 The B&W Signature 800 is supposed to be one of the best speakers in the world - and its one of the worst speaker I have ever heard. It is probably the single most demanding appliance ever made in amplification terms. Bearing in mind that this is not a cheap speaker I reckon you have to budget the same again for amplification plus a reasonable amount to get an electrician in to wire your house to support said amp. There is a shop in Athens that has every drool name in audio, on display. the only thing they do not have is good sound. I was there when they were trying to drive the 800. Mark Levinson, Electrocompaniet, Classe, Accuphase, AudioNet, Audioresearch, Gamut and and bunch of others I cant remember were all tried and rejected. to the best of my knowledge they never got it to sound good. I was there for about 6 fairly joyless hours. Compared to that beast the 802 is a walk in the park... (note : According to my mate Tony the 800 is the best speaker on the planet - he has heard it driven by, I think, a giant Krell amp and preamp and apparently it was unbelievable) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipsch RF7 Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 You will like the Dean G crossover mod, it smoothes out the RF-7. I personally like my RF-7's alot, it is very source dependant. If you feed them a good source they sound great and if you feed them a bad source then they will show it to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 The B&W Signature 800 is supposed to be one of the best speakers in the world - and one of the most demanding in amplification. Great line: a shop that has every drool name in audio on display; the only thing they do not have is good sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underhanded Penguin Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 I have had a different experience with the speakers in question. No doubt the 802s are good speakers but are quite source dependant and can sound bright with the wrong components. Personally I do not know why they made Rotel to pair with B&W. It makes for such a bright sound. Rf7 is a great speaker especially for the price. For the money I'd probably take the Klipsch over the B&W. But man, the contour 3.4s are on another level. I personally own the contour 1.4s and pound for pound I would pit it against a lot of floor standers from other companies and bet on it to win. The soundstage and bass of the Dynaudio drivers really have to be heard ot be believed. My small 7" driver on my 1.4s puts out better quality, quantity, and depth of bass than my RF3s. And the highs are just so extended and transparent without a hint of brightness. Source matters here as well. I'm powering with an arcam integrated amp. I suspect the reason for your dissappoinment with the contour 3.4s has to do with the components and proper break in time. I can only tell you from my experience, I would pick even a Dynaudio Audience (lower line) floor stander over Klipsch reference or B&W. Then again, I just do not like the B&W sound. (Especially for the price) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strabo Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 ---------------- On 3/18/2004 8:35:12 AM Vital wrote: Is McIntosh quite a bit nicer than Rotel? ---------------- Is a Lexus better than a Honda? They both can get you where you are going but.... Ask them to run the RF's or the Dyn's off the Mac's and see if it makes a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macallan Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Old post but still relevant. I have been looking at potential replacements for my rf-7s to try something new but am finding that nothing is sounding as good. I was shocked to find even Wilsons powered by Audion research were very similar. These audio stores crank the spl to give the illusion of superior sound but I went home and cranked the same track on my peach rf-7 combo and it sounded just as clean. I honestly don't get what Wilson brings to the table for 16k 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jess28 Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 next friday im bringing my rf 7ii to my local audio shop going to do a/b comparison with the b&w 802d on a 12,000 dollar mcintosh rig cant wait i Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macallan Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I would be interested in the result. I liked the 803 diamond better than the Wilsons. But it was a different room and way different music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vital Posted March 11, 2012 Author Share Posted March 11, 2012 Wow... it's kind of weird reading something you posted 8 years ago! I can hardly remember that audition now and I never did get Khorns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hifi jim Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 No doubt the 802s are good speakers but are quite source dependant and can sound bright with the wrong components. B&W's can definitely sound bad with the wrong electronics upstream. Personally I don't care for the FST midrange or diamond tweeter. I find the FST draws attention to itself, and the diamond tweeter just a touch slow.The soundstage and bass of the Dynaudio drivers really have to be heard to be believed. I agree, but a quality amp with plenty of current is needed to show what Dynaudio's can really do. I use the Audience line in my HT and have never been happier. For music, I'd take Magnepans and a JL sub for a total of about $4k and it'd smoke the other contenders... IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 A few years back I brought home some DefTechs I picked up for 1/2 price $4k retail.They could not even outperform the rf5's I thought about replacing with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W27 Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Hey Jess28!! I just saw your post. I currently own RF-7II's along with B&W's and more speakers than I can name. I'm thinking about making the move to Mcintosh as well. I see you're in Jersey, I'm pretty close by in Staten Island. I'd love to possibly meet you at the store and here the RF-7II's next to the 802D's. If you don't mind PM me the details. I wouldn't mind having you over to check out my systems too if you're interested. Always nice to meet more people into the hobby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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