deepmukherjee Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 Hi ! I'm a newbie. But i was curious to know what should be the specs of an amp to drive a RF 7 system. The speaker specs say 250 W RMS continuous. I have gone thru much of the forums, and people are driving their RF7s with Denon AVR 3803 s and similar amps, which have outputs of 140 - 180 w range. Does driving a speaker with an underpowered amp damage the speakers? I have heard the RF7s powered by the Sunfire Ultimate Receiver (200W RMS x 7), and was blown away. But the receiver alone costs about $3000. Can you recomend an amp around the $1500 range?? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 You don't need an ampliflier rated at the speakers maximum power handling. The RF-7 are very efficient at 102db @ 1W @ 1M so a reasonably powered receiver will make them play very loudly if desired. In that price range I would look at the new Denon 3805 or the new HK receiver that is out. Perhaps you could get a closeout deal on the soon to be obselete Denon 3803 but the 3805 has some nice new helpful features to it. Your best bet is to go out and do some actual listening (if this is possible in your particular area) and see what sounds best to you there are a ton of good choices out there right now by alot of manufacturer's don't limit yourself to just a couple. Good luck with whatever you choose and welcome to the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelerFan Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 My Yamaha DSP-A1000 is rated at 80 watts per ch and while I'm not happy with the brightness of the Yamaha/Klipsch combo I can tell you power is not a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthurs Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 I've had B&K (200x5)in an RF system and it sounded fantastic, you should be able to find used in your privce range. Many on this board also use Parasound and Rotel and speak highly of both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 ---------------- On 3/18/2004 3:36:00 PM deepmukherjee wrote: Hi ! I'm a newbie. But i was curious to know what should be the specs of an amp to drive a RF 7 system. The speaker specs say 250 W RMS continuous. I have gone thru much of the forums, and people are driving their RF7s with Denon AVR 3803 s and similar amps, which have outputs of 140 - 180 w range. Does driving a speaker with an underpowered amp damage the speakers? I have heard the RF7s powered by the Sunfire Ultimate Receiver (200W RMS x 7), and was blown away. But the receiver alone costs about $3000. Can you recomend an amp around the $1500 range?? Thanks! ---------------- Big power costs big bucks. That Sunfire is a bit overpriced for what it is - I'd spend $3000 on separates before I spent $3000 on an integrated unit. There are a LOT of options in the $1500 range that will match the RF-7's wonderfully. Go back to the dealer and ask them to show you how some of their $1500 amps sound with those speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted March 19, 2004 Share Posted March 19, 2004 Are you looking for an Amp, integrated Amp, or receiver? While it's true you don't need a lot of power to drive Klipsch, more power certainly has benefits (including fuller response at low volumes, in my opinion anyway). I wouldn't personally be looking at anything less than 100W per channel, driven at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JewishAMerPrince Posted March 19, 2004 Share Posted March 19, 2004 I have my R-7 series connected to a 5 channel Rotel amp rated at 120 wpc and my rear surround connected to a 2 channel amp rated at 70 wpc. My listening room is quite large at over 7000 cu. ft. Room size is an important factor to consider, smaller rooms require less power. I listen to movie tracks at near Dolby reference levels and have never had my amps even break a sweat. In my opinion I think more important than ultimate power capability is the quality of that power. Klipsch References are brutal at revealing the shortcomings of connected equipment. If an amp lacks headroom the sound will seem compressed. If an amp is slightly bright, it will appear more so. If an amp isn't dead silent any noise will seem intolerable, etc. etc. Prior to my current separates setup my system was powered by a Denon 3801, a predicessor to the 3805. While it sounded great, when I switched over to the separates with the Rotel amps I was blown away. The difference in soundstage and dynamics was much more pronounced than one would have expected out of similarly rated equipment. The best part was the reduction in background noise. I never considered the Denon noisy until I switched to dead quiet amps...Just my $.02. Jerry Rappaport Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avman Posted March 19, 2004 Share Posted March 19, 2004 IF you are using a good-to-great sub w/your system,BE SURE your pre/pro or receiver will allow a 40Hz roll-off-to-sub setting.some only allow a 80Hz rolloff,which imo wastes bass output capability from your mains,and doesn't sound as good. in the price range you are looking at,that shouldn't be a problem. avman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RF7RULES Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 I USE A YAMAHA RXV3300-130W BY 6 AND SOUNDS AWESOME FOR MUSIC OR MOVIES YAMAHA RXV3300 RECEIVER RF7-FRONTS,REARS,AND REAR CENTER RC7-CENTER MONSTER POWER 5100 MONSTER CABLE-Z SERIES ON ALL SPEAKERS MITSUBISHI DVD PLAYER HITACHI 51" WIDESCREEEN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 Yeah, no worries, they'll work even with smaller 75watt receivers (and less). Their high efficiency is truly a blessing. I run my RF-7's with an amp that puts out 250 watts per channel, but before that I had them connected to a pioneer 45TX unit which only gave 100 watts (if that) per. They still sounded tremendous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelie Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 I'm running a Deon 2802, which puts out 90 W X 6 channels and I'm looking for a seperate amp to connect my RF7s. I'll eventually use the 2802 as a processor before upgrading that as well. My experience is similar to Jerry's. I have a large room to fill and the 2802 puts out enough volume to satisfy. The sound is beautiful and I enjoy the Denon. Still, I never realized the background noise that comes out of the 2802 until I upgraded to the RF7s. They pick up everything. As a side note, others on here will have more experience with this but I understand that running the Denon as a processor connected to a great amp still won't eliminate all the background noise because the RF7s still will pick up whatever noise is coming from the processor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JewishAMerPrince Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 Steelie Absolutely right! Most noise originates in the low level processing and amplification/manipulation that occurs in the processing stages. Rarely does the majority of the noise originate from the amps themselves. Part of this is due to the small packaging and interconnected nature of the power supplies within a receiver, plus the design compromises that receiver designers need to make to achieve a price point. I see using a receiver as a pre-pro only as a stop gap measure until one can afford a quality pre-pro. This may not be the plan, but usually what happens. When I went separates I used my D 3801 as a pre-pro. It took me all of 2 hours operating this way to decide I really needed the pre-pro, and two days to buy one. Jerry Rappaport Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelie Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 Jerry, I probably should start a new thread for this but figured I'd ask you here. I've considered Rotel either the 200 W or 130? W models for 2 channel but have become wary due to all the posts I've seen about poor customer relations. While most posts I've read seem to be complimentary of the equipment, I've read that when something goes wrong Rotel is hard to deal with. What do you thinK? Any problems with equipment or dealing with the company? Thanks for the input and sorry for diverting the thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 No complaints at all about the equipment. I agree with an earlier post, the difference when I went to the Rotel separates(from a Yamaha DSP-A1 Integrated Amp) was surprisingly large. Can't personally comment on the customer feedback issues - haven't had any problems needing to go back (knock wood). I do know a nice (mid to high end) shop in my home town recommends Rotel. I've done business with them for over 20 years and they normally weed-out problem dealers very quickly to protect their own reputations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRCRYSTYK Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 Deep,.. Fairly new myself. Only a few years into this, but as a RF-7 owner, I can add to the claim, the Denon you mentioned will do a good job of driving the 7's, but if you get a chance to set up a separate amp, or better yet, amp and processor,...Calibrate your system, and hang on! Jewish,... You have a PM >>>---> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JewishAMerPrince Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 Steelie, Due to the off topic nature of your question, I have responded to you by PM. Please check. JR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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