DeanG's RF7 Crossovers... A review.

[m00n]

A bit ago Dean had mentioned that he had a nice crossover for the RF7s, thinking to myself, "that's nice, so what, whats wrong with the RF7s as they are". To answer my own question, I would tell you, nothing, the RF7 is a magnificent Klipsch speaker right out of the box. Dean had even gone as far as telling me that if I wanted to know what the RF7 was truly capable of, I should buy a set of his crossovers. It was tempting; however, I knew that I had other audio interests in mind, such as figuring out my surround dilemma.

Dean however wanting people to take notice of his crossovers did not give up on me and to make a long story short, I installed a pair of the RF7 crossovers and here are my thoughts.

--==< Quality >==--

The quality of his work was top notch. I was very impressed with all the solder connections and speaker wire leads. I would not have known these were not stock by looking at them.

--==< Installation >==--

Installation was a breeze. I had never opened up the RF7s before and I was a bit reluctant, however, I had to replace a bash amp in my RSW-15 once, so I figured this couldnt be any harder than that. Dean sent me instructions which helped. The speaker wire leads were plenty long to reach the drivers and horn. The first RF7 I installed these into I used my bronze rather than brains and ended up pulling both drivers as well as the horn. However I learned all thats needed is to pull the horn. You can get at the top drivers connectors through the horn opening and you can get to the lower drivers connectors through the cup opening on the back, just make sure you take your time and be careful. When re-installing the cup and horn, dont over tighten as you can strip out the screw holes.

--==< Audio Selection >==--

As Dean suggested (and I believe everyone would agree.) I listened to some music I was very familiar with. I chose two different CDs, the first being the soundtrack to The Animatrix. As I stated in another thread earlier this evening, its an incredible CD, it really brings out the best in your gear. My second selection was the soundtrack to Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers. I personally stayed away from rock and roll. I wanted to hear the crossovers at work; I wanted to hear music that had good highs, mids and lows. Thats not to say that rock does not have these characteristics, its just that this test needed something a bit more refined if you will.

Ok enough talk, what did I hear?

--==< Soundstage >==--

The first thing I noticed right off the bat was the soundstage, it was thicker, fuller. Now the Animatrix has an incredible soundstage as it is, however, Deans crossovers seemed to enhance that even further. In the past, the soundstage on this CD had seemed to stop right at the sides of me, however for the first time, I had to look at my receiver to ensure that I was running 2 channel stereo because I would have sworn that I had a rear playing behind me. Now I need to be fair about this I cant say enough about this CD. The people who engineered it did an incredible job. Ive never heard a CD that sounded so 3-dimensional Ever Im sure there are plenty of recordings out there but I dont own any. So dont expect you will take your 1980 recorded Van Halen CD and all of a sudden sound like youre in the middle of a concert. The RF7 isnt that good and no crossover or speaker for that matter will change that. Well, at least the recordings on CD that I have. Its amazing how much better CDs sound today then they did 20 years ago. Again, thats just my opinion.

--==< Highs>==--

Another good thing that I noticed about his crossovers is that Dean somehow was able to take some bite off the RF7s. The highs dont seem to be quit as piercing as they were. He took the bite out yet amazingly the clarity is still refined and clean. When listening to The Animatrix soundtrack, I noticed that sound affects that I had noticed before started drawing more of my attention. Was it because it sounded cleaner? Perhaps. Its not that I had never heard those affects before; they just seemed more noticeable now. It could be because the affects sounded even more 3-dimensional than before.

--==< Midrange >==--

As many of you know, I had a set of belles. The one thing that struck me about the belles was the creamy smooth midrange. When I put in The Two Towers soundtrack, I heard some very nice midrange and one of the first thoughts I had was of my old belles. While I cant say that these crossovers made the RF7s midrange sound like the belle midrange, I did notice that the midrange had a smoother sound heading towards the smoothness of the belle. It could be because the highs had been tamed down a bit, I dont have an answer. This is just want I noticed. Very pleasing with increased warmth.

--==< Bottom End >==--

Of all the categories: Soundstage, Highs, Midrange and now Bottom End, this is where I noticed the most gain. Some of you know my feelings on this subject with the RF7s. If not, I love the RF7s, Ive always had very nice things to say about them, but the one thing that I have always contested was the lack of bass. Ive always said that a subwoofer is needed to please me. For the first time I had no desire to turn on one of my subs while listening to The Animatrix soundtrack. These crossovers definitely seem to dig much deeper than the stock crossovers. The bass is clean with all the hard punch you would expect from the stock crossovers. They dig deep with no effort at all, without any distortion, not that there was any before the upgrade. It was a pleasing experience to hear this CD without the need for a subwoofer, the overall quality of the bass smoother. Not that there is anything wrong with running a subwoofer (my opinion), but if you dont need to run one why do it?

--==< Conclusion >==--

Do I feel the performance warrants the price? In my case yes I do. Let me try to put it into perspective. I wont go as far as to say the performance gain was a huge as when I upgraded from RF3-IIs up to RF7s, however, I can say without hesitation, it was as good as when I upgraded from my Harman Kardon AVR520 up to my Harman Kardon AVR7200. Some of the benefits are very subtle some are more pronounced. Did I pick my jaw up off the floor? No. Did I appreciate the difference? Absolutely. Does this mean I dont like the stock crossovers in the RF7s now? Not at all. I still very much like the stock RF7. Its a simple matter of, I like the RF7 a little more now. It still sounds just like the RF7, just a little better.

Oh and before anybody asks. No! Im not getting any kickbacks nor am I getting these crossovers for a discounted price or for free. Its costing me just as anyone else. If I didnt mean everything I said, I would not be here telling you all about this. I feel that Dean did a great job on these and want to give him a free shout out. .

[leok]

I'm glad the upgrade worked out for you, and Dean. The RF-7s do benefit, as do other modern Klipsch implementations, from refinements in the crossover.

Leo

[Bill H.]

m00n,

Thanks for your excellent,honest review. (I liked the disclaimer at the bottom of the page!)

[sheltie dave]

Moon, good job on an honest review. As we march toward the higher ground on equipment, speakers, crossovers, and interconnects, the changes become smaller and smaller. Improvements come in subtle differences, but they are there on honest changes. It's a shame Dean didn't see fit to pay you

I'm glad you realized a difference, and hope you have many hours of enjoyable viewing with your wife and family on a system you have laboured hard to build.

[tillmbil]

Great report, glad to hear you have moved a little closer that sound we are all looking for.

[Audible Nectar]

Yeah, m00n, you found out what I found out........that the RF-7 can be an excellent speaker with this crossover upgrade.

I was planted firmly in the Heritage camp prior to hearing Dean's RF-7's with new crossovers. My biggest complaint was the bite in the higher frequencies - and especially with the SS stuff they are typically hooked up to in showrooms. These crossovers address that problem - and give overall improvement to the RF-7 in general. I finally have accepted the Klipsch attempt at conical midrange - it's not the Heritage, but it's in the same church - albeit in a different pew.

The RF-7 in stock form, is a bit too "surgical" for my tastes. The crossovers improve them a great deal. This shows the quality of instruments that the RF-7's are. Not enough for me to give up my Heritage, but I have a new respect for the RF-7 that I never had before.

I would also recommend to those with the later Heritage models (80's Cornwall II, Chorus and Chorus II, and any other speakers with PCB crossovers) to strongly consider upgrading your crossovers. What Dean told this forum about the upgrade is fact - it is like getting a quality component upgrade - and IMO, a very good component upgrade. Definitely worth the trouble.

[texas42]

Well, I guess this is something I really need to look into as i just purchased a pair of new RF-7 (in gorgeous cherry) and a pair of Chorus II's this weekend. Need to get comfortable with their stock sound first though to see what I feel is missing or needs improved. What a great hobby...!

[Frzninvt]

Will a Cornwall II ('85-'90 version) upgrade be forthcoming? I have seen photos of the original crossovers in them and they look el cheapo. I just bought a pair and would be interested in an upgrade. I think I will leave the ones in my '62 Cornwalls alone since they are the old bobbin wound variety, but I would have no trouble messing with the ones in these Cornwalls that I just bought.

[NOSValves]

Moon,

Very nice review ! Dean is very much a man a detail.

Craig

[Klipsch RF7]

Very nice review Moon. I have Dean's upgraded crossovers as well and they are absolutely amazing with my Dynaco Mark III setup, heck I loved them so much I had Dean upgrade my Brothers KG 5.5 crossovers and let me tell you, I couldnt believe how smooth the KG's became, very smooth top end and lots of bass. My brothers system consists of Denon DVD-2200, NOSValves rebuilt Scott 299-C and KG 5.5 speakers with DeanG upgraded crossovers. He absolutely loves the sound from his home theater system as Do I. Check Sig for all my hardware details.

Texas42,

Where did you end up getting your RF-7's?

[m00n]

Thanks all for your compliments on my review. I tried to sound intelligent on the forum for once. .

I still have one more RF7 to mod, my center. Now I'm wondering just wants in store for my RC7s, I have 5 of them to do.

[Deang]

Nice Job Rick. It's not easy to describe sound, especially as it pertains to changes in a system. I've just about given up trying to do it. I'm down to, "like it better" or "like it less".

Hey folks, if you can get the crossovers out of your speakers and to my front door -- I can do them. It doesn't matter what speaker it is. I'm also ready to roll on the Type As, AAs, and Bs. I had to wait on Bob Crites who was in the middle of doing something really cool, and I'll post on that later.

I'm in SONET class all week, so I won't be posting much. Please be good to each other.

M Hen.

[chops]

Once I get an idea on how much it will cost, I'll probably be sending you my crossovers to be done in a couple months! I've seen pics of your work and can see you obviously know what you're doing.

[m00n]

----------------

On 4/26/2004 11:16:43 AM DeanG wrote:

Nice Job Rick. It's not easy to describe sound, especially as it pertains to changes in a system. I've just about given up trying to do it. I'm down to, "like it better" or "like it less".

----------------

Yes it IS difficult. It's a matter of, how do I describe this so that I don't make it sound over the top where people are thinking I'm blowing smoke, yet keep it tame enough so that it's believable, yet keep them interested and have them give serious consideration to your crossovers. Example, my Klipsch Belle analogy and reference, I had to be VERY carefull there. . Had I not worded that just right, well, I'd have been the laughing stock of the forum.

At any rate for what it's worth, I'm very pleased with them, a very nice upgrade and they come with high regards and recomendations from your's truly.

[Tom Mobley]

is there something negative about being the laughingstock? I do it so much I thought it was a virtue.

[dbflash]

Great review Moon.

If I had a pair of RF7's I would look into new xovers because of your honest review.

Danny

[stream]

I think it will be interesting to listen to my 7's with stock crossovers, then to let Dean install new ones and listen to them at the Arkansas gathering. Anyone else looking forward to this? This way, a lot of people all at once can hear the difference.

Dean, does that offer still stand, by the way? I hope so!

-Jesse

[Amandil]

Hello there,

You say that you can do any speaker? Would it be worth it to have my RB-35 crossovers upgraded? How much would it cost, about? And finally would it be a problem that i'm all the way down here in Australia?

Thanks.

[Deang]

Australia! Yikes!

It might cost more to ship them than to do the work. I'll add you to my email list.

I think Trey is going to show up with his laptop and show you all how I butchered their work. Then I'm going to put in some Metallica and melt his laptop.

[cdsang]

How much for the crossovers? I may be interested in this. From mOOn's review it sounds good. I have the same basic problems mOOn metion that the new crossovers may fix. Althought, soundstage was never an issue for me. Anyway, I live in Delaware and I have 3 RF-7s. If I like those enough I may want to do my RF-3IIs. O and one more thing. Would it be possible for you to make a crossover for a DIY project? I am not sure about 2 way or 3 way but I think at least 12 octive slope. It isn't so much of not being able to make them myself, its getting the parts. I can't get stuff at Partsexpress.com as I tried getting stuff and they say my card doesn't exist but it worked just fine a stryke.com.

CD