Shawners Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 If any one with experience with updating KG5.2's with these or simular x-overs would share their thoughts and experience. The post says it makes 5.2's sound better than rf-5's (????), is this true or possible.Check out the link and let me know your thoughts. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=61378&item=3095307502&rd=1 Thanx Shawners Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Cornell Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 I would have to say no on this topic, if it helps the newer Kgs of the late 80s, and 90s had a pretty nice crossover. My 1996 Kg 5.5s crossovers were just fine. Copper wire, and all. Regards Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 According to your signature line you are contemplating the purchase of RF-7's in the near future so why bother with upgrading. There are folks right here on the forum that could help you or build up those crossovers for you if it is truly something that you want to do. Are the speakers not currently meeting your expectations? Crossover upgrades will improve the speakers response to some extent but quality components do not come cheap. Your call! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawners Posted May 13, 2004 Author Share Posted May 13, 2004 Thanx for the quick replies guys. Yes I would love to buy new/used RF-7'S, but if updating the cross-overs with better componets would yield a simular upgrade for under $200.00 , than I'd stick with KG5.2's. I love my 5.2's , they were the best speaker I heard at the time(around 10 yrs ago)that I could afford. Being a heavy metal musician at the time , I thought JBL's or cerwin vegas were the way to go.......... untill I stopped into a high-end audio store and heard Klipsch for the first time.I think it made my hairsprayed hair stand-up another 6". (old 80's joke).My music taste I'd like to say, they've evolved.( yea I still throw Metallica on to here those 5.2's thump every now and then). I want a more focused sounding speaker , these are/were great speakers. I've read all the post on here about upgrading cross-overs , even on RF-7's , and seems almost everyone's heard a noticable improvement. ( I hope better improvements than the RAT SHACK lcd clocks...dont laugh I had three on my system & swore I heard/seen a difference ????AVS FORUM tweak) ..Any 5.2 owners out their who updated crossovers or upgraded to RF-7's??? Thanx Shawners Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burtlively Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 talk to deanG. he's the expert on this. he does numerous crossover upgrades including the 5.2/5.5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STL Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 I emailed the seller asking why he change the HF network from 3rd order and 2nd order (among other things) and never got a reply back. I think he is full of crap. That being said, theoretically you can upgrade the sounds of your KG5.2 with a crossover mod -- just not that over-priced (and badly engineered) one that guy is selling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 Bob Crites and me were looking at those last week. I told Bob they didn't look right, but I couldn't figure out why -- which proves I am NOT an expert. The caps look like el-cheapos though -- and that's what separates good from great. Understand also that even though the RFs and older Klipsch do have some similarities in their sonic signature, they are really quite different -- even in this particular example, where a two-way KG is being compared to a two-way RF speaker. No amount of crossover work is going to get a plastic diaphragm to sound like a titanium dome. There's no reason to create a whole new board, as most high quality capacitors can be fit on the original PCB with a little bit of work. You can upgrade the wire if you want, but I don't think it does anything. To me, it's like attaching a fire hose to a garden hose. I could do those KG crossovers for about $160, but even with the great parts -- they are never going to reach the performance levels of the RF-5 or RF-7. You would certainly notice an improvement and be glad for it -- but if those KGs aren't going to be your long term listening solution -- I say bank the money for some RF-7s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawners Posted May 14, 2004 Author Share Posted May 14, 2004 Thanks for the replies, DeanG I really appreciate your comments and honesty.It seems your a very respected voice on this forum. That E-bay add talked up my 5.2's so much that I had new hope for them( or was wishing).I know the voicings different on the new RF line ,but I was hoping a cross over upgrade would bring more clarity , smoothness & focus,to my 5.2's.They seem to get a little harsh and loose clarity when pushed(played loud) on home theater material.I even notice it on music at high levels.I guess theirs no cheap way out of it, I need to fork out the dough for the RF's.I'll probably still want to upgrade with your cross-over so I can throw the 5.2's in the rear for a 7.1 set-up. Hopefully that would be killer for dvd-a surround and sacd with towers for rears.(???)I'll follow-up with you later on the cross-overs.Know of any one getting rid of RF-7's ? Thanx Shawners Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burtlively Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 shawners, before you throw those 5.2's to the rear of the bus, try some separates. i was using some 5.2's as my surrounds (until i recently went w/rb-5ii's across the board), and i must say they absolutely rocked with my acurus amp. i've got a 35 watt rotel powering my 5.2's in a basement bedroom now and it will make your ears bleed! and it is a smooth sound as well. although they may not be rf-7's, they ain't bad either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 ---------------- On 5/14/2004 9:40:45 AM Shawners wrote: Thanks for the replies, DeanG I really appreciate your comments and honesty.It seems your a very respected voice on this forum. That E-bay add talked up my 5.2's so much that I had new hope for them( or was wishing).I know the voicings different on the new RF line ,but I was hoping a cross over upgrade would bring more clarity , smoothness & focus,to my 5.2's.They seem to get a little harsh and loose clarity when pushed(played loud) on home theater material.I even notice it on music at high levels.I guess theirs no cheap way out of it, I need to fork out the dough for the RF's.I'll probably still want to upgrade with your cross-over so I can throw the 5.2's in the rear for a 7.1 set-up. Hopefully that would be killer for dvd-a surround and sacd with towers for rears.(???)I'll follow-up with you later on the cross-overs.Know of any one getting rid of RF-7's ? ---------------- Hmmm, If I'm "respected" at all, it's just because I try hard, and generally try to make sure I don't screw anything up. To do that, I read a hell of a lot, and rely on those who actually know how the parts work -- and what happens when you put them together. There's nothing mysterious to what I do: I just replace good parts with great parts, and work hard at making the job look professional. Uprading the parts in your 5.2s would bring more clarity, smoothness, and "focus". It would decrease hash at low to moderate listening levels, and reduce harshness and ringing at higher SPLs. However, if the harshness you are experiencing is being caused by clipping -- the upgrade won't help. Headroom is a good thing, and Burtlively has a good point about separates -- they make a big difference. However, those type upgrades are very expensive, and they don't bring the type of improvement to the sound that can be found in a handful of good crossover parts. I guess it depends on how long you plan on using the 5.2s, and how far away the RF-7 purchase is. I guess $160 isn't exactly break the bank territory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burtlively Posted May 15, 2004 Share Posted May 15, 2004 you're way too modest deanG. i came upon this thread shortly after rereading the message you sent to me a while back in response to my inquiry of upgrading the crossovers to my rb-5's & kg 5.2's. the ONLY reason i haven't had you upgrade all my crossovers is my own laziness.(and they sound pretty darn good already) your knowledge on this subject is extraordinary. you are a professional. and it is crystal clear that you work hard at being that way. thanks for your insights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted May 15, 2004 Share Posted May 15, 2004 I'm flattered, but seriously, if you want to see "extraordinary" knowledge -- subscribe to posts by Al K, DJK, John Warren, Gil McDermott, Malcom, and some others I can't think of right off hand. It usually takes me days to decipher their posts, and sometimes I just give up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theryugobuddy Posted May 28, 2005 Share Posted May 28, 2005 I've had my KG5.2s for more almost 15 years. They have survived possible replacement by a Bose system (!) and three moves in the last six years where there were always doubts by my "better" half whether they should be kept in the family. I refinished them -from alot of advice on this forum-so they would match our big armoire. So they are dark Bombay stained and polyurethaned oak finish because they couldn't stay if they didn't match! Anyway, a Yamaha receiver pushed them originally until I realized that Frank Sinatra sounded like crap when it was turned up. I upgraded alot exclusively from eBay over the last few years trying 5 different power amps and 7 different pre-amps and adding an Adcom D to A converter--again with alot of help from this forum. A B&K ST202 amp and PT3 preamp push them now. All SS with no plans yet for tubes. I tell you this because I've never considered getting different speakers and they have stayed while everything else in my system has gotten upgraded. Probably the biggest improvement in their sound, though, came from upgrading the crossovers through DeanG. I just got them back from him Wednesday (after he had them just a few days), re-installed them and hooked the speakers up to my system cold. The difference right out of the box was sublime. I managed to work at home the rest of the week so I've really gotten a chance to listen to some music.I listen to alot of old blues, jazz, pop, and 70's prog along with current rock and alternative. So, in the last few days its been Pat Metheny, Champion Jack Dupree, Clapton, Bill Frisell, Louis Prima, Lightnin' Hopkins, Nora Jones, Gabriel-Genesis, Yes, Hooker, Nektar, Dave Matthews Mastodon, and some classical CDs. These crossovers make a very nice difference in all of them, and the badly-recorded ones sound much closer to being exceptional. Much smoother highs that go behind and around you more, and separation between instruments seems a tad more pronounced. Low-low frequency bass is lower and smoother wihout punchiness. Separation seems better yet both sides sound more in synch. I run DVD sound through the D to A converter, and "Maria Full of Grace" sounded fuller last night than any movie I've played yet. Sorry for my lack of techie talk-- As its been mentioned, I don't think this upgrade would matter to someone who doesn't listen to music much. But for us who are yearning for that next oomph of improvement to our sound, I recommend this highly--I feel like its a new set of speakers for a little over $200. By the way--I did pay full price and receive no compensation for this yarn. DeanG just does good work-- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.4knee Posted May 28, 2005 Share Posted May 28, 2005 ---------------- On 5/15/2004 1:22:03 AM DeanG wrote: I'm flattered, but seriously, if you want to see "extraordinary" knowledge -- subscribe to posts by Al K, DJK, John Warren, Gil McDermott, Malcom, and some others I can't think of right off hand. It usually takes me days to decipher their posts, and sometimes I just give up! ---------------- Ain't that the truth!!! I read some of Al's post and stop cuz my head hurtz (yes the pun was intended)!!! But Ive found he is pretty much dead on as are the other folks Dean mentioned. You have to weed through the occasional squabble but these guys are very informative and knowledgeable experts in their respective disciplines. Truly great assets to us all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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