chorus ii or rf-7

[tglahn17]

Hi,

I've been thinking about getting Klipsches for a while. I'm considering a used pair of Chorus IIs or a new pair of RF-7s. The RF-7s would cost about $1,000 more than the Chorus IIs. Of course, the Chorus IIs are used, and I have no way of listening to them before purchasing. I listen to only vinyl records, and I like a lush sound. I have 300B SE tube amps. How do the sounds of the Chorus II and RF-7 compare? What other factors should I consider? Thanks and Happy New Year,

[Bill H.]

tg,

I know you stated you only listen to Records. But if you decide to get into HT, the RF 7 are shielded, whereas the Choruses are not........jm2c.

[j-malotky]

What are you listening to now?

Since the Chorus is used and harder to find than the RF7's, I would jump on them especially if they are a good deal. If you find they are not your favorite, there are a lot of people here who would buy them from you later.

As for comparison, I personally would favor the Chorus over the RF7. The design of the RF7 uses the woofers to drive into the 2200 hz range, where as the Chorus crosses over at 600 hz. I enjoy the musical detail provided by the horn midrange.

JM

[dougdrake]

Not quite sure what you mean by "lush sound." If that means a warm sound, I'm not sure that would apply to Klipsch speakers - more like B&W and British speakers with a laid back sound. If you mean detailed, then I think that applies. Go have a listen to the new ones in the store if you haven't already, and that will give you an idea. I like the detail and power of my Chorus speakers.

[JewishAMerPrince]

Interesting question because I just last week got to do that very comparison. I recently purchased a pair of CIIs to use in a 2 channel system in my study library. When I first brought them home I set them up in my HT side by side with my RF7s just to listen to them until my 2 channel amp arrived several days later. Naturally, I had the opportunity to switch back and forth during a couple of days and do comparisons.

I powered both off my HT which is a Rotel RSP1098 processor with RMB1075 125 wpc amp. The Rotels are not known necessarily for warmth, which turned out to be a major factor in the comparison.

The CIIs sounded very thin in the upper midrange and a little bit harsh by comparison to the RF7s. The RF7 is designed for HT applications and is very in-your-face. The sound of CIIs was much more laid back. In my large 7000 cu ft+ room the bottom end of the CIIs was very pale by comparison to the robust RF7. The CIIs had a much more detailed soundstage which allows the listener to place an instrument easier than the RF7, however, the RF7 is designed to be a "flatter" and "tighter" soundstage to allow the surround system processor to properly place all the sounds. When listening to a movie soundtrack the CIIs were too dispersed and lead to an unstable sounding 360 degree experience by comparison to the RF7s rock solid presence. Under these conditions I judged the CIIs to be inferior to the RF7s.

Now, shifting gears. I moved the CIIs into my 15 x 13 study and hooked up a new Cambridge Audio Azure 640 amp and matching CD player. This is a very warm "British" sounding pair of components. The CIIs were place in the corners along the short wall of the room with a 45 degree toe towards the center. Under these conditions in 2 channel the CIIs are absolutely superb . Corner placement helps their bottom end and lower midrange quite a bit. This is obviously their domain and what they were designed for.

If all you ever plan to do is listen to 2 channel with tube amps in a moderatly sized room, then I would recommend the CIIs over the RF7s. If you ultimately wish to progess into multi-channel formats then I would recommend the RF7s. Better even, do as I did and get BOTH!

Jerry Rappaport

[whell]

I had the opportunity to listen to Rick F's Chorus's, followed by my RF-7's, using Craig's amps, and the Juicy Music pre. My experience is a bit different than Jerry's. This might be attributed to the differnce in our ears, equipment, listening room, or who knows what. Here is what I observed:

First, both speakers sounded awesome, probably due as much to the upstream electronics as anything else. The easiest way to describe the difference to my ears, was that the Choruses sounds big and wide, with alot of power and detail in the mid range. I didn't find the highs to be harsh, but they were certainly more pronounced than with my RF-7's. The Choruses also had bass in spades.

The RF-7's did not have the super-wide sound stage, the sound was smooth and clean, but not "in your face". Imaging was a strength, and the bass was not lacking in depth or detail. The Chorus, though, probably had a bot more low end.

I could live happily with either speaker, though I think the RF-7 would more foregiving of upstream electronics of less quality than what we used in our comparison.

[marksdad]

wheel is right, the heritage line is a wider dispersion, it just seems to fill the room, coming from everywhere with warm rich natural sound, where the reference line while outstanding! seems to be very directional.

[leok]

tglahn17,

You need both.

SET, using the 4 Ohm outputs, and both of those speakers is a wonderful combination. I find the RF-7 is cleaner on top and I attribute that to no crossover. The Chorus seems to be a little less colored, is more dynamic, and the dynamics of the entire frequency range hold together a bit better than the RF-7. RF-7 definately goes lower in the bass .. just like the specs. say. I find both speakers work best in corners.

I'm listening to the RF-7s now (Brahms Quartet in C Minor for Piano and Strings, Opus 60). The amp is the 2A3 SET wired for 4 Ohm load. By the way, using the 4 Ohm output reduced the RF-7 coloration and improved the dynamic-frequency coherence. It now does piano very well (but still not with the power of the Chorus-IIs). CD player is the Philips 963SA.

I have found that both of these speakers require good, low impedance and low distortion amplification. Both also respond well to crossover upgrades. Good power line filtering will reduce harshness.

Leo

[tglahn17]

Thanks, all!

I have Monitor Audio Silver Studio 8is right now. They sound good, but at only 90 dB/W/m, they're not loud enough. I need to go "one louder". Thanks,

[whell]

Interesting. I went from Monitor Audio Silver 5's to Klipsch RF-7's. One of the best "upgrades" I've ever made.

[Audio Flynn]

I had the opportunity to listen to Rick F's Chorus's, followed by my RF-7's, using Craig's amps, and the Juicy Music pre. My experience is a bit different than Jerry's. This might be attributed to the differnce in our ears, equipment, listening room, or who knows what. Here is what I observed:

First, both speakers sounded awesome, probably due as much to the upstream electronics as anything else. The easiest way to describe the difference to my ears, was that the Choruses sounds big and wide, with alot of power and detail in the mid range. I didn't find the highs to be harsh, but they were certainly more pronounced than with my RF-7's. The Choruses also had bass in spades.

The RF-7's did not have the super-wide sound stage, the sound was smooth and clean, but not "in your face". Imaging was a strength, and the bass was not lacking in depth or detail. The Chorus, though, probably had a bot more low end.

I could live happily with either speaker, though I think the RF-7 would more foregiving of upstream electronics of less quality than what we used in our comparison.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

The speakers are both excellent as Mr. Whell indicates.

The SACD of James Taylor "JT" we listened to with the RF-7 was amazing.

The horn mid is very sound for musical detail and soundstage in the CHorus and asks the woofer to do less.

I bought my Chorus II without auditining 2.5 years ago and never looked back.

Chorus II is not friendly with some SS amplification and poorly implmented digital sources.

A very tough choice to make.

[aviserated]

While I do love my Forte's because of their excellent dynamics. I have found that the midrange horn of the Forte or the Chorus produces an unatural colored megaphone like sound. Which is why Klipsch dumped the midrange horn when they introduced the RF-7 and others like it.

The Chorus is a fun classic but the RF-7 is a better speaker. Out with the old , in with the new.

[joessportster]

i dont know what you have your speakers hooked up to or how they are situated in your room buy i disagree that the older klipsch mids have a megaphone type sound i have used all types of supposed top speakers within the last 12 months trying to get a system back togeather after years of going without, i had infinity rs 2's, kappa 8's, kappa 9's, vandersteen 2ce, vandersteen 2ci, etc.. all speakers without horns, and i bought my klipsch cornwalls using the same equipment to drive all the speakers all solid state gear, the klipsch blow away all the other speakers, hands down!!! as far as out with the old i would say the older speakers were built with more care and quality in mind, than mass production bottom line $$$ of todays market just my opinion but i would say you will get others as far as a decision between the chorus@ and the rf 7, i would suggest get the chorus2 it will always be worth what you pay for them as long as you keep them in nice shape you cant go wrong, could turn around in 5 years and sell for what you pay may even profit!!! just my opinion Joe

[Deang]

While I do love my Forte's because of their excellent dynamics. I have found that the midrange horn of the Forte or the Chorus produces an unatural colored megaphone like sound. Which is why Klipsch dumped the midrange horn when they introduced the RF-7 and others like it.

Actually, The Forte and Chorus were replaced with the Forte II and Chorus II, which utilized Tractrix horns as opposed to the Exponential types. The Tractrix flare alleviates "the megaphone effect". Now, having owned Heresy's, Cornwalls, and now an owner of Klipschorns -- I don't notice the effect at all, and I'm at a complete loss to explain why. I've come to believe that different people are senstive to different types of distortion and sonic anomolies. Some people seem to be bugged by one thing, and others to another.

Some say Klipsch dropped the midrange driver/ horn because of cost. Maybe. I prefer to believe they dropped it because they were able to maintain high sensitivity and low distortion without it. They also substantially improved the HF response with the new drivers/horns. I do believe the older stuff can sound very good, but is much more sensitive to what is driving it. Reference is certainly more forgiving in that regard.

[Dawson's Ridge]

I have been interested in replacing my Chorus speakers with either RF 5s or 7s so I have gone back and read as many of your reviews over the past 2 years as possible. There does not seem to be a common bottom line or grounded reason as to why the speakers sound differently or which speaker (under normal room and listening conditions)actually provides the most faithful natural sound, i.e., the sound one would hear in a concert hall sitting in the optimum location.

[leok]

william.meredith,

2 and 3 way designs have inherent strengths and weaknesses. Any speaker is a compromise in which the weaknesses are minimized and accepted. In very simple terms, there will be some loss of coherence at any crossover point. Where you put that point is a weakness. Where you don't have a crossover is a strength.

RF-7s have exceptionally clean highs. If amplified very well, I find they handle that range better than the 3-way design with a mid-tweetr crossover. Chorus doesn't push the frequency ranges of the drivers as far and seems to get a straighter frequency response (less colored) that is also tracks in dynamics.

It is a real tradeoff .. each sounds to me to be more "real" but is a different way.

Leo

[aviserated]

The Forte 2's midrange horn has a colored unatural sound of its own and has nothing to do with crossover. I still love my Forte's for their loud playing, wide dynamics with rock music and hometheater.

[Dawson's Ridge]

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

On 1/1/2005 12:34:59 PM leok wrote:

tglahn17,

You need both.

SET, using the 4 Ohm outputs, and both of those speakers is a wonderful combination. I find the RF-7 is cleaner on top and I attribute that to no crossover. The Chorus seems to be a little less colored, is more dynamic, and the dynamics of the entire frequency range hold together a bit better than the RF-7. RF-7 definately goes lower in the bass .. just like the specs. say. I find both speakers work best in corners.

I'm listening to the RF-7s now (Brahms Quartet in C Minor for Piano and Strings, Opus 60). The amp is the 2A3 SET wired for 4 Ohm load. By the way, using the 4 Ohm output reduced the RF-7 coloration and improved the dynamic-frequency coherence. It now does piano very well (but still not with the power of the Chorus-IIs). CD player is the Philips 963SA.

I have found that both of these speakers require good, low impedance and low distortion amplification. Both also respond well to crossover upgrades. Good power line filtering will reduce harshness.

Leo

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

You mentioned crossover upgrades on the Chorus. Recently I called Klipsch and they said there were no upgrades on the Chorus. As a matter of fact, they recommended that I not change anything on the Chorus. Could you provide any additional details?

[MrMcGoo]

Board members DeanG and BEC rebuild crossovers. DeanG uses higher quality parts of the same specification as the original crossovers. You need to hear the difference to believe the improvement is so large.

Bill

[leok]

As Bill said.

Leo