imperfectcircle25 Posted May 19, 2005 Share Posted May 19, 2005 Ok I just bought a pair of RF-7's to replace my RF-3's. I am very happy with them so far and they havent even been broken in yet. My question is, how much power do the RF-7's really need. Ive seen people in here reccomending 200 watt bryston amps for the RF-7's, am I the only one who thinks this is overkill?? Shouldnt they really only need like 25-50 watts of good clean high current power?? I ran my RF-3's off of a very good quality 40 watt integrated amplifier and had more than enough power. Do the RF-7's require more power for some reason?? if anything I would think they would need less power since they are more sensitive. I know they do need some current since they dip down to about 3 ohms. But as long as your using a good quality amp that can handle the 3ohm load is there really a need for more than around 50 watts if you have a normal sized room?? Why all ther reccomendations for big power amps. Isnt one oif the great things about Klipsch their high sensitivity, thus not requiring tons of power?? Im just a little confused about the reccomendations ive seen on this forum. Some reccomend 3 watt SET amps and other say your speakers really wont sing unless you have 200 watts! Very confusing. Is there any reason I should think about upgrading my amp to something more powerful?? Thanks frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted May 19, 2005 Share Posted May 19, 2005 Unless you live in a barn sized living room and/or feel the need to run them up to THX levels during movies, you can get by nicely with 30 to 60 watts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmt Posted May 19, 2005 Share Posted May 19, 2005 I have a large room for my RF-7s, 22x30 with cathredral ceilings that opens into a 12x28 room. My 2 watt SET amp easily pushes them to party volumes and has no problem with the impedance drop in this large area. They also sound delicious at very low volumes too. I feel sorry for those guys that need to crank out huge watts and volume to get their RF-7s to perform to their satisfaction. It just isn't necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted May 19, 2005 Share Posted May 19, 2005 RMT, May I ask what brand amp you are using? ......thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted May 19, 2005 Share Posted May 19, 2005 RF-7s are more efficient than the RF-3s. RF-7s will get just as loud with lower power (or, in your case, louder with the same power). Leo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imperfectcircle25 Posted May 19, 2005 Author Share Posted May 19, 2005 Im using an Exposure XV integrated. But Im also thinking of trying a few differant amps till I find the best match. I was thinking of trying out an older Musical Fidelity A2 which is 25 watts class A, also wanted to try out a Naim Nait 3, my firend has one and is going to bring it over one day to see how it comparred to the Exposure. Im hoping one of these great little integrateds will work well. I have been veryhappy with the Exposure with my RF-3's so they should work fine with the 7's. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmt Posted May 19, 2005 Share Posted May 19, 2005 I am using a Decware Select. The Select does have the added push of a tube modded Sony CDP that outputs 3.2 volts instead of the usual 2 volts. I have designed my gear around high efficiency for the 2 watt Decware. Although several more watts could make the RF-7s really blast with more headroom it is not at all necessary to bruise your way up to dozens of high watts for the RF-7 and the 2way xovers. I would say it takes more watts to effectively push the Heritage series speakers though. The more complex xovers will use up some of those precious watts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted May 20, 2005 Share Posted May 20, 2005 Thanks....I just recently discovered that Decware website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imperfectcircle25 Posted May 20, 2005 Author Share Posted May 20, 2005 When i emailed Klipsch with the question of how much power they reccomended for the RF-7's, they told me that a 50 watt amp was way underpowered for the RF-7's. he also said this. "Not familiar with Naim products to be able to pass any judgment. My suspect is that if anything, it may not provide the power for bass frequency support and when you attenuate the volume level to such a level you would run the risk of clipping/distortion levels which of course, can damage any tweeter." I told him I was thinking of a Naim Nait 5i to replace my current Exposure Xv and he told me he never heard of Naim or Exposure(I can understand Exposure, but Naim??). I kinda had to laugh to myself that 50 good quality watts was "way underpowered" for speakers that are 101db sensitive, and hes worried about clipping a 50 wat amp into these speaker?? How much damage would I do to my hearing before I would clip this amp, ive never even clipped my 35 watt Exposure into my RF-3's. I could only imagine what type of power he would reccomend if Klipsch made speakers of average sensitivity(88db)!! I mean maybe if we are talking about some 50 watter you buy at radio shack or something then maybe but a good quality 50 watt amp?? Am I crazy or is this guy crazy?? But I really doubt that amp would have any trouble driving the RF-7's its stable into 4 ohms to so the dip in impeadance donw to 3ohm wouldnt be a problem either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted May 20, 2005 Share Posted May 20, 2005 It might have been a standard textbook answer for him to give out if asked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imperfectcircle25 Posted May 21, 2005 Author Share Posted May 21, 2005 It must have been, cuz I cant see anyone that knows even a little about this stuff making comments like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 I see this discussion quite often,its really a very simple answer.On a 40 watt quality amp the 7s will sound great,they will do "almost" everything one could ask for the money.The 7s however cannot(imo)reach full potential,that last oz. of roar,tear the rafters down,blow you totally away without huge headroom,thus 200 watts of quality power is an improvement for those demanding the maximum potential,all imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JewishAMerPrince Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 I must throw in my $.02 as I have run my RF7s on 70wpc amps then 125wpc then 200wpc (all Rotel amps). I have to say that although the 7s did well with 70 then 125, there is no such thing as too much power as far as they are concerned. The more power I added the less compressed the 7s sounded at high SPL. With 200wpc, Dean's Mods and a Shanling T100 CD player in my over 6000 cu ft room the 7s are absolutely glorious and open at high SPL and intimate and detailed at low spl. Just add clean power! Jerry R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 I have heard them with an 8 watt 300b tube amp; sounded nice but not enough dynamic headroom for me. VRD (KT88 tube) was the best I have heard them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 ---------------- On 5/19/2005 8:02:11 PM rmt wrote: I am using a Decware Select. The Select does have the added push of a tube modded Sony CDP that outputs 3.2 volts instead of the usual 2 volts. I have designed my gear around high efficiency for the 2 watt Decware. Although several more watts could make the RF-7s really blast with more headroom it is not at all necessary to bruise your way up to dozens of high watts for the RF-7 and the 2way xovers. I would say it takes more watts to effectively push the Heritage series speakers though. The more complex xovers will use up some of those precious watts. ---------------- Just the opposite. My real world experience is that RF-7s are more difficult to drive than Heritage speakers of the same or similar efficiency. Carl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imperfectcircle25 Posted May 21, 2005 Author Share Posted May 21, 2005 I think you guys are right that more power is better, the more the merrier! I just think that a speaker like the Klipsch should be fine with 50 watt amps. I would eventually like to upgrade my Exposure integrated with either Exposure or Naim seperates. But even their top power amps are only in the 70 watt range and Ive heard them driving speakers with just average sensitivity(87db) to very loud levels in large rooms. So I doubt I would have any trouble driving the RF-7's with these amps especially since my room is only 14x18ft and I rarely listen at extreme volumes. One day Im going to borrow my neighbors Bryston 14b sst just for kicks to see what 600 watts does with the RF-7's...lol Has anyone done anything that crazy with their Rf-7's?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heideana Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 "When i emailed Klipsch with the question of how much power they reccomended for the RF-7's, they told me that a 50 watt amp was way underpowered for the RF-7's. he also said this." Sounds like you got the same story when I called about driving RF-7's and was told 90 watts wasn't enough. After a few more calls, I was finally guided to RB-75's...to make a long story short, I wasn't happy, traded up to RF-5's, still wasn't happy and finally came back to the RF-7's I wanted in the first place and am happily driving them with 60-watts triode/90 watts ultralinear with my Rogue Tempest II. To be honest, the house shakes with bass in triode and I can't be in the same room in ultralinear at 3/4's power. It took me awhile to realize the Klipsch techs were worried I wouldn't have adequate reserves for bass headroom and suspect it'd be great to have a Rogue Zeus to get 250 watts/channel but the 60 watts do fine for the time being. The other thing I also figured out was you really need to run them at 4 ohms...that made a big difference in bass quality and volume.... Enjoy the RF-7's... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 ---------------- On 5/21/2005 7:26:33 AM imperfectcircle25 wrote: It must have been, cuz I cant see anyone that knows even a little about this stuff making comments like that. ---------------- LOL! Yeah, right, what would Klipsch know about a product that they design and manufacture? I get a kick out of people who ask for advice but who are actually just looking for someone to agree with what they've already decided. When they don't get the answer they want, then there's something the matter with the guy they asked! The Klipsch engineers, and the great PWK before them, all know that it's vitally important to have enough watts to adequately control the bass, and to have headroom. 2W amps are a joke for serious listening, and 2W amps in a big room are a bad joke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 Polly want a cracker? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 ---------------- On 5/21/2005 8:09:56 PM Speedball wrote: Polly want a cracker? ---------------- A Ritz? Sure! I'd take one over a Decware "amp" any day of the week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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