CECAA850 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 The RF-5's I have in my bedroom are anything but harsh. I drive them with an older Carver amp and preamp. I'll have to side with a former poster that advised to look into your room acoustics. I've had these same speakers in another room in my house and they sounded like crap. Where they are currently located really makes them shine. Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlipsDude Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 Rivendell61, thats the biggest BS I've ever heard, and who wants sh*t paper on their nice speakers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlipsDude Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 For that matter, would rather DeanG crossover change before putting sh*t paper on the speakers. Still, mine are doing great with not being bright or harsh. As it has beens said many times, like over and over and over, much depends on the equip that is used with the RF-Klipsch of what you will gets. If you haves equip that leaves them harsh or brights, and dont want to spend $$$ more moneys to change equips, then DeanG upgrade is the cheaper way to go, if that is whay you wants to do. Just remembers, when you change the crossovers, it thens void Klipsch warranty. Some guyz here are ok with that and take the gamble buts just good to be aware of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speed3 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 Pearl Jam has some great songs, but their recording makes my ears bleed. Every speaker/amp combo I've ever heard them on has given me the immediate urge to shut everything off, Klipsch or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 Did no one follow the story? It is quite clear what happened and when it happened - harshness has been there since he connected the overspec power supply! Go back to batteries and see if this clears it up... Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whell Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 There's alot of advice going on here, not all of it ordered quite right. Lots of things to consider before you spend a dime on new equipment or crossovers. First, the suggestion to try to play a known quality recording is excellent. Steely Dan's Aja is a good suggestion, even if the music is not your cup of tea. It is a very accurate recording. If this recording sounds bad, then its time to look elsewhere. The elsewhere to start with would be room accoustics. Also, old tube amps are great if correctly maintained. If the electrolytics are bad, or a tube is weak, you've got a recipie for poor sound. The RF-5's, like many Klipsch speakers, can brutally reveal any weaknesses in your system. If nothing else works, I'd have someone knowledgable take a look at your amp to assure it is in top form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spkrdctr Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 ---------------- On 7/26/2005 3:08:53 PM whell wrote: There's alot of advice going on here, not all of it ordered quite right. ---------------- Wow! Hit the nail on the head. But, it would not be an audio forum then........ You mentioned that it was not on all of your recordings, most likely it is some bad recordings. You can alter your system to deal with that by using room treatments or a crossover change with the resistor mod from Dean. There is a review thread around here somewhere on that.... Or, you can take and push a handful of wadded up Toilet Paper in the horn to mute it. Whatever technique you prefer! Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivendell61 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 If you really want to change the amp.... The Teac A-L700P uses a higher output chip than the SI. Only $99. Not too expensive for an experiment. There are some long threads here on the Teac, etc. My A-L700P has a more rolled off sounding top end than the SI. Would tend to tame system brightness. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateg20 Posted July 27, 2005 Author Share Posted July 27, 2005 I didnt have a chance to play with anything yesterday. Like I said I threw every amp i had at it the night i posted. The marantz 2275 sounding the least harsh which surprised the heck out of me. I figured for sure the fisher tube amps would be the softest sounding. Could very well be the recording though. Although I listened to the beatles shortly there after and found that harsh too... but then again i've thought that before about their recordings (was listening to revolver). But at the time I was pretty upset at the way they were sounding. I'm doing a bunch of searches in reguards to the crossover circuit as well. I'm not having much luck finding any facts on the resistor mod as of yet as it pertains to the rf5. I have an electrical background, so the work should be pretty straight forward. I've built and played with many other xovers in the past. I have no idea on how the crossover is designed though at this time. I have an old iasca (car stereo comp) disk around here. That would be about the only "hifi" cd I can think of that i may own. Tonight I should have some time to play with speaker wire, and setup. I've gotten a new rack to put everything on. Should give me more room to compare speakers. The room I do this in shouldn't be too bad. Its carpeted, has wallpaper and a sheetrock with that spray on ceiling. If anyone has any more info on the Xover mods Id appriciate it. I'm assuming the design is pretty sound, just an upgrade of the components... and I've also read something about changing a resistor value. I don't know what thats all about tho. I was considering going with Solens all the way though. Are the inductors pretty decent? I havent even looked at the originals yet. thanks again? I'm sure someones done this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 The "resistor mod" only applies to the notch circuit of the RF-7. The RF-5 has no such circuit. Your network is attached to the back of the terminal cup -- it's on a PCB. Replace the capacitors and resistors. The values are on the parts. Use Kimber capacitors and Mills resistors from www.partsexpress.com leave the inductors alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbflash Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 speaker wire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Yes, you can dump the wire and get much quieter background. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateg20 Posted July 27, 2005 Author Share Posted July 27, 2005 Parts express has treated me pretty well in the past, I'll go for that. Do you know if there any values that will not have an exact match with the kimbers? Whats the prefered method to get exact? IE, the xover has 2.5uF in it, kimber only makes a 2uF or a 3uF(just an example!)? Two in parallel (two smaller caps = bigger value ), or two in series (two bigger caps = smaller value)? Or just get as close as you can and say ahhh hell with it? Part of the reason I think i've given up building my own speakers was Xover design. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateg20 Posted July 27, 2005 Author Share Posted July 27, 2005 I think I'll probably just build a whole new board, id really like to keep my waranty in tact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Technically speaking, your warranty is voided as soon as you open up the speaker and install different parts. I wouldn't worry about it - Klipsch isn't that small minded. If any future problem isn't due to the network, they'll probably take care of you. I've done a couple of RF-5's -- I don't recall having to parallel up values. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Warranty on fancy receivers and automobiles maybe but speakers?.......not me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Spinner Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 ---------------- On 7/27/2005 12:47:13 PM dbflash wrote: speaker wire ---------------- They don't have Wire now ..??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbflash Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 i think after he rebuilds his xover he still has what is feeding his speakers. most of the reviews about upgrading xovers have been they cleaned up my system. it was like there was a sheet covering my speakers. i know i have upgraded the xovers in my most of my heritage speakers. the reviews hardly ever say my speakers were harsh and i was thinking about covering my tweeters with TP so i could listen to them without my ears hurting. i'm not trying to start a war. i was in the same boat. i changed out the preamp,amp,cd player and i still found my klf20's harsh. i changed my speaker wire from stranded to solid wire and i found out i wasted alot of money on amps,pre's and cd player. a couple years later i sent my klf20 xovers to dean to rebuild. i loved what he did, but i had my system sounding very good before i sent the xovers to him. the xover rebuild took my system to another level. i would recommend the xover upgrade if you like your system to begin with. if you don't like the sound of your system this mod i don't believe will help. audioquest type 4 is very cheap now. i would try that if my speakers were harsh sounding and i was using ss. since going to tubes i no longer use audioquest. i am using stranded wire. thats all i meant by speaker wire. danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Ray Garrison says the same thing about stranded as opposed to solid core. Interesting. So, Type 4 works good with the horns? Hmmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormin Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 ---------------- On 7/27/2005 9:53:13 AM nateg20 wrote: I didnt have a chance to play with anything yesterday. Like I said I threw every amp i had at it the night i posted. The marantz 2275 sounding the least harsh which surprised the heck out of me. I figured for sure the fisher tube amps would be the softest sounding. ---------------- From what i have heard that really isn't all that surprising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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