mtber101 Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Well after driving almost 2 hours I finally got to hear the reference line after not hearing it for close to 5 years. The audio store had a very nice theater setup with the reference 35 line up. It sounded fantastic! So I went ahead and purchased the RB-75's in cherry. What kind of breakin time do they require? Should I leave the jumper cables connected even though I only have a single positive and negative coming to each speaker? After opening the box up I had a feeling I did the right thing. The cherry is beautiful and the girlfriend likes the way they look a lot more than the F-3's. They are just bossy looking speakers. The package is very nice and the wood cabinet really looks nice compared to the synergy stuff. THEY SOUND AMAZING. Very big difference in sound from the F3's. I think even the base sounds much better. On a side note they had two rooms with some heritage stuff setup. Didn't have a chance to hear them but I couldn't believe how big they are. They even had a pair of the corner loaded horns (forgive me for not knowing the name). I'll have to listen to them next time I go. The owner said they would make your ears bleed with a big grin. Anyway back to listening... and glad I went reference. Thanks to everyone that gave me advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiperG Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Congrats on the purchase. I too am a reference owner. (35 lineup). You won't be disappointed. Alot of people on here use the big guns for their HT(khornwalls and such) but the reference line is no slouch. At least you didn't go bose like I originally did. Enjoy em! What kind of breakin time do they require? I think the manual says how many hours....it does take a while. Should I leave the jumper cables connected even though I only have a single positive and negative coming to each speaker Leave the jumpers on unless your running wire to all four connections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Congratulations on the purchase. RB-75's kick major arse. And compared to the F3's? Dude, come on now! The F3's ain't no slouch, but that's like pitting a Cocker Spaniel against a Doberman. Or George Bush against Arnold. Regarding the jumpers, as mentioned above, leave them on, unless you plan to bi-wire your speakers (not recommended), or bi-amp them (recommended, but $$$ if done correctly). As for break-in, try playing a variety of music through your new speakers, and give them a good 100 hours or so before you seriously sit down and listen. Of course, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy them right now, straight outta the box. Because you can! And...you will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsman Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 I have RB-25's out in my workshop and they jam. I can imagine on how good the big brother 75's sound. Enjoy. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkp Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Congratulations on the purchase. RB-75's kick major arse. And compared to the F3's? Dude, come on now! The F3's ain't no slouch, but that's like pitting a Cocker Spaniel against a Doberman. Or George Bush against Arnold. . Yeah but GW has a pitbull that he could bring to the fight...[] Congrats on your purchase... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtber101 Posted December 1, 2005 Author Share Posted December 1, 2005 Haha thanks for all the input guys. I wasn't really compareing the F3's to the 75's. I just bought the F3's Sunday night and in the back of my head I was mad I didn't go reference. Also for the breakin... should I play them on the softer side? Lastly they are being run by a Yamaha HTR-5830. In order for them to get at all loud the receiver has to be around -20 or so... The receiver is rated at 110 watts per channel... is this normal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkp Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 There are two very recent threads that may be helpful to you. One is in the 2-channel section, the other here. They were both started by lo123 or someone with a name like that. Titles are like RF-7 versus Denon or something very similar. If you can't find them, let me know. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtber101 Posted December 1, 2005 Author Share Posted December 1, 2005 Thanks for pointing the two threads out dkp. Just got done reading thru them. However now I'm a little worried about my receiver... I can still take it back and get a full refund... so any thoughts? $500 would be the absolute limit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMcGoo Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 The RB-75s should not be a problem for a receiver. They have a single woofer versus the two power hungry woofers of the RF-7s run in parallel. The RBs represent a much easier load impedance wise. The RB-75s have good sensitivity, but need the help of a subwoofer for bass extension. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtber101 Posted December 1, 2005 Author Share Posted December 1, 2005 A woofer is in the future for sure But it just seems a little weird that the receiver goes all the way down to -80 and up to +16 . And I have to get pretty close to zero to get some real volume going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMcGoo Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 The RB75s have bi-wire terminals with jumpers in place. The jumpers may not be tightened down properly. Also, speaker wire should be at least 14 awg. and have good contact at both ends. At zero, you should have average sound of at least 85 decibels. A sound meter is needed to calibrate the system and to allow you to see where you are. Rat Shack has good meters for a reasonable price. At -20 my system is deafening, but RF-7 towers are more sensitive. I have never made it to zero, the foundation would crack and the windows might blow out. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtber101 Posted December 2, 2005 Author Share Posted December 2, 2005 I'm using 16 gauge right now... I'll have to try 14... should I go any bigger than 14? MrMcGoo- is your system just a pair of RF-7's? All i have are the RB-75's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMcGoo Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 I have a 7.1 system that is listed in my profile. The RF-7s by themselves are very loud with stereo direct music. Any decent 12 awg wire from places like Home Depot will work as long as it is stranded and has a flexible jacket. Price should be about 35 cents per foot. (Copper has gone up recently, so my price may be out of date.) Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 First, congrats on the RB75s. I owned a pair and really loved them. To me, they are one of the most underappreciated (and underrated) of all Klipsch speakers. Truly a fine speaker. As far as speaker wire goes, I would not expect a major volume change (at similar receiver settings) just by increasing the gauge. Bill is correct in that your RB75s would benefit from running 12 gauge (mainly the bass response), but it is not like 16 gauge is really holding you back volume-wise. If you were running some really thin speaker wire (22 gauge or below), then maybe we would be talking about some serious drops in volume. As an example, I used to run 12 gauge with Reference and Heritage speakers. Then, when I went to Niles switchers, I went to 14 and 16 gauge for the same speakers. There was some small loss is bass response (and tightness), but it was not a dramatic difference. More likely, if you believe that you are pushing up into the upper areas of your receiver to get volume, you may want to consider a more powerful receiver (or add an external amp). I admit that I am not the biggest fan of the Klipsch/Yamaha combination for music, yet I still run a Yamaha with my Reference upstairs (a RXV 1300) only for movies. I recall that when I shopped Yamaha, a couple of years ago, the HTR receivers at Best Buy, etc. from Yamaha were being rated differently than the RXV line (and differently from how most others rate power). Therefore, while you say you have 110 watts per channel, you may have the same power source or a similar one to the RX-V530 or a similar model (about 75-80 watts per channel). Also, even if your receiver's rating of 110 watts/per is the same standard as most other manufacturers, many companies inaccurately report the power. Additionally, I have not been the biggest fan of the power supplies in mass market receivers in general when it comes to putting out adequate, clean power. Fine for movies, maybe less so for music. Think of it this way. Your receiver weighs probably 20 pounds or so - with amps for five channels and a processor. Compare that with an external 2-channel amp at 110 watts X 2 that may weigh between 35-70 pounds for just an amp driving two channels. Many prefer to shop by weight....... Bottom line is if you think you are pushing your receiver too much to get the power you want - upgrade. You want to avoid distortion of the upper limits of your receiver and especially clipping. After all, even though the RB75s are efficient compared to most other brand of speakers, they are lower on the Klipsch efficiency scale. And even though they do not have the impedance demands of the RF-7s (which I also loved), they do need some adequate power if you want to safely drive them loud, again without clipping. If you were to upgrade receivers, maybe look for a more powerful Yamaha. Or you may want to consider other options such as Denon or Harmon Kardon. H/Ks were often applauded by most as being nice to drive speakers cleanly because they run high current amps. And, there are some other variables to shop for besides "watts." To really get more stout receivers, you would want to go with Rotel, Sunfire, etc. However, that is outside your price range. All of that being said - again congrats on your RB75s. Carl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtber101 Posted December 2, 2005 Author Share Posted December 2, 2005 Thanks for the help guys... to home depot I go. And more research on receivers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 buy it off of the spool to at HD.. 12 guage is fine.. your other ?'s... What kind of breakin time do they require? ANS... none to a few days.. at different volumes.. People argue about this all the time.. I am not so sure you can prove anything other than you get used to it too.. I think it has more to do with placement..where your at.. and You getting familiar with it too.. Tube amps maybe.. Speakers??? Just not so sure again you can say one way or the other.... Should I leave the jumper cables connected even though I only have a single positive and negative coming to each speaker? ANS.. Yes.. As stated earlier..keep them where they are.. red positive black negative.. on speakers and your amp.. It does not matter which jumper you use too.. so use the top or the bottom binding posts with the jumpers as well.. (This is more for european specs so you know why Klipsch does this..I was told...) ENJOY!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtber101 Posted December 4, 2005 Author Share Posted December 4, 2005 One more thing guys... My receiver can switch from 6 ohms to 8. I have it on 8 right now because that's what the specs are for the 75's.... Should I leave the receiver at 8 ohms as well? The reason I ask is because I saw a few threads talking about using lower ohms on the RF-7's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMcGoo Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 The RB-75 does not have the big impedance dip of the RF-7. The receiver lowers the rail voltage when you switch to 6 ohms due to fire safety. Less power is available. As long as your receiver does not overheat, leave it set to 8 ohms. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtber101 Posted December 4, 2005 Author Share Posted December 4, 2005 Could you explain what the impedance dip is... I'm lost when it comes to ohms and anything related. Could you or anyone give me a crash course or point me in the right direction? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavinius Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 Congrats on the RB-75's! I'm using the RB-35's with the RC-35 center on a Yamaha RX-V657B and I have no problems with volume. I have never took them under -6 as it is very very lound and basically that's what i call reference levels on this amp, at this volume I get no audible distortion out of the Reference series at all and i think I can go to about -3 or even 0 on the Yamaha but I'm looking after my ears. I think the wires might make a difference and make sure you get some banana plugs and do the job properly. When I purchased mine i went to the biggest wire I could fit in the biggest banana plug it did the job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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