aussiemark Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Three weeks ago I had my RF 7's delivered and was extremely happy with their sound.However after breaking them in so to speak for around 40 or so hours I found that when I gave em a bit they sound harsh and almost lispy on the s's.I own a Denon 4802 which isnt a particularly bright amp and backed the treble off to -6 whereas it was either on + 6 or pure direct with my Yammy 1000's..My furnishings are heavy carpet and heavy curtains.The sound while exciting and alive,not to mention loud is to my dissapointment somewhat fatiguing on the ears after a while especially at decent volume.A mate told me that they will smooth out a little over time and to also get some Kimber 4tc speaker wire.Has anyone else had a similar experience with the 7's and if so what was the remedy if any.Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Welcome to the forum. I know what you mean about harsh. I don't have much to help you other than to let you know about a RF7 crossover mod that fellow forum member DeanG has. I got this upgrade about 2 years ago. What I found was that while suddle (<--sp?), it tamed some of the harshness and increased the low frequency. I was very pleased with the change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arky Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Aussiemark Dean's mod really improves the 7's. I agree with moon except my experience was more than subtle. The mids are more pronounced as well. JT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiemark Posted February 22, 2006 Author Share Posted February 22, 2006 I have read quite a lot about Dean and his modifications but the trouble for me is that I live in Sydney Australia.I do thankyou for your reply and help though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiemark Posted February 22, 2006 Author Share Posted February 22, 2006 If I am unable to tame it down a little it appears to me that my first experience with Klipsch by buying their ex flagship speaker has been expensive and poor.I 'm starting to feel like a purchased a lemon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tthurston4 Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I'm looking into some room acoustic treatment since I'm also noticing some characteristics. The room I have the RF's in isn't helping in the least; I can hear modal ringing and comb filtering like crazy. From what I've read, treating your first inflection points and using bass traps will significantly help. Check out some threads on room treatment on avs forum if you can't find any here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Just because you live in AU, doesn't mean you can't ship him the crossover and have him mod it. And the RF-7 is definitely NOT Klipsch's flagship speaker, nor was it ever. The mighty Klipschorn is their flagship, and always will be, whether they continue making them or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 FWIW, I have the Setup listed below and I don't have to adjust the Treble at all. [:^)] I have had numerous people listen to my system through the years and never have they described it as harsh and lispy. It's usually something like "OMG []," and then a bunch of compliments. []. I have pictures of my setup in "Photos" on this site. If you have any questions on why my RF-7's and Denon 4802R sound so good feel free to post. I can't imagine that much of a sound difference from the day they were delivered to 40 hours later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 If I am unable to tame it down a little it appears to me that my first experience with Klipsch by buying their ex flagship speaker has been expensive and poor.I 'm starting to feel like a purchased a lemon! A lemon? Leads me to ask, did you listen to them before making your purchase? They are nothing close to being lemons, they seem to have been very well received. Admittedly, they may not sound good to your ears. Tastes vary. It is quit possible that the RF7s are not your style and something else would be better for your tastes... But no, I don't think many would agree that they are lemons. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiemark Posted February 22, 2006 Author Share Posted February 22, 2006 There probably wasnt that much of a sound difference in them after 40 or so hours.It was that I was just playing it safe by listening to them at moderate levels for that period of time in case a break in period was in fact not a myth.After untold discipline I couldnt wait to hammer them and thats when after the initial WOW factor had subsided I experienced the before mentioned complaints.I do like the sparkling in your face sound but these at this stage the 7's sound over the top in the high frequencies.What connects and speaker wire do you use?Do you listen to your system through pure direct ? Dont get me wrong I'm not about to nor will I ever slur the Klipsch reputation.I probably just need a minor tweak here or there hopefully.It's finding out where and what options.Thanks for your response tkdamerica and I love my Denon too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I'm running a Harman Kardon AVR 7200. Nice and warm. I suspect the Denon to be similar sounding. Internconnects? Oh man. been a while, lets see... I can't recall and I'm not near my setup. I paid something like $40.00 for the digital coax cable going from the DVD player to the receiver. The speaker wire is Monster cable... (yes, I was take for a ride, I bought it before I learned about Monster) I'm not going to disagree with what your hearing. I suffered the same things you did. A little harsh, a little edgy, not as much low frequency output as I would like... But, after getting Deans crossover upgrade I'm much happier, it was like putting the icing on the cake. And as others have mentioned, room treatment most likely will help as well as placement. You don't have them directly up against a wall do you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpm Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I had the 7s for a year. They did make me go out and buy nice seperates and a much better cdp. But alas, my ears couldn't take the whine of these speakers. No kidding, at higher volumes they gave me an immediate headache. Also, I felt they had a lousy midrange. In their defense, the bass was good, although a bit muddy. Anyway, I sold them and haven't missed them at all. I've had Heresys, Cornwalls and now LaScalas. It's Heritage all the way for me from now on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 ...What connects and speaker wire do you use?Do you listen to your system through pure direct ? Dont get me wrong I'm not about to nor will I ever slur the Klipsch reputation.I probably just need a minor tweak here or there hopefully.It's finding out where and what options.Thanks for your response tkdamerica and I love my Denon too! I use Monster 16 gauge speaker wire. I don't use pure direct at all (I played around with it but I prefer using the bass management in my Denon DVD-3910). I only listen to SACD's and DVD-A through my 5 analog cables. When I watch DVD concerts I play them through the "THX Music" setting and for movies usually the "THX Cinema" setting (although on some DTS material I like the "DTS" setting). With DVD's I use the optical connection and let the Denon AVR-4802R do the decoding. On all music I set the crossover on the AVR to 60 Hz and for movies I set it at "THX" (i.e., 80 Hz). I just realized this is a "2 channel" topic, but wanted to respond because of the Denon AVR-4802R/RF-7 connection.[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 It's always intersting to me to hear these two things after someone gets the mod done: 1) The bass is better - "tighter". 2) The midrange is better - "pronounced". The word "pronounced" is used more often by users than any other. I prefer "detailed". No. 1 is intersting to me because I really don't do much if anything to the low pass section. -- I simply the replace the 100vdc 16uF cap with a 400vdc Solen. No. 2 is what I expect to hear from people, but "pronounced" gives the impression the midrange is more forward -- which it isn't. Two things are happening here, and they are in fact both responsible for why people think the bass is improved. The use of high quality capacitors and resistors in the HF section of the network dramatically reduces grain and increases clarity. A slight drop in a resistor value puts a nice little notch at approximately 3.5kHz -- about 1.5dB. This is an area where the ears are extremely sensitive to ringing. The resistor is part of an LCR circuit that is used to bring down the horn's resonant peak. The better parts and the small tweak combine to increase clarity and detail while also bringing the horn into better acoustic relationship with the cones. Because of this -- the bass sounds better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 the bass sounds better. Uh huh.... That was all I needed to know. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlipsDude Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I have the RF-7's and I don't have the problem you are having, my RF-7's soundso stunning and real that people that hear them want a pair and my friend anduncle did buy a pair and are very happy with the RF-7. All Klipsch speakers will reveal any weak point you have in your system, tryand figure out if any thing you have in your system may be causing the bright/harshsound, such as a DVD player, CD player, pre-amp. Some people don't feel Denon isthe best choice for running with Klipsch but some say they are fine but I wouldn'tknow as I am running mine with McIntosh and I don't get any bright or harsh sound,and my RF-7's are all original stock, no DeanG mod needed here!!! My RF-7's do,and still do give me a tremendous WOW FACTOR every time I hear them and all I hearis WOW, I want a pair any time some one hears my system. They love it, and so doI. I just bought a 2nd pair a few weeks ago since I'm so happy with RF-7. The key to Klipsch speakers is find equip with a warmer sound so it will notproduce the bright / harsh sound from the components. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 KD, With your amp I bet a pair of Bose would "almost" sound stunning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlipsDude Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 And the RF-7 is definitely NOT Klipsch's flagship speaker, nor was it ever. The mighty Klipschorn is their flagship, and always will be, whether they continue making them or not. No matter how you feel about it, Klipsch ads do say the RF-7 are their flagship speaker, now the RF-83 is. The RF-7 are the flagship for Reference line and the Klipschorn is the flagship for the Heritage line. I still prefer the RF-7 over the Klipschorn's and it's just all a matter of preference to ones own ears. Neither is better or worse, just a different sound but very much both Klipsch sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlipsDude Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Sorry to hear jpm, that you never got the RF-7 right for you. Shame because they are truely a great speaker when you get every thing right for it! Glad to hear you found what works for you now. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Flagship?....alway's will be?...now that's a matter of opinion.[] The most expensive maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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