wdrazek Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 OK, so I didn't think the IGroove was substantial enough to fill my LR with sound. Fine for a small den, but the 15 x 28 room is too big. No surprise, I guess. So I got the $199 Ifi deal at Costco. What a difference!! It filled the room with sound. Being the tinkerer I am, I wondered if it could be improved much by the RSX4's I am using as rears in my HT. The answer is yes, indeed. The increased level of clarity and heft in the mid/upper bass surprised me. The dimensions are similar, but the sound is bigger and much more refined. Maybe it's partly because it is spec'd to 92hz instead of 116hz for the RSX3. Would I pay $400 for the Ifi and $300 more for RSX4's? No. But $200 for the Ifi and even $300 more for the RSX4's is worth it in my book. For $500 this rig is great. Next year I'll invest in a serious music system for the LR. This year, I'll be very happy with the little pocket rocket I put together. Now, I wonder how the RSX5 would sound... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry1 Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 When CompUSA was buying out GoodGuys I could have got a pair of RSX4's for about $120, or pair of RSX5 for $160, I'll probably regret that decision I didn't get them. [] Still good to hear that the RSX4 sounds that much better with the iFi subwoofer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdrazek Posted February 23, 2006 Author Share Posted February 23, 2006 Actually, I just bought a used pair of RSX5's on Audiogon yesterday. I'm tempted to try them out too but I may just use them as rears in my HT and keep happy with the 4's and the Ifi sub. It's nice to be able to move upward in the Klipsch line with the Ifi and improve an already good sounding setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voxr3m Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 I dunno why andy hasn't posted in here yet. But to say the RSX-4's sound better is very iffy at best. The IFI RSX-3's are custom made for the IFI setup. By themselves, the IFI RSX-3 sats do not have a flat frequency response since the internal workings have been changed/removed from the Reference version (to better suit the IFI setup as a whole probably). But the IFI amp compensates for this by sending a filtered and EQ'd signal to the IFI RSX-3's. Thus in the end, the IFI sats have a flat frequency response when used with the IFI amp and only the IFI amp. If you put non IFI RSX speakers (or any other speaker for that matter) to your IFI setup you won't be getting a flat frequency response from the speakers. Why? The RSX-4's have a flat frequency response by design so you can hook them up to most anything and they'll sound right. But if you hook them up to the IFI amp, you're giving them an EQ'd and filtered signal to them. So the flat frequency response they would've had is gone. Likewise if you hooked up the IFI RSX-3's to a normal reciever or amp, you won't get a flat frequency response either and you might end up getting a distorted sound (and damage the speaker?) The bottom line is, you're not getting a flat frequency response with anything other than the IFI specific RSX-3's. The general consensus is that flatter is better. So what you'd be hearing with the IFI amp and RSX-4's isn't technically right and certainly isn't what the IFI designers meant for you to hear. But hey, if having a flat frequency response isn't important to you or if you think they sound better with the RSX-4's, go you. So while the changes to the IFIs make the components themselves 'incompatible' with other speakers, the system as a whole benefits from it. Or at least I think Andy says the end result was good. So listen to your IFIs with your IFI RSX-3's. They were made for each other. Save your other speakers for a real hifi system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 since the ifi rsx-3 have no crossover (thehy took it out since the ifi amp incorporates it) it will though distort due to bass. Normal rsx-3 crossover block signals below 120 hertz (bigger rsx block lower) but yes it will distort now. But the reverse is not always true. Since a "flat" speaker is not exactl easy to make. Crossovers also are not perfect most are -12db or -6 db per octave so technically it is still capable of sending out bass signals but just alot lower compared to the rest. Also there is truths to having both systems gradually switching over as opposed to bose's method of hey lets just forget there is 120-250 hertz in the spectrum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdrazek Posted March 2, 2006 Author Share Posted March 2, 2006 Sorry, the 3's were designed before the Ifi ever saw the light of day so they were not designed to go with the sub and amp combination. On the other hand, I don't doubt that the sub/amplifier was EQ'd to match the 3's. But what I hear is better sound quality from the 4's - they are more open and transparent than the 3's. Period. And, with the positioning options for the sub and volume control over its output it sounds pretty flat to my ears. It also most definitely does not have that hole in the upper bass sub/sats are known for. Room acoustics strongly affect FR in real life situations. Since they are from the same lineup I would expect the FR differences between the 3 and 4 to be rather small. I understand the synergy of building things as a system, but I trust what my ears are telling me. And I will say this - while not high end, properly set up the Ifi with RSX4's is a real hi-fi system. Particularly with 320kbp AAC encoding. YMMV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 oh please stop thinking they are using stock rsx-3 http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/677257/ShowPost.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 . And I will say this - while not high end, properly set up the Ifi with RSX4's is a real hi-fi system. oh and in two weeks I get a pair of Klipsch RF-83 but there low-fi so nothing to worry about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdrazek Posted March 3, 2006 Author Share Posted March 3, 2006 . And I will say this - while not high end, properly set up the Ifi with RSX4's is a real hi-fi system. oh and in two weeks I get a pair of Klipsch RF-83 but there low-fi so nothing to worry about ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy W Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Wdrazek PM'ed me about this, and though I didn't get right back to him, I have checked the response curve of the iFi version of the RSX-3 and the stock RSX-4, and it appears (on paper at least) that the RSX-4 would also nicely complement the EQ of the iFi amplifier (which is really nothing too drastic). Since I was not involved with the development of the RSX family I was not aware of this. After seeing this, I'm not surprised that he likes the sound. The RSX-4 has a few advantages over the RSX-3, bigger drivers and magnets and lower tuning. The lower tuning would not be well utilized with the crossoveer of the iFi, however since the tuning is lower than the RSX-3 the port does not come into play as much as the RSX-3. This might (again, on paper) mean a more coherent upper bass response. The RSX-4 will handle the power of the iFi amp just fine, and the RSX-4 won't bother the iFi amplfier either. If nothing else it could reduce the port noise at high volumes. I might even try it out for myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry1 Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 I be curious to know if the RSX4 stock versus RSX3(iFi) sound better on the high end (bigger horn tweeter)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdrazek Posted March 11, 2006 Author Share Posted March 11, 2006 I think so. The reason I tried the RSX4 was because I felt there was a 'hooded' quality to the sound of the RSX3's. In hindsight, that may have been partly due to placement - the 3's and 4's both have pretty narrow dispersion so if you're not listening straight on they can sound hallow. In any case, the 4's sound more open and extended to me. Not sure what the specs are, but the quality of sound is definitely better to my ears and I have no interest in going back. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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