RF 7 crossovers

[aussiemark]

[8] Could anybody explain to me the differences in RF 7's tonal character before and after Dean has done his work with his crossover modifications? There is obviously an improvement in performance judging by how highly regarded Dean is but where is the improvement most audible after he has performed his RF 7 surgery??

Thanks

[KlipsDude]

Wow, surprised someone didn't answer your question by now.

[Deang]

It would be better to ask this question down in 2-channel or the HT section -- most who have done the mod don't veture up here often.

Here are some comments from Colin Flood, a reviewer for enjoythemusic.com who was present at the Arkansas Gathering at Daddy Dee's residence in May of 2004.

"DeanG first played an obnoxious Led Zepplin (?) recording, where Robert Plants voice drove the refined older ears from the room. It grated the ears, ringing like large bell sounding like hiss. Then Dean installed his larger crossovers in Streams RF7s. This made a huge difference in the smoothness of the mid-range, but also the treble. Cymbals sounded like metal, NOT hiss. The mid-bass didnt seem like larger to me in that brief glimpse, but it did seem to extend lower a bit better. The group that left, returned; the easy consensus was that the new larger crossovers made a significant difference. NOT as startling as a different amplifier or adding a sub-woofer perhaps, but a definite refinement. If the harshness or brightness of the RF7s are bothering you, this is certainly one solid improvement."

My response:

"I used "Since I've been Loving You" from the newly remastered Led Zeppelin III CD. Though the CD is generally well recorded, this particular cut -- even in vinyl form -- will definitely pin the ears back in a system that doesn't have everything together. The song starts with some good bass drum for low frequency transient evaluation, and a nice bluesy sound off of Page's Gibson -- that in a transparent system -- throws off some good air. Plant starts in the lower octaves, and by the time he gets to the end -- he sounds as if he has his testicles in a vice. I specifically chose this song because I knew it would drive the Heritage ears from the room -- and it did. Some brave souls remained, though I did turn it down some to spare them any further irritation.

The RF-7 doesn't do this with all recordings, but enough so to send one into perpetual gear change-outs looking for a fix. A great speaker, but like most speakers voiced with inexpensive capacitors -- it benefits from the use of higher quality capacitors using superior dielectrics. I think the RF-7s aquitted themselves well after the crossovers were replaced, and I was happy to see that though most might have preferred to be listening to the Klipschorns, found the sound engaging enough to roll with it.

I'm sure no one in this Heritage crowd is ready to go out and dump their big horns, but I do believe everyone clearly heard the advantages of using a superior dielectric -- which is what I really wanted."

Sometime later I found out that the Reference Series of speakers in fact already used polypropylene capacitors (as opposed to polyesters) -- at which point I decided that there had to be more going on to explain the difference in sound than the dielectric type.