hybridamp Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 I ended up purchasing the last pair of RF-7s in stock at my local dealer and I must say that the sound is absolutely phenomenal in my opinion. They make me miss my Cornwalls a little less, thats for sure Anyhow, while unpacking them in my apt and getting ready to install the front-grills for the first time I noticed a odd crack-like anomaly spawning out from the top-right screw of one of the speakers horns. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Photos here: http://www.oldschoolcaraudio.com/images/rf7 I am not sure if its an actual crack in the baffle all the way through the wood (how thick are the baffles on the RF-7s anyhow?) or just a small imperfection in the baffles black finish. I suppose I could remove the horn and check, but Im not about to remove the horn if it voids my warranty because Ive only had these babies for two days. My concern is basically if this could be a crack, would it affect the long-term integrity of the speaker, or possibly cause any audible difference in sound output? I know, I know, I should have already taken it back to the dealer, but I am one of those persons that never complains about anything; I guess thats because Ive dealt with the public so much in my past jobs, and I know how people can seem overzealous at times about their purchases. Ive been buying from my local dealer for many years (purchased my SF-1s there about a year ago) and dont want to give them a hard time about it. So if its just cosmetic, Im completely fine with it as I know if I returned them to the store I would have to wait for them to be sent in for repair/service and go through that whole ordeal and I figure the shipping carrier would probably do more damage. On a side note, two of the binding-posts on the back of the speaker seem to be loose from the speaker cabinet making them impossible to un-tighten. Im guessing maybe the store had someone inexperienced in loud speakers test them and they tightened the posts too tight and when they went to loosen them again in loosened the nut inside the speaker up instead? Again, I could probably remove the bottom driver and tighten up the post from the inside of the speaker, but I dont want to risk voiding my warranty And now Im wondering about if I took them to the dealer if theyd just have the same inexperienced persons open it up and try to fix it doing even further damage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Since that was the last pair the dealer had, the one speaker may have been either returned or just bounced around real good while in transit to the dealer. I would have it replaced as these are valid QC issues that you are presenting. Think long term and resale value down the road. The front baffle is NOT an easy fix and I doubt that it could even be replaced with damaging the entire speaker, best to just get a new speaker. It may be a skin deep crease, but it sure looks like a crack and the fact that the input terminals are not working correctly should warrant replacement. Love the vintage Luxman "suck face" components in your avatar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 It does look like a deeper problem, It may be that the screw was overtightened causeing the mdf to crack behind it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankphess Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 I have the exact same crack in one of my RF-7's. This happened when my speaker was on spikes and was knocked over, with full weight, to the floor. While I believe this to be purely "cosmetic", I would check all the drivers and connections to make sure nothing else is wrong. I believe it takes a lot of force to create a crack like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hybridamp Posted May 4, 2006 Author Share Posted May 4, 2006 Yeah, it maybe more serious that I though then Maybe I will just take it back to the shop and see what they say about it. I know they dont have anymore RF-7s, so I would probably have to return them and go with something else in the current series and I hate to do that because I love the 10 drivers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankphess Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 If nothing else, at least point it out to them, have them check all the drivers, and maybe they'll reduce the price some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BobG Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Frzninvt, That takes me way back. I was a dealer for Luxman during the "suck face" era. What a weird design! Not quite like the 3045 amps eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hybridamp Posted May 4, 2006 Author Share Posted May 4, 2006 And yeah, I love my Luxman. It's ancient and still going strong, considering it only powered my Cornwalls up until now so I wasn't pushing a lot of power through it all those years. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Several of my Reference binding posts had the same problem. I don't think they are put on that tight to begin with. When you tighten the speaker wire post tighter than the back up nut, you cause the problem The first time you try to loosen it, the whole thing spins. I took mine out (torx screws hold the assembly in) and tightened them using a wrench on the inside. It doesn't take that long. You may have to bend or remove the spade connector to fit a wrench on the hold down nut I also used an allen wrench through the hole normally occupied by the speaker wire to hold the outside. Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Looks from the pics you posted the front baffle had a weakness and the cracked during transport.I doubt Klipsch quality control would le a visible defect like this one pass them by. And yes it was caused by weak(defect)baffle and probably after the screw was set tight the crack started getting bigger. One thing is for sure,it will not get smaller and will get bigger.Try to get the store to compensate you. I would(nott this is my opinion... so I am not telling anybody to follow it)open the speaker(removing the horn and use carpenter's grue,and from the inside make sure glue infiltrates the crack from the inside.Then after it cures(24-48hours)I would screw back the horn and make sure not to overtighten the bolt going near the repaired crack. And I would not trade my RF7's for the new 83's,no way. Heard both and prefer the monster slam of the dual 10' as opposed to the trio of 8's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Several of my Reference binding posts had the same problem. I don't think they are put on that tight to begin with. When you tighten the speaker wire post tighter than the back up nut, you cause the problem The first time you try to loosen it, the whole thing spins. I took mine out (torx screws hold the assembly in) and tightened them using a wrench on the inside. It doesn't take that long. You may have to bend or remove the spade connector to fit a wrench on the hold down nut I also used an allen wrench through the hole normally occupied by the speaker wire to hold the outside. Carl Eactly,mine for example were quite loose! I had to remove the terminal and tighten adding red thread lock to make sure they stay tight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 And I would not trade my RF7's for the new 83's,no way. Heard both and prefer the monster slam of the dual 10' as opposed to the trio of 8's. I guess you didn't have the time to listen to the improved horn and more depth (this is being said to theear?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 And I would not trade my RF7's for the new 83's,no way. Heard both and prefer the monster slam of the dual 10' as opposed to the trio of 8's. I guess you didn't have the time to listen to the improved horn and more depth (this is being said to theear?) I have,sprprise surprise.For music I have my new Contour 3.4's and soon the 5.4's to arrive. I do not only have even more depth but am on another quality level with these. [] Like i've said the RF7's dynamics are explosive for movies and with front and back RF7's this brings a new meaning to limitless dynamics on movies.As a whole yes the 83's are overall slightly improved over the RF7's.I will not dispute this as ther eis more better than less with the 83's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 but on the dynaudio once you pass 105 db say goodbye as the klipsch will open a can of whoop *** on the dynaudio. That is probably why you use the rf-7 for movies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 but on the dynaudio once you pass 105 db say goodbye as the klipsch will open a can of whoop *** on the dynaudio. That is probably why you use the rf-7 for movies Not so drastic,the Dynaudio can belt out over 112dB with relative ease,where the large Klipsch overtake them the SPL is at a level that becomes tiresome and no longer called enjoying music. [] The Klipsch RF7's you add 10-12dB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSoundBroker Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 That is shipping damage...no question about it. Classic RF-7 baffle crack...I've had a few of them. The shipping boxes and packing on the older Ref 7 series (RF-7's and RC-7) SUUUCKED! The new speakers have significantly better packaging. Two things you can do...first have your dealer see if Klipsch has any RF-7 cabinets in the parts dept. They can send you a cabinet and it is easy to transfer the drivers and x-over to the new cab. Second...refund time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 I never saw the shipping boxes of the older rf-7 and the packing inside, how do they compare? I posted pics of the new rf-83, did you see them and based on what you saw made the assumption the new boxes are better packages? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hybridamp Posted May 5, 2006 Author Share Posted May 5, 2006 Yes, I completely agree at this point. It has to be shipping damage and I am taking them in to my dealer this evening to see what they say. Hopefully they can call Klipsch while I'm there to determine if they can get me a new cabinet, if not, then it's refund time. I'm fairly certain that with the damage on the baffle, that the horn inside is broken away slightly from the driver at the throat, I've seen it happen many times before. The odd thing is that the dealer acted like they'd never heard of shipping damage to the horns; which makes me believe my dealer moves little to no product. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hybridamp Posted May 5, 2006 Author Share Posted May 5, 2006 So I took them to the dealer today and they removed the horn so we could see inside. Turns out the crack indeed ran completely through the baffle and all the way up to the corner inside. Additionally, the driver had slightly broken free from the horn at the start of the "throat". My sales rep is going to check Monday with Klipsch and see if they will replace the cabinet and horn, if not they're going to let me have credit towards whatever other model I choose to go with. So I'm sorta curious if the newer series cherry finish is like the RF-7s, or the lighter color like the RF-35 series were. The RF-7s matched my furnture perfectly, anything lighter would not. Also, the 83s are a lot more than that I had in the RF-7s, which is not cool. Actually I would be more in the price range of the 63s or 82s (get money back that way actually) unless I spend more... This isn't cool at all, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 i posted alot of pictures of the new rf83. The color match is quite good on the camera.... BTW how much did you spend on the rf7? http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/4/711312/ShowThread.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.