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I have the RF-7 system with B&k Amp looking to upgrade suggestions?


jayrf-7

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Have you done any acoustic treatment to your room? Acoustics are often the difference between truly great sound and so so sound. I'd do the acoustics before any other element.

I'd also look into a BFD (Behringer Feedback Destroyer DSP1124) for your sub...makes quite a difference for dirt cheap. Amp wise, the RF-7's do benefit from horsepower...not that you don't already have a good amp, but you may want to look into more. Best combo I used with them was the big Bryston amps. I'd also second the preamp/processor upgrade...as much for the fact you have more advanced bass management and can cross them over lower with a better pre-pro (they like 40 hz in my experience).

Last but not least, if you have the space and want a big sub upgrade (and a big sub), check out the Danley DTS-20 thread on the subwoofer forum.

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I have the Revel Performa F52 next to the Klipsch RF-83 (replacement for the RF-7) in our soundroom, it depends on what you are looking for (or listening for). These two speakers practice totally different religions, only you can decide where to worship.

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If you are truly disappointed with your Klipsch system, there is absolutely something wrong with the room or equipment. Depending on what your dealer tells you during his visit, I might contact a different dealer and get a second opinion.

I use the RF-83 for fronts and surrounds (RC-64 Center) and I am astonished every time, movie and music, and I am only using a Denon AVR-4306 (130 WPC).

Good luck

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Good point. I am just bummed I have dumped all that $ and no real big sound. It is loud its just not real clean and no real POP. Dialgue is real shallow with flixs and music it just not that loud no matter how hard I crank it up. I used to have Pioneer Elite towers, JBL sourounds, infinity prelude center and and infinity 15 sub with the same receiver (no amp) and it was way more powerful and cleaner. I scrapped all that for this new set up and I wish I had the old stuff back.

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Good point. I am just bummed I have dumped all that $ and no real big sound. It is loud its just not real clean and no real POP. Dialgue is real shallow with flixs and music it just not that loud no matter how hard I crank it up. I used to have Pioneer Elite towers, JBL sourounds, infinity prelude center and and infinity 15 sub with the same receiver (no amp) and it was way more powerful and cleaner. I scrapped all that for this new set up and I wish I had the old stuff back.

There has got to be something wrong with your setup. I have a nearly identical setup (Rx-7 all the way around with B&K Ref 200.7 amp, but using a Denon AVR3802 as a pre-pro (just about in the same class as your H/K receiver), and a REL Storm III as the sub instead of an RSW-15).

I can tell you that this thing friggan cranks like something fierce when turned up! I once tried a bass sweep off an IASCA disk (which is used for car audio competitions), and I damn near thought I cracked the glass on my front window.

Also, I found the dialog on my setup to be crystal clear and very natural sounding, and I dare not to push my volume dial past the "0" mark for normal listening, as this thing is friggan unbelivably loud! Just as a test, I cranked it up to +10 on my volume while playing an "SPL" track from that same IASCA disk. I was pegging the needle on my Rat Shack SPL meter (which is a solid 130dbs) at the primary listening position! And it was still very clear sounding, with no distortion whatsoever. I even went out into the front yard, and it still sounded unbelievably clear. I could only imagine what my neighbors were thinking when I did that little test.

There is nothing wrong with your equipment, but I think there is something definitly wrong with the setup itself. I did setup my own system using an SPL meter to "calibrate" the system, thus everything sounds balanced, with the dialog appropriately loud and full, with the music and sound effects coming out nice and clean, but not killing the dialog (at least on movies with good sound engineering). Music sounds really clean and I have no trouble picking out the individual instruments and thier placement in the sound stage as well as understanding the lyrics (assuming a well recorded source). Needless to say, I have not been disappointed with my setup, especially as I had this very setup for the past 3 years now (or is it four now?)!

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Man I hope your right. I was just checking the settings and jamming Tools new CD and the quality/volume still not where it should be. I have everything exactly as HK says the receiver should be. Since I work for HK we have a million dollar theatre room at our office we use for customers demos. I will have one of the techies from the office come over if need be. They may not work on it seeing how I swapped out all the HK products for the Klipsch:)

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I have currently have the RF-7 complete system and a B&K amp pushing the set with a HK AVR 630 recevier. Looking to get some more volume/bass out of the system. Any suggestions (another sub/new center, more power). My B&K is a 200w 7 channel. I would love to stay with Klipsch speakers but not sure what to swap out/or change.

Thanks

Jay

There has got to be a serious set up issue in your system if you are lacking BASS and VOLUME with your speaker system! Your RF 7's are 102 db efficient the RC 7 and RS 7 are 98! The RSW 15 can output 121-db max, which is perfectly mated to your Mains! 200 WPC should be pleeenty of power! Is your system calibrated and what setting on your receiver volume control is required achieve that level vs where you normally listen to your system at? Going to Heritage won't give you a cleaner sound perhaps a more robust sound but not cleaner. And they wont go louder over all. The Tractix horns and drivers employed in the Reference series are extremely clean but IMO a bit anemic in the mid/high for my taste. IMO you must have a set up issue.

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That system should blow you away, I'm very impessed with my Reference 7 system and I'm only driving them with a Denon 3802.

I would at the very least try connecting the speakers to your HK630 directly and see if there is still a problem. And if that doesn't work, I would try a different pre/pro before giving up on the speakers.

-PB

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The problem is more than likely with the speakers' setup and not the speakers themselves. The problem is one of physics, ie, bass cancellations. In simple English, the sub is likely working against the mains and has nothing to with the brand or type of speaker. The system is capable of huge bass output, if setup optimally.

Both Fish and SoundBroker are in the right ballpark. Another set of speakers will not solve a problem with the room's acoustics, bass cancellations or speaker placement issues. The polarity of the wiring has to be right and so on.

Bill

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He just got it replaced with a B&K...upgrading from his old HK.

I can see where you are at though, I used a harmon kardon receiver and was thoroughly disappointed in its performance with my klipsch speakers (hk635). It just didnt sound as good as it does with other bands usch as Rotel, Yamaha and Onkyo. I sold the hk in less than a month I was so disappointed.

There is/was definately something missing on HK units that doesnt seem to go perfectly well with Klipsch.

For all you who beg to differ, it must be just personal preferences!

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how would you use the Behringer Feedback Destroyer DSP1124 for the sub other than the eq the sub does not have a mic to feedback?

The BFD is used for the EQ section, which is flat out awesome for LFE equalization. There is an entire website and forum dedicated to it. I sell them and rarely ever do any theater setup without putting one in to EQ the subs to the room and system.

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It sounds to me like the h/k wasn't correctly setup. Maybe the speakers sets to small with a high crossover frequency, and the sub set to a small frequency, thus creating a hole. You only need a few watts of power to fill your room with sound.

I drive a heritage setup with an h/k avr-325 (a few years old, and lower in the line-up than what you had) and match movies at -25dB or so on the dial, with THX reference level at -17dB.

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