bignasty27 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 After much reading and deliberating, I thought I would post my questions to the pros for some help. I have the complete RF7 package, sub and all. I enjoy the sound but feel there is something lacking. I read that the Rotel 1080 is an excellent choice for the RF7s so I picked one up. I have the Adcom 880 preamp and an Acurus A200 3 channel amp for my center and rears. It sounds great but I really have to crank it up in order to get what I want out of it. I keep reading how efficient the Klipsch's are but I am keep thinking something is wrong. I have upgraded my power cords and I am usung cryoclear interconnects. Could it be that my preamp is preventing me from getting the most out of the speakers? there is not much information about this preamp out there. or doesnt the Rotel have enough current to enjoy the details at lower listening levels? I am open to suggestions It is about a 60/40 split between movies and music. The Adcom preamp and the Acurus were sort of hand me downs so I was hoping to get different options if i need to replace them without having to kick in that much more money. Also, are there any 5-7 channel receivers that will give me that "in your face" sound or am I better off going with seperates? 2 channel and a 3 channel or an amp that can deliver 5 channels? Is there a preamp that will be an improvement over the Adcom. Very new in the game of audio but will definately be a Klipscher for life! Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 What is lacking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bignasty27 Posted February 18, 2008 Author Share Posted February 18, 2008 i guess what is lacking is that it is not as open and detailed as i would like. only when i crank it up 3/4 of the way does it get somewhat in your face. the word "loud" probably isnt a good word to use but its just not in your face loud as I would like. Maybe its me or maybe its the Rotel. I would have expected to feel the bass coming out of the subwoofer or get a much more detailed sound.Anything I can do to improve my system would be helpful. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masterxela Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Rf-7's are great speakers, and your amplification isn't shabby either. I can relate to not being completely satisfied with their sound under 90db or so. Have you played around with room placement or room treatment? With my rf-7's, without changing source material or processing, I experienced 3 completely different "sounds" depending on what room I had them in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bignasty27 Posted February 19, 2008 Author Share Posted February 19, 2008 I was thinking about moving them around but the problem is that they are in my basement in a custom wall unit I made especially for the RF7's. I insulated the ceiling with soundproof insulation from home depot (I know, probably not the best idea) and there is new drywall over the cinder blocks on the walls. The floor is laminate. The room is 12 wide by 24 long. Would the sound improve if I went with the Rotel 1095? or perhaps a pro amp to increase the power? What can be done as far as a room treatment since I am pretty stuck with the speaker placement? Any other suggestions?? Thanks for the help so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Well it could be the wall unit, never was a big fan of "boxing in speakers" in a wall unit. Does the Rotel 1095 have a loudness feature? The human ear on lower decibals tends to over emphize the 1-4KHz range, probably evolved that way for survival, anyway some recievers have that cheap loudness button which boosts bass and treble and better build recievers have a loudness dial which reduces the mid range 1-4KHz range, so the user can dail in a more even sound at lower decibals. That may be your best bet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hloden Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 I would have to agree with not boxing in the rf-7 I have recently moved to a new house with a theater room "YEEH-Haa" Until now I was not happy with my RF-7 setup. I now have about three feet of clearance behnd the towers, and it makes all the difference. It was like getting a new system. Is the custom unit ported? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bignasty27 Posted February 19, 2008 Author Share Posted February 19, 2008 the speakers are boxed in. perhaps, cutting out the back panel of the wall unit would help. could someone explain technically why this would help. thanks! any other suggestions? i will try unboxing them when i get home tonite thanks! I have a Rotel 1080 not a 1095. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 The RF-7s are ported and there for need space around them to disperse bass. Where is your RSW 15 set up. That can't be in a cabinet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hloden Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 The RF-7 is a ported speaker. Ported speakers are not meant to be chocked down. If your cabinet is tight enough it will prevent the spekers from performing as designed. I just tried a test with my RF-7's I covered the ports and lost appx 45%-60% of audible "punch" This of course is not a engineered test. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillH2121 Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 I spent the better part of a year experimenting with RF-7 speaker placement. They must be away from the back walls and away from corners in most cases. With my speakers, I ended up with them approx 20 inches from the back wall and towed in several degrees. You have to get those speakers out of the cabinets so they can breathe. Also, make sure that the foam on the inside of the speakers is pushed down to the speaker cabinet floor and against the sides. You can examine the foam by looking and reaching in through the ports. The foam in my speakers had come loose and was partially blocking the ports, reducing response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bignasty27 Posted February 19, 2008 Author Share Posted February 19, 2008 the subwoofer is not in the wall unit...LOL dont get me wrong, they still sound great but something is missing, Im hoping this does the trick. is it only the back of the speakers that need the air to breathe or the sides as well?? if i pull them forward and cut out the back of the unit i should have about 2 feet of breathing room back there or would that still be considered enclosed? the wall unit is from top to bottom and wall to wall, its going to be hard to tell the wife that its needs to go. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 IMO its better that they have space around them so the ports can breath and reflect back the bass into the room and in your ears without a massive cabinet being in the way. I have never been a fan of cabinet systems for this reason, they are better suited for speaker cubes. Hopefully your changes work with out loosing the asthetics that you or your wife are looking for. Good luck, the RF7s should rock/soul/R&B/Jazz your world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 I spent the better part of a year experimenting with RF-7 speaker placement. They must be away from the back walls and away from corners in most cases. With my speakers, I ended up with them approx 20 inches from the back wall and towed in several degrees. You have to get those speakers out of the cabinets so they can breathe. Also, make sure that the foam on the inside of the speakers is pushed down to the speaker cabinet floor and against the sides. You can examine the foam by looking and reaching in through the ports. The foam in my speakers had come loose and was partially blocking the ports, reducing response. Solid recomendation. You could try recapping the crossover networks. =============================== the wall unit is from top to bottom and wall to wall, its going to be hard to tell the wife that its needs to go. LOL Not nearly as hard a bringing home a Heritage speaker...[:'(] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 IMO its better that they have space around them so the ports can breath and reflect back the bass into the room and in your ears without a massive cabinet being in the way. I have never been a fan of cabinet systems for this reason, they are better suited for speaker cubes. Hopefully your changes work with out loosing the asthetics that you or your wife are looking for. Good luck, the RF7s should rock/soul/R&B/Jazz your world. Kind of a recent day console from the limitations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 I'm blaming the Adcom,should be good gear but I've never been happy with em'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkelf Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 I thought I might throw in a "non-expert" opinion here. I own a pair of rf-82's which are similiar I think. I agree with previous advice on placement and avoiding any type of enclosure, those rear ports need to breathe to get the proper bass output. Also, jacksonbart hit on something I think might be helpful. I run a Denon-3808 which has a restorer function, which basically is meant to boost bass and treble lost on compressed signals from mp3s. I have been much happier with the sound quality using this setting, even on cds(mostly anyways, some recordings sound too boomy with this turned on, but most give me the punch I love to feel hit me in the chest). Do you have any function available on your pre-pro? Any EQ you can play with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masterxela Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 get your speakers out into the room with you. If that is not possible, I would not invest in processing and expect to solve the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falcon20x Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Some very good advise but I will speak from experience on this one. My RF 83 were in HT room and I had the exact same feeling. They sounded amazing at the store, but once I got them home something was missing. So I did like every body else, I started the ugrades but nothing did it. For hat matter my RF 3s in the living ( much bigger room with hard floor) sound almost better. How could this be [*-)]. I moved the RF 83 to the living room and voila !!! Whit a simple receiver, crappy cables and nothing fancy they came alive. So what is the problem Actually I had made 2 major mistakes 1. Even if had them 2 feet away from the wall they need a little more room to breath but that was not the biggest mistake. 2. Like every body else, I wanted my HT room to be nice and Iadded 3 Lord of the rings framed posters with plexyglass for the decorations What I had really done was made the room an accoustic nightmare. Once I took them down it improved the sound 100%. The RF series are ported speakers and are not made to be enclosed, they need room to breathe. The top of the line needs good power but you have what you need for that. Placement is also very important, sometimes a little bit to the left or the right, even the angle can make a huge difference, but don't disregard the acoustic of the room.Mistakes are often made which can be corrected with little or no money. http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/S-XyWOFk9Ths7/reviews/ht_tweaks.html?page=2 Check out the link, doing some of the suggestions made a huge difference in my case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bignasty27 Posted February 20, 2008 Author Share Posted February 20, 2008 thanks for all the suggestions..... I managed to take them out of the wall unit and sit them just in front of it. WOW..what a difference. The bass was there, little details that were not there before are now. Everything came alive. Even my wife noticed the difference right away. I no longer have to crank it way up in order to get great sound. Not sure what I am going to do with the wall unit but I think it needs to come down or altered in some way. Im assuming the center needs the same room to breathe, correct? If the Adcom is not the best choice, could you recommend a replacement? Doesn't have to be 7.1. Again, thanks for all the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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