Fish Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 From audioreview.com Summary: I must begin this review by stating that I have never been a Klipsch fan. Usually, those who like Klipsch sound have always like it, and are somewhat biased. The fact that this is not the case for me is a statement to the performance of these speakers. I have never like the sound of horns, and have always disliked the sound of Klipsch. However, on the request of a friend, I gave these an objective audition, and what I experienced was absolutely astonishing. Even without a break in period, the sound that these speakers produced was smooth and enjoyable. After a day and night''s worth of break-in, I sat down to really listen to these speakers. I generally play the same material when I audition a new loudspeaker, simply so I will know what to listen for. I put on some favorites, discs like Sarah Brightman''s La Luna, and the SACD version of Celine Dion''s Decade in Song. The sound coming from these speakers was nothing short of amazing. As opposed to other Klipsch models, these speakers had a remarkably smooth character to their sound. The soundstage was deep and enveloping, surrounding me with music from just 2 channels. The imaging was, of course, razor sharp and detail was remarkable. Now of course we have all heard the cliche''s about imaging and staging, and while they are important, they are far to dry and technical to convey the experience of true music listening. These speakers had within them the ability to move my emotions far more than I had expected. I was moved to tears during the Brightman disc on more than one occasion. The feeling of the singers voice was captivated so perfectly. The RF-7''s were able to convey her own emotions in the notes they brought forth. Of course, Klipsch speakers are somewhat known for being bright and harsh, but these are truly a departure from the reputation. The large 1 3/4 inch titanium tweeter is both smooth and detailed; gentle, yet accurate. The bass impact is quite amazing, as one should expect from a speaker of this stature. It wasn''t once muddy or sloppy though. Always clean and precise were these loudspeakers. Lest I drone on and on, I should conclude. For those interested, however, I have included below a list of connected equipments. Source: Sony DVPS9000ES DVD/CD/SACD player Power: B&K Reference Cable: Audioquest Strengths: Outstanding performance for a very reasonable price. Awesome dynamics, Clarity and detail. Overall, an amazing loudspeaker for the price. Weaknesses: Quite a large cabinet, easily damaged speaker-cone surface. Similar Products Used: Veritas2.4, B&W Signature 800, Audissey 2+2, Vienna Acoustics'' Beethoven, Sonus Faber''s Concertino & Grand Piano A review like this sure sounded great,but nothing subs for an in home audition on your set.All the beautiful words mean nothing if your ears don't approve.I brought home the store demo pair,listened for about a week,returned em' and ordered my cherry 7's.I've brought home many others,2x more money and top rated by the rags,the 7's remain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twistedcrankcammer Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 Well Fish, I owned Quartets that I bought new back in the day and owned for 20 years. I own both K-Horns and a LaScala Center now and have owned others as well. I put together 4 KSF-10.5s with an RC-3II for my mother which I upgraded first by selling the RC-3II and moving her up to the RC-7, then I changed out her front KSF 10.5s for RF-7s. So I have personally bought and set up all of these speakers and in my opinion, my quartets sounded the best / clearest & most enjoyable. I am sure some of this was from the Nachamichi Stasis I had powering them. I have a brother in law who built a listening room 24' by 32' on 1.5 times the golden mean cube, that owns a Klipschorn settup, but also owns VOTs and Studio Monitor 19s. Unfortunately, I have also experienced tubes and what they can do for a set of perfect VOTs vs; solid stae. I went with the reference for my mom as she has a long wall, but no corners. I sold the quartets to my sister as with 7,200 sq ft, she has plenty of corners. This is beginning to ramble, but I have belonged to AudioReview for a long time and you know as well as I that you can tell who the kid is who thinks his must be best, and who knows what they are talking about, or is it just coincidence that my Stax Labda signatures are the highest rated headphones followed second by one set of high end Stenheisers, then third by the Grados. In my opinion, the list shows merit, a usable tool, although not the final word. I don't see how anybody could buy an entire RF settup for $1200 that wouldn't burn your hands though. Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twistedcrankcammer Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 As far as Heritage looking ugly, no Heritage speaker I can think of looks as ugly as the lower vynl covered references. Yes, I like the cherry, but you can put any veneer on any series and come up with better than what was offered as standard fair. As far as rocking loud, 6 RF-7s wont begin to touch the volume of those two in my avitar. Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 I just sold my RF-7 system and bought LaScala II's. LaScalas win handsdown. Weren't you having a harshness problem with your LaScallas? How did you correct it? What do you like better about the LaScallas vs the RF-7's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arky Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 those two in my avitar. Do you own jubs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted April 15, 2008 Moderators Share Posted April 15, 2008 As far as rocking loud, 6 RF-7s wont begin to touch the volume of those two in my avatar. Yes, but your two speakers are almost as large as the car they are beside. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twistedcrankcammer Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 Arky, No those aren't Jubilies, and they aren't just a set of Klipschorns with added backs either. Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 twisted, OK I'll ask, what are those speakers you have in your garage ? Now I gotta' know ............... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twistedcrankcammer Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 Oldbuckster, I would have thought you would know.... Name that speaker!! Hint #1 They are Klipsch. Hint #2 They came this way from the factory. Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arky Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 Too small to see huh Buck? MWM bins with 510 horn? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 Too small to see huh Buck? Wise guy EH !!!!!!!!!!! .............. No, I thought they were Jubilees, ................. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arky Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 LOL. Actually, I meant it's to small for me to see. Looked like jubs to me also. At this point i'm losing interest. Never was good at guessing games.[*-)] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 As far as rocking loud, 6 RF-7s wont begin to touch the volume of those two in my avitar. Roger I'm not sure how loud you like it but about a clean 120db does what I need,and that ain't for long.Those are very nice speaks,enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PYRO Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 I just sold my RF-7 system and bought LaScala II's. LaScalas win handsdown. Weren't you having a harshness problem with your LaScallas? How did you correct it? What do you like better about the LaScallas vs the RF-7's? Harshness?? Due to poor recordings and improper speaker placement. Moved speakers to correct problem. Some recordings sound bad. While others like Pink Floyd - The Wall, Van Halen II, and Natalie Merchant -Ophelia sound wonderful. RF-7s are great for movies but I think just average for music. I just prefer the sound of a fully horn loaded speaker for music. Just my opinion and I believe thats what the OP is looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wsu99999 Posted April 16, 2008 Author Share Posted April 16, 2008 Thank you SO much for everyone's input. I decided to take everyones' advice and went with a heritage speaker (technically, not heritage). Picked up a pair of Forte II's. I will be perfectly honest - I can't hear too much of a difference from my RF-35's, which is really dissapointing. The good thing is I can sell them for basically what I paid anytime I want (that is the good thing about Klipsch speakers - as long as you don't buy them brand new, they never loose too much value. When in 2 channel mode, the speakers actually sound a bit worse than my RF-35's do. The bass is boomy, and not tight and refined. I can, however, remove my subwoofer from my system with these. When used in correlation with the rest of my surround system, they really don't sound any different than my 35's. Am I doing something wrong? Shouldn't these be a huge upgrade? I've had 3 people over and no one could see any improvemtns, only negitive stuff. Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 Give them alittle time, you're so use to the others ............ they need to be away from the wall so the radiators can move freely ...... postioning is half the battle ............ When I first got my Heresy 2's I almost took the back, I hated the sound, but I kept them, and I'm glad. Give them a chance !!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twistedcrankcammer Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 Oldbuckster, Those speakers are from the old proffesional line, they are 108dB sensitivity, same as the MCM-1900s. They use the same mid range horn as the MCM-1900, and have an adapter running 4 K 55-Vs in an X pattern per each Horn. The tweeters are in a Y pattern in back and have two drivers per horn. Some would call them Pro CornerHorns, but I forget the actual M designation. Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twistedcrankcammer Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 wsu99999, Oldbuckster is correct in that placement is everything with these. Are they Fortes' or Forte IIs? My Quartets favored my long wall and needed propper "CORNER" placement for best sound. Speaker choice and accoustics are the two biggest factors in audio. Do you have two clean corners for them? Another thing about listening to them is they aren't capable of being your loudest choice, but listening at enjoyable levels for the sake of relaxing and just privately listening, not trying to impress others with a volume contest, I was able to hear and pick out alot more, but as you get to this level of listening, they will make other things stand out alot more that you never noticed. I like alot of Ozzy, VanHalen, and AC/DC, but other stuff as well. My quartets and my bigger stuff makes a bad source recording sound like shit, and it is embarresing to be trying to show off your new purchase and trying to run down why they are sounding badly. Alot of the 1970 and early 80s stuff sucks when you try to play it loudly, that you never noticed before on speakers that wouldn't magnify the problem for you, but a good source is lovely. I had my thermostat go bad and had a kid in here to replace it yesterday and just popped in an old Ozzy cd. It sounded terrible. Bad recording, and the Klipsch horns spit out their banna plugs again. One set loose, and onother set hanging freely. As a matter of fact, I should pull them out and replace them with spade connectors right now instead of typing this. Remember that your Fortes' are for fine listening, not shear volume and you will probably begin to appreciate them for what they can do. The final two thoughts I have is that these will do more to point out a poor amp than others, then I would begin to wonder about a problem with the speakers such as cross overs or drivers. REgaurdless, sorry to hear you are bumbed, but play with the possibillities. The chase of your personal audio nirvanna is half of the enjoyment, so play with placement etc., etc., etc..... What amp are you running??? Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wsu99999 Posted April 16, 2008 Author Share Posted April 16, 2008 I've tried 3 amps. I have an Adcom GFA-2, ADCOM GFA-555 and My Harman Kardon AVR-745 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twistedcrankcammer Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 wdu99999, Your GFA-555 should be good enough. I have some Adcom stuff as well, but still prefer the Nakamichi PA-7 to the higher power GFA-565s. Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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