Klipsch and KEF Towers

[MacManNM]

I decided to go and listen to some speakers this weekend. I figured I'd let you guys know my thoughts. I listened to 3 different pairs of towers, all in 2 ch direct mode with no sub. The contenders were the KEF KEFXQ5GRAPHITE, Klipsch RF-35 and RF-7.

1. The KEFXQ5GRAPHITE:
I hated these speakers. No bass, and the midrange sounded like it was playing underwater. nuf said

2. Klipsch RF-35:
Good sounding unit. A good bass although they didn't reach down real low. Crisp, clean highs and clear midrange. They were not as bright as the usual Klipsh speaker, and I was pleasantly surprised. The imaging wasn't great, but all around they are a really good speaker. A great HT unit.

3. Klipsch RF-7:
I absolutely loved these speakers. Tons of accurate bass, good imaging, clean clear highs, and dynamic midrange. These speakers were not bright! I was very impressed with these units. Vocals were clear and these units played loud without the least bit of strain. I usually don’t like titanium tweeters, but these didn’t ring or sound harsh in the least. The beauty is, you don’t need a 2kW amp to drive them.

I have found my next set of speakers, now I just need to get that family room done so I have somewhere to put them!

 

[Dapper Dan]

3. Klipsch RF-7:
I absolutely loved these speakers. Tons of accurate bass, good imaging, clean clear highs, and dynamic midrange. These speakers were not bright! I was very impressed with these units. Vocals were clear and these units played loud without the least bit of strain. I usually don’t like titanium tweeters, but these didn’t ring or sound harsh in the least. The beauty is, you don’t need a 2kW amp to drive them.

I have found my next set of speakers, now I just need to get that family room done so I have somewhere to put them!

Right you are...I don’t care much for horn loaded speakers in general, great for front of house "Cinema complexes and rock shows" but not really what you would call Hi Fidelity.

I really feel that Klipsch got the balance, timbre, and all the other superlatives you care to mention right with the RF-7’s. They are very, very, very good. Another nice feature of them is that they have a very high sensitivity as you mentioned (102db @ 2.83 Volts/1 metre), so if the budget does not allow for great amplification right of the bat; you could power them with a budget model amp easily until you could go further up the scale of receivers/amps (Aragon comes to mind! )

Don't stop there...how about the reference home theatre package… here

In the words of Samuel L. Jackson - “hold on to your butts”

Good choice…

Dapper Dan…

 

[MacManNM]

Right you are...I don’t care much for horn loaded speakers in general, great for front of house "Cinema complexes and rock shows" but not really what you would call Hi Fidelity.

I really feel that Klipsch got the balance, timbre, and all the other superlatives you care to mention right with the RF-7’s. They are very, very, very good. Another nice feature of them is that they have a very high sensitivity as you mentioned (102db @ 2.83 Volts/1 metre), so if the budget does not allow for great amplification right of the bat; you could power them with a budget model amp easily until you could go further up the scale of receivers/amps (Aragon comes to mind! )

Don't stop there...how about the reference home theatre package… here

In the words of Samuel L. Jackson - “hold on to your butts”

Good choice…

Dapper Dan…

I don't really care for the sub though. I'd be inclined to go with an SVS unit. Prob a PB12 plus/2 for my room. But I cant tell you how thrilled I am that I have found my next set of HT speakers.

 

[j_garcia]

Always good when you've found the speakers that make you happy. I'm not a fan of horn loaded tweeters either, but I know that most people who complain about Kilipsch being overly bright are usually driving them with the crappiest stuff they could find thinking that they can drive them with junk and they'll still sound spectacular - that isn't the case with any speaker really. I do find Klipsch to be bright, but I also consider Paradigm's Studio line bright too. Congrats.

 

[MacManNM]

Always good when you've found the speakers that make you happy. I'm not a fan of horn loaded tweeters either, but I know that most people who complain about Kilipsch being overly bright are usually driving them with the crappiest stuff they could find thinking that they can drive them with junk and they'll still sound spectacular - that isn't the case with any speaker really. I do find Klipsch to be bright, but I also consider Paradigm's Studio line bright too. Congrats.

Thanks, do yourself a favor, go listen to a set, you will be amazed! I never liked them, but I do now!

 

[Hanse18]

(grumbles in corner, wishing he had $2k for RF-7's)

 

[mtrycrafts]

I have found my next set of speakers, now I just need to get that family room done so I have somewhere to put them!

How much? Maybe one day, I will upbgrade from my boombox

 

[Pyrrho]

Always good when you've found the speakers that make you happy. I'm not a fan of horn loaded tweeters either, but I know that most people who complain about Kilipsch being overly bright are usually driving them with the crappiest stuff they could find thinking that they can drive them with junk and they'll still sound spectacular - that isn't the case with any speaker really. I do find Klipsch to be bright, but I also consider Paradigm's Studio line bright too. Congrats.

I disagree. While spending some time with a friend of mine, we visited one of his friends. Not long before, someone had broken into his home and stolen his main stereo, except for the Klipschorns, probably because they were so big and heavy. So he had them hooked up to a boombox temporarily. They sounded remarkably good. (And I am not a fan of Klipsch. I do, however, think that some Klipsch speakers are much better than other Klipsch speakers. The Klipschorn is, in my opinion, one of their better speakers, and it is extremely efficient, so in most rooms, less than 1 watt is needed for sane volumes.)