Speaker question

[MrBoat]

I have a chance to get some mildly used Klipsch R-28F speakers. My friend just got them about 6 months ago but now his elderly parents live with him and his media room is now their room so all of his stuff is out in the garage and really didn't have time for them before. Always kids, family, job and he doesn't really need them to watch football, which is about all he watches anymore.

My question is, being that I am used to 3-way speakers with 12" and up woofers and I really don't have room for a subwoofer, what can I expect from these newer speakers with two smaller woofers? He's asking $400 for the pair and says they may have 8 hrs use on them since he got them. He thinks they'll be fine without a sub for my usage being I primarily listen to 2 channel music. He says if I want them, he'll throw in his old Denon 3805 receiver if they don't work well with my older amp that I have.

 

[Pogre]

you can get them brand new at best buy this week for 450...

click

 

[MrBoat]

you can get them brand new at best buy this week for 450...

click

On that ad it says "each"?

 

[Pogre]

On that ad it says "each"?

well then, don't I stand corrected! I always get mixed up who does pair pricing and who doesn't. it suddenly looks like a good deal now, but I dont have a lot of experience with klipsch. I'll bet best buy has a pair set up if there's a store near you, you could audition them.

 

[MrBoat]

well then, don't I stand corrected! I always get mixed up who does pair pricing and who doesn't. it suddenly looks like a good deal now, but I dont have a lot of experience with klipsch. I'll bet best buy has a pair set up if there's a store near you, you could audition them.

Half of it is for doing him a favor, plus the kind gesture of him offering the receiver as well. I imagine I could try them out here first but I am not sure about best buy's quality of offerings, being they seem to follow that whole k, wal mart/home depot style of marketing with their versions of name brands. I have read a few reviews but those always seem kind of biased. Figured maybe someone here that is a bit more critical of speaker brands might understand these towers and maybe perhaps the brand's reliability expectations.

 

[lovinthehd]

Klipsch's long standing as a reliable brand is in question? Speakers tend to be quite durable in any case. Is this for a secondary system or you're thinking replacing the larger speakers or ?

Some of their series have the reputation of being harsh, not up on my Klipschs but think I've heard nicer things about the RP series over R fwiw.

 

[MrBoat]

The woofers on the large speakers are getting a little tired and this particular version I cannot find drivers to rebuild them, at least by the driver model #. A local speaker rebuild place says they can rebuild them, that the parts are no longer available, but they will try to match the acoustics as close as possible. I could probably put up with them but it irks me knowing their days are numbered and I hate dumping money into something that I cannot get original parts or something very close to that.

Also, per my other thread, and others I have been reading across this forum, I keep seeing where good speakers are the best improvement and I do not know what makes a good speaker these days.

 

[lovinthehd]

A good speaker is one you like the sound of a lot . The technology hasn't changed much for speakers in a long time (with the exception of certain tweeters perhaps), although subs and bass management have progressed quite a bit I think. I would definitely want a sub with the Klipsch but I'm not much of a Klipsch fan except perhaps their old larger speakers (Heritage line I think?).

I think it's fairly easy for a speaker to outlive any spare parts support. What were your previous speakers and how long did they last? Was it a foam surround disintegrating or a cone damaged or?

 

[MrBoat]

The surrounds look fine, the cones/spiders still look new but there is an audible bzzzzzt on some real low rolling bass occasionally on certain songs. It's perplexing, really, because sometimes the bass is incredible and has me wondering if the distortion is not from the recorded material itself and these speakers are just not being forgiving of it. Mostly on some blues or older funk tunes. Other times I hear bass that seems like it should distort the woofers but it holds together even when quite loud. It seems to happen less after they have been playing for awhile but that could be all me.

I should add that I don't mind having a couple sound systems to play with. Especially considering I have a total of 75 bucks in this one. If it were to die tomorrow, I figure I have already gotten 75 dollars worth of enjoyment from it.

Also bought a new PC with the newer i7 processor over the holiday weekend's black Friday offerings so maybe I have more audio options over my 11 year old pc with Linux on it.

 

[MrBoat]

A good speaker is one you like the sound of a lot . The technology hasn't changed much for speakers in a long time (with the exception of certain tweeters perhaps), although subs and bass management have progressed quite a bit I think. I would definitely want a sub with the Klipsch but I'm not much of a Klipsch fan except perhaps their old larger speakers (Heritage line I think?).

I think it's fairly easy for a speaker to outlive any spare parts support. What were your previous speakers and how long did they last? Was it a foam surround disintegrating or a cone damaged or?

Forgot to add your quote in my reply above. When I bought the JBL speakers, I figured there would be parts galore, or at least a cross reference replacement with such a name. Figures I pick the ones that don't.

 

[MrBoat]

With all that's said above and if you had a grand just laying around to get some 'large' sounding speakers, what would you get, if such a thing is possible for that kind of money?

 

[lovinthehd]

Forgot to add your quote in my reply above. When I bought the JBL speakers, I figured there would be parts galore, or at least a cross reference replacement with such a name. Figures I pick the ones that don't.

I seem to remember your thread now, a model like 312 or something? It'll be interesting to see what happens to the Harman brands like JBL after Samsung takes over....I'm not holding my breath for any replacement parts down the line for my recently acquired JBLs (S590s, 530s, 520) but doubt I'll need them either. I did get the 590s for $900 the pair delivered. I doubt there are very many speakers that were made more than 10 years ago with significant stock of replacement parts out there....and with today's manufacturing/inventory practices that's probably even worse for speakers made today.

I think there are a lot of choice in good sounding speakers in any case, am sure you'll find something you'll like....it just takes a few tries sometimes.

 

[ski2xblack]

With all that's said above and if you had a grand just laying around to get some 'large' sounding speakers, what would you get, if such a thing is possible for that kind of money?

For that amount of coin, with wide dynamic range and copious output in mind, and something notably better than the $75 JBLs, you're probably restricted to DIY. For example, THESE would be far, far superior to the Klipsch your friend offered, and for a couple hundred less than $1k.

 

[MrBoat]

I seem to remember your thread now, a model like 312 or something? It'll be interesting to see what happens to the Harman brands like JBL after Samsung takes over....I'm not holding my breath for any replacement parts down the line for my recently acquired JBLs (S590s, 530s, 520) but doubt I'll need them either. I did get the 590s for $900 the pair delivered. I doubt there are very many speakers that were made more than 10 years ago with significant stock of replacement parts out there....and with today's manufacturing/inventory practices that's probably even worse for speakers made today.

I think there are a lot of choice in good sounding speakers in any case, am sure you'll find something you'll like....it just takes a few tries sometimes.

Currently, the JBL's (yes,S312) are making a liar out of me with a Ronnie Earl blues cut that's shaking the house otherwise at about 45% volume from the 150w amp. I'm waiting for it to buzz and it won't do it now. For all I know, the old Scott amp may have been tailored for Scott speakers that needed more umpf for the bass on those speakers. Only adjustment I made was at the built in EQ on the amp taking the lowest band down a notch.

 

[MrBoat]

For that amount of coin, with wide dynamic range and copious output in mind, and something notably better than the $75 JBLs, you're probably restricted to DIY. For example, THESE would be far, far superior to the Klipsch your friend offered, and for a couple hundred less than $1k.

Great info. I will definitely look into that.

 

[lovinthehd]

Currently, the JBL's (yes,S312) are making a liar out of me with a Ronnie Earl blues cut that's shaking the house otherwise at about 45% volume from the 150w amp. I'm waiting for it to buzz and it won't do it now. For all I know, the old Scott amp may have been tailored for Scott speakers that needed more umpf for the bass on those speakers. Only adjustment I made was at the built in EQ on the amp taking the lowest band down a notch.

Keep in mind a bass eq boost can put very high demands on the amp, reducing the boost could have been the difference. I'd think the speakers would consistently make bad noises if the problem was something needing repair.

 

[MrBoat]

Keep in mind a bass eq boost can put very high demands on the amp, reducing the boost could have been the difference. I'd think the speakers would consistently make bad noises if the problem was something needing repair.

That's what I was thinking as well which is why I thought they were getting tired, but maybe not spent yet. Might even be some dirt in there of some sort, who knows.

 

[MrBoat]

For that amount of coin, with wide dynamic range and copious output in mind, and something notably better than the $75 JBLs, you're probably restricted to DIY. For example, THESE would be far, far superior to the Klipsch your friend offered, and for a couple hundred less than $1k.

Some questions for you, or anyone else who might know with regard to the 2 way kit you posted. This has been something I ask myself being familiar more with 3 way speakers when looking at the newer offerings out there. What handles the midrange? Does the woofer/s do all the lower and mid range work? Is it split between the woofer and the tweeter? Is a 3 way speaker more efficient in this regard?

 

[ski2xblack]

Regarding the SEOS kit speakers, the crossover between the woof and tweet is 1.3 khz, so both drivers share midrange frequency responsibilities.

Your broader question about two way vs three way can't be answered in a single forum post, but there are merits and challenges involved in any design, and any speaker represents a balancing act of the designer's specific priorities. As an example, with a three way, a mid driver that spans our hearing's most sensitive range ~2-4 khz can be chosen, thus keeping the crossover frequencies outside of that range. Of course such a speaker will have two crossover frequencies, and the added complexity and cost of the extra drivers and network bits.

 

[MrBoat]

Regarding the SEOS kit speakers, the crossover between the woof and tweet is 1.3 khz, so both drivers share midrange frequency responsibilities.

Your broader question about two way vs three way can't be answered in a single forum post, but there are merits and challenges involved in any design, and any speaker represents a balancing act of the designer's specific priorities. As an example, with a three way, a mid driver that spans our hearing's most sensitive range ~2-4 khz can be chosen, thus keeping the crossover frequencies outside of that range. Of course such a speaker will have two crossover frequencies, and the added complexity and cost of the extra drivers and network bits.

I've been reading about a lot of the speakers on that site. It's probably the direction I am going to go. I'll possibly email them with some of my wants and see what they say.

Appreciate you bringing this up. Lovinthehd had brought this idea up on another thread but hadn't had time to look into it yet. Kit DIY is kind of an anomaly to me, from the days when kit items were sort of kit-ish looking. Is why I stayed away from kit boats and precut parts because they kind of looked like that when done. Also, it was hard to get anything but generic parts that although technically worked, never performed well.