Cambridge Audio and Polk/Klipsch?

oscar7601

Hi guys, first I have to let you know that i'm french so please don't linch me for my english

So here i am : i have bought for last christmas a Cambridge Audio HiFi amplifier, the 740A.
It just sounds perfect to me, but it also seems to me that my father's JBL XE6 speakers just don't match very well with it.
I wanted to know what you all think about matching this amplifier with two Polk or Klipsch speakers?
I'm young and i love really dynamic sound.
So I would, at first, maybe rather like to buy some Klipsch ones, for instance the RF-52 ones.
What do you think about that?

Erik Tracy

Greetings and welcome to the Polk Forums.

Your English is quite good - so you have no worries!

Do you have any specific Polk speakers you are interested in, or perhaps a budget that you want to stick to?

That might help in any recommendations for you.

What other components do you have in your system? CD player? Blu-ray? Turntable?

jmwest1970

Welcome to Club Polk! I have a Cambridge Audio 640a and find that it sounds great with all kinds of speakers. From personal experience I like the Polk Audio LSi7 or the Totem Rainmaker. Both have and excellent top end and are not bright. The midrange is very smooth as well. The difference between the two to me is the bottom end. The LSi7 is nice and full, but it seems to roll off a bit too high for me. The Rainmaker fills the gap that I hear at the lower end on the Polks. The real answer is to let your ear be the judge.

mdaudioguy

Mine sounds nice with my LSi7s, as well as my vintage Monitor 11s. Seems to be a rather nice unit. I've been pleased. The Klipsch's are super efficient, so while you'd be able to drive them easily, I can't comment on the synergy, since my only exposure to Klipsch has been at a large retail store.

Welcome to CP!

Face

Cambridge and Klipsch does not sound like a good combo.

dorokusai

Cambridge + Polk is a good combination. The Klipsch RF series is awful.

comfortablycurt

Face wrote: »

Cambridge and Klipsch does not sound like a good combo.

I'd have to go along with that. In my experience, Cambridge gear tends to be fairly neutral, and somewhat on the bright side. Klipsch speakers are generally quite bright sounding, so I'd have to say it probably wouldn't make a very good combo.

Cambridge and Polk makes for an excellent combo though. The two compliment each other very nicely.

By the way, for being French, your English is quite good.:)

mantis

Cambridge makes fantastic sounding everything. I really like their entire line of products. Their Surround receiver sounds awesome but I'm not that fond of it. I have only installed one and it was a bit quirky with HDMI. Control wasn't how I like it either.

Klipsch RF speakers are pretty good especially for your needs. Check out the RF-82's as I have heard them many times and liked them. With the Cambridge I believe it will bring out the best in those speakers. Explosive dynamic's will not be matched by any Polk speaker. The Rf52's are nice but in my opinion a little weak and not as balanced as the 82's are.

Polk's are also nice speakers and will play loud and have a good solid dynamic ability that your looking for. I suggest the Rtia7's. One of the very best if not the best Rt series speaker I have ever heard. I was so impressed with them when they came out a few years ago. The new design cabinet is very nice B&W like.

What sources are you using? What kind of music do you like? What kind of wire is in your system? Tell me about the room.

cnh

Welcome to Club Polk!

Horns are 'truly' an acquired taste. I just heard a pair of $2000+ JBLs with horn tech and what was supposed to be a warm 'integrated' drive me out of the listening room? But some people like that sound.

I also find the Rti-As a bit too bright except for the A3 bookshelf and the A9 tower?

I have not yet heard the Totems? But I doubt that their highs and the LSis are that similar...but I'll know for sure soon.

You know it really does depend on what 'you' like. So I have no real opinion to give you, all I could say is I like X or Y. And that doesn't help you. I will say that I do consider CAudio slightly on the bright side as amplification. Good but it needs to be matched with something a bit less in your face...IMO. So "I" like the LSis, the Rti-3 (bookshelves), and the Polk Rti-A9 tower?

But do listen yourself, if I'm not mistaken CNET listed the Klipsch RF82 on their 10 best speakers list if that means anything.

Good Luck...I'd say 'take your time' and listen to as may different speakers as you can.

cnh

oscar7601

Thank you all for all these answers!
I do agree a lot with mantis about the RF's.
I KNOW this is a Polk forum and I'm not saying these speakers are bad at all, but their specs are just not quite what i'm looking for.

About the room... well it's actually my bedroom, wooden floor but a lot of things in it, and (idk if this is important or not) all a side of the room is made of windows. (my room is in a very "beefy" concrete basement).
But since i am going to leave mom and dad next september to study elsewhere, it will be totally different.

About the amount of money i would be ready to spend in speakers, it would be around 500 euros (618,1 dollars), and i found the RF 52 for this price in France on Amazon.
So maybe I'm going to buy them, after having listened to them some time i'll go to Paris.

cnh

cnh wrote: »

Welcome to Club Polk!

Horns are 'truly' an acquired taste. I just heard a pair of $2000+ JBLs with horn tech and what was supposed to be a warm 'integrated' drive me out of the listening room? But some people like that sound.

I also find the Rti-As a bit too bright except for the A3 bookshelf and the A9 tower?

I have not yet heard the Totems? But I doubt that their highs and the LSis are that similar...but I'll know for sure soon.

You know it really does depend on what 'you' like. So I have no real opinion to give you, all I could say is I like X or Y. And that doesn't help you. I will say that I do consider CAudio slightly on the bright side as amplification. Good but it needs to be matched with something a bit less in your face...IMO. So "I" like the LSis, the Rti-3 (bookshelves), and the Polk Rti-A9 tower?

But do listen yourself, if I'm not mistaken CNET listed the Klipsch RB81 on their 10 best speakers list if that means anything.

Good Luck...I'd say 'take your time' and listen to as may different speakers as you can.

cnh

I have to correct myself above on the Klipsch model number.

Enjoy!

cnh

mdaudioguy

oscar7601 wrote: »

Thank you all for all these answers!
I do agree a lot with mantis about the RF's.
I KNOW this is a Polk forum and I'm not saying these speakers are bad at all, but their specs are just not quite what i'm looking for.

I've not really calibrated my ears enough to distinguish specs when I listen... What I'm saying is, when many people first get into audio, there's often a certain preoccupation with specs (I speak from experience!). I've now realized that, while somewhat useful for general categorization of speakers (i.e. bookshelf/satellite vs "full"-range), specs are relatively meaningless once you've plugged in and started listening. Buy what your ears like, not what your brain tells you is a better number. My 2 cents. Good luck!