Klipsch RF-7 II

!Jeremy

I was wondering if anyone has heard these speakers and would like too offer an opinion. I'm considering purchasing these to replace a set of LSI-15s.

leroyjr1

Very dynamic speaker and is great for Home Theater. Very different from your lsi's. Are you using them for music or HT?

!Jeremy

leroyjr1 wrote: »

Very dynamic speaker and is great for Home Theater. Very different from your lsi's. Are you using them for music or HT?

I split the usage 50-50 between music and HT. If the Klipsch speakers sound worse than the LSIs for music I'm going to pass on the purchase. I've got upgrade-ides and I'm looking for a set of speakers which will sound better overall when compared to my LSI-15s.

tonyb

The RF-7 isn't necessarilly better,just a different sound. Are you still running all your LSI's off a receiver ? That could be the problem of poor sound quality you maybe experiencing.

mantis

leroyjr1 wrote: »

Very dynamic speaker and is great for Home Theater. Very different from your lsi's. Are you using them for music or HT?

This I agree with and I'm gonna go into this topic a little as I have much experience with these 2 brands plus I'm going to suggest a few others to choose from.

1) Polk Lsi series- nice musical speakers. Hard to drive right as they need good clean power like high current receivers and power amps. For music they are wonderful and pleasing on the ear. They can play just about everything you put onto them. I personally like these speakers for Jazz , soft rock and Celtic music. For theater they will leave you wanting more. Being power hungry they are not the most dynamic explosive speaker on the market. They are clean and clear but lack the punch of a good action movie. Not my favorite speaker at this price class.

2) Klipsch RF-7ii - for music they play live music better then most. They give you that concert feel and can play louder then just about anything made in there class, they probably are the loudest playing speakers in there class. Music has a forward sound but accurate and clean. Many would agree these are rock and roll superior speakers. You want Metallica? Nickelback? How about Bullets for my Valentine? You now have the perfect speaker in front of you to blow your face off. Metal like no other. For softer music like Jazz , they are a nice warm sounding speaker but with a slight edge up top. This is present in the fact of powering them with cheaper receivers. As they can be driven with a clock radio as they are crazy efficient , good clean power like a NAD or Rotel receiver would bring out the best in them. Power amps they love. They shine and show you how wonderful of a speaker they can be and I didn't even get to movies. Movies- dude prepare yourself for a thrill ride , Klipsch speakers are IMO the very best of the best dollar for dollar theater speakers money can buy at there price points. They are class leading. Just put in " THE MATRIX" and hear that movie for the very first time. You will move side to side when NEO is being shot at on the rooftop(Scene 30 I beleive) 29 is killer to as it's the lobby where NEO and TRINITY battle it out with the LAW. The center channel and rears kill man , simpley KILL. There subs same thing. Rock your face off and crack your (if you have) plaster walls. Gun battles , bullets , car races , explosions all come out with force and fear. Not for the faint of heart. EFF it just buy them. They will simply flat out DESTROY the LSI's for movies. There is nothing the LSI's can do better hear. I fully understand this is my personal opinion in this compare but if you want action , LSi is not going to give it to you even if you do buy dinner , open the door , give flowers , chocolate , and a foot rub.

Now with all that being said , there are a few speakers in this class I feel can and will beat the LSI's for a 50 / 50 split. I'll stick with just 2 brands I feel very strong about.

1) Definitive Technology Mythos ST's. These speakers are almost as dynamic as the Klipsch but have a softer more jazz class speaker attitude. They play well with all music and movies alike. They image better then the Klipsch and have a bigger sound stage then the LSI's. They are a hell of a speaker for movies when mated with the Mythos 10 center and in my system I also use the 10's as rears for a 50 / 50 theater music. I listen to SACD and DVD AUDIO as well as concert blu ray and dvd's so having direct rears really help in this. For movies they are awesome and kick your head in when things go on. Light saber crashes are crisp and clear to the point you might duct a few times. Again they are close to the Klipsch for dynamics but the Klipsch win head to head for a theater only speaker.

2) B&W Cm9 or CM7 . These are the newest B&W CM speakers. They are simply wonderful. So clear and as I can give you an emotional response " as I sat listening to the CM7's for the first time , my seat for some reason became more comfortable , I felt as if I was relaxed and filled with joy and comfort. For the next 10 to 15 minutes I wanted to be no where else". This experience was shared with a fellow member here and we both left the room in silence.
The CM9's do the exact same thing but dig deeper with more low end. Not that big of a deal if you run a very good musical sub. They sound exactly like the 7's in every way but they do have a slightly better sounding mid range. Or at least the last time I spend some quality time with them , I felt a comfort that I wanted more and more.
For theater they both excel way over the LSI's but don't match the Klipsch and come dangerously close to the Mythos. They have to have good electronics on them. No questions asked. If you run them with cheaper gear , they will sound terrible and make your crappy gear sound worse. Change this around and find some of the very best in class speakers. They are worth going out of your way and get a solid demo.
Honestly I believe they will probably be my next speaker package. I love them enough to own them. I would run 2 B&W sub's with them as well and probably get out of Pioneer Elite SC models and go into NAD receivers or even give Rotel another check if they come out with better preamps.

So there you have my experience's for you to read and ask any questions you'd like. I have a deep passion for speakers and I constantly demo them on a regular basis. I spend a lot of time with them and really find everything out about them I can. First impressions are huge but 2 and 3 sometimes revile things you didn't learn the first time out. Rooms and setups are so critical.

Good luck with your new speaker purchase. The LSi is a wonderful spring board into a tailored speaker for you. They give you enough high end taste to go out and find "YOUR" speakers. But maybe if you can check out the new LSI series as I have not , there is no where to go get a good demo of them that I have found other then 6th ave electronic( they don't have them yet I checked). So if and when they do , I'll post a full review of my findings.

Until then

Conradicles

Nice review Dan!

schutz2106

I have a pair of 7's with a 64 center and 62 surrounds that are supposed to ship to me tommorrow. Been waiting for a month now. Hope they ship. I have had the polks shown below for about 12 years now. great speaks. I recently tried out a klipsch center and a couple bookshelfs. I was absoultly blown away by the clarity. I have a onkyo 805 receiver. I dont know if I am going to buy a emotiva xpa-5 or not. Been talking to klipsch tech and they tell me I wont need it. You have to realize 95% or my use is ht. Every once in a while I will pop in some old metalica or counting crows but basically just tv. Got the whole deal shipped for $ 3975. I plan on this being my last system.. But 6 months ago I had no intention of buying anything. Started looking around the net and now I have some new speaks coming.

leroyjr1

They're 102db's @1watt so a receiver will do just fine.

Monster Jam

tonyb wrote: »

The RF-7 isn't necessarilly better,just a different sound. Are you still running all your LSI's off a receiver ? That could be the problem of poor sound quality you maybe experiencing.

I second this opinion.

!Jeremy

tonyb wrote: »

The RF-7 isn't necessarilly better,just a different sound. Are you still running all your LSI's off a receiver ? That could be the problem of poor sound quality you maybe experiencing.

I didn't intend to communciate that the LSIs sounded poor, in fact I'm very happy with the sound. My thing is that I'm wanting to explore what is available just beyond the capabilities of the LSI series. Newegg now stocks the Klipsch speakers in question and since I have yet to here them myself I thought I would ask more experienced individuals their opinion. I am powering the 15s with a Onkyo TXNR-906 set to 4-ohm and although I'm sure they are underpowered this receiver drives them very well. I'm blown away with how Joshua Redmond sounds on this system while still shaking the house with likes of Iron Man 2. I'm currently setting money aside for a Rotel RMB-1575 amd considering selling my 15s, 9s and LSi-FXs for a Klispch 5.1 setup. Mantis' post has me intrigued enough to seek out a Klipsch dealer who is willing to demo this particular setup. Thanks for the info everyone.

Zitro

Just my opinion, but I left Klipsch for Polk because I felt the horns were too bright and Klipsch seems to lack midrange clarity and depth that I wanted for music. Klipsch worked great for me for HT because of their brightness, sensitivity and dynamics, but music left me underwhelmed. I am a 90/10 split on music/HT, but if I were 50/50 and for the money you're looking to spend I probably would not go to either Polk or Klipsch.

HB27

I've got the RF-7 II's now and they're a very good speaker.
I'll agree with Mantis's review/opinion and add they will flat kick aass on Blues and Jazz also.
Female vocals and harshness have been tamed down a bit in the new released 7s.
I run Polk, Klipsch, Altec, and Fostex mostly and they all have personalities I like. AND dislike in certain areas.
I've had a couple of Polk Forum members hear the RF-7 II and they loved them.
I'm not much of a HT person but I do have a nice set up now using the RF-7 IIs.
Definitely a good buy for both music and HT.

tonyb

!Jeremy wrote: »

I didn't intend to communciate that the LSIs sounded poor, in fact I'm very happy with the sound. My thing is that I'm wanting to explore what is available just beyond the capabilities of the LSI series. Newegg now stocks the Klipsch speakers in question and since I have yet to here them myself I thought I would ask more experienced individuals their opinion. I am powering the 15s with a Onkyo TXNR-906 set to 4-ohm and although I'm sure they are underpowered this receiver drives them very well. I'm blown away with how Joshua Redmond sounds on this system while still shaking the house with likes of Iron Man 2. I'm currently setting money aside for a Rotel RMB-1575 amd considering selling my 15s, 9s and LSi-FXs for a Klispch 5.1 setup. Mantis' post has me intrigued enough to seek out a Klipsch dealer who is willing to demo this particular setup. Thanks for the info everyone.

Yes, I understand.....but,driving all those 4 ohm speakers off a receiver will not deliver anywhere near their capabilities. The RF-7 could be driven very easy with your receiver. To each his own though,I'm not trying to steer you one way or the other. Just want to point out before you drop one brand for another, first see what the brand you have can do,make sense ?