Klipsch RF7III...... NEW
 

Looks like Klipsch just launched its replacement for the 7II's.
I had a pair of 7II's for 6 months in my home theater. Great speakers.....however I replaced them with Cornwall III's. The Corns had a bigger sound stage the just sounded fuller overall.

The newly designed Tractrix horn profile used in the RF-III offers improved midrange and high frequency response compared to the older Exponential design used in the Heritage series. There is better power transfer, less distortion, and improved directivity in the most significant part of the audible sound spectrum.

One problem I see is that the cherry veneer on the Series 3 looks dull in comparison to the Series 2 RF speaker.

I was just reading the specs on these - 100 dB sensitivity? Can I run these things off a walkman? Can you really get that much sound out of these with very little power? Just curious.

Thank you.

-Geoff

yes Geoff, that's why the high sensitivity rating, tubes and Klipsch go hand - in - hand.

I am really looking hard at these speakers. I am running 200 WPC on a McIntosh MAC6700 receiver. Do you think that will be too much amp for them? That 100 dB makes me nervous. I am running on Magnepans right now and I have the opposite problem, I can barely wake them up. I am trying to find the perfect balance speaker without taking out a second mortgage.

Thank you.

Geoff

They are 250 watt per channel 1000 watt peak.At least my RF 7II are.They work well with my MC-252 and the Mc-302 that I had for a while.They also sounded good with the latest MC-275 I had for a month.Cheers

Thank you for the reply. The RF7-II's are super affordable right now. Not sure I I would spring for the extra and get the -III's or not. Good to hear how good they sound on McIntosh gear.

Thank you.

-Geoff

Go for the RF7-III if you can afford them, easier on the ears. They are on my 2018 want list. RF7-II sounded pretty good to me, but there was room for refinement.

I was showing my wife the RF7-II's last week and she told me she didn't like the cabinet color. Our living room has a honey oak floor that is almost the same as the speaker, and she doesn't want it looking like the speakers are growing out of the floor. I showed her the RF7-III in Walnut and she really liked it. They are more money but you can get 10% by signing up for their email list. Who am I to argue!

Thank you for the tip.

-Geoff

Found a place about an hour away in Toledo Ohio that sells both McIntosh and Klipsch so I went down with the wife to check it out. They had a set of RF7-III's on display, and hooked them up to a 150 WPC McIntosh amp and a McIntosh CD player for me in a private audition room. Should be pretty similar in sound to my MAC6700 (200WPC) and Oppo CD. I played through most of Dark Side of the Moon, A couple songs from Wish You Were Here, and about half of Pearl Jam's Vs.

These are definitely the speakers for me. They hit hard on the base, great treble and mid - but not harsh like I was worried about with the big horn. When I wanted to it loud, it was like I was in the front row of a concert. Plus Eddie's voice in "Elderly Woman..." was exactly what I was looking for, and was the kind of sound I couldn't get out of the Maggies. The 150 WPC amp never went into Power Guard, so I should be fine since I have another 50 to play with. They were definitely more "In your face" than the Maggies, but that is how I like my rock and roll.

-Geoff

Thought you would like the III’s, they will rock out with your MAC6700.

Great. Walnut on backorder until at least Feb 28th. :(

-Geoff

Prudent decision. Klipsch and McIntosh are a perfect match. The new RF7III is efficient and will require very little power for normal listening levels. This means that the first few watts out of your MA6700, which are in Class A mode, will be ideal for horn loaded speakers. Also, the high efficiency rating of the RFIII will greatly reduce intermodulation distortion, especially in the most important midrange, and cabinet resonance/vibration typically found in direct radiating speakers.

Have never read this about any McIntosh gear over the years. Could you point to the source of your information on same? Thanks.

Finally got them! They sound awesome. The McIntosh barely breaks a sweat making them sound great too. The red lights haven't been on since I have had it hooked up.

As far as the Class A, I am still in the first electronics class (op amps don't come until next fall), but my understanding with McIntosh and most other amps is that the first few watts are class A, then after that are Class B. I think Emotiva makes an amp now that you can select Class A or Class A/B, but the A only runs in the mid double digits of power.

-Geoff

Anyone buys these recently? They are on my short list for new speakers. I listen to 70 percent Metal-punk-Hard-core and 30 percent- Diana Krall, Duke Ellington, Jazz etc...

Current speakers, Dynaudio Excite 44's. c52 pre amp and mc 452 power amp. Medium sized room bordering on Large, very undedicated listening room right now..

In the Market for new speakers, 7500 Canadian dollars to spend. My short list

1-Klipsch RF-7 III

2-Second hand Focal Electra 1038Be

3-Tekton Double Impact

I would love to hear from some of you. I could really use the insight. Enjoy the music.

Mikey

Klipsch RF7III...... NEW
 

Purchased a new pair of RF-7III’ two weeks ago. Break-in has been slow during busy times, however I can say this for certain now. These are amazing rock and roll speakers, even better for rock than my other Klipsch Heritage speakers La Scala II’s and Cornwall III’s. Played some Metallica DCC gold Master of Puppets and also Ride the Lightning and it about knocked my dog in the dirt! Power for the mighty RF-7III towers is being supplied by a Marantz Reference PM-14S1 90-watt integrated amp. These towers don’t lie, they’re very honest revealing dynamic speakers. Any weaknesses upstream with amplification, sources and recordings will sound as is, no covering up deficiencies. The twin towers of power are huge bang for the buck, but could cost you upgrade money if your system is not up to task. Good luck whatever you choose to do!

Here is a good article explaining the various types of amplifiers. The primary reason why McIntosh and Klipsch work together so well is the combined reduction of distortion. Class A mode essentially eliminates crossover distortion and horn loaded speakers have the lowest level of intermodulation distortion.

Systems consisting of big powerful amplifiers and ordinary low efficiency direct-reflecting speakers have the highest level of distortion.

https://www.audioholics.com/audio-am...lifier-classes

While Class A amps & horns can work very well together, McIntosh has never sold a Class A power amp to the public (indeed, if they've ever made one at all).

I finally made it through Op-Amps. Wow. Going through the McIntosh schematics is a whole new ballgame now. Still trying to find a class in tubes - turns out that not many places teach that any more! That is a good summary you posted, though, thank you.

-Geoff

After about a year with mine I couldn't be happier. When the helicopter comes down in "The Wall" my wife thought there was really a helicopter landing in our yard.

-Geoff

McIntosh amps are actually classified as A/AB since the first few watts are in class A mode. This is more than enough power for Klipsch speakers.

Please provide a source for your info. Believe your are incorrect. No McIntosh power amp I am aware of has the required "sliding bias" required to operate in Class A at any level, but I'm happy to be proved wrong.

Class AB biased amps generally operate in Class A for some portion of their output depending upon their level of bias. For most AB designs the amount of Class A power is very small but with a higher level of bias current they can be designed to provide a higher level of Class A power. This does not require a sliding or tracking bias arrangement, but is just operating Class A within the limits of its fixed bias level. At higher power outputs such fixed bias amps operate in Class AB.

Most McIntosh amps operate in class A mode for first ~ 8 -12 watts. As you say, other manufacturers will differ, e.g., Parasound ~ 5 -7 watts.

what is the lowest dip in impedance on RF7mk3? RF7mk2 was measured to 3,7 on approx 160hz as the lowest.. Ask because im about to bridge two amplifiers that recommend only speakers with nominal 8ohm rating...

Again...... can you provide a source for this info? Would be most interested to read something official.

Thought I'd have to start searching through my EE textbooks... but I found this online for your reference: https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws...amplifier.html :thumbsup: Hope you find it to be a credible source.

Bradley and Geoff, Thank you for the great info, I think that was the final nudge I needed. I too have those 24 k metallica cd's "masters" and "ride the lightning". Thank you for the post. Oh, one question, are you running a sub with the rf lll's for 2 channel? Let me know. Thanks

Well guys, and then there was two. I have it down to 2 speakers. I want to thank everyone who chimed in. I read about every speaker mentioned in this thread. All great speakers in their own way. Its down to the Klipsch RF-7 III and Klipsch Cornwall III's. Are any of your here very familiar with both speakers? Anything you think I should know. Anything you care to share? In my undedicated L shaped room which is medium sized bordering on big , the speakers will be 5 feet front the back wall. One speaker will be two foot from side the wall, other speaker is 8 feet from side wall. No way around it right now. My current speakers are 8 feet apart and I sit 8 feet from the speakers. Behind my seating position there is another 8 feet to the back wall. Are the Cornwall's usually best placed right along the wall? Do any of you use the Stillpoint Aperture acoustic panels? or anything similar to them. Have any of you had success with such tweaks? Well, I'm off to sleep for a bit. Would love to hear from some of you. Enjoy the Music.

Regards,

Mikey.

Blues for the red Sun BAY BAY.

Have you done a thorough search on this forum and others as to the differences between Klipsch Heritage and consumer-grade? They are simply not the same product, the design, the engineering, and choice of drivers are totally different.

what would I type in to the search engine to get the results to what your referring to. Thank you for the heads up.

I owned the kg4.'s for 6 years. I loved the sound. Is there any way I can make the rf iii's works 7 feet out from the wall? Any tweaks I could do to the room that would help having the Klipsch rf iii's so far out from the back wall and still get good bass?
Kind Regards,
Mikey
Toronto Ontario Canada



newguy77, 43 minutes ago Edit Report

https://previews.dropbox.com/p/thumb...ue&size_mode=5

This is awesome :P. Bought my second pair of RF7mk3 (this time, walnut) for my "music-cave". Got the Cherry version in the living-room.

Now i can rotate between Spendor D9 and more lively RF7mk3 :). Sound amazing on Accuphase... a bit "fat" sound.. but they are brand new, so need some burn-in time :).

Update: When im using the RF7, i drag them about 50cm more from the back wall. The Spendor sounds good where they stand :).

I'm a proud owner of a new pair of Klipsch RF-7 III. And I'm pushing these with a Macintosh MC-312. These speakers are the best.

:thumbsup:

They are sweet. Enjoy.:thumbsup:

Cheers,

Scott

Congrats!

Coming up on two years owning mine and I feel like they are still breaking in. They definitely have more base now than they did in year one. Still very happy with them.

-Geoff

Congrats! They look awesome and sound great!