Summary:
Picked up a pair of medium oak CF-1 off of Ebay for $350. I good deal for one of the little gems in the Klipsch family. The CF-1 was the entry level speaker in the Epic line which was discontinued some time back. The Epic line never really sold well and got a bad reputation in the industry for some unknown reason. I've listend in the show room to all of the Epic speakers and really enjoyed the CF-1's the most. Never bought a pair though, always had other places where the cash was needed. So, when I saw this pair on Ebay, it was time.

My system consists of Klipsch KSB3.1 mains, KSCC1 Center, KSB1.1 rears, and the KSW12 -- the electronics are a Yamaha R-V905 Dolbly Digital reciever (5x70 watts) and a Pioneer 414 DVD player. All of the speakers are configured on the reciever as small speakers which electronically routes all frequencies below 90Hz at a slope of 12db per octave. On the sub the crossover frequency is set to max, 120Hz. I added the CF-1's to the system as the 'B' speakers for my A/B tests. I have not attempted to test the speakers with any material other than stereo music.

Testing first without the aid of the sub, I compared the CF-1's and the KSB3.1's. While I love my KSB3.1's the CF-1 clearly bettered them in clarity and imaging. The midrange comes accross so clean and uncolored compared the the KSB3.1's. The bass performance was very similar, the edge however going the the CF-1's for the clarity in the mid bass. The KSB3.1's sounded as if there was a hole in the mid bass by comparison. The high end came across much crisper and prominantly on the 3.1's than the CF-1's. My impression was that the CF-1's sound mellow by comparison. The imaging goes to the CF-1's too. Although, I'm sure that this is because of their placement relative to the placement of the 3.1's. I was able to belt out 102db of sound from the CF-1's at my listening position while only achieving 101db with the 3.1s using the same volume setting and program material. Not that I frequently listen at this level (The wife actually went outside during this). Let's just say it was very loud.

With the sub, the comparisons were essentially the same. With this configuration however, I was able to produce 106db at the listening position. The 3.1's managed 104. Seriously loud! The KSW12 matches very nicely to the CF-1's.

These are very heavy speakers. 75lbs a piece I would guess. Now I have to move them to the living room where they will displace my aging but excellent KG-4's.

For what I paid for these excellent speakers, they are definitly a 5. Had I paid the original $1100 retail price, I'd probably give them a 4.5. These are wonderfully musical speakers and really come accross as effortless and smooth.

Strengths:
Clean Effortless Sound

Weaknesses:
Not a lot of earth shaking bass

Similar Products Used:
Klipsch KSB 3.1, Klipsch KG-4

Summary:
I bought the CF-1's for $199 each on closeout. What a bargin! I listened and compared them to Boston Acoustics, Infinity, Polk, Bose, AR, and NHT among others. I have to say that the CF-1's where clearly the best of this group. The only exception is the Bose 901's which I have always loved. The Bose 901's did not fit my room, so they where out. I really wanted to spend more but the CF-1's where clearly the class of this bunch. When compared to the Infinity RS-10 they blow them away. I understand that these are not the ultimate in speakers but in its normal price range they are hard to beat. I love the deep bass which is not thumpy. Bass is tight and pronounced. Thats the way I like it. Even at low volume levels the bass is not tiring at all. The Horn tweeter is also a plus on the CF-1. The treble is silky smooth. That's the way I like it. Midrange is a little week but adequate. I listen to all types of music from classical to hard rock and the CF-1's reproduce just fine. Speaker placement is important with these units. The tweeter has great dispersion but must be just right to give the best results. I have them placed way to far apart, but furniture has dictated my positioning. I have matched the CF-1's with Klipsh center, rear, and great 15' sub. and the results are terrific. Lastly, the CF-1's look great and have a real cherry finish.
For the money I could not have made a better choice.

Ken

Summary:
Owned these speakers for 2 years now. I feel there is no better speaker out there that sounds more natural and fills a large room with sound better than the cf1(unless you want to spend $2000+). Was looking at the infinity and the boston acoustics at first and when I heard these the difference was night and day. Have these in a home theater setup with kv2 center, kg.5 surrounds, and an unusual subwoofer I picked up at a hifi dealer in my city that contains an advent 15" driver mated with a sunfire amplifier. I have a 20x10 size room and this setup fills it easily with full rich sound. My only problem is as good as the center and surrounds are, they are not as high quality sound as the cf1's, and will be upgrading them to c5 center and s5 surrounds soon. I give them 5 stars and congratulate klipsch on making my HT a pleasure to listen to.

Summary:
When I first purchase the CF1 about three years ago I was very impressed with theor ability to play loud and they were great for home theater. I must admit that the bass was somewhat overbearing at times when it came to music. I believe the do apeal to those who like their music loud but someone that is interested in the CF1 ability to allow you to experience music and hear deep into the sounstage and present all the dynamics in a recording these speakers are not for you. They do not image great nor are they great for jazz or classical music. Thse speakers were meant to rock, period. They are not a speakers that handles all differnt types of music well. I replaced them with the Paradigm Eclipse bi-polars. The Eclipse do not have the bass that the CF1 have but they image like crazy offer a dynamic sounstage and are a better all around speaker. My wife even commented how much better the Paradigm sounded than the CF1. I also experience excessive noise coming out of the CF1. I eventually sold the Paradigms for some Legacy Classics but that a different story.
The CF1 are a great home theater speaker but does not do a great job with 2 channel music.

Summary:
I heard these in a Good Guy's store during my search for home theathre speakers. They are dreadful. I bought Totems instead. Even If price is a issue I would not buy these or any of the other Klipsch speakers I heard. I can see how these speakers would appeal to a younger crowd who value LOUDNESS over all else, but I passed 15 a long time ago. I like music to sound like music.