ckazanci

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 5.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
These are excellent speakers for the money. And unless you compare them to better equipment (and much more expensive) side by side; you won't notice a thing, and they will sound great to your ears.

Strengths:
Best sound for under $900. It is even hard to get used speakers that will sound better than this at this price range.

Weaknesses:
When you compare them with better speakers side by side; you notice that their sound has a tonal color, it is biased. Still, they sound great; but just not accurate.
Still, the $2400 Dynaudio Audience 80's definitely sound better and more balanced; but what does that mean?

Similar Products Used:
A lot...

johnplayer

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
2.83 of 5, 6.00 votes

Price Paid:  $750.00 from ebay

Summary:
I Purchased TWO pairs of these speakers, as I always enjoy the sound of two pair vs one. These babies are very impressive, tight, and clean. I push them with my yamaha mx 1000 U amps, (250wpc). I have two pair of yamaha yst right below them with the Klipsh stacked on top. Had to adjust my level controls down so the klipsch wouldnt overpower the yamaha so much. (yes im a speaker nut, drive three amps and many speakers). Very high quality built speaker. Very impressed with the sound. As others have said a subwoofer is almost a must these days. Not sorry at all i bought them. I will probably love these babies for 20 years or more. Wish i had the room for two pairs of the RF 7, if you have the room and the cash spend the doe.

Strengths:
Extremely efficient , tight clean clear sound, excellent electronics, quality cabinet for two eight inch bass and a horn! Beautiful looking woofers and cabinets. At 62.5 pounds a heavy and right weight. Easy to move around and place.

Weaknesses:
Not impressed with klipschs specs of what an 8 inch bass driver is, as no matter how much I look at them they only measure 7 inch to me. Klipschs specs on driver size are definitely overstated. Felt i did get ripped off for an inch on these bass drivers. Wish the grill covers were made more see through to take advantage of the extreme beauty of the woofers. Also the grill covers dont sit flush but 3/4 inch away, (floating), which compromises the purpose of a cover, to protect the drivers from dust. If you buy rf5 or rf7 expect 7 and nine inch bass drivers not 8 and 10 as advertised. 5 rating for product , but only 4 rating for value do to smaller bass drivers vs other manufacturers.

Similar Products Used:
Yamaha yst, Realistic mach two, acoustic research ar2c, yamaha sw800

Price Paid:  $750.00 from ebay

Summary:
I purchased 2 pairs of these speakers. I must say the efficiency is quite remarkable. I had to decrease my threshold in my mains channels to -10db which basically matched these speakers with the rest i have which are in the 88 to 90 db efficiency range. I was also impressed with the Bi wire and BI amp ability, although I just use the basic wiring this is a great option especially when driving speakers stand alone. The high end is really good. Buyers purchasing these can use less demanding amplifiers, although i still preferr to use amplifiers with twice the rated power of the speakers to ensure ease of operation and low distortion.

I was not impressed with what Klipsh calls an 8 inch base driver, as no matter how much i look and measure them they look to be 7 inch to me. Klipsch unfortuntatly must have a lower specification rating for advertising size of drivers!!!!. Despite this I was still quite impressed with what these will so. Strongly recommend a pair of good subs. I drive both right and left subs. These speakers with good complementary subwoofers are sure to please any audiophile. Glad i bought two pairs of these rather than buying the RF7 as the 10 inch drivers in the rf seven are probably more like only 8.75 to 9 inches. Gotta love the gold color of the drivers, and the efficiency of Klipsch horns.

Nice to have a speaker at 62.5 pounds, Although still heavy easily handled by one person for changing positioning needs.

Strengths:
Highly efficient. Like the accoustic research r2c centre channel speakers would be nice to have a db switchable horn!. Weight is really perfect. Color and style is great. Bi amp and bi wire ability is super!.

Weaknesses:
Woofers are 10 perpent or more smaller than advertised drivers of other brands.
No switch on the horn which would be nice. Grills could have been made more see through to allow the beauty of the cones to come through. Shame to put the grills on. Grills sit 3/4 inch away from the speaker cabinet, as such less protection of drivers from dust etc. Should have made dthe grills to sit flush on the cabinet.

Similar Products Used:
Yamaha SW 800
Yamaha YST's

datsunmike

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.33 of 5, 6.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1000.00

Summary:
I've had the RF-5s for almost a year and they always impress me with every type of music I play through them, whether on CD or vinyl or playing the soundtracks of DVDs in my home theater. I've owned a number of different types of speakers over the years, AR4s, AR2AXs, Magnapans, JBL 100s, Avid 330s (still own as they are great) and JBL E90s (which the Klipschs replaced) and I've enjoyed listening to these speakers more than any other. I thought it was my ears that lost a bit of edge over the years while listening to the JBLs but after I bought the Klipschs I realized it wasn't my ears but the poor sound qualities of the JBLs.

Although I never believed in 'speaker break-in', with the Klipschs this was true. At first they were bright and somewaht harsh but now after almost a year they are as smooth as butter through my sound system electronics which consists of a Yamaha RX2500 receiver, Denon 3910 DVD player, Kenwood 750 TT, and Stanton 881s and Sumiko Blue Point cartridges.

The imaging is awesome with depth and a very broad soundstage - sometimes I have to make sure my receiver is in 'pure direct' and not surround sound as it sounds like there is a center speaker. Speaking of 'pure direct', the RF-5 needs no tone control correction in my room which I can't say about many speakers although my Avid 330s come close. I've moved the RF-5s around the room and they seem to be almost impervious to placement which can't be said of many speakers including my Avids. Some speakers are very fussy about placement but most of us just don't have the luxury of placing speakers where they sound their best because of a WAF or the room. Of course some records and CDs are mixed/mastered so poorly that some tone correction is needed. The dispersion of the highs also do not roll off when you move around a bit or stand up which I can't say about ANY speaker I have ever owned. It must be the horn.

Prior to buying the RF-5s I auditioned the RF-7s (too big), Paradigms, Definitive Technologies, B&Ws, Vienna Acoustics and a slew of other speakers, some at far greater cost, but to my less than 'gold' ears, the RF-5s sounded the best. The first record I played through them, Trio with Parton, Ronstadt and Harris brought tears to my eyes and joy to my ears; I thought they were playing live in my house. I then played Live at Leeds and thought I was seeing the Who once again live and in their prime. The RF-5s played louder than my poor ears could take but they never distorted or sounded 'clipped' - it sounded like a concert.

Speaking of the 'in concert' and 'upfront' sound, if you don't like speakers that are 'in your face' then don't buy Klipschs and buy some other type of speaker. Personally, I love that in your face sound but others may not. Having been in the music business for almost 10 years in the late 60s and 70s and attending about 2000 concerts, I like the 'in concert' sound.

Bottom line, you can't go wrong with these speakers and since they are out of production get the new RF-82s as I heard them and they sound identical, if not a shade better.

Strengths:
Imaging, bass, purity of sound

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
Avid 330s
JBL 100
JBL E90s
Magnapan
AR4a
AR2AX

Krusher

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1100.00 from American TV & Applia

Summary:
RF-5 or RF-7...that is the question, isn't it? :) Klipsch just discontinued the RF-5 and RF-7 line so I had to decide quickly. My other speakers are the RC-3 and the RS-3 II on an older Yamaha RXV-793 receiver. (You don't need tons of power with Klipsch.) The new Klipsch reference line has a gold voice coil cover in the center, which would not match my other speakers. STAND-ALONE: I didn't listen to the RF-7's myself because I did not want a speaker that big. By itself, the RF-7 will sound better. For most people with home theater systems, the front speakers are simply one part of a bigger system. Since Klipsch procuces only 2-way speakers and smaller woofers are more efficient at the mid-range, the mid-range is going to automatically be more pronounced with the RF-5's. You might be figuring out why I went with the smaller speaker... WHY I CHOSE THE RF-5: The reason why I went with the smaller speaker line is so that I could send the low-end bass to a subwoofer and bypass the main speakers all-together. (Smaller speaker to hang on the walls; smaller speaker to put on top of the TV.) Bass comprises most of the power requirements in an amp anyway. So, if you divert your high-power requirements to a separate sub, your remaining speakers have considerable headroom left. You don't need "the biggest" to sound "the best", in other words. COMPARISONS: It takes an RF-63 speaker costing about $200 more each (in their new product line) to beat all the specs of the RF-5. The RF-5 replacement appears to be the RF-82. The RF-82 is like the RF-5 with two 8" woofers and the same-size 1" horn. The RF-82 is 1db less efficent but has 1hz lower bass and 3KHz higher treble. (23Khz is beyond what most people can hear.) The RF-5 takes up the least amount of depth compared to all of the others mentioned above, if that matters to you. SUMMARY: If you are looking for all-out bass without a sub or don't have a home theater setup, then get the RF-7. Or, consider the new RF-83. However if you're going to get or already have a high-end sub (12" or 15" Klipsch, SVS Ultra cylindrical, Velodyne, or Sunfire) then you can't go wrong with the RF-5's. The SVS is probably the "best bang for the buck" of all those subs mentioned if you have the space for it. For movies, I left the bass/treble settings at neutral. For music, I would recommend an EQ (Equalizer) so you can adjust to your taste. Personally, I have this setup in a small room with a small 8" sub that runs out of power too fast. If I move to a much larger room someday, a sub that I mentioned above will be on order. Everyone's taste is different however; some people think I'm already overkill. :)

Strengths:
Excellent mid-range and treble. Good, clean bass response. "Only" 60 lbs; so you can probably move them around yourself. Speakers won't stick out as much from the wall compared to the RF-7's or the newer Reference Series.

Weaknesses:
Minor, if you even call them weaknesses. Needs an EQ if you listen primarily to music. Somewhat lower power rating than their higher-end speakers. Therefore, not recommended if you have one of the nuclear-power amps :) such as a 300W Adcom because you could blow them. If you have a lower-powered amp like mine, I am more concerned about the amp itself causing distortion.

Similar Products Used:
Bose Phase Technology