RF-7 Vs. P38F

Locutus2k

New Member
Some says they sound the same, some that RF-7 are actually more "just like live" and dynaimc.
Never heard the P-38F but have the RF-7 in house and i'm very happy with them.

Anyone tried both? Opinions?
Should i consider to upgrade? Amp is McIntosh c2300 + McIntosh 402.
 
From what I know of the RF7's, I understand they're great speakers (I don't think I've ever heard them but can't say that for sure)

I HAVE heard the P-38's.... if those won't impress someone then I'd suggest new batteries for their hearing aids :D

Being in Rome, do you have smaller rooms or do you have room, especially with corners, where you could look at something like a pair of Klipschorns?

As impressed as I was with the Palladiums, and I was impressed, I still think I'm more impressed with the 100% horn speakers from Klipsch. Do you ever get to Cologne Germany or maybe London? (for an audition)

If you have the room for larger speakers than the Palladiums BUT...at the same time, speakers that would fit into your corners and take up less usable floor space, you might find the audition very interesting.
 
RF-7's are kick-ass speakers, but I'd certainly hope that a new flagship, $12K speaker system (Palladiums) would outperform them.
 
I've had RF-7's for about four years now. I've heard the P-39's on two different occasions and although I love my 7's......the P-39's are in a different league. I guess it takes an extra $16,000 to accomplish that.
 
Thanks everyone for your answers. No, sorry, i don't have available corners to fit The Khorn (but i'd love to).
The Palladium looks very interesting to me, but at this moment i'm not considering a "blind buy", i'm so happy with the RF-7 that i would like at least to audition a pair of Palladium with an mc402 to push.
 
Locutus2k: Its been a few years since this thread has been active. What did you decide regarding Klipsch Palladium vs. RF-7?

FYI, I own the Palladium P-37Fs, and an RF-7, and an RF-7 II. The P-37Fs are in a different system, so I can't directly compare them with the RF-7s, but I can say that I'm very pleased with them all. Of course the aesthetics are different. My RF-7s are black; I've not seen the other finishes. My P-37Fs have the "merlot" finish, and these speakers make a much more interesting aesthetic statement ("boat-tail" shape) than the "plain box" RF-7s. With that said, I think that the RF-7s are great speakers for classical and opera - they can handle the dynamic range. On many occasions I've been "swept away" by the music when listening to my RF-7s - which means they're doing their job rather well. I think both the P-37Fs and the RF-7s are sometimes a little bright sounding, and that's what tone controls are for.

For what its worth, I briefly owned a new Cornwall that I was planning to use in a mono system. It suffered minor cosmetic damage during shipping, and I had the option of refund or replacement, and I chose refund - the bass was too muddy (i.e., inarticulate) for my taste.

I'd be interested in others' comments regarding the RF-7s vs. the Palladium tower speakers.

I've never heard La Scalas. Can anyone comment on their sound vs the RF-7 or Palladium towers?
 
Unfortunately I haven't heard Palladiums or RF7. I'm curious about the differences between the RF7 and RF7IIs. Care to comment?

cubdog
 
I own one of each. I first bought an RF-7 II for a mono system for my basement. Later I bought an RF-7 for a mono system for use on my sun porch during the summer. My neighbor complained about me listening to music on my porch, so I moved the RF-7 to the basement, and I'm now running stereo: RF-7 II on the left channel, RF-7 on the right channel.

I don't notice any difference between the sound quality of the RF-7 and the RF-7 II. The differences that are apparent: The RF-7 II is larger, has a different style grill, and seems to be slightly less efficient. (When I use a stereo amp to drive these speakers, I have to swing the balance control to send slightly more power to the RF-7 II.)

They both sound great, as long as the recording isn't too bright. I always engage the tone controls to attenuate the treble to some degree. They sound great for orchestral music and opera - and of course can deliver when the orchestra is playing fff fortissimo, and when they whack the bass drum. I think that the greatest demand that can be placed on a speaker is by a soprano singing at full volume. I never worry that the Klipsch's tweeters will get fried, though I do worry about my ears sometimes ...
 
I've had one opportunity to hear the P39F's. Construction is very,very high and they are quite beautiful to look at. For sure there is some extreme engineering into them. Question is though is it what you want to hear? For me that was yes and no.

I liked what I heard in the mids and top end, but I wasn't crazy for the low end presentation which I found somewhat lean and I imagine others might feel the same way.

In contrast to the RF7's which I have not heard but I have heard and owned several two-ways with low frequency drivers of 8in and I have had listening experience with some rather very good two-ways with 7in woofers.

After owning 3-ways for many years now, I have come to the conclusion that a very good 3-way will typically beat out a two-way with 8in woofers or larger for my tastes. The large woofers just don't have the speed or impact that I need.

I would imagine the P38F would have the same basic mid and top end performance.

An RF7 IMO is just out of its league especially in the mids with a P39F and no doubt it would be with the P38F. I attended one of SWL3600's P39F listening sessions as well. After which I felt well pleased with my own extreme speaker modifications which are 1/4 the cost of P38F's and the same cost in total as a pair of RF7's yet I wouldn't want either the P39F's or the RF7's.

To be fair to the P39F's when I heard them, yes I would of like to of heard them with some different gear but I doubt the low end characteristics would be much different though.

Without a doubt I would take DaveC's RF25 project with his extreme network mods over RF7's or P38F's as well and they are a mere 1/10 of the cost of P38F's. His speakers were super smooth and have a nice level of impact, performing so well that you can listen all day and never have listening fatigue. And the nice thing about them is you never sense anything wrong with the coherency from top to bottom unlike what I sense from the P39F's.

In the end $12,000 buy's a DIYer like myself some very extreme quality parts for networks even well above the level I'm at now and that's extreme by most peoples standards. But then again so is the sound that I have now as well. Though not perfect it is at a level of musicalness that I feel I would have to pay $10,000 or more to match or exceed.

For sure a system needs to be balanced. Source, amplifiers, speakers all should have similar capabilities otherwise your limited to the weakest link IMO.


SET12
 
My understanding of the Palladiums is that they are not a 3 way but perhaps a 3 1/2 way.

Meaning (and again, I reserve the right to be 100% wrong), the woofers don't play the same signal but instead, maybe two of them do and the third one has an altered signal going to it either raising it a bit or perhaps lowering it a bit.

I don't remember. It's probably been 4 years at Indy since I've heard them and the discussion about how they were wired.
 
I own one of each. I first bought an RF-7 II for a mono system for my basement. Later I bought an RF-7 for a mono system for use on my sun porch during the summer. My neighbor complained about me listening to music on my porch, so I moved the RF-7 to the basement, and I'm now running stereo: RF-7 II on the left channel, RF-7 on the right channel.

I don't notice any difference between the sound quality of the RF-7 and the RF-7 II. The differences that are apparent: The RF-7 II is larger, has a different style grill, and seems to be slightly less efficient. (When I use a stereo amp to drive these speakers, I have to swing the balance control to send slightly more power to the RF-7 II.)
Boy that's interesting! I bought a set of RF7's and RC7 center channel at a good price, as an investment. I noticed Klipsch did not produce an RC-7II center. Nice juicy tidbit of info, thanks!
 
Back
Top Bottom