great sound, loud

cheap vinyl finish

I have been using Paradigm Titans as my mains until my budget opened up and got these RF-3's. Suffice to say that there is no comparison between the two. For anybody who likes their music loud (without the unnecessary harshness that comes when cranking up the volume), these are the speakers to have.

Incredible sound! Ability to handle POWER.

Black cabinet is ok, but a nice solid wood cabinet would be awesome.

Well my Bose 901's were 20 years old and to me sounded great still. Problem was I couldn't hook them up to a HT environment. So shopping I go. After listening to the Paradigm Monitor 80's and the Klipsch RF-3's side by side, reviewing all the posts here, and going back to listen again to compare the Paradigm's and Klipsch's. I decided on the Klipsch's.
Before I get to the review, I would like to thank the posters here for helping me to decide where to purchase. I bought through Sound Distributor's in Las Vegas all on the internet.
Price: $1225 for 2 RF-3's, 2 RS-3's, and 1 RC-3 delivered!
Now the review. AWESOME...PERIOD!!!
The only disappointment I had was when I unhooked the Sansui Pure Power Receiver and hooked up my new Onkyo Integra DTR 7.1 Receiver.
The bass and power disappeared. I called my local dealer where I purchased the Onkyo and was told for pure power and 2 channel listening, I could spend 4 grand on a reciever and still not duplicate my Sansui.
He did however offer an alternative.
Instead of bi-wiring, which I was going to do, I will now hook up the Sansui up to the extra posts on the RF-3's and when I listen to music, I will use the Sansui for powerful 2 channel enjoyment.
HT use I will use the Integra and integrate all of the Reference Series speakers.
All that is needed is an extra set of monster wires.
Eventually I will try a 15" Veladyne Subwoofer setup with the Integra receiver to see if that adds the missing bass and power.

All in all the speakers were a big surprise. They completely blew the Bose 901's away. Ten o'clock position on the Sansui volume dial and my wife thought I had a concert going on with ZZ Top. I had no idea anything would sound better than my beloved Bose. How wrong I was! Especially when you figure in the dollars and cents. These baby's are an unbelievable value.

My audio setuup:
Sansui G-8700 Pure Power Receiver (Yes its old, but it cranks!)
Pioneer 5-CD Changer
Pioneer RT-707 Reel to Reel
Pioneer CT-F1000 Cassette Deck
Klipsch RF-3 Towers

HT setup:
Onkyo Integra DTR 7.1 Receiver
Sony Playstation 2/DVD
Klipsch RF-3's/RS-3's/RC-3

Similar Products Used:

Bose 901's.

Sounds great, nice high's, nice low's, just wonderful!

none at all!

I absolutely love these speakers!!!! When I went to the store, the sales rep was trying to sell me some Monitor Audio's. After going from room to room trying to decide, I chose the Klipsch's, and I am very happy I did! These speakers are amazing! Just read all the rave reviews on klipsch's web site! The salesman said that there's no soundstage to klipsch's speakers because of the horns, but I can hear things from all around me even in 2 channel mode! I can't say enough about these speakers. Try them, I'm sure you like them!

Full bass, even sound through all frequencies

Don't like the grill much

My wife and I just spent the better part of a week auditioning the above speakers and settled on the RF-3s...we're exstatic.

It really came down to 3 for us...the Paradigms and the two Klipsch models, all of which were about the same price at our local dealers. We found that the KLF-10 really delivered the bass, and sounded great otherwise, but was too big for our small home. We felt that RF-3 and the Paradigm were equally solid with the bass, but that the paradigm was a little brighter and seemed to lose some of the midrange (male vocals seemed a bit nasally.

We were expecting these to sound a little bright or harsh when we got them home prior to break-in...but they're pretty smooth right out of the box...expect they will just get better.

These are great, well-rounded speakers. While the choice of speakers is personal, we think these should be on everyone's "to audition" list if they're in the market for $600-1000 mains.

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch KLF-10, Paradigm Monitor 9, Def Tech BP8, Polk RT 800i, Boston VR-950

everything

nothing

I've posted before, but I just want to add something. For those of you who doubt the bass and volume of these things: The girls who live in the apartment above me told me I moved their couch. Hm.. Maybe I should turn it down a bit.

Similar Products Used:

All types of speakers from all types of stores in my area

Slim profile, great rendition of brass horns and stringed instruments.

Weak binding posts, floating grill is fragile, aluminum mid-range woofer distorts over time, bass response is a bit lacking.

These speakers create a wonderful soundstage. The stereo imaging is very impressive. The slim profile allows for flexibility of placement. The horns make the speaker very efficient. Combined with the RC-3 and RS-3, this speaker combo makes for a great "concert hall" set-up.

One problem: The gold aluminum woofers will permanently distort after time. I suggest others owning these speakers take off the floating grill (very carefully) and look at their woofers. I did a visual survey of the the gold aluminum woofers of other RF-3's in several audio stores, and found that many of the display models were also defective. Has anyone else seen this???

Similar Products Used:

Bose, Advent, Sonus Faber, Boston Acoustics.

Bass

Mids and highs

After reading the good reviews here, I thought I would give these speakers a try. In the store they sounded pretty good, but when I got them home I was a little disappointed.
As usual for Klipsch, the bass was decent for a speaker with 8 inch drivers. But to my ears, the midrange is somewhat over-emphasized and has a slight "cupped" sound when listening to rock guitar and vocals. Also, the treble was almost overpowered by the mids. My old JBLs had a much cleaner midrange and treble than the RF-3s. Listen closely to these speakers with familiar music before deciding on them. For the price I expected more.

Similar Products Used:

JBL

Da bomb baby, DA BOMB!!!!!

This speaker has little to complain about.. absolutely none

I have had these speakers for about 8 months and they sound better and better every month.

Please, please, PLEASE go buy these speakers now!! They are that good. I **** you not.

If you own a pair of these, Please, please PLEASE go buy a good sub for them. I thought these were excellent speakers and then I added a Velodyne 120 to the system and my mouth dropped to the floor. A good sub will bring out the richness in these like you have never heard.

If you own a pair of these and a Velodyne 120, Please, please, PLEASE go buy the rest of the reference line. Put in Armageddon and watched the comets rain down on NY and thought I was gonna have to call up Allstate.

I just got done sitting in my living room with my lights out listening to Pink Floyd, Delicate Sound of Thunder - Confortably Numb. Damn - I swear I thought I was at the concert again. They will be the closest thing to heaven you will ever experience.

Did I mention that you must go buy these speakers NOW...

Best choice for a reciever for these speakers has got to be a Denon. I have tried a Yamaha - way to bright. I have a Onkyo 575X - Very clean, nice remote. But the Denon gives out the richest sound. Too bad for a crappy remote but the Denon and these are matched perfectly.

What else can I say that everyone below me hasn't already said. You can take the close off my back but please don't touch my RF-3's.

Similar Products Used:

Tested about everything you can name...

Great range from low end to hi-end

grill cover pegs snap..

The new RF-3 by Klipsch are a great speaker under $600.00. If I had to pay more I think I would have chosen something else. I purchased RF-3ii, RC-3ii, RS-3ii and a KSW-15 at www.sounddistributors.com for $1549.00.
It is a great package!! My room is 20x20 and it fills it no problem. i am using a Denon AVR-3802 to run it with a Harman Kardon DVD50. All under $2500.00. I think it is the best I could have done at that price range.
Full sound from low end booming bass to hi-end. Great seperation on the rear surrounds.

Similar Products Used:

infinity - polk

Good Bass, Good Highs, Good Quality, GOOD EVERYTHING

um...none

These speakers are tight. They can go loud without distortion. And they also have some bass in them. These are one of the best speakers out there. GET SOME NOW.

Similar Products Used:

10 yr. old kenwoods, sony, JBL.