great overall sound for the price

none yet

First of all, I like to say thanks to the guys at YAWA (www.yawaaudio.com). They were and continue to be extremely helpful. I was able to listen to all speakers on the same setup I have at home. If you're in So. Cal. check them out.

I wanted to replace my speakers because I was unhappy with the music and not necessary home theater. My goal was to improve on music without losing HT sound which I definitely achieved.

After spending quite a bit of time listening to speakers ranging from $500.00 to $2500.00 I decided on the RF-3s. I listened to the PSB stratus line and found them nice but not detailed enough. The B&W 600 series 2 were very nice but overpriced (the dealer wouldn't deal... not a penny).

The RF-3s couldn't be touched for the price and they sound even better at home. So much of a difference that I am replacing all of my home theater system with the rest of the Reference line... except for my Sunfire sub.

I have them bi-wired and have used them heavily over the past couple of weeks.

I already started listening to CDs that I haven't heard in a long time because these speakers provide so much more detail than I've ever had. It's like I have a new collection. Love them horn tweeters! Some may find them harsh or bright.

As always listen to them. I would recommend these to anyone for the price. MSRP is $800.00 but you can find them discounted 10-20%.

I couldn't be happier for what I paid. Awesome speakers for those on a budget.

everything

none

originally was gonna get sf-2 witha ksw 12
but then i heard these

absolutely love them to death

i researched buying them for months and when i finally found them for the right price it was well worth the wait

these speakers accell in all categories especially bass with those 8" drives.

and this comes from running them on only 45 watts on an old amp

cant wait to get a new one that will push the 225 they deserve

the box finish isn't really much to get in a hype all over it really doesnt look that bad at all

placement in your room is everything for these speakers

2 channel stereo is when they are at their best

for 600 american brand new these kick the @#%* out of any speaker i have heard and probably ones priced in the thousands

i staged them next to a set of paradigms and the clarity and effeciency was amazingly better and that is what sold me

thank you to everyone else for writing reviews here because if it were not for them i would not have known about the RF-3's

Similar Products Used:

cerwyn vega B&W technics

good bang for the buck, loud, accurate sound

requires use of tone controls or EQ(to turn down treble), unable to play very low bass notes

I have owned these speakers for about 2 weeks now, and the sound is great. Many people think Klipsch speakers (and speakers that use horns in general) sound very "harsh." This is definitely true if you're playing a straight signal with no adjustments. I have a Yamaha 100W/channel receiver. With the treble control set at the factory default, the higher frequencies are WAY too loud. This is the harshness people talk about. With the treble set at just above 10 o'clock, though, the harshness is gone, and all you get is great sound. The bass response is also excellent with the exception of the lowest frequencies (about 30 Hz and below is weak).
The best thing about these speakers is they're great for the money. I would suggest them to anyone looking to spend around $800 on a pair of speakers. To step up in quality a significant amount with other speakers, you'd have to spend at least twice as much.

clear, crisp, and full sound. extremely detailed for something even double it's price.

syle is bland and finish looks poor (although construction is solid)

I have had the RF3s for almost 6 months now and feel i have enough time on them to give a justifiable review. The sound can be summed up as 'great'.
At first i was somewhat disappointed in the sound as the horns seemed too pronounced and bass was not tight at all. After playing with placement for a few days the highs evened out a bit but the bass was still muddy. Just a few weeks ago i switched from 4 conductor 14awg monster cable w/ biwiring to a DIY biwired solution and it has made a world of difference. The mid range came out and the bass tightened up quite a bit. I was very satisfied at this point.

I have been running them off of a Yamaha rx-v595a for home theater use and they have totally rocked when watching movies but good music was lacking just a bit. If any of you have used yamaha amps you have probably had the same experience. I plugged in an old Nakamichi stereo amp and these speakers floored me yet again. The yamaha seems to be missing a whole band of audio that the nak brought out.

I have decided that the 595A does not do these justice and a new amp is in my future.

I have them paired up with the RC3 center. Another great product. These RF3s are as good as any you could ever want for HomeTheater uses. I listened to the RP3 and RP5 and they were terrible. They used the old klipsch sub design which was horrible so i have waited to match these up to the new reference series subs which i am pestering the local klipsch dealer to put in a showroom.

I paid full MSRP and that is still an unbelievable deal.

My system consist of
yamaha 595A
sony DVP-650D
DIY wiring
RC3 Center
and JBL control1 plus surrounds (they cannot compete with the RF3/RC3 even when pushed +10dB by the receiver)

also, the DIY wiring solution can be found at
http://www.geocities.com/venhaus1/diycatfivecables.html

If you are looking in the <$1500/pr area these are as good as it gets (for only half that). With a good amp and good wiring it is very easy to give these a 5* rating.

Similar Products Used:

boston accousics, definitieve tech, infinity, polk audio

I love high-end sound...The RF3's bring it home.

exterior could be better (minor nitpick)

Purchased in November (jandr.com...New York)for about 440-a pair.
These towers (which replaced my very old but highly respected JBL LX300,125 Watt Monitors) are being driven by a 70watt Nakamichi AV300 and it ain't shy on power,either.
Even though i am biased on the high-end,(treble cranked to the nines) i have no problems finding bass in my RF3'S...There is plenty of it when i play my cd's,dvd's and watch television--The latter is complimented by a Carvin EQ2015 (equalizer)..CARVIN ALSO BRINGS THE BASS.
Talk about live vibe!!!...I can feel the pounding of a basketball during an NBA game,the high-pitched squeal of sneakers creating friction with the floor and the rattle and vibration of the rim on a missed shot.
The RF3'S KICK!!

Course all this wouldn't be possible without the help of Kimber Kable(s) (4TC,DV30 and HERO).
A pretty nice setup and Klipsch RF3'S are at the center of it all...Give me time to surround them with better gear.


5 FOR VALUE
4.5--Exterior could be a bit more daring.

Exceptional clarity, Balance, strong base, capable of delicate highs

Cabinet could be more attractive

Like so many others, I auditioned many speakers before buying the RF-3s. I set out looking with a "sound" in my head. When I listened to the RF-3s I knew I had found "my sound". I am just over joyed with the clearity of sound that comes from these speakers. They have, to my perception anyway, great balance across the frequency range. I am continually impressed at the fact that I can play everything from the 1812 Overture at window shaking volume to extremely subtle jazz that hardly breaks the silence, and it all sends chills up my spine. I'm not an audiophile, I'm just a person who injoys music, all kinds, and wanted an affordable system that would give me above average, quality listening. The RF-3s do that for me. I power them with an Adcom 5400 Amp and Adcom 450 Preamp.

The only adverse comment I can make so far, is that if I place my ear close to the tweeters, I can hear a very audiable "hiss". From a couple of feet away, I can't hear it, but up close I can. I have tried listening both with an audio signal feed to the speakers and without a signal. I hear it in both instances. From the normal listening position, you can't hear it. I'm checking with the dealer tomorrow to see if the demo speakers he has do it too. I thought the hiss might be from my amp or preamp, but I disconnected one of the speakers from the system and hooked it up to a separate amp and it still does it.

Does anyone else hear this hiss? Is this characteristic of these particular drivers? I might suspect some line noise from the amp but usually that shows up as 60 cycle hum, which is quite different from this "hiss". If anyone hears this in there speakers, I would appreciate knowing.

It doesn't deminish my rating of the sperkers as far as sound goes, I just want to find out where the problem is and fix it. New speakers, new amp or preamp, etc. Whatever it takes to fully enjoy this great sounding speakers.

Very efficient, ear-piercing volume with little power. Nice bass response. Attractive looks. Reasonable price.

Maybe a tad bright on some musical applications (classical)

Picked these up at the local Ultimate Electronics for $750. He didn't have any new in a box, so I am demoing these until my new ones come in. Have been impressed with their efficieny in comparison to my old Infinitys. Need to upgrade my center channel to match, these sometimes drown out the dialogue. Anybody know where i can get these cheaper over the net? (From a reputable, authorized dealer?) Comments would be appreciated. Who says horns are out of style?

Similar Products Used:

Infinity Sterling Series

Soundstage, Dynamics, Bass

None for the price

These speakers are amazing! I previously owned a pair of Legend KLF-20's (which I loved) but the new Reference series is a step beyond the legends in many ways. Soundstaging and Imaging are incredible-The detail and subtle nuances these retrive from the music is superior. The music is very layered and dimensional. I was initially worried that these would not be able to provide the amount of bass I like (two 8" woofers vs. 2 10's in the legends) but give these speakers adequate power and they hit plenty hard-if not quite as deep-as the legends and have better bass articulation. This is not a problem with my Velodyne sub added. For people who previously did not like the sound of horns I say give these a try. They retain all the advantages of horns without being so bright or "shouty" as previous horn designs. These are a true bargain at this price level-you can't do better, only different. These work for hard rock, techno, modern music, etc. as well as for classical and acoustic; It seems to get harder and harder to find speakers that can cover both. I love good midbass punch that only a decent sized WOOFER (not subwoofer) can provide and still provide good bass articulation and refinement and these seem to have it.

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch KLF-20's DCM TimeWindow 7

Highlight the detail in Home Theater

Can be too bright with older CDs

I traded in my KLF-10s because of a defect on the back of the cabinet...loose. And, they were a little big...sounded great though. The RF-3 are bright compared to KLF-10s. The resolution to the brightness is speaker placement, receiver adjustment, and add a sub-woofer. The sub I added is a Klipsck KSW-15. I fould my older CDs did not seem to sound as good, however, I found that DVDs sound better than with my KLF-10. I suppose the Klipsch engineers might tell you that is what these speaker are engineered for, home theater. Compared to my KLF 10s, which were so huge it didn't matter where you put them, the RF-3s are sensitive to placement. I think they needed some break-in as well. They seem to sound better all every day. I spent about four hours working on crossover and sound level with the sub-woofer. Contrary to some of the reviews, these speakers have alot of bass. Matter of fact I had to tune down the sub that I had matched with the KLF-10s. My receiver is a Yahama RXV995. Something I thought the KLF-10s did better was you could hear the music at low volume levels. The RF-3s don't do much at low volume. So if you are looking for speakers for background music these are probably not for you. But id you want to hear the detail in music and movies loud and clear these RF-3s are the ones.

Similar Products Used:

JBL LX 600, Klipsch KLF-10

Exceptionally clean, great soundstage, fun to listen to.

Finish choices, cheesy grill.

These are the nicest speakers that I have ever owned. I compared them to the similarly priced Paradigms, and they just sounded more fun. There is some accentuation of midrange, but they are very well balanced for most of the material I listen to...from Classical FM broadcasts to Jazz and some carefully chosen Pop. The bass response is really good, no sub-woofer required. Reasonably sized for their performance...compared to speakers of 10 years ago their performance is exceptional for their size. Well constructed, signed off on by the craftsperson that assembled each. Rowe Photo/Audio gave me a full replacement option if I was interested in trading up before 12 months. I will keep them!

Similar Products Used:

Mission, Paradigm, KEF, old AR