Extremely Tight Bass, Horn generates outstanding highs.
Mids distortion free to extreme volumes.
225w per speaker
Home Friendly Sound Stage

Bare wire connectors.
I so wanted real wood.

Thanks to all the thoughtful, informed posts on this website; you saved me money and time and helped me make what I felt was the best choice.
I don't have an extremely discriminating ear. I do have a fine audio environment in a 12x15 downstairs den: concrete walls (finished), below ground, carpeted, and the back of the 3 sided room opening onto a larger vaulted room. This definitely limits echo effect and the symmetrical layout makes soundstaging very easy. The RF-3s (w/horn tweeters) sounded as good or better than in the store. In my limited experience:
Invest in good mains and the listening environment will mostly take care of itself.
These speakers do improve with use.
The RF-3's were significantly better than the previous year's model (SF-3? at $150 more)on low frequency sound and comparable on high frequency sound at low to moderate volumes.
Spiked feet do matter on carpet(tip: screw the spikes directly into the speaker base for a cleaner look).
Yamaha recievers are superb.
Biwiring created no detectable difference.
Everybody says that the brand they bought sounds better than speakers for twice the money--no matter how much they spent.
4 speaker Surround sound is strangely unsatisfying for watching sitcoms.

I'll rest upon a couple of points:
My wife was my shopping companion, and was the perfect foil to counter my fascination with numbers. She shops by sound, not by price, and not by impedance, wattage, ohms, magnet weight, etc. These were the only speakers she would sit still to listen to in the stores and we listened to Magnepan's 1.5's(IMHO only speaker we heard with better reproduction, but very sensitive to staging and would have required larger amp and immediate purchase of sub), B&W's, Paradigm's and other fine speakers.
Compare the ratings the RF-3's receive on this website to the ratings given to all other speakers. It is in the Top 20 in number of reviews (96 at the time of this writing), and Top 5 (actually #4)in average score (4.73)for speakers with more than 40 respondents, Top 10 for speakers with more than 20 respondents, and #1 for speakers less than $1,000 and more than 40 respondents. Note that all the speakers that scored 5's except the $3695 Newform Research (must be a phenomenal speaker) had 5 or fewer respondents.

Bose must surely be the biggest scam since rubber vomit since it scored the lowest of any manufacturer for speakers with more than 40 respondents (eg Acoustimass 5 (232 surveys,2.59 score, but also 901's, Acoustimass 10's, 701's etc).

At the risk of offending the true connisseur, I believe that- within each price point- average scores (where sample sizes are adequate)make a meaningful statement about how well individual manufacturers and products meet and satisfy customer expectations. Is the industry watching? The customer has spoken: Brand X (Klipsch (RF-3))owners lead richer, fuller lives.

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Tested
Magnepan 1.5(Side by side w/JVC)
Bose (Boooo!)
Paradigm (multiple tests)
B&W(Side by Side w/JVC)
Numerous HT Systems at Best Buy, Curcuit City
Boston Acoustics (comparable sound; ugly plastic cabinets)

efficient=loud

none

i've had speakers for about two months along with matching center and surrounds with ksw 12 sub and the system rocks. some say that speakers are "bright". i haven't noticed, they are loud, i haven't even dared to turn volume past half, at half i almost have to be in the next room. they look great, they can be bi-wired (although i don't know that there is much of a difference). got a great deal at rla home theater on the set. was going to buy the def tech pro towers with matching center and surrounds, glad they never came in.

my system
sony 333es
rf3, rs3, rc3, ksw12
sony wega xbr
pioneer 525
canare, tara labs, monster

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def tech, polks, ar

Imaging, bass, price, efficiency

Fragile grill, almost too efficient

I'm glad that I chose the Rf-3's to be my first pair of mid- to high-quality speakers. They have the best sounding bass I've ever heard on a speaker that's doesn't have a powered subwoofer. The horn tweeters also reproduce highs that are unparalleled in their price range. Regardless of what I pump through these boys -- classical, jazz, metal, techno, hip-hop, and movies -- I get a clear, deep, realistic sound.

These speakers are also very efficient and really shine at high volumes. The only problem with this is the fact that I live in an apartment. My neighbors haven't said anything yet, but I'm sure they will if I watch U-571 again.

The grill on these things is poorly designed. Because they go all the way to the floor, they are easily damaged if the speakers are tilted forward. Be sure to take them off when positioning the speakers.

I'll write a follow-up review after these babies are broken in and bi-wired.

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Owned: Sony (don't know the model); Auditioned: Definitive BP2004, BP2002, JBL Studio Series, Polk RT800i

Wonderfully crisp, accurate sounding speakers

I read the reviews here and then went to a trusted Hi Fi shop to give them a listen. I was very impressed with the "open soundstage", live sound of these speakers. I compared them with Paradigm Monitor 7's and felt that the Klipsch's were far more real sounding. I used U2's POP (a killer CD for bass) and a clasical violin CD. I bought them on the spot and rushed home. Space is limited(I had to shove an entertainment center to the side to squeeze in the tower) and I opted not to put on the feet that come with the speaker. When I went to listen - I was some dissappointed. They sounded average, muffled. I was replacing a cheap pair of Yamaha speakers and those sounded more crisp. I headed out for a movie and when I returned, I listened to a couple of other tracks - they all sounded just ok. I remembered reading about a "break in" period and thought that might be it. I deceided to look over the info sheet that came with the speakers - they mentioned that for best sound, you need to use the feet with the spike inserts. This has the speaker completely off the carpet with the only contact points being these four spikes. So, I put them on, (even if I did have to shove the entertainment center over a few more inches.)

A shocking difference! It sounded completely different. The clarity, sharpness, "sound stage" - was back.

Moral of this story: If you didn't put those harmless looking speaker feet on and use the spikes - you should! You will not believe the difference!!!

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Yamaha Tri-Max system

Excellent soundstage,spectacular vocal ability

Grill attachment,deserves optional finishes

The ability of these speakers to produce clear accurate sound is very good, especially for the price. Midrange detail and high frequency dispersion are very well defined, and plenty of tight accurate bass. Overall, an excellent sounding speaker that will make your high quality equipment sound like the highest quality equipment. Power handling ability is phenomenal, and they stay very much in control when driven to high volume. Highly recommend!

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Klipsch KLF-10

Nicely detailed sound, good bass, excellent efficiency

Not quite as "open" sounding as my old Magnepan MG-1's

I've only had these speakers for a short time, so it's possible my opinions will change as the speakers "break in," but here's what I think right now --

I like them.

Although I intend to add a sub-woofer (as part of a complete home theater set-up), they seem to handle bass pretty well -- perhaps not ideally for home theater, but nicely for music listening.

The sound is detailed. The little details come through clearly. This is almost distracting, but one can hardly fault a speaker for reproducing every little thing.

The speakers are less open sounding than my Magnepan MG-1's were, but it's not like they sound boxy or anything. And the "sweet spot," where I can sit and still get excellent imaging/sound staging from these speakers is much larger than the sweet spot produced by the Maggies. (The Maggies had a sweet spot that sometimes seemed to be measured in microns. The RF-3's let me sit pretty much anywhere I want on my living room sofa.) The RF-3's also seem to be slightly less sensitive to room placement, although some care in determining exactly where to put the speakers is definitely worth the effort.

Both jazz guitar and solo piano sound particularly natural through these speakers. I like listening to Chopin, so I'm happy.

Physically, the speakers are fairly attractive. All black, and not so large as to dominate my room. I know some people have complained about the cabinets not being solid oak or something, but I honestly couldn't care less. The spike feet that come with the speakers seem to have some value -- they're not accessories I'd spend a lot of money for, had they not come with the speakers, but as freebies included with the speakers they're better than just sitting the speakers flat on the carpet. (The rubber feet may be good on wood floors, but my living room's carpeted, so I can't say from personal experience.)

I should also probably note that I like floor-standing speakers. Hey, my tastes were formed back in the days when bigger = better, in speakers. And even though there are some outstandingly good bookshelf speakers available these days, old biases die hard. (FWIW, I also prefer fixed focal length lenses to zooms, when it comes to photography. Because I'm a dinosaur.)

I seriously considered buying Klipsch SF2's or KSF 8.5's, instead of these speakers. The latter were considered largely on the basis of price -- a local dealer was blowing them out at $299.95/pair, which is a steal for these very good speakers. Extended listening convinced me that the 8.5's sounded better (at least to me) than did the SF2's, but the difference was very minor. However, the RF-3's sound better still, and I was able to get a pair at a very good price.

Regarding price, I bought these from J&R Music World. J&R is an authorized Klipsch dealer. (I won't pay hundreds of dollars extra to buy speakers from an authorized dealer, but if the authorized dealer has extremely competitive prices, the "authorized" part is a nice bonus.) On the basis of a post over at the Klipsch bulletin board (at http://www.klipsch.com) I called J&R at 1-800-221-8180. I went directly for Todd, at ext. 1039. Todd gave me a heck of a price, inc. delivery. I recommend dealing with him -- Tell him what the best price you've found happens to be, and ask him to match it; you might be pleasantly surprised.

The speakers took a couple of weeks to arrive, but this was during the Christmas/New Year's period, which can sometimes slow things down.

I'm using a Denon AVR-2801 receiver. I find the Denon/Klipsch combination to work very nicely. I've heard some people suggest that Denon has a soft sound. I've never really heard it myself, but let's assume it's true. And that Klipsch can be shrill. Again, this isn't something I've heard myself, but let's assume it's true, too. Well then, I suppose the soft Denon and shrill Klipsch balance each other perfectly.

The RF-3's are extremely efficient speakers. My old Maggies were terribly inefficient. The Maggies did okay when powered by the Denon receiver (which I think is rated at an entirely respectable 90 watts per channel), but did even better when powered by my old Adcom GFA-555 power amp (conservatively rated at 200 watts per channel). Please note that I don't normally "crank up the volume" to ear bleeding levels, either. So I'm not talking about how high I had to turn the volume knob to get a given sound level. It's just that the Maggies seemed to suck up all the power an amp can provide, and want more, while the Klipsch speakers sound nice and solid when powered by a somewhat less heavy duty amp.

For some reason, many people seem to either love Klipsch, or loathe it. So while it's always a good idea to listen to speakers before making a purchase, this may be even more important if the speaker's a Klipsch.

Anyway, while I won't exaggerate and suggest that these are the best speakers I've ever heard, anywhere, at any price, and that if I close my eyes I'd swear I was sitting in Carnegie Hall (pre-renovation Carnegie Hall, if you please), I am extremely pleased with my RF-3's. At $1000+, I'm not sure I'd have wound up with them -- there are some really nice speakers in the $1000+ price range. But they are extremely good speakers, and at under $600 for the pair, I have absolutely no complaints. (And even compared against some $1000+ speakers, the RF-3's can definitely hold their own.)

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Boston Acoustics A-70's and the aforementioned Maggies

Imaging, soundstage, efficiency, clarity!

Although the sound is amazing, I still think the cabinets are somewhat cheesy.

I picked these great speakers up about 5 months ago. Every day I use them they sound even better. I started out using them with my old Pioneer 2 channel receiver (circa 1994) and thought it couldn't get any better. Well since then I have matured and become educated and ditched the days of cheesy audio gear. I am now powering the RF-3s with an NAD 2200 power amp (conservatively rated at 100wpc) and using an NAD C520 CD player and C420 tuner as sources. What really scares me is that I can only buy more expensive gear next time.

I have always heard Klipsch were great speakers. Lots of the guys in my dorm freshman year were using these things to annoy us throughout the nights. I always associated power and clarity with them from the many times I heard them up close and personal. Then there was a 2 year lull in which I heard no Klipsch at all. Then one day I was in Hifi Buys looking at TVs when I walked by one of the listening rooms and heard a heavenly sound pouring out :) Turns out the sound was coming from the RB-5s, the little guys. I listened for an hour. Then I listened to the RF-3s and was sold.

Now for the nitty gritty. These things are very efficient. I have heard them on a 6wpc tube amp and was amazed by the volume produced using only 6 watts! The imaging is great. Just remember that because of the horns..they are very directional, so you have to position them just right. From all the different music I have tried out on these things I have to say the most realistic sounding are female jazz vocals, piano, and jazz guitars. The realism is mind boggling. Now not only do these things perform great, they look great too! Granted I would have loved a pair in cherry or some other fine wood, but the black veneer goes just perfect with my current decor :)

Go listen to a pair at your local Klipsch dealer...I doubt you will be turned off by these beautiful speakers.

Mike

NAD 1130 Preamp
NAD 2200 Power Amp
NAD C520 CD
NAD C420 Tuner
WireWorld Solstice III interconnects (the Radio Shack interconnects just didn't cut it)

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KLH 3-way floorstanding and Sony Bookshelf Speakers..if that even counts :)

dynamic range, clarity, power handling,unobtrusive size for a floor standing speaker, not too heavy compared to other towers

grills can be broken easily put them on and take them off carefully..on some cds that are too bright or shrill to begin with these speakers will show it and your ears will pay for it.lol

bought these speakers from tweeter and paid more than discounters are getting because tweeter has liberal return policy and will let you trade speakers back in within 1 year and get full price you paid torwards other speakers that are at least 50% more expensive. i do tend to trade stuff after only having it for a short while. i compared the sound to the cerwin-vega dx-7 which was from the best line they had back in mid 90s. the cerwins are 98 db spl also so there wasnt any shock from how loud the rf-3 speakers played i was quite ready for the high efficiency!! i compared them with my powerful mirage subwoofer disconnected and was quite surprised that the klipsch had more kick in the upper to low bass region and midrange was less colored than what i was used to. these speakers are very lifelike for sure and i played some material that had a powerful kickdrum effect and my chest was getting pounded like in a nightclub! of course when i connected my sub again it was every bit as good as being in a jazz club or nightclub live!! i played some james taylor music..some grp jazz discs and even some old disco cds with high punch and lower highs to see how it sounded and it was very lifelike! drum solos like the one in the song oasis on the grp live cd is incredible and will make anyones mouth drop so if you dont have that cd and you love funky jazz get it!! bass was tight on the klipsch and very solid and deep too but a sub is necessary for home theater to give the deepest sounds...like other reviewers here i also heard instruments in some of my cds that were lower or shadowed inmy other speakers. i cranked it up to well over 100db spl for awhile and it was downright chest banging!! the type of tight bass that bels you like in a nightclub! highs were super clean voices clean as a whistle! its only my first couple of days listening and yes i did put the spikes on the bottom too of the speakers to help decouple the klipsch from my rug! if you put the volume up over say 105 db the upper midrange might get shrill but then anythin does once our ears are gettin overloaded. i threw large power at the rf-3 like 40 or so watts continuously and it handles with ease no sign of distortion at all! what really surprised me was how much better my home theater sounded since now i have matched up my klipsch center ch speaker with the rf-3..kenny g cds really come thru with these speakers too.... a great jazz speaker and r&b also!

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cerwin vega,and various others

sound image, efficiency and sound precision

i matched with rc-3, rs-3, ksw-12 and onkyo a/v tx-ds676.
these speakers work great with low and hight power.
they can reproduce everything with hight precision.

Klipsch is THE LEGEND IN SOUND.

by
roberto

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klipsch sp-1

excellent clarity at extremely high volume.

large and heavy.

initially when I bought this speakers 6 weeks ago for my home theater I wasn't really excited about the sound that came out of them. the sound wasn't as clear as I want it, the bass seem to be weak not as loud even when the volume is turn high then I thought I probably make a mistake in buying them to anchor my home theater. However, recently watching a new dvd movie by Michell Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford -"what lies beneath". I turn the volume at 10 o'clock position on the knob,expecting nothing but just to have high volume. oH my God! now I'm beginning to realize what other users have been saying abouth these speakers. My goodness,after six weeks of frequent use like an aged wine,there was a mark difference in sound coming out of them. The bass and treble are clear & warmth but not too overpowering at high volume; the sound seem to be more loud now at 10 o'clock position. It made the hair on my arms stand, really. I can turn the volume even at 12 and 1 o'clock position and still these speakers maintain their CLARITY,WARMTH,AND SOUNDSTAGE quality. I'm very satisfied and thinking of buying another pair .

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