Looks, mid-range, bass, imaging

High end a little harsh, may smooth out with break-in, could be partially due to other equipment and/or placement

I bought these for a two channel system at my girlfriend's house. I have them connected to a Nakamichi RE-10 100 watt receiver and a Yamaha C-920 DVD changer. The first thing that impressed me was their looks. Gorgeous wood grain cherry finish. My girlfriend was also impressed with the looks. This is very important. She did'nt want big black boxes. I bi-wired them with Kimber 4-tc speaker cable and fired them up. I was very impressed with their overall sound, especially the mid-range. Piano, guitar, male vocals ect. seem effortless. I noticed a little harshness on cymbal crashes and higher female vocals. This could be partially due to the other equipment though. I get the feeling these produce exactly what you give them. Bass is tight and solid down to about 40hz or so. Excellent for my kind of music, might want a sub for movies. I don't know if they are placement sensitive because ther was only one place I could put them. Approx. 6' apart, 1' from the back wall and even close to the side walls. They sound very good where they're placed though. I think one characterisic of a good speaker is how believable they sound in adjacent rooms at low to moderate volumes. I could almost believe that Keb Mo' was sitting in the living room while I was in the back bedroom. Overall I feel for the price, you can't go wrong with the RF-5s.

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Paradigm studio 60s and 20s, Klipsch Heresy IIs

Sound wonderful,crisp,deep and clear. Look spectacular (and expensive!)

Require a large room and few neighbors.

I have always loved Klipsch speakers so my opinion may be biased just a bit, but I believe these speakers should be at the centerpiece of anyone's system that considers themselves audio lovers. I listen to lots of different music and these things just flat play anything you throw at them and make it sound great. I liken my two RF-5s (Angus & Malcolm) to a pair of grand pianos. The harmony and depth they produce is magnificent, and the screaming highs don't ever flinch. If you want to make your system sound the best and loudest it can, buy these speakers.

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Klipsch SF-2, Klipsch KSW-12,Klipsch RC-3

Good looking, sturdy cabnit build, great highs and lows, fair price.

if you aren't too strong, they might be hard to lift, and shipping is a pricy.

Well, I got these speakers aftering having 2 pairs of Klipsch speakers (SF-1's, SF-2's) and these easily are better. The bass on the reference series is much cleaner, and the highs much more refined. not to mention they look cooler. They are very loud, to the point where they can easily make your ears FORCE you to turn down the music, while the RF-5's haven't even started working. They can play every volume I've thrown at them with ease so far, and I have put up to 25 watts through them. This is incredibly loud, when they are 99 decibles with 1 watt, which is far more than most people consider "normal" listening levels. These speakers may be what some call "harsh" but I like to call it live. I've been to alot of concerts, and being a performer myself, I think they sound closest to real life. Even more so than B&W's, and other so called "super speakers". These speakers are often called accurat, and natural, but they really don't sound anywhere close to that to me. they all sound bland and boring, and without life, while the klipsch sound up front, and like you're at the concert. I think the reason for this may be that while B&W's and the likes may sound very true to the source, they are just that: true to the SOURCE, not the music. Recordings are often brushed up a ton before the final product reaches the shelve, and you have to keep in mind that fidelity is lost, and so is dynamic range, and many other important aspects of the music. Also, CD's are by no means perfect- they have limited dynamic range, and you loose alot of quality in copying to them. While Klipsch speakers add life to these often

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alot.

You hear everything!

Still looking

I've been wanting Klipschorns for 30 years, but haven't won the lotto yet, so I bought the RF-5. Wow, only owned them for two weeks, and I can't believe all the things I am hearing for the first time, from albums I have listened to hundreds of times before. Too easy to get the volume louder than is healthy for you rears, because the speakers don't seem to care. the sound stay pure all the way from a whisper to blood coming from the ears. Definitely have too much power in my amp now, these speakers are so efficient. I have turned my amp down to 25% power, and that is louder than a live concert. Also clearer :)

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McIntosh C-28 with McIntosh 2105

Everything.

Nothing with the correct equipment. Requires a larger room than I'm able to provide.

Great speaker for an entry level horn. I am very pleased with the sound, for the money spent. If you decide to get these speakers I highly recommend using them with a tube amplifier, the tube amplifier rolls off the highs which otherwise would sound harsh with an SS amp. I use a Sound Valves VTA-70i. www.soundvalves.com This is a great company with great PR, check them out.

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Infinity (All Infinty speakers are over priced crap) Bose (even worse than Infinity) Magnapan, Dynaudio (also a little pricey), JBL (Isn't great but better than Infinty or Bose)

Very dynamic, good clarity, big soundstage and the speakers virtually dissapear. They play very loud and without fatigue using a tube amp with only 2 watts/channel output.

None at this price.

First of all I have to say my search for speakers was limited to high efficiency speakers only. I was looking for a 95dB+ sensitivity speaker to be mated with my Decware Zen Select tube amp rated at only 2 watts/channel. I had never before considered Klipsch but due to my requirements it was mandatory I give them a listen. These are by far the most revealing speakers I listened to in this price range. This means they reveal the audio signal almost exactly as delivered to them. Good electronics sound good, bad electronics sound bad. The same is true for recorded music. I have an HT system in my main room using Paradigm Studio 100's. The RF-5's are in dedicated 2-channel music system setup in a spare bedroom 12'x16'. The 2-channel system is very simple, Marantz CD-17 connected directly to the Zen Select amp, amp connected to RF-5's, Velodyne sub connected via speaker level connections. The RF-5's are dead quiet with the Zen amp. None of the hissing mentioned in other reviews. The speakers dynamic capability and ability to reproduce fine details within recorded material adds significantly to the realism of music playback. I find many CD's that were seldom played on my main system realy come alive on the Zen/Klipsch combo. And take it from me these things really belt out the music with only 2 watts of avalible power. I often listen at 85-90dB (this is loud) and the volume control at the amp is usually at about 75%. Flexability in speaker placement helps alot to get the right soundstage, bass, etc. With proper placement these speakers really disapear and create a large soundstage. Improperly placed the bass output is reduced and of course the speakers sounds brighter. As with almost any floorstanding speaker in this price range a sub is required to reach live levels of real bass. My Velodyne sub integrates very well with the RF-5's. These speakers sound great on a wide range of music. Given that I paid $750 for the pair with trade-in of my old speakers I have to give them high value and overall marks. They are a great deal and have performed better than I imagined possible with only 2 watts of power.

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Infinity Overture 1's & 3's, Paradigm Studio 100's.

Super good looking, powerful output. Won't even flinch at high volumes.

Lots of hiss...highs are too high..... not cost-benefit...not much of a difference from rf-3 II's..

Okay...I bought these speakers thinking I'd appreciate the extra juice that they provide over the Klipsch rf-3 II's. I went to American twice and listened to all their refernce models. The rf-7's were not impressive at all, especially for the price. The rf-5's were decent but still not as nice as the rf-3 II's. Call me crazy, but I'm being honest to you. The rf-5 and rf-7's are just too bright. Like one reviewer also said, they pick up a lot of distortion in your setup. I brought the rf-5's home and listening to TV was awful because there was so much hiss. I even heard it a little at American (especially out of the rf-7). I brought a Led Zeppelin cd that, I guess, wasn't digitally remastered and the rf-5's and rf-7's made it sound terrible. But the rf-3 II's were just perfect. Maybe the magnets are too big on their horns. Also, the rf-3 II's put out equivalent bass to the rf-5 and rf-7. Either way, the bass on the reference models aren't earth shattering. So I am here to say that if you are to buy a Klipsch reference model, you don't need to spend all that extra money on the rf-5 or rf-7. A super find would be the older model with the subwoofer built in. The reference models were nicer than any Infinity or Polk that American had, so stick with Klipsch...just save yourself some money. Some audiophilles have $4,000-$10,000 systems. I don't. So maybe all that hiss and "over"-clarity is my fault. I have a Harmon Kardon AVR-320 receiver that cost $700.

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Cerwin Vega, Klipsch rf- 3 II, Klipsch kg-4

Bi-Wire/BiAmp-able. Good Bass Response Beautiful Finish - High WAF.

They emphasize any distortion present in your set-up or source - which I guess is a Strength - if I can resolve the cause!

I purchased these speakers after 5 long months of auditioning a variety of speakers and reading countless reviews here and everywhere I could find them. For the money, these are definitely among the best I''ve heard. They''re quite a step up from Klipsch''s RF-3II''s in terms of imaging and bass response. I haven''t had the chance to audition the RF-7''s, but for my price-point these were everything I had expected - and more. Like the previous reviewer, I too enjoy a huge variety of music - everything from Sinatra to Snoop. My secondary reason for choosing the RF-5''s was the high Wife Acceptance Factor. I special-ordered them in the Cherry finish, and they really do a lot for the room - besides just the awesome sound and clarity. With their rated sensitivity of 99dB, I have to be extra careful of the Neighbor Acceptance Factor.

Low distortion, good base without a sub, nice highs and midrange. Lots of output available. Nice looking, I like mine with out the grill covers.

Heavy, 62 pounds each. Placement might be a problem if you have a small house or apartment. They require placement of 6'' apart min. and 2'' from the walls.

I had actually been looking at these speakers for a couple of years. The estimated price of $759 is for each not for the pair. So being that the cost was up there I did quite a bit of listening to other speakers including JBL''s ND310. Which I also found nice but when it came right down to it I liked the sound of the horns and the Klipsch speakers were a little more compact. It was important for me that these speakers were capable of reproducing all types of music. I listen to everything!, from classical to rock and rap to folk and what ever I played I wanted to play it loud!. These speakers required a break in period which ment that when I left for work these speakers were tuned to my favorite blues station for a couple of weeks. I''m sure my cats appreciated the sound. I have powered these speakers with a Yamaha RX777. I have to say that I have had these speakers cranked loud and no matter where I am in the house it sounds great.I had originally hooked up a subwoofer but realized after a couple of days that these speakers put out plenty of base so I have disconnected it. I replaced a pair of Klipsch KG3.5 which were nice but I had wanted more than nice. I wanted a pair of speakers that not only looked nice but would make my house shake, rattle and roll if I so wanted. In listening to my music again I have heard things that I had not originally expecially clarity. I know these speakers cost a little more money than others that are on the market but they are worth it. Expecially if you like music, I just can''t say enough about them.

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Klipsch KG 3.5 and Infinity refrence 71

I''ll post later;

I''ll post latera

This is a review of the klipsch RF 5s - I could not find an entry for the RF 5s, so I thought I would post it here. I have not had alot of tine to listen to these speakers; I will post again in three months after they have been broken in and I have had time to judge their value. What I can say is that these speakers look great! They remind me of the black obilisk from 2001 a space odyssey. They look very well made. I really don''t see a problem with the feet or the grills - they are quite adequate - other postings have complained of their breakability. Obviously, care must be exersized when removing the grills or moving the speakers. You can''t push the speakers across the floor - they must be lifted up off the floor when moved! Scottt

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Polk speakers circa 1990