Klipsch RF-7 vs Cerwin Vega CLSC-215

Jonathan Larson · 04-07-2004, 01:48 AM

Hey guys,

I was wondering what tower will put out more bass, any opinions, I just thought it would be nice to hear what you guys think. I talked with my brother about it, just curious to see what he would say. He thinks the RF-7 will put out more bass, I think the CLSC-215 would put out more bass than the RF-7. What do you think? Anybody have these towers or heard them?

JimIroc · 04-07-2004, 02:04 PM

I think both will put out an extreme amount of bass. The Klipsch have a very high efficiency and power handling, as do the Cerwin Vegas. Without somebody that's measured the maximum SPL of both, all you're going to get is wild speculaction anyway. Call it a draw and go have a beer.

LanceJ · 02-23-2006, 04:05 PM

Revised Classic series coming out

I thought the reason J&R kept lowering the prices for CV's Classic series is because of slow sales and/or they were going to drop the entire line. But while scanning their site I saw this: CLS10. It looks like this entire series is being revised, hence the need to clear out the previous line up.

Excerpt from that page:

* Revised waveguide with taller midrange protective grille
* Improved high frequency tweeter response with copper shorting ring
* Dual pairs of Gold plated all metal binding posts with jumper straps for bi-wire or bi-amp applications

Those shorting rings are used more & more on many newer tweeters, and like their use on woofers IIRC they help smooth out the magnetic field around the magnet so the voice coil reacts in a more linear fashion.

I'm glad they decided to include a grill for the midrange - the present open design looks cool, but I can see where in the typical living room it could get damaged rather easily (especially if you have small children).

BTW: the Classic center channel - a very large center channel btw - is priced at only $99 right now.* It's especially good for 5.1 surround music since many mixes place things like drums, bass guitars and similar instruments in that channel. And for movies, even with bass management, such a husky speaker will reproduce male voices and many sound effects with more realism and authority (if you've ever seen how woofers react even when crossed over at 80-100Hz, you'll know what I mean).

* no I don't work for J&R, but I have bought several pieces of gear from them and they always treated me right, so I'm just reciprocating; and thought others might also want to know about these things

Bobby T · 02-23-2006, 06:03 PM

I have no experience with the Vegas. But I do own RF7s mated to a B&K 200.5 amp. The 7s are capable of a lot of clean, acurate bass. But also they are capable of some serious spl. Equal to my 15" Titanic. The 7s are rated to 32 hz. I believe in room they will go down to 30.

I don't know which is capable of more bass. But the 7s are quite capable.

LanceJ · 02-23-2006, 06:59 PM

Bobby: do the RF7s have dual ports on their rear panel?

Last time they were at Tweeter I wasn't able to look at the back of these models, but the previous Klipschs they had with dual 10" drivers were the KLF-20s. These 3-way models had two enormous ports at the bottom rear of the cabinet and also produced prodigious bass, even though they were "only" being powered by a large Denon stereo receiver connected directly to them (though they didn't go as low as a typical dedicated subwoofer could). Tweeter was blowing these out for 800 per pair until late 2002 - I really wished I could have bought a pair.

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Bobby T · 02-24-2006, 07:27 PM

Lance yes the 7s are dual ported. While the 7s are of high sensitivity and while they can be run well with a good reveiver, they really need an outboard amp to do thier best. The 7s have an impedence dip in the lower bass frequencies down to 2.7 hz. A good outboard amp can handle the dip better than an average receiver. There is a guy on the Klipsch forum running his 7s with a 400 watt sunfire amp with outstanding results. But the 7s still start rolling off at 32-30 hz. A sub is still needed for a lot of modern movie soundtracks or pipe organ music.

mackie · 02-25-2006, 12:04 AM

RF-7 are Kick-A speakers. You want serious bass, serious output, and a well constructed speaker? RF-7! The aren't cheap though.

LanceJ · 02-25-2006, 02:15 AM

Quote:

But the 7s still start rolling off at 32-30 hz.

I was just thinking of the KLF's *music* performance when I mentioned "prodigious" bass (same with the RF7s, which I've heard also). Say, as part of a stereo-only rig in a dedicated room full of concert posters, good books, contemplative artwork scattered about, a large window with a view to something natural, a comfortable chair of course & a mini fridge in the corner so no mood-blowing trips to the kitchen are needed.

Quote:

RF-7! The aren't cheap though.

This is part of the reason I placed the post above (about the revised Cerwin-Vega Classic series) in this particular thread, i.e. for someone that wanted "big" sound but couldn't quite swing the price of the RF series (and no, I'm sure the Cerwins aren't in the same class of quality as the Klipschs). But I wonder how the present Cerwin Classic with the single 15" woofer* would fare against the RF7s - when I think of that for some reason I get a vision of a Mustang GT against vs. a Mercedes 500SL coupe.........

* I can't remember the math behind it, but (for example) two round 10" woofers don't add up to a single 20" round woofer

mackie · 02-25-2006, 09:11 AM

The answer about driver size and output isn't the only factor in determining sound. The size, internal volume, crossovers, and porting have a lot to do with it to.

One bit of advice is to buy the best speakers you can reasonably afford. They have the most impact on sound and you will keep a good pair for years. If you go cheap, you'll end up spending more for a better pair later.

Larry Fabbri · 02-25-2006, 11:56 AM

I own a pair of the aforementioned KLF 20s Wonderful sounding speakers. It was a real shame that they stopped making them as I would recommend them to anyone.
The RF7 come very close in tonal response. Having said that they are Horn Loaded which has a distinct sound. Most people either love it or hate it. I have heard the RF 7s a number of times with different amplification used. Very warm sound with lots of presence.
I haven't heard the Cerwin Vegas in question, but virtually every model I have heard in the past had lots of bass, but sounded boomy to me.
I would say go with the Klipsch for a natural sound that I haven't heard in any Cerwin Vegas.
If the 7s are bit pricey drop down to the RF 5s. A very nice sounding speaker as well.
For big time bass, add a big time sub. Two of my faves are Hsu and SVS. Both offer lots of bang for the buck