Klipsch RC-7 - Very Impressive Center Channel (1 Viewer)

[Scott McGillivray]

Hi Gang!
I had "upgradeitis" this past week. The victim (besides my bank account) was my old Klipsch RC-3 center channel. I have had it for just over a year and have really enjoyed it. However, when I was listening to aggressive movies played at or near reference levels, I found that it was struggling to keep up with the rest of my system, especially the Klipsch La Scala mains. So, once I saw that Klipsch had released a newer, bigger and better center, the itch to upgrade was strong!
I have not had a lot of time to give the new center a in depth analysis, but the difference was quickly noticeable. I put in "Jurrasic Park 3" and played the T-Rex vs. Spinosaur scene. The smoothness and strength of the center was readily apparent. It just made the scene damn scary! Gone was the harshness and it was replaced with wonderful depth and range.
The unit itself is beautiful to behold. It is quite large at 44 lbs. and bolsters two copper coloured 8" drivers and a 1.75" horn tweeter. It was surprising to see how much bigger it was than the RC-3, which was a big center by most standards. It is internally wired with custom "Monster" cable, it is bi-ampable and comes in three colours (I stuck with black).
The downside? The price tag! This is NOT a cheap center. I will not say exactly what I paid for it since my fiance will probably hunt out this thread to see if I spilled the beans! However, I think the price I paid was well worth it since I can hear/feel a very noticable improvement in an area of my theater that I felt was lacking.
I would love to hear from others that own the RC-7 or those that have questions about it.
Thanks for listening!

 

[Kirsten]

The downside? The price tag! This is NOT a cheap center. I will not say exactly what I paid for it since my fiance will probably hunt out this thread to see if I spilled the beans!

You are sooooo BUSTED!

 

[Phil Iturralde]

You are sooooo BUSTED!

Sorry, . . . I couldn't help myself,
Phil

 

[Tommy G]

You are sooooo BUSTED!

If this is true, Scott, what were you thinking? Oh man I am holding my side on this one.
Kirsten, don't sweat it......now he owes you big time. If he hasn't bought that engagement ring yet, you should be expecting at least 2 carats!

 

[Troy Swope]

Hahaha
What a Hysterical reply!!
I would say, she is a keeper!

 

[Scott McGillivray]

*Sigh* I knew she would find me! :b
But hey! I figure it was a fair deal...I got the RC-7 and she got a snazzy web cam! That's pretty even....right?
(Yhea...I think she is a keeper too!)

 

[matthew_rm]

Scott: Awsome you will love the RC7.

When you said the RC3 couldn't cut it, I can understand what you mean when compairing it to big Klipsch speakers. However, did you find anything BAD with the RC3? How do you feel it would hold up against smaller speakers like the rf3?

 

[Dalton]

I have another Klipsch beast of a center channel: the KLF C7. Congrats on your new center Scott.

 

[Brian Johnson]

Wanna sell your RC-3? LOL. Just curious.
Funny & entertaining thread. I also usually "bend the truth" when I explain to my S.O. how much I usually pay for stuff

 

[Shad R]

I was in Soundtrack this weekend and they had a Klipch/Pioneer setup. Really amazing! They had that center, paired with the towered speakers, two sets of bipolar surrounds, and the big 15 inch($1,700!)sub and the high end Pioneer Elite reciever, Pioneer DVD player. The sound was awesome! The sub was deep and quick, and tight. I've never heard bass like that. I definately cried when I listened to my JBL sub! and the AMAZING Sony projector!!! The picture off my Pearl Harbor/Jurasic Park DVD's was ABSOLUTLY MINDBLOWING! Klipsh has some great stuff, for sure!

 

[EricHaas]

Ah c'mon man. That was a setup. If your fiancee really has 59 posts here she is not likely to object to your acquisition.

 

[Kevin McCurdy]

Scott,

I also purchased the RC-7 and I agree with your description of the improvement over the RC-3. Because of the size and weight I built a platform to sit on our 65" Mits to prevent the top from sagging. I don't know if it was needed, but it stopped me from worrying about it.

Matthew,

If I understand your question correctly, the RC-3 and RF-3's are a great match and the one Klipsch recommends. I had this configuration for about 18 months before upgrading the fronts to RF-5's and the RC-7.

 

[Jeff Savage]

Scott -

Just wondering if you considered getting a used Heresy for your center channel. I think it would have been a better tonal match for the LaScala's and for the price you could have gotten a pair of Heresy's and had a rear center as well.

Of course the RC7 is an awesome speaker and I am sure that you will be very happy with it. Of course there may be other considerations such as space and whatnot that I am not aware of. I was just curious.

Laters,

Jeff

 

[Scott McGillivray]

Matthew - No, I did not find anything really wrong with the RC-3, it was just that it could not keep up with the rest of my system. This was more noticeable in a center than would be heard in a surround etc. I think it is still a great center channel, far superiour to most others.
Eric - Well, she is still not thrilled. She is just not the movie nut that I am, nor is she an electronics junky like me, I mean, she IS a girl after all!
(Oh man...I am asking for trouble now!)
Dalton - I have heard about the KLF-C7, but I have not seen specs on it. Since I am only a recent Klipsch convert, I have only known of the "RC" series. Was this an older model or is it an American-only model?
Jeff - I thought about the Hersheys, but they were just too awkward, physically. I did not need to replace my rears, although that would have worked pretty well. I am quite surprised how well the RC-7 matches up with the La Scala's. I need to do more critical listening though to get a really good idea how well is working.

 

[Jeff Savage]

Scott -

The C7 was (is) the center channel made for the KLF 10, 20, 30 models. You can find the specs on the Klipsch home page. There is also a center channel made for the heritage Klipsch (like your LaScalas) called the Academy. This is a very hard to find speaker but it goes for about the same amount as the RC7. It is no longer made so you would have to find a used one somewhere.

Please don't get me wrong here the RC7, as you have found out, is an awesome speaker. It is just that some other options would be slightly better. I am using a Heresy with my Cornwalls (check out my web site for pics) and the difference between that and the RC3 that I used to have is like night and day. However the RC7 is also better than the RC3 so for you right now the difference may not be all that great.

Laters,

Jeff

 

[Norman Short]

So you found the Heresys to be a better match up than the RC-3 Jeff? I'm currently using an RC-3 with my La Scalas and have always wondered how the Heresy's (which I've not heard) would sound instead.

 

[Jeff Savage]

The Heresy blows away the RC3 as a center channel with my Cornwalls. I would think that the same would hold true with the LaScala's. I have always heard about the importance of tonal match across the front soundstage but I figured that the RC3 was "close enough". Boy I was wrong. In my system the Heresy made a huge difference in the quality of the sound. If you have the chance to borrow a Heresy or you can pick one up cheap, I would urge you to do so. The Heresys also make great surround speakers for the vintage Klipsch speakers.

Laters,

Jeff

 

[Troy_K]

Since I am a Klipsch owner/lover, I have to help you folks with nice Vintage Heritage gear. PLEASE try phantom mode instead of using a speaker that isn't IDENTICAL to your mains. You will drain your pocketbook and patients trying to get a better result otherwise. If you sit on-axis you will simply be amazed. Just try it. There's nothing quite like perfect timbre match when using the same speakers as the fronts.

My C7 is only used for off-axis viewing with multiple guests. It's a severe compromise from phantom, though.

Troy

 

[Norman Short]

Troy, I do set my system to no center most of the time for movies, and listen to most music in 2 channel so I don't have to mix in the RC-3 with the La Scalas. However, on DVD-A music I've found that as long as I have a center hooked up it will play on the multi channel track no matter how I set the receiver, as the DVD player is handling the decoding. For this reason, and for the times when I have guests (and my sweet spot is basically one seat) I still need to use a center. I wish now I'd pursued things a bit farther than taking a quick recommendation for the RC-3. I was in too big of a hurry when I moved from 2 channel to 5.1, and basically just picked things from the Klipsch current lineup. I also ended up with a KSW-15 sub that I'm replacing with an SVS 20-39+ (on order, getting antsy about when the thing will ship). I really have no complaint with the RC-3 however, just that it would fit better with other Reference series stuff than it does with vintage La Scalas.

Norman Short

 

[Troy_K]

Norman,

I haven't tried DVD-A, nor do I own a player. Have you tried simply omitting the front center output/input cable all together? I wonder what would happen. Would the player route the front center info into a phantom mode with the mains, or would all the info simply get "lost". Might be an interesting experiment. I would imagine your center is holding your DVD-A experience back. Can you A/B a downmixed DD or DTS playback with the same disc and compare to the DVD-A feed? Would be interesting to compare the difference with DVD-A including your center, and DD with the center set to "off" or "no".

Troy