Klipshch RF-7 vs JBL L7 vs Yamaha NS-1000

[Gingie]

Brain picking question if you will. I have the opportunity to purchase either Klipsch RF-7s(first gen) they come with the RC-7 as well , JBL L7s or Yamaha NS-1000. JBLs and Klipsch are mint condition. Yamaha's need some love. I was able to audition the RF-7sand the L7s but the Yamaha's were not hocked up. Both that I heard have there strong points. All 3 are within the same price range. I'd love to have all 3 but no space for them. They will hang out with my JBL C56s either way. Witch would you pick? And go!!!

 

[Artie]

Tough call. IMHO, the difference between the JBL's and Yammy's is roughly the same as someone might describe the difference between SS and tube, respectively. I've never heard those Klipsch, but I have recently acquired some Heresy II's, which, oddly, I listen to more than my Yammy 1000's. Go figure.

That probably doesn't help you decide.

 

[avionic]

Biased...

 

[fredgarvin]

Brain picking question if you will. I have the opportunity to purchase either Klipsch RF-7s(first gen) they come with the RC-7 as well , JBL L7s or Yamaha NS-1000. JBLs and Klipsch are mint condition. Yamaha's need some love. I was able to audition the RF-7sand the L7s but the Yamaha's were not hocked up. Both that I heard have there strong points. All 3 are within the same price range. I'd love to have all 3 but no space for them. They will hang out with my JBL C56s either way. Witch would you pick? And go!!!

Will you be using them for HT or stereo listening? The RF-7's sound great for HT.

 

[twiiii]

I don't like any of them so I will keep my mouth shut as to which is the worst of three evils.

 

[Gingie]

Yes they will be used as HT and minor music listening.

 

[SoCal Sam]

A couple of weeks late to the show... My vote is for NS-1000. Research Beryllium as a dome material. 3 inch midrange is unique in audio and worth getting. The NS-1000 rewards high speed amps and well recorded tracks and punished mediocre gear and recordings. As ultra-transparent as the NS-1000 is, tubes pair very well. You will need at last EL34 or 6L6.

 

[SoCal Sam]

Yes they will be used as HT and minor music listening.

My last post was for stereo listening. HT has different requirements because of the quality of the recorded soundtrack. Movie sound tracks tend to be bright and crashy so the NS-1000 is probably not your best fit. L7 looks like a better bet. Never been a fan of Klipsch because I find all horns to cause ear fatigue. Horns set off my tinnitus so there is no chance I could sit through a two hour movie with them.

 

[Akustic]

Never met a horn that I liked so can't comment there ..
The L7's that I have keep rewarding me with better sound every time that I improve the front end ... more power is better .. they're currently bi-amped with an Aragon 4004 on the bottom and el34 tubes on the top .. the tubes tame those titanium domes but with tubes they're incredibly detailed .. they're fussy about setup though and have to be 3ft out from the front and side walls and angled or the bottom-end muddies.. the Aragon really improved their bottom note ..YMMV
Personally, I think that the L7's are sleepers .. I never realized that JBL actually made an accurate speaker .. one of these days I'm gonna borrow a Marc Levinson or a Krell and see what their limits really are ..

 

[Akustic]

Not sure what you are planning on driving these speakers with, but FWIW, the L7's aren't very tolerant of the edgy, grainy or clinical top ends which are fairly typical of receivers ..
I listened to them through three TOTL H/K integrateds and a B&K St 140 all of which were 100 wts plus per channel .. they really didn't come in to their own until they had the gobs of current available with the Aragon ..
Those titanium domes even irked me a bit with the Aragon,which is pretty smooth for a transistor amp. The Aragon isn't noted for harshness but it still has that abrupt typical transistor truncation of harmonics when it's compared to tubed or MOSFET amps ..
They like and deserve serious power ..
Given that power, they have a tight, fast, and extended bottom end, and a very detailed top end .. maybe a bit sucked out in the midrange at low volumes, but not inaccurate. And take that with a grain of salt, since most box speakers sound a bit sucked out to me ..
Cranked they just kick .. Clean, accurate and sweet while pounding me in the chest, I'm keeping them ..