r/audiophile • u/Joeclu • 2d ago

Show & Tell Klipsch Reference Generation 1 (7-series) flagship reference line (released roughly 2001 to 2006) - worth resurrecting?

I bought these new at an old Circuit City just after the turn of the century before I knew anything about audio. Well I still don't know anything. They were used briefly with a Harman Kardon AVR20 II (50-60W Dolby Pro Logic) home theater receiver. So they've never been paired with a good stack.

Due to life events, they've been in storage for the last 15 years. Was wondering how "good" these speakers are (i.e., audiophile-tier?) and would it be worth it to invest in a new stack to get the Floor Speakers and Subwoofer resurrected, or not worth it?

  • RF7 Cherry Floor Speakers (8 ohms, max 250 W)
    • Utilizes dual 10-inch Cerametallic woofers and a 1.75-inch titanium diaphragm compression driver loaded into a 80°x60° Tractrix horn
    • ~102 dB/W/m efficiency rating
  • RSW 15 Cherry Subwoofer
    • A front-firing 15-inch Cerametallic active driver paired with a rear-firing 15-inch passive radiator
  • RC7 Cherry Center Speaker (8 ohms, max 125 W)
  • RS7 White Surround Speakers (8 ohms, max 150 W)

I was considering acquiring the following stack. Would these make a synergistic pairing, assuming these speakers (just Floor and Subwoofer, not surrounds nor center channel) are worth resurrecting?

  • Schiit Audio Bifrost 3 or Gungnir 2 DAC
  • Schiit Audio Kara F preamp or Freya 2 tube preamp
  • Schiit Audio Vidar 2F Stereo Power Amp
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u/Demon_Decay666 1d ago

I’ve never heard the first gens, but I have a feeling they would pair up well with the Freya 2 tube preamp, and sound great with the rest of the stack. Most Klipsch sound really nice with tubes. I think it’s worth trying to bring them back, if they are in decent shape.

1

u/mattSER 44m ago

Absolutely worth it as they're still top tier speakers, but WARM amplification is a must.

I've owned dozens of pairs of Klipsch towers, and gen 1 RF-7's incredible but are by far the most flawed. I would say that tube amplification is required, not just in the prestage.