I posted on the AVS Forum regarding my speakers sounding a bit bright and harsh at high volumes. Soundood (who has a lot of experience with these speakers) stated that I need to get high-powered amplifier as the RF-7s dip into real low ohms at certain frequencies which would cause clipping and altimately harsh upper frequencies. However, I noted that even during portions in music where there are little to no low frequencies that would cause clipping (mainly high), the highs still sound a bit bright. He still insisted that I try a high-powered amplifier, specificially pro amplifiers as the watts-per-dollar ratio is very high.

So, my question is, will a high-powered pro amplifier tame the brightness regardless if I am clipping or not? What other kinds of improvements do you think I will notice by getting a high-powered pro amplifier?

Lastly, I was recommended Face Audio and QSC pro amplifiers. Anyone here have any experience with these amplifiers? Which would you recommend (doesn't have to be limited to Face Audio or QSC)?

 check your room acoustics before investigating electronics choices.

While I am considering improving my room acoustics, the point is that when I am playing music and stand next the speaker (where the sound would reach my ears before interacting with the room) it still sounds bright.

 As Michael said, room interactions are huge, if you have problems with early reflections then even standing close to the speaker would cause it to still sound bright. Try to minimize early reflections as much as possible. Also try to tame the wall directly behind your listening posisition. Do you already have a bright room ( I do, hardwood floors) or do you have a soft room (lots of carpet and drapes) are the speakers close to any windows (biggest reflector in rooms). check some of those solutions and see if it helps any.

Here are some pics of my room. Where do you think I should add some acoustic panels or other forms of treatment?

http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/storage/8/1156198/Room%20001.JPG

http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/storage/8/1156200/Room%20002.JPG

http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/storage/8/1156202/Room%20003.JPG

http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/storage/8/1156203/Room%20004.JPG

http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/storage/8/1156223/Room%20005.JPG

Note that even though there is a heavy curtain next to my left RF-7 which would greatly help reduce reflections, if I stand next to that speaker when playing music it is still quite bright which brings me to the conclusion that room acoustics are not going to help tame the brightness (but I could be wrong). Also, my sofas are suede which I'm sure also reduce reflections.

Just out of curiosity, how big is the room?

ONCE you get your room issues taken care of, the QSC PLX2's sound great with RF-7's.  Not harsh at all.

Based on your pictures and what you've said I'd be surprised if the brightness is due to room acoustics or an amplifier with not enough power (isn't it the damping factor that determines an amplifier's ability to deal with varying impedance anyway?).

I have heard that different amplifiers sound brighter and/or more harsh with Klipsch speakers than others. For what it's worth, I'm using a Kenwood KA-7100 (65W RMS) solid state and it sounds nice and smooth in the high frequencies. I don't know what the newer HK amplifiers sound like, but I've got a 330B from the 70s and it's quite warm sounding.

Or it could just be that the RF-7s are just too bright for your tastes! I only have a little experience with them, but what I remember they are awesome speakers so it'd probably be worth trying to "broaden your horizons" - many people claim that the "break in" period is nothing more than the person getting used to the various characteristics of a speaker.

My room is about 15 feet long x 11.5 feet wide x 9.5 feet high.

Lastly, I agree, I think the RF-7s may be too bright for me and I doubt it's due to room acoustics. However, with movies they generally sound find (usually).

I remember my first experience with the RF-7's.  There were in a 9 x 9 demo room.  Oh my goodness!  They were rockin and totally in your face...exactly how I like it.  Very lively sounding speaker.  My understanding is that Klipsch refined the sound (smoother, less harsh) through the RF-83's.   You might want to see if you can find a pair of 83's to compare to the RF-7's.  

Perhaps you could try and find a used amp known for it's warmer sound (such as the HK 330B/C) and see how it sounds? I bought mine for $30.

I have a question. As speaker cables age, does the sound of the speakers change? If I remember correctly, when I first setup my home theater (back in 2004) I don't think I ever thought the sound was bright or harsh. I haven't made any changes to my home theater since and wonder if my speaker cables are causing the bright/harsh sound since they are quite old now.

Kain:

As speaker cables age, does the sound of the speakers change?

 

Not sure exactly.  I had some Monster Cable (clear plastic insullation with copper wire inside).  I believe this was from oxidation.  Can't say whether it changed the sound or not because I'm sure I adjusted over time if it did.  

Good news is cable is cheap, especially from monoprice.com.  I mean really cheap.  If you are concerned, do yourself a favor and pick up a small spool of 12 or 14 gauge and then you won't have to worry if it makes a difference.

As a much less expensive alternative, I would suggest replacing your crossover networks with ones from DeanG on your front three speakers. 

When I said to "broaden your horizons" (i.e. get accustom to the speakers) I didn't realise you had already owned them for a while! Has your high-frequency hearing improved? :)

If it's not your taste that's changed, then start looking for defective components. Try new speaker cables (I agree with Youthman that monoprice looks good), borrow a friends amplifier, etc. See if you can figure out the source. I doubt both speakers would fail simultaneously with a symptom of increased brightness, so I'm sure you can ignore the RF-7s

If your tastes have changed, the DeanG crossover's that wuzzzer recommended I've heard good things about.