I am trying to decide between the RF-82 and the RF-63.  I don't really know what makes the RF-63 $800 more for the pair.  I have been unable to find them anywhere to demo.  I ultimately want to get the matching HT setup for whatever one I select.

In my other posts, I mentioned my RF-82 HT setup as if I own it already.  In reality I haven't decided yet if I want to go with the RF-63 HT setup or the RF-82 HT setup.  If I go with the RF-82 HT setup, I can get all the speakers now.  If I go with the RF-63 setup, then I can purchase the mains now and the rest over time.  I am not sure how much time, though.

I have only heard the RF-82's in 2ch mode.  I know that the RF-63 setup will cost ~$2000 more in the long run.

Has anyone compared the RF-82's and RF-63's in 2ch and HT modes?  How do they compare? 

I was able to pick up an RF-83 system from the local Klipsch dealer in Waldorf, MD, for over $2200 less than the MSRP; what price are you finding the RF-63 for?

I can get a deal on the RF-82 set for $2350. That is $1000 off MSRP. I don't have a price on RF-63 yet. The RF-83 is out of my price range. Is the RF-63 worth the $800 step up over th RF-82 for just the mains?

If I'm not mistaken, there is an upgrade in the subwoofer as part of that price difference...

I have cherry finish RF-63s.  There is no question in my mind that the RF-63s are worth the extra $800 above the RF-82s. 

That's a combination of sound quality, real wood veneer construction, and American made construction.  If real cherry and American made don't factor in for you, then you have to ask, is the sound quality alone worth $800 more.  I'd say yes, and another thing:  the RF-63s are to be paired with the RC-64 center.  Its worth it to me to step up to the RF-63s in order to be in the realm of using the RC-64.  Its a truly awesome theater front end!

 Kimball

TNRabbit:

If I'm not mistaken, there is an upgrade in the subwoofer as part of that price difference...

When I speak of $800 difference, I am talking just about the RF-82 and RF-63 pairs and not the center, surrounds, or sub.

Loud&Clear:

I have cherry finish RF-63s.  There is no question in my mind that the RF-63s are worth the extra $800 above the RF-82s. 

That's a combination of sound quality, real wood veneer construction, and American made construction.  If real cherry and American made don't factor in for you, then you have to ask, is the sound quality alone worth $800 more.  I'd say yes, and another thing:  the RF-63s are to be paired with the RC-64 center.  Its worth it to me to step up to the RF-63s in order to be in the realm of using the RC-64.  Its a truly awesome theater front end!

 Kimball

The American made construction is not as important as quality made construction.  If you are telling me that the RF-82's are not American made construction and therefore not quality construction, then I will definitely consider that.  Otherwise, it is not very important.

The real wood cherry veneer is very important to me.  I love the idea and how is looks in pictures, but have never seen it in person.

The sound quality is very important to me.  Will the RF-63 require a larger room?

BTW, I just got the price on the RF-63 and an RF-63, RC-64 combo, and they were not nearly as good a deal as the RF-82, RC-62, RS-52, RSW-10d combo.  I was getting about 30% off of the RF-82 HT combo ($2350 vs $3350 retail), 15% off of the RF-63, RC-64 combo ($2300 vs $2700 retail), and 8.3% off of the RF-63 pair ($1650 vs $1800 retail).  I was so impressed with his RF-82 HT combo price, that I thought I could expect similar discounts on the RF-63, RC-64 combo and RF-63 pair.  The question for me is what is my best deal for overall satifaction vs. price!?!?!?!

tbongiorno:

The American made construction is not as important as quality made construction.  If you are telling me that the RF-82's are not American made construction and therefore not quality construction, then I will definitely consider that.  Otherwise, it is not very important.The real wood cherry veneer is very important to me.  I love the idea and how is looks in pictures, but have never seen it in person.The sound quality is very important to me.  Will the RF-63 require a larger room?BTW, I just got the price on the RF-63 and an RF-63, RC-64 combo, and they were not nearly as good a deal as the RF-82, RC-62, RS-52, RSW-10d combo.  I was getting about 30% off of the RF-82 HT combo ($2350 vs $3350 retail), 15% off of the RF-63, RC-64 combo ($2300 vs $2700 retail), and 8.3% off of the RF-63 pair ($1650 vs $1800 retail).  I was so impressed with his RF-82 HT combo price, that I thought I could expect similar discounts on the RF-63, RC-64 combo and RF-63 pair.  The question for me is what is my best deal for overall satisfaction vs. price!?!?!?!

Loud and Clear is correct in the fact that there is considerable difference in the two models.  The quality will be excellent in either.  When I design this family of speakers I had at my disposal a large arsenal of Klipsch drivers, especially in the area of compression drivers.  You won’t find many home speakers in the industry that have true compression drivers with a 12 to 1 ratio of compression.   This is what the RF -63/83 and RC-64  give you. 

You may ask “what will this compression driver give me?” 

Dynamics!                                  This is what Klipsch is famous for…

You will notice that you are really at the concert with a RF-63.  Please understand that the RF-82 is one of the flattest speakers in the family of Reference 4 product.  But when you really crank it and you have a snare drum rap you are going to get a little compression in the sound.  You won’t know what this is like until you hear the other models.

From a room you would hope to sit back at least 12 feet from the fronts since the 63 is really tall and the sound source is also really tall.  You won’t be disappointed if your room is smaller, you just won’t have the optimum setup for these speakers.  The RF-82 is one of my favorite speakers primarily at lower volumes.  But if I am looking for dynamics I will use the upper models.

Professor:

Can you provide or point us to a good white paper or similar on why horns/compression drivers "work" (not how they work, but why they sound better) and what the compression ratios relate to in terms of sound.

I stopped by to listen to the K-horns in one of our rooms at work today- they are quite impressive (effortless).  When you get far enough away, they're sweet!

 Matt

To be honest Matt I can't think of any papers that explain why horns work off the top of my head.  There are a lot of AES papers on compression drivers from Henrickson, Czerwinski, Voishvillo, and Keele. But many of those will get technical real fast.  The other funny thing is that if you have designed compression drivers you will realize that it is next to impossible to know everything going on inside the compression zone.  This is because you can get a microphone down in the slot of a phase plug.  So modelling is the next best approach.

You can find some more stuff on compression drivers on the web.  I found this one quickly in Google. 

http://www.melhuish.org/audio/horn.html

 

Wow! You guys are sure making this decision difficult. I really want the RF-63, but with the discount that I was offered on the RF-82, makes this very difficult. If this dealer would just sweeten the price a little bit more that the standard 15% that every store gives without batting an eye, this would have been a no brainer. I noticed that in the product descriptions of the RF-82 and RF-63, that they both have compression drivers. Is the one in the RF-63 a significant upgrade? What other upgrades exist in the RF-63? Is the RF-63 a flatter speaker than the RF-82? What is the minimum distance from the RF-82? Are really one of the design engineers of the RF-82 and RF-63? I know, a lot or questions, right!

TB,
 I think you'll be happy in either case.  Bottom line "What can you Afford to spend".  Get the Most you can afford and this way you will not be tempted with
the "UPGRADE BUG"................Good Luck, Post Pics and most of all Relax and Enjoy.

 If you like your music/movies at concert levels then I would spend the extra $ and go for the RF-63's.  You need to listen to a pair of RF-63's to justify if the extra cost is worth it.

tbongiorno:

Wow! You guys are sure making this decision difficult. I really want the RF-63, but with the discount that I was offered on the RF-82, makes this very difficult. If this dealer would just sweeten the price a little bit more that the standard 15% that every store gives without batting an eye, this would have been a no brainer. I noticed that in the product descriptions of the RF-82 and RF-63, that they both have compression drivers. Is the one in the RF-63 a significant upgrade? What other upgrades exist in the RF-63? Is the RF-63 a flatter speaker than the RF-82? What is the minimum distance from the RF-82? Are really one of the design engineers of the RF-82 and RF-63? I know, a lot or questions, right!

Dear Bongos for Woofers,
You have to realize that most these people on the forum, including the professor, are REALLY PICKY listeners.  Why I have a hint of snobbery coming on right now because I am so picky!  If you listen to moderate volumes for your SPL and have a small room the RF82 is the best pick.  It is a smoother warmer sounding speaker.  If warmth is your bag the 82 is your gig.   I know, I designed it…

But Paul Klipsch was right about a lot of things.  High Efficiency is really important if you want to hear things clean, especially when he was dealing with a 10 watt Vtube amp.  I have been known to thump woofers a bit hard and I luv headroom.  Have you ever REALLY heard clean bass? Most people have not.  If you haven’t you don’t know what you are missing so it doesn’t matter BUT if you have heard transient attacks kick drums that THUMP you in the chest.  There is no going back. 

If you get the 63’s you won’t need another set of front L/R speakers the rest of your life.    Might as well throw in the 64 because it is a perfect match.  You can always buy bigger surrounds or buy them later.  You are going to be listening to the front three channels 98% of the time anyhow.  For movies most of the dialog is out of the center so it is important.  For most music 2 channel is still one of the best options until recording engineer truly know how to record surround music.  There is nothing like 3 or 4 6” speakers with huge motor structures slamming like a kick drum.  Now that is attack!  Nice tight bass… no kettle drum sounds here, unless it really is a kettle drum in the recording.  

So the 63s are going to be the main bag for music…  If you don’t you will never be happy.  I can tell because I have been there.

 

Probably not an Authorized dealer............but.  for 1,349.99    Might be worth the Drive.

http://attr-search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&catref=C6&gbr=1&from=R10&ftid=2&fccl=0&fcid=1&fcl=3&frpp=50&fcd=1&satitle=klipsch+RF+63&sacat=14990%26catref%3DC6%26curcat%3Dtrue&a6=31593&a14=31632&a31572=-24&a10244=-24&alist=a6%2Ca14%2Ca31572%2Ca10244%2Ca31573%2Ca3801&pfmode=1&reqtype=1&gcs=1578&pfid=1963&pf_query=klipsch+RF+63&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=47803&sabfmts=1&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=11%26fsoo%3D1&fgtp=