On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate those speakers as a 2.

I can't imagine them sounding very good no matter what they are connected to.

My advice is to start paying attention to the review articles in Stereophile to find out which speakers actually do sound good. They rarely, if ever, review Klipsch speakers; this may be because they would have only bad things to say, and who wants to read an all-negative review?

I also think your receiver is far from the best available; Marantz and Harman-Kardon make much better-sounding ones; but that's another story.

Owen_Electric wrote:

I currently have the Klipsch Epic-CF 2 Speakers with the Yamaha TSR 7810 AV Receiver. I want to get the most out of these great sounding speakers, so will a separate AMP really improve the performance?

If you like the speakers, that is all that matters. They tend to be a bit forward/bright but some people like that sound profile. I personally like a slightly forward sound profile. That being said, you absolutely can get better sound with an external amp. You might consider a tube amp. Even the worsttube amp will tend to add resolution and a little warmth.

Jolida makes good products for the money or you could look at a used amp like PrimaLuna. With a 98dB efficiency you need 1w of power to drive them well. A 5w or 10w triode power amp will add a lot of resolution and would be my first choice with those speakers.

Basically, if you deliver 200w of power to those speakers they would output 115 dB. That will cause permanent hearing loss within 15 minutes. Check out this link

http://myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html

Kilpsch are bright speakers that are harsh, especially at high volumes. You need an extremely warm amp to tame them. If you are powering these in a gymnasium or some other huge space and actually need that power, you could try something like a vintage Carver TFM-25 CB. That might be warm enough. I have a TFM-15 CB and it is warmer than my VTL tube amps.

The reality is, with 5w of power you would still be above 100dB at 10ft which will cause hearing loss within 2 hours. In a normal room you would never need 200w of power. Just because you can deliver 200w of power doesn’t mean you need too or even should. Are you using these in huge indoor space or an outdoor space where you extremely high SPLs?

50-150ft outdoors is a darn good reason to need that power. Check out Audiogon and eBay and look for a 200w Carver. The TFM-25CB is a decidedly warm amp. Without getting into tubes, it is about as warm as you will find. If you see one that is refurbished, get it. If it hasn’t been refurnished, assume you will add $300 -$400 in costs within a year or two of heavy use. I can’t think of a warmer, solid state amp that will deliver that power. I used a TFM-15CB to power a pair of Infinity Kappa 8.1s and they were notoriously bright but sounded good with the Carver.

Also, yamaha’s tend to be bright so it is likely compounding your problem and they are also pretty liberal in their power ratings.

I did a quick scan of eBay and saw the TFM-35 for $399 and saw three TFM-25s for between $150 in an auction which will certainly go higher and $375. Assume that they aren’t refurbished and you will need to get them repaired/refurbished in the next 1-2 years and expect that to be an additional $350. If you get more years out of it without a repair count it as a win. Carver gear is common and pretty easily repaired. Once refurbished you should get 10+ years out of it. $399 for that amp is an average price for that unit and the one I saw was a little beaten up. The TFM-35 is stable at 2 ohms and puts out monstrous amounts of power. It is a nice unit.

My first system I bought in 1994 was a Carver system and have consistently owned Carver gear since then. Not the be all end all in detail and resolution but ought to be able to meet your needs and I think will take the harsh edge off those Klipsch speakers. They will still be bright - my Infinity Kappas we’re still a little tinny - but it will be much warmer than the Yamaha receiver.

I thought the one for $350 looked best. That is the one I would go with and $350 is a good price IMO. It will more than meet you needs. The 35 is only necessary if you are driving speakers with a very low impedance which is not an issue for yours.