I own 8 Klipsch KG 4.5. Have been listening to the KG 4.5 for over 20 years. A strong set of amplifiers and audio processor will provide excellent sound that your friends will be envious of. Remember, speakers are supposed to do what they are instructed to do. So don't skimp on any portion of your sound system.

Do not hesitate if you find these for sale, buy them.

Big Speaker sound with minimal watts pushing them, clear, concise and sweet

a bit heavy and hard to move

Super Clean; Sound, i.e., bass, mid's highs. Looks, i.e., mdf with oak veneer and black grill. Very heavy, considering size. The nicest set of listening speakers I've ever owned, except for the Klipsch La Scala's I used to own. Having moved to a smaller apartment, the 4.5's do now, what the La Scala's did before

Customer Service

Never had to use

Similar Products Used:

La Scala's Older Pioneer HPM100's, Bose 601's

Power handling, looks, the name Klipsch, thightness in mid-bass.

Sub bass (probbably because of the amps), mids are unnatural, highs do not give "air".

These speakers are not what Klipsch should be all about. I listened to them combined with a Marantz CD player and two ASV amps from Mr. Sebart (One Push pull EL34 and one SE 300B). Although it seems that the efficiency of the speaker should satisfy an underpowered SE amplifier, I think that the speaker is not well matched to low power tube amps. It might be that the bass driver is not an easy load when it gets to real deeps, but the sub-bass simply sead weak and boomy. The midbass was tight and especially in combination with 300B amp really fast and detailed. The low mids were not noticable (I guess there was nothing wrong with them - they were just not balanced with the highs or the bass), but the mid-highs were screamy and metallic. The absolute highs did not give a sense of air. They were not dull or anything, they were just too heavy. This is what happens when you offload the range from 1600Hz to 20000Hz onto 1 single tractrix horn that doesn''t even have a circullar cross-section... I''ve heard a square tractrix in a JBL (forgot what they were) and they sounded better still. Although I did not hear these speakers with a good solid state, I think they should preform better. Even with 95db/w/m efficiency, they need some watts to start playing and tubes don''t do it... Overall, i would choose a good and powerfull solid state amp to drive these speakers. I would put them in a large room and drive them loud. I would then add a powerfull sub and blast away with a star wars movie... I would not sit down with a 8 wat 300B amp, a glass of port in my hand and a nice oscar peterson trio to keep me company.

Similar Products Used:

JBL something (forgot what)

I have owned a pair of klipsch KG 4.2's for a while now. The tractrix horn is seamlessly integrated with a 10" active and 10" passive driver. There is no trace of horn sound. The level of detail these speakers produce is phenominal. For the price they have no real compromises. The bass is flat and clean to 36 HZ. If these were used with say a soundfield 1800 sub, it would complete a stratospheric system. Please use at least a decent Adcom or Acurus quality amp, a Kenwood or other Japanese mid/low-fi amp won't do these justice. These speakers easily outperform many in the over $1000 a pair range. They are dynamic enough for hard rock, yet sensitive enough for classical with solid imaging.
you may buy a better speaker, but for under $600 a pair, they are outstanding. FIVE STARS.

I remember going to the local audiofile store to audition speakers. I couldn't afford much so I started in the lower priced range of what they carried (i.e. Polk, Infiniti, etc.) When I finally got to the Klipsch 4.5s I couldn't beleive what I was hearing. The clarity and depth of sound field were simply amazing. They just totally blew everything else in the price range out of the water! Then I thought, lets have some fun and test these babys vs. some of the unaffordable models, so they brought out the B&Ws, the Dahlquists, the Magnepans...
I have to say the $3000 Magnepans were better, so if that's your budget buy those. Otherwise, stick with these. You can't go wrong. I did, and I haven't regretted it.
I've since acquired a rather discerning ear in auditioning various friend's systems. The Klipsch always rule in the mid to upper ranges, particularly apparent in the cymbals. I have heard a few of these systems with better deep bass, but I figure I can always buy a sub-woofer like everyone else if that becomes important enough.
The best news is I've had these for three years now and haven't heard a good reason to upgrade yet!

Efficency, dynamics, bass, BIG sound.

Too much speaker, will overpower most average size rooms

I wanted to submit a follow-up review, because my original one doesn't tell the whole story I don't think. I was the fist person to post a review when I got these speakers back in 1997. In time I've had the chance to try a variety of different audio equipment. At the time of the review, I was pretty impressed with Klipsch stuff, and admitted my bias. I think I've had the chance to become a little more seasoned. For example, the Vandersteens I owned were way, way more detailed and transparent than the Klipsch speakers. But they lacked the dynamics and excitement I like. So it's a matter of personal taste. Anyway, down to the 4.5 specifically. I was impressed with the 3.5 so I went on the assumption that if a little is good, more is better. That was a mistake. I faily quickly came to realize that the 4.5's just did NOT work in my average sized room. They are just too big, too much speaker. So unless your room is the size of a small banquet hall, I'd suggest using caution before buying these because the huge horns and big bass will overwhelm most rooms in my opinion. How anyone can have the 5.5's in a normal home is beyond me. One 10 inch woofer will pound some good bass, muchless two. So it's a matter of taste. I still like the KG line, in fact I find myself longing for my old 3.5's again. They had a nice balance to me. The 4.5 and 5.5 would probably make great DJ speakers for weddings but unless you're a techno freak with no neighbors for 2 miles, I'd suggest something a little smaller. But as everyone says, listen for yourself. I wasn't happy with the sound at lower volumes and it overpowered the room at higher volumes. It's still a decently made speaker for the money. It just belongs in a movie theater or banquet hall. Just my 2 cents worth.

Similar Products Used:

KG 3.5, NHT 1.5, Vandersteen Model 2, PSB Image

Excellent punchy base, clear bright highs

only 65 watts continuos, but 400w peak

Simply put, I've yet to find a better sounding speaker. I got them in college nearly 10 years ago and have since put them thru shameful amounts of abuse... and still nothing's blown yet.
When I demo'd them in the shop my heart nearly stopped. I'd never heard of Klipsch and was a Polk Audio fan. The guy turned them on for me and my whole music listening experience changed right there.
You know when you read testamonials about these incredible sounding speakers that just blow out ALL the competition? I always thought people were full of it, hearing them rave about JBL, Boston Acoustics, Polk. Yeah, they're all good, but Klipsch just stands miles out in front.
Unfortunately, I've yet to find another Klipsch speaker system I like as much. Even their top priced models don't have the sound quality of the 4.5's.
So, if you get a chance to get your hands on a pair, don't pass it by. You won't be dissappointed.

Similar Products Used:

advent, bose, jbl, polk

I have owned my KG4.5's for four years now and have tried many times to findbetter speakers at prices up to four times what I paid for these. I have
yet to be successful. Some were close, some were better at some things but
overall, none were better. Hope Klipsch keeps up the good work.

Very clear highs, mid and deep penatrable bass.

When turned up just about at half way listening to hard rock, the woofers seem to crackle.

These speakers perform superbly. They have great high frequency reproduction from a needle falling on the floor to wind chimes blowing in the wind. The midrange frequencies are impressively realistic, and the DEEP BASS everybody knows and loves is there to punch you in the chest hard! The MTX C series speakers are great. My buddy has a pair of DCM KX series speakers and compared to them, eventhough the DCM's handle a little better in the lower bass frequencies, the MTX's have more clarity and depth in the sound. These speakers can be turned up as loud as you can handle it. They sound great if you are listening to country, jazz, blues, rap, whatever you want to listen to. However, I found while I was listening to some hard rock music, that the woofers seemed to crackle a bit at about half volume. I don't have an equalizer to balance each frequency so I think that could be the problem. Other than the little bit of crackling, the MTX C series speakers are a great deal. You definately would enjoy them!

Similar Products Used:

MTX C-12 series

I am 18 years old and have been building my home theater since I was 14. My speaker of choice, Klipsch. I have always loved the sound and clarity from the horns and other parts. Currently I own a pair of 4.2's in my front a KV 2 center channel SWV sub my rears are Boston Acoustics, but still really good. I am powering my system with a Denon AVR 600 along with Denon DCM 360 cd player a Panasonic A-110 DVD and Mitsu hi-fi HU570. Finally I have a 27 inch sharp tv. With the disadvantage of not owning a car I have built this and plan to build more in the future. Anyone who is my age or younger I would encourage you to start early it is a really fun hobby.