Clarity, Loudness, Good acoustic style music reproduction

bass is weak, a little too bright

I bought these for a steal on UBID, I got a rosewood pair shipped to me about a week later. I smiled when I first heard the clarity on Joe Satriani's live CD part in Time Machine. But sneered at the piss poor bass when I put in Fear Factory's Obsolete. I doubt there really is a speaker than can deliver a massive sound that Fear Factory requires though.
I have yet to try these with a movie but I'm sure they're much better than my Polks with on voice reproduction. Overall though I'd say my Polk RT35's are just more fun to listen to. They can almost match the KSB 3.1's in clarity, are more puncy and deliver much more satisfying bass. They sound more powerful although the Klipsches can play a lot louder, they get too harsh. I can't say either speaker is better, they're just different. It would really depend on what type of music you listen to, not so much what kind of movies you watch. If you listen to a lot of folk, vocal and acoustic music I'd go with Klipsch, if you listen to anything metal , alternative or techno/industrial, I'd go with the polks. Either speaker is awesome though, I can't really pick a favorite although I've owned the Polks longer I'm kinda attached :)

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Polk RT35

These speakers are quite good. I don't own a pair, but instead heard them at a friends house. They have good highs and bass down to 40 Hz! I'm not sure about the price, but I'm sure they're fairly competitive. If your system has a sub, you might want to look at the NHT superzeros or superones. Otherwise, these are a great choice. They're not worth five stars because I think the NHT's are just a more enjoyable speakers. Take this for what it's worth and nothing else.

I am thinking about purchasing the Klipsch Synergy Six HT package, but I really want slightly larger fronts. So I am curious about what people think of the KSB 3.1 by Klipsch. They have an 8 inch woofer and tractix horn tweeter.

clear sound, no perceptable distortion even at high volumes, size.

none as of yet.

The Klipsch KSB 3.1 speakers are quite nice. They are quite loud, have no distortion, and look rather sleek. I have had no problems with the cabinets or grill noise. The binding posts could be easier, but unless one disconnects and reconnects his or her speakers frequently, it should'nt really matter. The balance of high to mid to low tones is quite nice; the speakers aren't too brassy and put out loud, low, but not overpowering bass. Overall, these speakers rock for all kinds of music from ambient techno to rap to metal.

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bose 901s, late model pioneer floor speakers

Bass, Highs. The ability to reproduc sounds with amazing accuracy at all volumes

None

WOW! I was interested in a pair of speakers in the $400-$450. At first I looked at Boston CR9's and while they sounded better than the boombox I grew accustomed to they really weren;t that special. A salesman at HiFi Buys recommended the SB3's I brought in some CD's of mine and gave them a listen and they blew the Boston's out of the water. I couldn't believe what I was hearing- I heard things on my CD's that I had never heard before. The highest highs and the bass actually THUMPED. I waited until a large sale at HiFi buys and bought them. Their sound reproduction is incredible. The build quality is superb. Looks appear like they cost more than 400 bucks but the sound that comes out will blow your socks off. I'd recommend them to anyone.

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None

Wish they had a six. I just purchased the 3.1s for $200/pair off Ubid. These speakers are amzing. They are loud, very loud, but extremely clear. Even on a shelf they send out serious bass, yet their highs overpower anything in the room. Iamging could use a little work but right now I have them hooked to a Pioneer receiver that is older than I am, I think that's where the problem lies. I can't wait to try these babies on my new Denon 3300 I ordered. These will actually go to my rear once I grab some KLF 20's, but for now they can broadcast to the neighborhood from up front.

Good bass, excellent midrange

Treble can be overpowering at times. Veneers could be better.

First thing that plesantly surprised me about these speakers is their bass response. I was also impressed with the midrange that these guys belted out. The soundstage was a lot more impressive than B&W 602, which are great speakers in their own right.

Before I bought 3.1 I auditioned a number of speakers including Klipsches KSB5, with titanium driver. I can not think of any "bookshelf" speaker that I would prefer over KSB5 at any price. About the only thing I did not like about KSB5 is the rear firing bass port (Less bass).
The 3.1 are not as full or as rich or as refined as KSB5 but at half the price they are a winner.

Overall 3.1 is a good solid speaker with excellent crossover circuit.

I give 3.1 4 stars overall because I know there are better speakers out there that deserve a 5.

On a value scale I don't think many speakers can match it.

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Larger Klipsches, KLH , Infinities, Martin Logans, Definitives, Polks

i made my mind up on klipsch's after auditioning the ksb 2.1 , ksb 3.1 , paradigm titan and mm and infinity rs 3. i wanted to try the energy e:xl16 but no one in my area carried them. i liked the klipsch's for their efficiency and imaging. i wasn't overly impressed with the paradigms. i initially purchased the 2.1 thinking that my powered sub would assist the the 2.1 in midrange. after listening to the 2.1's for a couple of days i knew i really wanted the 3.1's. i exchanged the 2's for the 3's and the extra $ 70. was well spent. the 3.1's provide much clearer midrange in addition to its more capable lower frequency. they play rock/alternative music clean and loud !! also great for pro-logic. i gave the 2.1's 5 speakers for their capabilty as a bookshelf speaker and the 3.1's are even better. these speakers bring out the best in lower ( 70w/channel) power systems.

Recently purchased a pair of Klipsch KSB3.1 as surrounds for my KSF10.5 synergy speaker system,WOW - while not designed as KSF 10.5 surrounds the S5 is I believe, certainly should be. Impressive
bandwidth 45hz-20khz. Great sensitivity 94db Clear
highs and very respectible lows ideal for DD. A true
alternative to those ugly bi/dipole S5s. Don,t know
how Mr. Klipsch got that big, big sound in that little, little box however sure glad he did. If
looking for a direct radiating speaker let me suggest
looking at the KSB3.1 its a good one.

Best sounding speaker I could find anywhere near my budget

Picked these up on Ubid for 107 each (wow) and couldn't be happier. They replaced these old EMI speakers that are hella old... they have oval shaped woofers made from cardboard (how speakers were made back then) and sounded superior. Back in the day, the EMI's were top of the line... I wanted something new. I went out listening to speakers for weeks... Infinity, JBL, Energy, Bose (yuk), Cerwin Vega (longtime hardcore fan of CV), Polk, Yamaha, and a half dozen others... I narrowed it down to JBL, Infinity, and Polk (and was sold on the Velodine sub), but the JBL's were in Best Buy while the Infinity and Polk were in Circuit City. It was tough going back and forth trying to decide which speaker was better. After a while, it got to the point where I couldn't tell the difference anymore and they all sounded the same to me. Then I finally located a place in town where I could hear the Klipsch speakers (it was way the hell out in BFE, but I went anyway). I stepped into the room to have a listen and was blown away. I could instantly hear the difference. I didn't even have to go back to Best Buy or Circuit City or Fry's electronics. I was sold.
I've had em about a week now and they rock out on movies and music. I just ordered the Center and the sub as well. Now I had them hooked up as A speakers with my EMI's hooked up as B. They come pretty close in sound (which is impressive cuz the EMI's have a huge sound and are huge speakers)... thankfully, the Klipsch outperform the EMI's (although it took a little tweaking of my reciever - where the EMI's sounded great without tweaking). The Klipsch sound crisp and accurate at any volume. Pretty much the only speaker I've heard that puts out a Big speaker sound from a small bookshelf cabinet. Years ago I set my goals on buying Cerwin Vega speakers cuz they sounded so huge, were huge and just looked cool (this was 10 years ago when big speakers were "in"), but after hearing the Klipsch - I'm gonna go ahead and agree with my girlfriend and say: SIZE DOESN'T MATTER. Get these speakers immediately! Be aware though, that if you go with Ubid - be prepared to deal with incompetence. I also got the 2.1's for $57 ea as rears and they were sent to the wrong person in the wrong state. Leave it up to Ubid. Hopefully I'll be able to straighten it out. Don't buy from AtYourService or TatumElectronics. Vanns.com has the 12" sub for 300 bux. Happy shopping, thank me later.