Cost, Sound, Craftsmanship

None

This review is for the RB5-II''s. These small speakers are giant killers. The sound is awesome. I was going to purchase Definitive Tech''s power monitors (700''s) with built in Subwoofer''s. The Def-Tech''s had a bit more base, but I have an Ads Subwoofer and decided to use it to cover the lows. The Klipsch''s mid-and upper sound was superior to the Def-Tech''s. I use my 5''s for music and home theatre applications and I''m very pleased. These bad boys are heavy! They produce great sound and are a bargain for the price. I would urge anyone to listen to different speakers before you buy. Everyones taste is different. For me, this was an excellent choice!

Similar Products Used:

B&W- 601''2--602''2--800 series

Dynamics, realism, small size

Still need a sub, but just barely

Quite simply, the best sound from a bookshelf sized speaker
you've ever heard. Unrestrained dynamic power coupled with
the clarity of Logans. Now, they are not the end all be
all of speakers, but for $800/pr they are the closest to the
feeling I got from the $1700/ea Logan SL-3s I've heard to
date. Outstanding for the family room style theater/music
system. Incredible W.A.F. (wife acceptance factor). They
don't disappear into the room like Watt/Puppy's, but what
does? The most amazing value in speakers I've heard to date. Klipsch's reference line is a reference point standard for their price range and a few above it.

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch Reference, B&W 600 Series, Martin Logan Aerius/SL-3

Size, mahagony finish, room filling horns, and ohh...the sound!

Could go a bit lower, but 37Hz in a bookshelf isn't a bad thing.

You know, my single biggest fear in spending the money for these speakers was that, not having a "trained" ear, I feared not
noticing a difference from my KG1.5's and KV-1. LMAO What was I thinking? I immediately noticed how the RB-5's filled the room with sound. The angle at which the horns displace sound created a soundfield I didn't know could exist. In fact, when I started playing the first cd (Santana:Supernatural) I had to double check my receiver to ensure that I was only playing L+R. I put my ear to the RC-3 because I could have sworn that it was playing :-)

I think I listened to John Tesh:Sax on the Beach to check out the range on the speakers and the smile on my face grew bigger and bigger.

Next step, test the RC-3. Time for the Eagles: Hell Freezes Over DVD in DTS. Need I even comment? Hell has frozen over and I'm sitting in the "sweetest spot" in Heaven.

My worries are no more. I have made the right decision, no doubt. Now I just fear what the wife will say when she returns home today. (She's been out of town) I bet the first thing will
be..."Ok, Doug...nice speakers. Now, put the grille covers on"...LOL

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch KG 1.5, .5, KV-1, SW10, RC-3, Quintets

resolution, imaging, dynamics, life-like presentation, efficiency

prolonged break-in, light bottom-end, lackluster at low volume

Being a former Klipsch owner (Heresys for 15 years) I decided to give it another go. I missed the upfront and alive sound that I once had but had not been impressed with recent Klipsch offerings. The RB5 fills the bill for what I have missed and sounds even better, more refined, than my Heresy I's.

Granted they are a tad sleepy a low volume levels, but when the "wake up" (about 90db), they sing! They are deceptively loud and will absolutely drill holes in your ears before break-in. Break-in is crucial.

I am currently driving mine with a Zen Triode and am flabbergasted at the sound. This is a true synergistic match! They project a very organic, intimate, and addictive sound. And, the Zen gives them bass solid state gear doesn't. You just don't want to stop listening. And, their efficiency is great enough to produce annoying volume levels!

These speakers are really a great value. Scored mine for $600 delivered. Currently, the source chain is: 63SE (soon to be replaced), Tara RSC/CD's, Zen Triode, Tara RSC Prime 500's, with boxes perched on 20" stands.

I have to give these boxes 5's based on sound for money.

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch Heresys

Open, huge soundstage. Dynamic without tearing your ears off. New Tractrx horn has mids and highs like electric velvet. No pain. Maintains bass lines at high volume levels without choking, constricting, or pinching. Simply an incredible product for the money.

no bottom octave

RB-5 Review:

Having lived with a set of Magnapan QR1.5's and ADS powered subwoofer for the last 11 years - this was quite a radical change for me. Why the change? Magnapans are not especially known for delivering dynamic impact. The Maggies are great speakers but as of late had been lulling me to sleep! Boredom being the mother of invention - I decided it was time for a change.

So what to buy now? Upgrade the Magnapans to another set of Maggies? Vandersteens? Paradigm? Phase Technology? Yada, yada, yada - yawn.

"Whats Klipsch doing these days" I asked the salesman. "Well, they have new horns" he informs me.

20 minutes later I am carrying home a set of KSB 3.1's.

After 2 hours of listening I am completely in love with these speakers. Having been raised on Old Advents and AR 11's I found the sound of KSB 3.1's quite fulfilling.

After 10 hours of listening I began to wonder what the next step would sound like. Back to the store to put a set of RB-5's on order.

A week later they show up and I bring them home. It’s been two weeks and I am still completely blown away.

I am running them with an Anthem Preamp and CD player along with a Luxman SS 200w amp (hey - that amps ok, get off my back). The RB-5's run around $800 and should be under matched for my system. However, they are anything but.

I was going to add a subwoofer. However, the RB-5's are so well voiced and balanced that I feared a sub would only detract from the already existent perfection. I will not miss the extra octave of bass. These speakers couple to my room very nicely (average size living room, say - 17'x 20'). Though they are rated down to only 48HZ - I detect useable output much lower than that. My walls and corners must be boosting the bass somewhat below the rated 48HZ because the bass is warm and fat in that satisfying kind of way. It is also tight and defined and I think on a scale of 1-10 I can give the RB-5's a bass 'SLAM' factor of 7. Not bad for a little box!

I'm 41 but still listen to quite a bit of Rock music. I also listen to contemporary Christian music. So, I go from crunching grunge to female vocalists who sound like angels. The RB-5's can do it all, and they do it very nicely.

On the second day I had them I was playing Zeppelin's first album (excuse me...CD). I learned that loud music is ok. Yes, it is a good thing. Half way through the CD I noticed a discernible ringing sound. I thought..."My gosh (or something to that effect) - I fried something". I ran over to turn down the system so I could analyze. I found out that the system was fine but that I could still hear the ringing. Ah yes, the ringing is in my ears.

I have never experienced so much clarity at high volume levels in my life. The amazing thing is that the music did not seem that loud. All speakers I have owned in the past changed their personalities somewhat when well driven. As the sound became louder it also became 'constricted' or 'pinched' in nature and somewhat 'confused'. This is actually the major limitation of a two-way design. Turn them up and they choke. The RB-5's do not suffer from this limitation. Klipsch has somehow defied physics. These speakers sound great.

As I turn them up they just get louder and louder. Their personality remains intact. Bass lines remain distinct and uncluttered while the mids stay clean and detailed throughout. Not necessarily bright, but forward with a wide-open sound stage.

I used to gauge maximum loudness by the strain I noticed coming from the loudspeaker. Those days are over - I must now watch my ears!

I will not bother you with silly words like 'nuance' and 'timbre' - these words are reserved for people who listen to speakers for a living.

I will use words like 'real' and 'fun' and 'real fun' -

Similar Products Used:

Magnapan 1.5QR's now in storage

Great sound

Nada

Outstanding speakers. Extremely clear with a great range for a bookshelf speaker. Unlike my previous floorstanding missions, you can run these without a sub and do just fine. The soundstage is outstanding, but very sensitive to position and speaker orientation. Once dialed in though, you might as well be at the concert.

Similar Products Used:

Mission, JBL

Neutrality, clarity, smoothness

None

At first listen I thought these speakers were overly bright and harsh in the upper midrange and highs. Some female vocals took on an irritable "spitting" sound on the sibilants. This was when I was using an Onkyo integrated AMP. I purchased a Yamaha AX-596 but alas the harshness was still present. I returned the Yamaha. I then opted for a Parasound 1500 driven by a NAD C-160.

Oh my!!! These little RB-5's now sounded awesome! All harshness was gone. I thought I was using a tube amp/pre-amp like my old Audio Research SP3/D80 setup. I then connected my old AR amp/pre-amp and the sound virtually the same as with the Parasound/NAD combo but with more noise. Back in went the Parasound/NAD.

Male and female voices are now extremely lifelike. All the highs and associated transients are there, but liquid smooth with no harsh edges. Classical and piano solo's are realistic and harmonically beautiful sounding; as though you were there at the live performance. A Baldwin sounds like the lush and romantic instrument it is. A steinway is now clearly identifiable with all its "iron fist" and sharp sounding characteristics. The reproduction of a bassist's fingers on the strings is nothing short of chilling.

My Maggies are now retired, partially due to space limitations. But with these RB-5's, they are not missed - trust me!

All in all, wonderful speakers that can accurately reproduce the subtleties of wind and string instruments, produce deep, warm tight and quick bass and liquid smooth and realistic human voices. They can also belt out pop/rock with an impact and slam that is excellent (however for pop/rock/rap folks I would recommend the RF-3's instead).

These speakers are very revealing and should, no MUST, be paired with high quality electronics for optimum results. If you hear any harshness or hyped brightness from these speakers; look to your sources feeding them.

John

Similar Products Used:

Maggy Tympani III's, DBX model 2, Omega 320, 340's

small footprint; smart looking...nice mahogany veneer; loud and clear at low volumes; relfects strengths in superior recordings

Reveals weaknesses in inferior recordings; muddled bass occasionally; almost doesn't need a subwoofer (for acoustic music)

These speakers replaced a pair of 17 years-old JBL 325's (3 way speakers) with 10" woofers; needless to say the RB-5's were tighter, more bass efficient and deeper sounding. I have only had the opportunity to listen to them in 2 channel stereo, and in that realm I am more than satisfied with my $550. investment! I have a Nakamichi AV1s, whose amplifier had a warmer sound than the other receivers I demoed; this, along with the transparency of the RB-5's , removes from my mind any of the angst that Klipsh owners usually have about tinniness or brightness. As I astated above, these speakers reveal flaws as well as gems in my CD collection. I didn't give it a 5 overall, because it tends to be muddly in the bass dept; of course that could be my speaker placement. I intend to pair these up w/ a sub soon, then I may revise my review. I cannot wait to hear them with the matching center and surround speakers!

Similar Products Used:

Vienna Acoustics Haydens

Awesome all-around sound, great bass for a bookshelf speaker, nice build quality

None Noted

I picked up these babies for a cool $300.00 a pair over in Japan--I hope no-one cries--wasn't intended for that. I am running these off of the B channel for music only, although they sound great in the surround with their terrific imaging and would use them for that purpose if it wasn't for my RS-3's(incidently much more smoother than the KSP-S6's). I saw them at the store, fed them a good dose of John Williams and it was heaven. Build quality by Klipsch is the best I have seen in years. My system is as follows: Yamaha 2095 receiver
Klf-20 Mains, RS-3 surrounds, RB-5's(music only with the 20's, C7 center channel, KSW 12 Subwoofer----and all cabling by MIT(Terminator 2's-mains, 3's for the rest.

Serious, high fidelity sound at an affordable price. Competitive with monitors costing two and three times their price.

Won't win any style points when compaired to the expensive compitition, but the looks and build quality are more than good for a speaker in this price range.

Should a sax sound like a sax? Should you be able to hear the bassist's fingers dance down the neck of his Fender Precision? And what about hearing and feeling the impact of a rim shot? If high-fi audio is your goal, you should be able to hear all of this stuff and more. The RB5's sound doesn't fatigue; there's just music-effortless, untiring, and above all, clear. The bass is real (awsome for a mere bookshelf), the trebble crystalline, the sound transparent.

If you thought Klipsch speakers sounded bright, shouty, and fatiguing, well, your in for a mighty pleasant surprise. These are serious speakers with serious sound. The entire Reference line shares the same uniquely configured titanium dome compression driver and Tractrix horn, which, when combined with the excellent aluminum cone woofer in the RB5's, is responsible for the seemless Klipsch Reference sound. The floor-standing RP5 is the only other speaker in the line that uses this woofer cone.

If imaging and accurate reproduction are everything to you, you'll find the RB5 to be an excellent choice. There's a song on Mobile Fidelity's Diamonds and Rust where the Joan Baez vocals can drive you crazy with an irritating, scratchy quality when played back on a mediocre speaker. With the RB5's, the vocals are sweet, not screechy at all.

I think that "reference" is a fitting name to describe the RB5's, and they may very well be the best sounding speakers available for under $1k, bar none. I auditioned a lot of great speakers before hearing the RB5's. Some impressed me with their smooth, liquid midrange, others with thier pinpoint imaging, and convincing soundstage. When I first heard the RB5's, I was listening critically, trying to define technical strenghts and weaknesses, but found myself just enjoying the music too much to care. And that's what it's really all about-just enjoying the music.

Granted, a pair of RB5's probably won't garner much snob appeal with the ascot wearin' audiophile crowd, and you will probably never see them reviewed in Stereophile, but who cares, as long as you know you've got the best sounding speaker in it's class?

Associated Equipment:

Arcam FMJ CD23
Bryston B60 integrated amplifier
NHT Sub One
Luminous Audio Synchestra Signature interconnects
Analysis Plus Oval 9 speaker wire
Monster HTS-2000
Room treatment by Michael Green and RPG
Target equipment rack

Similar Products Used:

Before purchacing the RB5's, I listened to B&W N805, Sonus Faber Concertino/Concerto, Audio Physic Step, Vienna Hayden, Meadowlark, and Paridigm Reference.