Anyone here demoed Klipsch speakers recently?

 

Anonymous
Has any one here demoed the Klipsch reference series, within the last 2 months?

There has been a lot of talk about how Klipsch speakers are not mellow, too bright etc.

I was in a store last night demoing the Klipsch reference series when I overheard the following conversation:

" I really like Bose speakers. Their technology is some of the best in the world as they can get great sound out of a very small package .... I don't like Klipsch because of the sound at the high end is very bright due to the horn tweeters..."

The guy probably just bought Bose speakers at Best Buy and was checking to see if a high end audio shop would approve of his purchase. (Best Buy is next door)

The salesman had just got through explaining to him that Bose has great marketing and promotions and is really only an average system he should listen to Klipsch, Tannoy and M&K (which is what they had).

This is where the guy started to explain why he did not like Klipsch and why Bose is the best.

At this point the salesman calmly asked him how he liked the speakers he was listening to.

The guy took a few minutes and said they sounded really good - Clear with very good bass tones etc. Thge salesman asked if he thought the speakers were too bright, not enough bass, compared to the Klipsch he heard.

No, replied the guy they were really great sounding nothing like the Klipsch.

This is when the salesmen said that they were the new line of reference speaker from Klipsch ( the ones I had been demoing). And that most people have a misconception of Klipsch because they have not heard them and are just repeating from someone else.

Needless to say the guy left in a hurry. The salesman was laughing as he knew they guy wasn't going to buy anything. He says it happens several times a day. Someone buys something at Best buy then comes in to see if they made the right decision.

In some cases they return the items to BB and come in to buy.

Which comes back to my question: Has anyone here demoed the Klipsch refernece series in the last 2 months and what are their impressions thoughts etc on them?
 

Fred Burfel
Great question Anonymous!

I am looking at:
Mission M74 towers with m-7c2 center m-7ds surrounds

Klipsch rf-15 rc-25 center, rs25 surrounds.

Athena AS-F2, AS-C1 center, AS-R1 surrounds

All are fine speakers systems. The store is using Onkyo Denon, JVC and Sony receivers.

Regardless of the receiver the Klipsch sounded the best. I am trying to understand why almost everyone short of DenonFan says that the Klipsch are very bright and should not be paired with any of these receivers?

I found the Athenas to be very dull and muddy sounding. I can't understand why sound and vision would rate these at all. The Missions had a classic british sound - very understated but clear.

The Klipsch were the easiest to listen to. I spent an hour with each set listening to the same mixed CD I brought. It contained Jazz, Blues, Rock, and classical ( no rap music or country ).

In also brought my copy of Attack of the Clones on DVD to demo the HT characterics.

In terms of the receivers the Sony was easily the worst of the three, with the Onkyo and Denon about the same. The JVC was nice but again paired with the Athenas was as EliteFan would put it a 'Sonic Disaster' not much better with the Missions. It was OK with Klipsch but again not exciting.

The Denon (2803) and Onkyo SR700 were the stars with the Klipsch. I liked the denon better than the onkyo when viewing a dvd. In stereo mode it was comparable to the Denon.

So here's the issue: I like the Klipsch speakers but due to the discussions here I am not sold on the receiver (Denon Onkyo).

I would like to listen to the NAD and Elite receivers, but the retailers who carry NAD and ELite will not allow me to take one out to demo at "home". I do not want to purchase the speakers at one place and a receiver at another, then find I do not like one with the other. All the retailers here have a no refund policy: in-store credit/exchange only.

So do I buy a receiver then hunt down speakers, or do I get the speakers then get a receiver?
Seems to be a turkey shoot.
 

Anonymous
Klipsch are great speakers. Problem is that they are American - NHT PSB B&W, Paradiam, Energy or Kef. If they are not Canadian or British they get less respect than Bose. See a Pattern
 

DenonFan
Fred,

I would have no problem recommending the Klipsch with a Denon receiver.

It is what I have and I am very happy with it. Just make sure it is what YOU like, and not what others like.

If you are concerned by all the non positive(not negative just not really positive either) remarks spend another couple of hours listening to them.

Klipsch has been around for a long time and consistantly produce top quality speakers that are refinements of previous model's not completely new ones (BOSE).

On the other hand PSB Pardigm KEF (do not know about NHT as I have never heard them) B&W, Mission Tannoy M&K make great sperakers as well. It depends on the room, the music you listen to, YOUR budget, the speaker esthetics.

NAD Pioneer Onkyo Marantz also make great receivers. Does one match up better than the others? Probably but that also depends on your ears - not Hawk's, EliteFan's or whoever (not a flame).

If it sounds good to you, then it works, if you don't like then move on. But do not rely only on an opinion from someone you have never met.

There are some people that cannot demo all the various models and may have to make decision based on the opinions of others.

If I had to do that I would probably own a NAD, Marantz Onkyo or Pioneer with KEF, B&W, Mission speakers. I might consider PSB or Pardigm as well.
So it does help in that sense.

I could and did demo a lot of combinations. I liked the Denon Klipsch set up.

If any thing I would change the receiver for more features/performance. But that will be in a couple of years(maybe).
 

Al Holland
Tweeter had 1 pair of RF5's that I demoed about a month ago. I used Yamaha 1400 and Denon 2803 as receivers. I did not find them to be bright but with these receivers they were a little light in the bass. I then went to a local shop and listened to the RF7's and RF35's using a Denon 4803. Both were brighter and thin sounding with the 4803. I ended up with the RF35, RC35 and RS35. Today I sold the RC35 and got the RC7. I am using Rotel/Sherbourne and the system is definitely not bright. It is very detailed and clean sounding with no congested sound at mid to higher volumes.

The receiver that you match with Klipsch will definitely be noticable so listen to various combos either in the stores or at home before you finalize your purchase.
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