I have these speakers paired with a Yamaha A-S501 stereo amp, with optical source coming from a Soundavo HP-DAC1 dac / Macbook Pro and it's brought my music collection to a whole new level of incredible.
I just got some (10/25/2019), Black Friday sale price under $500 a pair. Unlike some internet trolls, I have heritage (Crites upgrades) and reference klipsch as well as other speakers to compare. I am not making general or interpolated statements. My 600M are mated to a 15" sealed sub. I have had the opportunity to listen for several hours to a wide swath of genres. The klipsch exhibit NONE, as in NO TRACE of the older models upper midrange harshness or horn shout. They will not appeal to the "Boutique" listeners who want ever-so-gentle, laid-back treble and "calm" midrange. A bit forward is a great thing. Music is simply more realistic and alive than on a dozen or more brands I could name, have owned or auditioned at length. These are a true refinement of not just klipsch, but horn loaded speakers in general. They punch way above thier price and weight, and represent a solid milestone and sound standard for under a grand.
Yes nice review. I wish more reviewers Thomas, Steve G., Zeos, Zero Fidelity would pop out the driver to talk about the manufactures attention to detail on cabinet bracing and damping materials and quantity. Leave out the magnet size though :)
These speakers with the piano finish on a beautiful stand. Throw in a sub and your home free at a great price. Kliptch in your home or office is a perfect choice...
Well documented, simple explanations, at the end, you have a top quality product that let you decide before purchase. One of my Trusted channel! From Montreal, Canada
Frank Wong I don’t think they do. I went and demoed both at a stereo store going back and forth between the two. I thought the 600m sounded better. My wife did also.
Great review, thanks for the in depth look at the speaker. It was cool to see the full design of the port and the large size of the rear of the tweeter. These speakers are being reviewed pretty heavily now so it was nice for someone to do a more in depth look at them, awesome job and thank you!
Very nice review I just stumbled onto this good reviewer and you got noticed by Thomas & stereo he's one of my favorites I will be subscribing keep up the good work
Great review, but the explanation of horns is a bit simplistic. A horn produces a very high acoustic impedance at the driver which results in high acoustic pressure. As the wave moves along the horn, the acoustical resistance/pressure drops but the displacement increases, which is what creates highly efficient SPL levels relative to normal direct radiating drivers. The timbre of the horn is greatly effected by it's shape. The longer and narrower the shape, the "brighter" it will be, the wider and flatter the horn, the more it will better produce low frequencies, relative to natural it's range. Think trumpet vs. tuba. Not nitpicking, just expanding on your explanation. Thanks!
They are an american audio company. They pride themselves on their horn technology and making the audio sound like it is being performed in front of you. The dynamics are very good and offer a great differentiation of audio volume. This is really great for movies as well. I definitely recommend their product!
Klipsch has been around since the 1940's. The inventor was a very eccentric American genius who used to take his speakers out in the middle of an open field to test them so he could evaluate the speakers without any room elements. Klipsch has a very colorful history. I suggest going to Klipsch.com to see more.
I purchased the piano black version and don’t care how they sound. I just sit and stare at them. I actually prefer my rp500’s and my favorites-triangle borea br03’s over the 600’s.
I'm the first! )) In SHZ 1:23AM PS: every 3db of sensitivity equal to 2x power, so if my 92db*m/W and yours 96db*m/W I need 2.5118864315095801110850320677993 times more power to drive my speaker with the same SPL as yours.
I run Klipsch PF-39 Horns and found most solid state amps too bright. My solution is to run Tube preamp, Tube cd and Phono with a Mosfet power amp. This was a great solution as the PF-39 are a 4 Ohm load which good solid state amps can easily drive. I found my Cary 211 Monoblock Tube amps just couldn't drive the bass as well. Tubes dont like low impedance loads so they now drive my Klipschorns, which are 8 Ohm.
I believe they sound like concert sound. I've been to probably more than 500 concerts, and most of the time the sound is not good. some bigger bands with good technicians do get decent sound, but it is a matter of where one is standing too, but all in all, it is rare that things sound as good as on the album sound. (yes I understand that it won't sound exactly like on the album live, but it is not what I am talking about) To me, this replicates most of the sharpness that should not be there. it is clean, but at the same time, there is a lot of underlying noise. This is something that most don't get or understand. Experiment for proof: Put on some loud music with some friends in the room. Turn the volume up really high fast and watch if you see anyone making a lemon face?! Then try it with a well-tuned speaker. The difference is enormous. This is not what musicians are trying to achieve. when the volume goes up it should just sound bigger and better without making your ears bleed. Unfortunately, cheap speakers is in the majority of homes, and no one is the wiser unless you have good headphones. There is also proof in measurements of why they sound like this, but few want to talk about it because Klipsch is a big name. I might add that this is only about music. In a home theatre, It might be better as a big piercing might be realistic in a way if you think about how your ears feel after a big bang of sorts or thousands of bottles getting dumped in a container. very hurtful.
I had the 160m (that last model) and found it fatiguing... It have strengths like big soundstage and some nice clarity. But it is difficult to choose the Klipsch (at least this model) over other speakers because at least in my case, I found it somewhat bright and fatiguing.
Another great video! Very detailed and useful information. I know that "The Sixes" from Klipsch is an active speaker and different to these ones, but which one would provide the best sound experience between the RP-600M and The Sixes? Can any one help me? Thanks in advance ;)
I'm super late to this review but I wanted to say that I have and LOVE my original Heresy speakers. With them waaaay toed in, they image like crazy. The voice is dead center and it was my first speaker that I heard with this kind of imaging. I recently went to listen to a pair of La Scalas for sale. I sat in his listening chair and didn't hear the center image. I got up and moved closer and still didn't hear it. To hear you say that yours didn't do either makes me feel like I did myself a favor in not picking them up. I'm also still wondering if he didn't have them toed in enough. I see that you didn't have yours toed in at all. I know you do mostly new gear but think you might ever do some Heresy speakers or Forte speakers as a review? Keep up the great work. I subbed today but have been watching your stuff for a while now. I love how you explain everything and was really impressed with your latest video you put out today about your opinions regarding where products are manufactured. Thanks again!
They have been really focusing on the reduction of the brightness and the horn shouting issue they used to have. If you notice they rubberized the coating around the horn and they also vented the tweeter to cut down on brightness. Included, the new materials are much better than what used to be used. The reference premiere line uses a titanium tweeter. When you get into the rf7 series, they use a 1.75 inch titanium horn which smooths out even more. Its all in the technology. They have done a stellar job of smoothing the horn out
@Akeno AkitaInu there is still a little horn shout but nowhere near as bad as well it used to be on older models. I find at louder levels i knock down the treble on my receiver to -3 or -4 and i have no issues at all afterward. For the price its smooth, but it doesn't come close to the rf7III's horn or any of the heritage line. The goal is good sound at an affordable price, which they do achieve
Baffle not fascia. Any decent manufacturer of speakers utilizes a port of a specific diameter and length. This is why it is called a "tuned port". The interesting aspect of this Klipsch speaker's port is its rectangular shape as opposed to a more common circular one. You might want to check into why Klipsch implemented this design. Yes, horns are efficient. The problem is that this only applies to the tweeter. The bass/mid driver is of a standard design which usually means that it has a much lower efficiency. This can create a challenge in crossover design in order to blend the SPL response of the two drivers.
If you use 1960s geranium soild state amplifiers give you a tube warm sound especially in allen organ amplifiers I test different components on them for future amplifier design
great review! ....... except for the background music being played! At first, because it was so low, I didn't realize it was coming from the video, and i spent quite a bit of time looking around my room for the source! as a result, I got distracted from the review and had to replay a large amount of it. I would suggest having no background music during the parts where you are actually speaking!
Hey Jay, nice review. I just bought klipsch rp-5000f and I am looking for matching amp. Have you had a chance to listen to them? What do you think is good match for them? Would naim or hegel be a good match? Thanks
Good review man. No idea how I stumbled on your vid. I have four of these (piano black) plus their center. These with the Monoprice THX 12 sub has been pretty good for me. If you have not checked out those subs do it.
Great video. Surprised with the Atoll though, that I once experienced and found far too bright with B&W CM9s (AM100se+PR200se). I went Parasound instead... to tame the brightness.
1. They are 90db/w by every measurement, the 96 rating is a complete lie. 2. It is not a horn, but a waveguide, both by definition and by function. Point 2 was pushed for marketing reasons, and point 1 is result of point 2. That is also why it "doesnt have a horn sound". Because its not. 3. It is not really that boosted at the top, it was just crossed poorly purposefully to create a V shape for normie listening preference. Then the lack of mids accentuates the highs and gives the appearance of "detail and hifi".
wow I'm about to review the 160m basically same speaker without the vented tweeter but bigger box I went threw my notes I been taking and you even got having a warm amp and I got the power classA/b reference woofer 10d perfect match of speakers but in small room and the right placement for room acoustic you may not need a subwoofer keep up the great work you got Thomas commenting on your video that's a biggie !
Non è un commento ma una domanda. Dopo aver ascoltato con molta attenzione della sinergia timbrica tra Klipsh rp600m e Atoll in30, chiedo se questa bella fusione di suoni può esistere anche tra il diffusore americano e il nuovo Atoll in50 signature. Possiedo già le Klipsh rp600m e sto pensando di amplificarle con Atoll in50 signature. Grazie infinite
How do these speakers compare to the Bowers & Wilkins 606 speakers as I’m not sure what to purchase. I would be running them off a NAD C388 amplifier ?
So how would these work with movies? Wondered how using the RP 500c as a center would sound since it would mostly be dealing with dialogue. Would it be too bright and harsh for dialogue?
Just got a pair to replace my Sony SS CS5 in my bedroom. One thing is ... the claimed 96dB sensitivity is pure BS! 🙈 As tested by John Atkins of Stereophile, he estimates it’s about 89.5 dB and I must say he is correct. This speaker has no more than 90dB for sure. 🙄 If it’s truly 96dB it can be run by a mere 5w - 8w amp to a moderate loud level. I had to crank up my 10w SS amp and it was not all that loud. No ... I’m not into trash metal etc 😂 So SET fans, be aware. Other than that it’s a very nice speaker for the price. The horn is not that bright at all. Esp when you use the speaker grills. It has a very mild horn style sound. Not very obvious at all. Mids are acceptable. Bass is slightly loose (not that well defined) but no complains at this price. Overall, it’s a very good set of speakers. I suspect it will be most interesting to pair these with a tube amp.
I have a marantz nr 1608, 50 w per channel,and in thinking buy the klipsch rp 6000f cause has high sensitivity. The other option is kef q 550. Do you think its better option the klipsch cause the high sensitivity? Or maybe my marantz could move the kefs? What do you think? Thanks so much.
Jay, Toronto folks here. I am looking to up my game in audio. Looking for klipsch RP8000 and RP600m set. Wondering which receiver might go well with these. Denon 3700h or Onkyo Txrz740, or other suggestions? One with preouts for future upgrade. Thanks in advance.
Would these be great if i were to replace the front speakers of my current 5.1 setup with the rp600m? And which bookshelf speakers would you recommend for desktop use?
@@Jayiyagi Unfortunately due to the way everything is set up, I can't do that. I don't need it blasting very loud and in general I keep it at lower volumes, do you think there might be too many reflection waves from the front wall?
@@AleksandreMzhavia i think it should be fine. To be honest with you, I have a small listening room upstairs as well other then my main ones and I cant do the longer way either cuz of the door, the klipsch set up there was as good as in any other room. They play great at low volumes too. If you find it too reflecty, then you can add some foam, carpet, diffusion and such down the road.
@@Jayiyagi Thanks! I was looking at the klipsch R-15pm but these look better. Using a project carbon turntable, I wasn't sure what set up I needed but Im going to look into these suggestions as I have limites funds for a good set up
Every time I hear a reviewer mention that bass can be gained by boundary gain, I lose respect for their opinion. Boundary gain bass is muddy AF and hurts my brain instantly. Bass instruments are not supposed to sound like a ringing gong and have an aura of bass resonance polluting the entire room. A kick drum is supposed to be tight and not ring at all. A bass guitar sounds like ass if you just pluck a string and let it ring. Boundary gain bass make everything ring on and you can't even hear the chord, note, pitch (whatever the proper term is) changes on a bass guitar. I don't understand why anyone would recommend or mention boundary gain bass, when the topic is fidelity of music/sound.
That is not called bass response it is referred to as boundary gain. Problem with boundary gain in stand waves. You would want to place the bookshelf 1/2 meter to a meter aware from wall. You want discreet audio meani g sound from speaker not reflect a sound like the weird atmos reflecting speaker. What snake oil. Shut now I have to get the dsp out to correct for the dumb design of having a rear port because they had no space left in the cabinet. Horn loaded tweeters are like someone cupping there hand in front of there mouth when they speak it is not natural. Sure you can achieve more volume from highs but it's is no no longer reference, it is now a bright speaker.
Jen Baltasar ... somehow these babies don’t have that typical cupped hands around mouth sound. That effect is very very mild on these Klipsches, almost unnoticeable. Female vocals have a slightly airy sound but funny to say it’s ever so slightly veiled too. Maybe it’s the horn tweeter giving the highs but the mids are not as clear as say Harbeths. I still like them for general purpose use.
I can not find these speakers less than 700 USD. I listen to a ton of music with poor recordings. So I'm not sure these will be for me. Plus I'm a bit of a bass head and these speakers don't have very much low end bass.
Not a horn fan never heard one I liked at high volume which they seem to like to be very annoying shouting vocals. Listener fatigue sets in fast, had a pair of Klipsch heresy's many years ago when my ears were young and foolish!
The atoll is an integrated with amp and pre amp. Schiit mani would be a phono if I am not mistaken. I would say thats a good set up. May want to upgrade the mani later down the road if you are more seriously into vinyl. I dont think this combination will be bright but I have not tried it myself. Certainly atoll and klipsch is not bright. Video on the atoll coming soon !
