Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Klipsch RB5 Speakers by dean wescott

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. Itâ€™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).

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 attenuating the bass 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' -

Stacked Advents used to sound pretty good. I wonder...

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Dean

REVIEW: Klipsch RB5 Speakers Review by dean wescott at Audio Asylum