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2006
BENCH TEST
K
A perfect storm
of decibels
Klipsch Reference Speakers
Keeping you up to date on the very latest industry trends
is something we take seriously. From among the dozens of
audio-visual products that hit the market every season, we
want to help you pick out those which are most likely to
satisfy you, both from the standpoint of technology and
from that of pure sensory experience. Over the last few
months our non-stop prospecting has often unearthed systems on the edges of the traditional audio-visual market
and we have let you know about them.
However, we don’t want to lose touch with our audiophile roots. That’s why this time around we have come back to
so-called conventional audio. Away we go – time to inspect
some high-end Klipsch speakers with Claude Latour,
Klipsch’s Quebec rep as our guide. Claude is a real connoisseur, not only of the Klipsch brand, but also of the whole
audio-visual industry. In his own home he has set up a not
too shabby listening room. And the fact that he has chosen
only Klipsch Reference series speakers tells you a lot about
their quality. The Klipsch brand was crying out for some
hands-on testing, so we obliged. What follows is our report
to you, our readers.
THE VISIT
So there we were, my editor-in-chief and I, on a suffocating
summer’s day knocking at Claude’s front door. He welcomed
us into his air-conditioned home with open arms, sparkling
eyes and a contagious smile – a cool beginning. I don’t
quite know why, but the conversation immediately turned
to a rather curious picture hanging over the fireplace in the
library. It was an aerial photograph showing an estate with
a strange neo-gothic tower, the Magdal Tower, located in
Rennes-le-Château in the department of Aude in the south
of France. Claude told us that the estate in the picture was
the Abbey of Béranger Saunière … the very one that inspired Dan Brown, author of the now ubiquitous DaVinci Code.
Claude admitted that he’s passionate about the subject …
which places him the select company of several million
other readers’ world over. I knew we were straying from our
subject, but the digression allowed us to cool down and get
our bearings after the heat outside. Once refreshed, we were
ready to get on with the real reason for our visit: an inspection of the famous Klipsch speakers. We proceeded
downstairs where we found them, in all their majesty, holding court in a windowless room, completely cut off from
the outside world: an nearly ideal home theatre. The only
intruder was a slightly noisy air conditioning unit that we
unfortunately had to leave running, unless we want two
shelves crammed with precious electronic gear to do an instant meltdown before our very eyes – they generate that
much heat. After mulling it over, Claude decided that, for
purposes of our bench test, the Klipsch speakers would be
best served by a Denon DVD-3910 player running through a
Denon AVR-5805 surround receiver and BIS AUDIO cables..
all perfectly calibrated to work together.
PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES
The guided tour began by an overview of cabinet anatomy.
The cabinets are manufactured entirely of solid particleboard in order to reduce any unwelcome resonance. Internal
cross bracing makes the structure even more rigid and helps
anchor the components. Three rear-firing ports give the RF63’s generous breathing room. As well, they benefit from a
new configuration with three 165mm Cerametallic cones,
maximizing the travel and producing bass that is always
under control even at high volume. Cerametallic is a patented, specially treated aluminum, anodized with coppercoloured ceramic dust on both outer surfaces. I noted that
the manufacturer has not skimped on the quality of the
materials and has clearly aimed at ease of movement. The
components are fixed to an elastomer flange in order to
move with considerable amplitude. “The concave dome in
the middle of each speaker has been specially designed to
be both stiff and lightweight,” Mr. Latour told us. This is a
straightforward, efficient technology with interesting
absorption qualities.
TRACTRIX HORNS
Next he drew our attention to the tweeter horns. From time
immemorial people have cupped their hands around their
mouths in order to be heard at a distance. In fact, strictly
speaking, this is not amplification at all. Rather, it is a
mechanical way of projecting sound waves instead of letting
them spill out willy-nilly in all directions. Klipsch takes this
very traditional passive horn technology and adds knowhow and modern technique. The shape of the horns has been
engineered to maximize projection towards the listener.
Klipsch wanted the sound to be projected horizontally
rather than vertically (90 degrees by 60 degrees) in order to
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WALTER WLODARSKI
sweep the listening room more completely. The result is a
horn with a rectangular opening and rounded walls. This
noticeable improvement in efficiency also brings about
improved speaker expression. There is less reflection off the
walls, especially in those first rebounds which can add grungy colours to the audible spectrum. “You’ll hear it right
away. It’s very perceptible,” concludes Mr.Latour, who is
delighted at the prospect of showing us what his system can
do. “But first, look at the subwoofer. It’s really something.
I’ve got two of them – enough to stir up the emotions of
even the most insensitive listener,” he says proudly.
RW-12D SUBWOOFER
Here too the ports are large-sized. The company has improved on the principle of Bass Reflex configuration with a sort
of cannon tube placed at an angle of 45 degrees to the
ground. They call this tube the Corner Port. Because it’s
oblique it can be long without taking up too much room.
The air stream is less subject to port noise and distortion
and the air gets off to a better start before shooting forward
and rebounding off the ground. This way, the enclosure can
handle notes that are lower than those reproduced by other
products of the same dimensions. The cabinet is relatively
compact, measuring 49 cm (19.2 in) high by 37 cm (14.6
in) wide with a depth of 53 cm (21 in). The cone has a 12inch (30 cm) diameter and, at 22kg (almost 50 lbs), the
unit is surprisingly heavy. One important design feature is
the bevelled port corners. This looks unimportant but it
avoids a lot of acoustic problems. In fact, all of the other
speakers in the Klipsch Reference family have the same
kind of chamfer.
The magnetically attached grilles which protect the
cones from dust have a low-diffraction cloth. But what
stands out on the subwoofer is the glowing blue screen
which displays the operating parameters of the unit. A digital circuit drives the speaker. You can adapt the sound to a
number of musical styles and listening situations. For
example, there’s a compressor that can dampen the
punches if you want to listen to a film in the evening
without rattling the whole household. As well, there are
three equalisation modes : one to accent the punches, one
for maximum depth from recordings that are a bit flat and
another neutral mode. This is the one we chose to get a
balanced idea of the natural talents of these speakers.
The cabinet is finished in a black wood grain ... beach I
think. Okay, so much for the overview. What do we listen to?
DIVING RIGHT IN
We were twitching with impatience. It didn’t really matter
to us what CD or video Claude would pull off the shelf, we
just wanted to hear what this daring set-up with two subwoofers could put out. Since we couldn’t make up our
minds, Claude chose for us. He got things underway by putting on some demo discs, the kind you hear at trade shows.
I have to admit, we weren’t very impressed by the first listen. The effects were bland and the recordings pretty flat.
However, things got better when he put a classical music
DVD into the player. Stravinsky I think. A full-sized orchestra started playing. Each instrument came through with
remarkable clarity. The snare drum hits especially went
right to the gut. I felt stirred right to the depths of my
being. The Klipsch speakers have the rare ability to be able
to rocket people into ecstasy. These are really powerful
speakers. Their force is breathtaking. We found ourselves
caught up in an orgy of decibels. Never raw or vulgar.
Rather, delicate brush strokes on an enormous canvas. As
impressive as a summer storm. A build-up of raindrops that
turns into an overpowering torrent. We had the wind knocked out of us. It took us several seconds to understand what
was happening here. Amazing !
Later, after other samples from other discs, I was still
thunderstruck, mesmerized, not knowing quite what the
cause was. Was it the dual subwoofers? Or was it the other
speakers that were casting a spell on us? I tried to fake out
the other speakers with a recording I knew to be defective:
a copy of The Healer by bluesman John Lee Hooker which
I’ve hauled around in my gear for ages and which, by chance, had a couple of damaged tracks. Most sound systems
either skip over the defects or make them worse, especially in the high register. To my astonishment the Klipsch
speakers did neither. They reproduced the recording as is:
flat in the flat parts, scratchy in the scratched parts. The
sensitivity of the front RF-63’s is phenomenal. No imperfections make it past. Everything is reproduced faithfully –
you get the naked truth. Claude jumped in here to underscore an important point: This speaker sensitivity cuts both
ways. If the take is impeccable, the Klipsch will hand you
an unforgettable experience. However, if it’s under par, your
ears will hear every little flaw.
Moving along to an album that I know is very good – a
sampler called Asia Lounge (AudioPharm, 2001) that I have
often used as a reference for my tests. The seventh track on
disc two plunges us into the strange ambience of an airport
corridor which gradually morphs into an Arab tune played
on an oboe. Synthesizers accompany the traditional Arab
instruments. Many speakers have a tough time keeping the
sounds straight. But with the Klpsch, the natural tone
colours stay natural and the artificial ones stay artificial.
After several bars, the music sort of hung in the air and the
airport noise resonated in the distance. Then BOOM! A
shockwave blew us away. Powerful bass notes shook the
room. Once again the subwoofers worked their magic, but
this time the other speakers kept on amazing us by their
precision and their clarity in the mids and highs. Finally,
for the first time, I heard the surround speakers add delicious details here and there. We were in heaven. Give me
more! Jolly Mukherjee’s tablas and his Madras Cinematic
BENCH TEST
The Klipsch speakers have the rare ability
to be able to rocket people into ecstasy.
These are really powerful speakers. Their
force is breathtaking.
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MAGAZINE SON & IMAGE
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2006
Orchestra wafted us away into the poignant and intense
world of the Near-East. Synthesized violins created a feeling of urgency at a rhythm that became more and more
breakneck. We heard the sparkle of tambourines as the
music went forward in two tempi, smooth and quick at the
same time. The Klipsch speakers not only mirrored the
rhythms, they also widened the soundscape.
Lastly, we finished off our listening session with large
dollops of the most recent double DVD Pulse from Pink
Floyd recorded live. You guessed it: we were treated to the
same intensity and the same emotions.
WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE
In order to let the dust settle, I decided to write my conclusion several days after our evening with Claude Latour. My
impressions are still just as intense after this cooling-off
period. Claude’s surround system was made up of a pair of
RF-63’s in front, a central RF-64 with a pair of surround RS62 speakers, a rear pair of RB-51’s for support and the two
RW-12d subwoofers. It really shook us up. I have no qualms
whatsoever in recommending this configuration, not only
for home theatre setups – that’s obvious – but also for installations that aim only at listening. Music lovers will find
excellent reasons to expand their collection of DVD audio
and will get pleasure from live show recordings, while movie
fans will no doubt find themselves simply listening to more
and more music. The Klipsch speakers are the missing link
between these two worlds.
But, hold on a moment. There’s a catch. Poor recordings
just won’t stand up under the intense scrutiny of Klipsch
speakers. As well, and this is my personal taste, their wood
grain veneer finish and their square lines seem to give them
a heavy look. I say, “seem to give them” because that was my
impression before I heard their vigorous and agile reproduction of the most minute sonic details. Some people will brush
them off because they only look at appearances. That’s too
bad. Give them a listen and you’ll drop these superficial
impressions. You’ll be more than pleasantly surprised.
Note: The listening session was carried out with an extra
RW-12d subwoofer. This brings the system’s total value to
$7,626 before taxes.
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Klipsch Reference Speakers
DYNAMIC
TONE QUALITY
LINEARITY
TRANSPARENCY
POWER
QUALITY / PRICE
The evaluation chart is based on products in the same price category.
9
TONE QUALITY
8,5
LINEARITY
9
TRANSPARENCY
9
POWER
9
QUALITY / PRICE
9
Manufacturer’s suggested retail price:
RC-64 (central) $1,260 each
2x RF-63 (front) $2,520 pair
2x RS-62 (surround) $1,396 pair
2x RB-51 (rear) $490 pair
RW-12d (subwoofer) $980 each
www.klipsch.ca – 1-800-554-7724
The sub woofer on this picture is the model RT-10d
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