AHHH!!!!. Ha,ha,ha. It seems so confusing reading reviews for speakers at times. Some reviews say there isn't enough bass while others say that 's all there is with little mid-range. Although i enjoy reading reviews by experts, in the end it's my decision to make myself happy. I love KLIPSCH speaker since i first saw them many years ago. Since i do love BASS and want speakers that can give me hours of THEATER like sound in my home, KLIPSCH has been my choice. Besides i can afford them. And i LOVE THE LOOK!!! That's the bottom line. I will continue to read reviews. After all these years i have become comfortable reading certain expert reviews. Like a good friend that you trust, i have always looked forward to their opinions. Thank you.
I pretty much agree with the professional review from WHF. I like the fact the speakers are large heavy and produce quite a big sound. I also like that they are punchy and have good bass as well as being front ported. I'm running these with a budget amp but it's a good natural sounding special edition made by Denon (30 w per channel @ 8 Ohms). I read on another site that a group measured these RB81's and they had 91 db sensitivity not 97-98 db. I think this is more likely closer to the real value judging by how high I set the vol. potentiometer compared to other speakers, to obtain the same volume level in the room. Unfortuntely I cannot compare with other £550 speakers but I got these for £300 and I'm very pleased with the result. I hope to upgrade to the new RB 81's mk2 in the future and upgrade my amplifier to go with them. Really enjoying the music, these speakers were a good purchase but you may have to buy the newer version mk2 now.
Please note that these speakers ARE biwirable. When basic mistakes like that are made you do have to wonder if the reviewers even got the speakers out of box, or if they just took one look and dismissed them as vulgar american behemoths.
Having managed to get a new pair for the bargain price of �290, I'm loving them so far. Vocals are strong and realistic (shrill for the first couple of hours but that soon passed) and the bass is tuneful and controlled. Baffles me why the official review claims there's too much bass, there's enough for the speakers to fill the room but its not noticeably excessive at all. Certainly doesn't overwhelm the rest of the frequency range.
"Punchy. Very, very punchy." ? Hmm, they're not shy but that's another exageration in my book, they're pretty smooth and could probably do with more punch.
The key thing with these speakers is that in sound terms they become invisible (visually that would be impossible for them!) and I just find myself wanting to listen to more and more music, its a struggle to switch off and drag myself off to bed in the evening. And that's probably about as good a recommendation as you can get!
Have to disagree with the review. In the context of my system with amplification via a Shanling MC30 3watts per channel and a Mr Liang 20 watts Single Ended amp there is excellent bass but the horn loaded tweeter is cartainly not swamped - indeed it remains crystal clear throughout and portrays voices beautifully. Put on some Brandi Carlile and you feel she is there in the room - when the bass kicks in her voice is still well projected and unmuddled. To be honest a little more bass would be nice!
Although these speakers are VERY efficient at 97 db, do not make the mistake of driving them with a budget amp. The will expose it's shortcommings in no uncertain terms. They may sound bright with cheap front-ends and they need a good amp to control that bass ! Also, be extra careful when choosing speaker cable, use something very neutral. That horn loaded tweeter exposes bright cable in a jiffy !
Comments
AHHH!!!!. Ha,ha,ha. It seems so confusing reading reviews for speakers at times. Some reviews say there isn't enough bass while others say that 's all there is with little mid-range. Although i enjoy reading reviews by experts, in the end it's my decision to make myself happy. I love KLIPSCH speaker since i first saw them many years ago. Since i do love BASS and want speakers that can give me hours of THEATER like sound in my home, KLIPSCH has been my choice. Besides i can afford them. And i LOVE THE LOOK!!! That's the bottom line. I will continue to read reviews. After all these years i have become comfortable reading certain expert reviews. Like a good friend that you trust, i have always looked forward to their
opinions. Thank you.
I pretty much agree with the professional review from WHF. I like the fact the speakers are large heavy and produce quite a big sound. I also like that they are punchy and have good bass as well as being front ported. I'm running these with a budget amp but it's a good natural sounding special edition made by Denon (30 w per channel @ 8 Ohms). I read on another site that a group measured these RB81's and they had 91 db sensitivity not 97-98 db. I think this is more likely closer to the real value judging by how high I set the vol. potentiometer compared to other speakers, to obtain the same volume level in the room. Unfortuntely I cannot compare with other £550 speakers but I got these for £300 and I'm very pleased with the result. I hope to upgrade to the new RB 81's mk2 in the future and upgrade my amplifier to go with them. Really enjoying the music, these speakers were a good purchase but you may have to buy the newer version mk2 now.
What amp was used in this test?
Please note that these speakers ARE biwirable. When basic mistakes like that are made you do have to wonder if the reviewers even got the speakers out of box, or if they just took one look and dismissed them as vulgar american behemoths.
Having managed to get a new pair for the bargain price of �290, I'm loving them so far. Vocals are strong and realistic (shrill for the first couple of hours but that soon passed) and the bass is tuneful and controlled. Baffles me why the official review claims there's too much bass, there's enough for the speakers to fill the room but its not noticeably excessive at all. Certainly doesn't overwhelm the rest of the frequency range.
"Punchy. Very, very punchy." ? Hmm, they're not shy but that's another exageration in my book, they're pretty smooth and could probably do with more punch.
The key thing with these speakers is that in sound terms they become invisible (visually that would be impossible for them!) and I just find myself wanting to listen to more and more music, its a struggle to switch off and drag myself off to bed in the evening. And that's probably about as good a recommendation as you can get!
Have to disagree with the review. In the context of my system with amplification via a Shanling MC30 3watts per channel and a Mr Liang 20 watts Single Ended amp there is excellent bass but the horn loaded tweeter is cartainly not swamped - indeed it remains crystal clear throughout and portrays voices beautifully. Put on some Brandi Carlile and you feel she is there in the room - when the bass kicks in her voice is still well projected and unmuddled. To be honest a little more bass would be nice!
Although these speakers are VERY efficient at 97 db, do not make the mistake of driving them with a budget amp. The will expose it's shortcommings in no uncertain terms. They may sound bright with cheap front-ends and they need a good amp to control that bass ! Also, be extra careful when choosing speaker cable, use something very neutral. That horn loaded tweeter exposes bright cable in a jiffy !