Rating Reviewed by: Sean Carter(Unregistered User)
(AudioPhile)
Review Date June 27, 2002
Overall Rating 5 of 5
Value Rating 5 of 5
Used product for Less than 1 month
Visitors rate this review 3.25 of 5,
8.00 votes
Review 1 of 53
, from Springfield, VA, USA
Price Paid:
$130.00
Summary: This speaker is great sounding. The highs are clear, great dynamic range. It is very accurate. The 8" woofer delivers a great amount of bass. This speaker is the older version of the SB-3's but is better sounding.
Summary: The main point I have to make about these speakers is that they really vary soundwise based on the reveiver/cd player you have. I''''m a high school student, and my set up is a Harman/Kardon AVR 110 receiver, an FL 8370 5-disc CD changer, and two Bose 201 speakers. The Klipsch speakers are my dads, and he has a Yamaha receiver and a Phillips CD changer. I think my set up has much better sound, is much brighter, and sounds more wide, and spacious, even though my speakers were about $200 less than his and may be worse. I will admit that the Klipsch do sound more live than mine, which is great for blues or rock. As far as use for a home theatre, these provide high-quality front or rear sound, but you could probably do better for the price. Personally, I don''''t use my set up or my fathers for movies or television, just music, and even though his speakers may be better, his set up doesn''''t bring out their full potential. I actually did a test and used my cd player, his Yamaha receiver, and my Bose speakers, and the sound was deep, muffled, and watery. I hooked up my Harman/Kardon again, just to compare, and the sound just opened up--clear highs, natural and tight bass, and very spacious. So my point is that these will be incredible for the money if you have a good stereo set up, but if your $400 speakers sound crappy now and you want to upgrade, don''''t expect these to just blow you away--it may be the other components in your set up. But for bookshelf speakers under $500, these are as good as it gets.
Strengths: I like the plastic cover--most speakers have the soft outer material covering the actual speakers, which can tear easily, but these are hard and cannot be damaged. Good sound, clear highs, natural bass. The sound is spacious and sounds very live--better for blues and rock recordings.
Weaknesses: None--great sound, good price
Similar Products Used: Bose 201, 1960''''s RCA''''s, Phillips speakers, etc.
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Summary: Ordered from Acoustic Sound Design, great company to deal with and saved a nice amount of money. The sound is good for the size and the money would highly suggest someone try the Synergy series for anyone on a budget building a H/T system www.acousticsounddesign.com
Strengths: Great sound for the size. Value integrates well with the system I am in the process of putting together
Weaknesses: None I can find
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Summary: I am using Klipsch 3.1's as main speakers, with Klipsch sc-1 center, and quintets for the rear. These speakers have the best bang for the buck of any of the speakers I was testing (Energy, Monitor Audio, Boston). Clear highs and great bass considering this is a bookshelf speaker. You can drive these to very high high volumes with no distortion. As far as comments in previous reviews about the binding posts and speaker grills, the plugs pop out so you can use banana plugs, and the grills can be removed. Eventually, I would like to obtain Klipsch floorstanding speakers like the KLF-20's to use as mains and move these to use as surrounds, but until then, these will do quite nicely.
Klipsch 3.1 Mains Klipsch sc-1 center Klipsch quintets as surrounds Acoustic Research Subwoofer(driver replaced with Adire Shiva-:) 1 word-Wow!)
Are there better speakers out there? Sure. Do you get the same quality for the price? I doubt it. If you are considering purchasing a system from a company I will not name(better profit margins through shortcuts), spend half that money and get twice the system. Klipsch has the best price/performance ratio around. Get these while you can-I don't see them on the auction sites as often as before. You will not be disappointed.
Strengths: Clarity, NO distortion, great for HT and music
Weaknesses: At $250 shipped, are you kidding?
Similar Products Used: Klipsch, Cerwin-Vega
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Price Paid:
$300.00
from Tweeter - authorized Klipsch retailer
Summary: Subjectively, these were noticeably brighter than the B&W 601, Acoustic Energy Aegis One, or Bostons examined - I personally found these to be better at producing a "live" type of sound. As a big fan of blues and classic rock, these speakers have been great for music, as well as for home theater. Initially, I was leaning a bit toward the B&Ws; however, given my sound preferences, speaker efficiency, and budget at the time, I went for the 3.1s. Needless to say, I'm now a Klipsch fan; they blew away my other Boston and Infinity bookshelf monitors with ease. No distortion experienced, crisp clarity, and very little power required. The KSB 3.1 exceeded my expectations upon initial hookup, and only got better after the requisite break-in time.
One comment regarding a previous review, these speakers do have 5 way binding posts; apparently, due to European consumer electronic regulation, they shipped from the factory with rubber plugs, which can be removed in order to utilize bannana plugs for connectivity.
Note, this model was replaced in early 2000 by the SB-3 which differs in that the port was moved to the rear, which allowed for the fitment of a larger Tractix horn driver, in addition to cosmetic updates. It seems one of the objectives in the revised models was to physically slim down the footprint or physical size of the Synergy line, see also the KSF vs SF towers.
Weaknesses: Dependent upon personal preferences, perhaps a bit bright for some listeners. Given the quality of build and sound, no complaints in this category.
Similar Products Used: Replaced Infinity, Boston; compared to B&W 601, Acoustic Energy Aegis One, Boston, and Paradigm MM
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