Klipsch RB5II Bookshelf Speakers

Klipsch RB5II Bookshelf Speakers 

DESCRIPTION

KLIPSCH 2-WAY BOOKSHELF SPEAKERS, 150-400 WTS, 8' => Model RB-5II

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 11  
[May 31, 2004]
celiomota
AudioPhile

Strength:

Fine detailing of voices and strings Not exagerates the high notes Sounds like $50,000. pro monitors

Weakness:

none.....well, their sound reinforced when a RSW-10 sub is added.

This Horn loaded speaker was the most close to perfect sound I ever experienced. Adding a RSW-10 Subwoofer you get the best companion to his pair of mighty cerametallic horns. Listening MArco Antonio Solis, Bukis former singer I could hear his voice like he was performing next to me. My wife is a fan of the artist and she went to see a concert past year in the National Theater Great Hall she told me the nearest experience to her live concert was to listen the cd on the RB5-II´s. The strings were perfectly articulated, the main guitar riff af "te Extraño" was so clear I noticed the noise of each movement of the hand fretting the nickel strings. the inspiration made by the singer taking every breath of air at the begining of each verse was amazingly reproduced by this pair of speakers...I was completely sold !!!! and jaw dropping !!!

Similar Products Used:

bose crap. JBL POLK PARADIGM

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 29, 2003]
josh flemming
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Sound is warm, even and flat, great bass. Everything is great. Detail, clarity, dispersion, accuracy, you name it its all there I have a Denon so hook it up to something good mine do not sound bright at all and there is no sign of harshness, yet...

Weakness:

No threaded hole at the bottom for fastening to a stand. Use rubber feet.

I bought these on closeout, as they are soon going to be discontinued. I walked in intent to buy these, however I was in the room with two sales associates. We also listened to many other bookshelf speakers, including the newer Klispch, the Monitor Audio, and some energy connisour floorstanding speakrs. Next to these RB5 speakers, the Energy's sounded horrible. The Klipsch 25 sounded good, but not nearly as good. The Klipsch 35 sounded great, but not as good. They told me the Klipsch 75 were way better than these. I said okay, thinking maybe get the 75 instead (they cost well over 1000 a pair). We listened, as we listened all I could think was what finish should I get the RB-5 in - cherry or the other one (beech I think it was called). Anyhow the three of us listened, and after what seemed like it must have been several minutes (one guy was picking out more musical tracks to show off the 75's as we a/b'd the two speakers). By the end, one salesman changed his mind and said the RB5 was better, beleive it or not (belying the absolutely huge price difference). I don't know if it really is better, but now that I brought the RB5 home I am writing this to say that these speakers are quite possibly better than the 75's (still hard to compare since I don't have the 75's in my home). One thing is for sure, the beautifull finish is truly just that - cherry! BTW they did sound better than the $1500/pr Monitor Audio Gold's - more bass and not quite as crunchy on the highs. (If you are reading down, also better than Pardigm Studio 20's which I have thoroughly auditioned in a home environment - no question about it!!!) Also if you are reading down I give it a 4 overall only because I know there are better stuff out there - but certainley nothing that I would want - or even pay for. I hook these up with a Klipsch RC-35 as the center and to a Dennon amp and wow. I reccomend use a good Klipsch center with these for best results. Remember, these models are going away quite soon.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Studio 20

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jun 20, 2003]
Alex
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Ultra Crisp through all volumes. Very loud, especially for their size.

Weakness:

none

I first bought these speakers when I lived in my apartment, and got rid of my floor standers. Its hard to find speaker stands big enough for these, but it can be done. They sounded great right from the start, excellent bass response for thier size, and the trebel is most amazing. When I moved into my house, I was really able to find out what they can do. I am powering them off of a Harman/Kardon PA2000 bridged amplifier. These things seriously kick. I have them in a big room and I can't really make them distort, they go so loud they make my ears go numb when I am 15 feet from them, yet they loose little integrity, even at their maximum levels. They remain (near) perfectly crisp at all levels.

Similar Products Used:

Some of the most expensive cerwin vega's and highest level Polks, neither come CLOSE.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jun 15, 2003]
chadbryan
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

For the price of $399.99 a pair delivered it is a bargain. This out to tell everyone, how much money these other dealers are making on this product.

Weakness:

Raspy sounding highs - due to tweeter design. Best sounding speaker you will ever buy for $399.00 a pair. (Bottom Line)

These speakers are very bright sounding. Klipsch has alwasy been noted for High-Efficiency loudspeakers, however with their tweeter design, you will notice a slight harsh sound in the "highs".

Similar Products Used:

Polk RTA-11.

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jun 01, 2003]
luckyj
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Sound, size, nice wood veneers, price, and they have good bass for their size, but the HGS sub takes them one step further

Weakness:

None

Actually my friend owns these, and runs them in 2 channel stereo with a Velodyne HGS 12 sub, Aragon 18k mkII pre, 8002 amp,D2A2 DAC, and a Jolida CD player. What a nice sound this set-up produces, I was skeptical of the blend w/the sub, but it's rather seamless. He listens to various catagories of rock,blues,and celtic which all sound good on this system. (Jeff Beck, Steve Morse, Al Petteway,Tuck & Patti, Sonny Landreth,Lyle Lovett,etc). There is a decent soundstage, and power requirements are minimal (highly efficient). A good receiver or integrated amp would easily do these justice, but separates make them sing. (IMHO) His room is about 20'wide 10'deep w/8' ceilings

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Studio Series, Klipsch 2.2's,2.5's, KLF 10's, MG 1's

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 01, 2003]
gottadraw3
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

The high end is great. Nice open and warm sounding speaker with great looks.

Weakness:

Even though the bass is good for the speaker size. A sub would be needed for a great home theater system.

I have listened to these speakers for several weeks now. After the break in, these speakers really shine. The highs are really clear. The lows are good for the woofer size. There high end sweet spot is not as wide as thought it would be based of the size of the horn but it is more than enough. They produce a very warm, smooth and open sound. I have the light cherry cabinets. A great looking speaker with the grill on. I am happy with these speakers.

Similar Products Used:

JBL, Klipsch, Yamaha, Paradigm

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 07, 2003]
kx2004
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

quality superb for movies

I purchased these speakers at a great price from mike at acousticsounddesign.com. The speakers are fabulous and the quality is great for home theater applications. I recieved the speakers in great condition. thanks Mike

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jan 16, 2003]
slbeier
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

I bought mine with the maple veneer, it's beautiful, and very sturdy--a real piece of furniture.

Weakness:

The front grill could be better.

Previously owned Bose acoumass system when I decided it was time to step up in quality for my home theater(90% of my listening). I listened to about 5 different systems before deciding on the Klipsch RB-5ll for the mains. After 6 mths. there is no buyers remorse here-the RB-5ll's are just fantastic recreating the theater experience in my living room. Living in an apartment, I've yet been able to find out what these are capable of. Bought these at Acoustic Sound.com, from Mike, and cannot say enough about the price and service I received (given this was my first online purchase, I was apprehensive about online buying). In fact I purchased the entire Klipsch system through them.

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch RC-3ll (front cnt & rear cnt) Klipsch RS-3ll surr Klipsch KSW-10

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Aug 31, 2002]
Jason
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Clarity and detail, seperation in instruments, very well balanced horn and woofer offering a perfect blend of accurate highs and mild mids with some decent bass freguency response. My favorite bookshelf speaker at any cost.

Weakness:

Bookshelf size keeps the actual size of the speakers from becoming room-filling giants. If you have room for bigger speakers, floorstanders are the way to go. If not, these cannot be beat.

What can I say. Without a doubt the best bookshelf speaker on the market below $1000. I scoff at the competition speakers now wondering how they even sell them with Klipsch on the market. Horns are beyond anything a dome can do and tons more efficient. I can turn my volume down to the point that the sound is barely audible and can still make out mids and his perfectly. And loud? Heh, I have yet to find out how hard I can push these speakers for fear of permanent ear damage. The clarity and seperation found in this speaker is unmatched. I cannot find a genre of music they cannot play accurately. This was my biggest deciding factor as I listen to a broad range of musical styles. Stevie Ray Vaughan sounds like he is playing his guitar and singing in my room. Percussion is amazing sounding and vocals are authentic. While the low frequencies may not be extravegant, for most people, they would be fine. However, coupled with a quality subwoofer capable of reproducing frequencies in the 20Hz range, these speakers come alive. I am throughly pleased and will consider Klipsch the next time I buy speakers as the speaker to compare others to. Do yourself a favor and buy them.

Similar Products Used:

B&W, JM Lab, Jamo, Paradigm, AAW, all the hi end stuff under $1000 (and some over, but nothing above hi end).

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jul 22, 2002]
Jay_415
AudioPhile

Strength:

Smooth, and natural.

Weakness:

As all bookshelfs do, it lacks bass, but thats why I have a sub.

This is a very natural and smooth sounding speaker (as are all Klipsch Reference speakers). Imaging is razor sharp, though the sweet spot is fairly small. If paired with a decent sub, this is a very musical speaker. Drums sound full, and vocals warm. Maybe these people who like to bash Klipsch havent heard them with quality electronics? My H/K AVR-8000 brings out the best in these babys. All of the harsh highs smoothed out after about 50 hours of break-in. These cant be beat for $579, all interested should check out www.AcousticSoundDesign.com.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-10 of 11  

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