GR Research Klipsch RP-600M Upgrade Review (speaker)

[uwotm8]

LS50s measure really well, so you'd expect people to enjoy them

A bit of experience and you suddently realize that people don't enjoy speakers with no bass That said, I understand KEF owner (maybe he got them after a review? hehe)

 

[anphex]

I see this speaker still in stock in many places. Just... why would you buy that when you can just grab another better speaker for the money? I would understand it if this speaker had nostalgia value, but it's just a still available mediocre good enough everyday speaker.

 

[mj30250]

 

[uwotm8]

why would you buy that

Maybe because some people actually like Klipsch sound?

 

[abdo123]

I see this speaker still in stock in many places. Just... why would you buy that when you can just grab another better speaker for the money? I would understand it if this speaker had nostalgia value, but it's just a still available mediocre good enough everyday speaker.

I would be interested to hear which passive speakers on this forum measured better than this at the same price range.

 

[voodooless]

I would be interested to hear which passive speakers on this forum measured better than this at the same price range.

KEF Q350 comes to mind, but it has quite a bit of energy 150~600Hz (and distortion). Much better polars though.

Or Monoprice THX-365IW, typical HT speaker though, so little output < 100 Hz. In contrast, it has much more distortion > 1 kHz

Measured elsewhere: Polk Audio Reserve R200.

 

[abdo123]

KEF Q350 comes to mind, but it has quite a bit of energy 150~600Hz (and distortion). Much better polars though.

Or Monoprice THX-365IW, typical HT speaker though, so little output < 100 Hz. In contrast, it has much more distortion > 1 kHz

Measured elsewhere: Polk Audio Reserve R200.

Not a big fan of either of these options to be honest. All of them are severely compromised one way or another.

 

[voodooless]

Not a big fan of either of these options to be honest. All of them are severely compromised one way or another.

There are a few more though:

 

[telemike]

I would be interested to hear which passive speakers on this forum measured better than this at the same price range.

Elac Debut Reference

 

[Nwickliff]

Elac Debut Reference

These are $700 plus tax. , I paid 300 plus 244 for kit. Have seen zero dbr62 reference on the used market. Trust me, I’ve looked.

There are a few more though:
View attachment 215528

Used RP600M with GR Kit $544

Reserve r200 $749 (never seen used) even more beaming than 600M
Selah DIY $630 starting if not more now with the pandemic for the kit without no MDF or flatpack
Q350 seen used for $700 in my area quite a bit of ringing from 500 to 1K, distortion is horrible when turned up starting at 100hz
Airmotive t2+ $1000 and is a tower
r100 $649 closer in price but quite a bit of distortion
Monolith 365IW In wall speaker?!?!?! really?
Revel m16 $1000
RP600m II $749

 

[Nwickliff]

I see this speaker still in stock in many places. Just... why would you buy that when you can just grab another better speaker for the money? I would understand it if this speaker had nostalgia value, but it's just a still available mediocre good enough everyday speaker.

you can get them dirt cheap on the used market. They are everywhere. Got mine for $300 over a year ago.

 

[ROOSKIE]

Looks like Klipsch do actually know what drivers they are working with and that dip is made for both "in-house sound" and avoiding that sawtooth-like upper midrange. I bet that latter can be worse to many ears as far as we - humans - get "calibrated" to frequency response, even pretty weird, in a few minutes. But not to resonances and distortion.

Anyway I wouldn't buy both for sure, stock or upgraded.

That is what I thought until I borrowed a pair. (Version 1)
With a little PEQ based on the anechoic data they are superb speakers.
I had no issues beyond the narrow directivity which sounds great in the hifi listening position (even for 2 people)but terrible if are you move around the room. Not good for background listening outside of the general sweet spot at all, and I mean at all.
I compared them to the KEF R3 and it was a toss up in terms of which speaker I would "keep". Bear in mind I would not keep either one, but that doesn't mean I did not find both to be an extremely good fit for the right buyer.
I did like the JBL 530 a bit more but not because it was that much better rather because it has a few sound traits that I personally have really grown to love for a budget design. I mention it as many cross shop these due to the recent crazy low sale prices. ($240 530/$300 RP version 1)
I anticipated not liking the RP and perhaps loving the R3 so this was interesting.
Once PEQ is applied to the RP and a HP around 60-80hrz it can also handle extereme SPL if that is desired though it doesn't have as much of the room filling sense of spaciousness that I prefer.
Also with a little edge taken off the treble it is very smooth up top while still sounding detailed and dare I say sophisticated sounding, another trait I would have never anticipated.
These are far better than I anticipated and while I don't care super deeply about the Harman score, with some versions of anechoic PEQ they can reach a very high "score", mid6/mid8 and they can play loudly while doing it.

@amirm
Due to the narrow dispersion this is speaker that I suspect can't perform to its fullest unless in stereo. It relies more on the stereo effect/recorded information to create a sense of space. Who knows if you agree but if it comes around again or another narrow speaker arrives and you feel a wild hair try a test in mono and stereo. That would be a great way to find out if narrow designs are hindered by the mono test.

 

[kokakolia]

I see this speaker still in stock in many places. Just... why would you buy that when you can just grab another better speaker for the money? I would understand it if this speaker had nostalgia value, but it's just a still available mediocre good enough everyday speaker.

Reasons:
- The reviews for the RP600M are overwhelmingly positive. The RP600M gives you a very detailed, punchy sound with fast bass compared to similarly priced speakers. Any amplifier can power them with ease. The Klipsch are built for modern electronic music where tone and accuracy aren't as important.
- 'Better' measurements don't translate to a higher appreciation of the product. Many people love the Klipsch sound over more neutral speakers.
- The RP600M was frequently on sale for 300€ (new) in France around 2019 before everything got more expensive. And then you could easily sell those speakers for 200€ years later.

Find a better speaker for 300€ that you can sell for 200€ later.

 

[USER]

Here is a previous iteration of the speaker, the RB-5.

(Edit: measurement is with a small sub but in a terrible location. Above 2k is what is important really as it validates real measurement above it.)

It was much better than this (unmodified) version and it is certainly good to see the company fix what they changed in the new version. I think Amir and everyone got it right in the old review and in those similar to it. The speaker line was modified to stand out in showrooms. Once they were being sold at Best Buy along with all sorts of other speakers, getting it sold by any means was the goal. So make it stand out. No different really than putting sugary cereal at child height in supermarkets. They know exactly what they are doing. Hopefully things are changing now. Seems that there was pressure, which shows sites like this are working. The long view is that the context under which speakers are sold matters and even folds into the product.

 

[sojun80]

The next question is: could a much cheaper crossover kit (parts price wise) with no tubies and some cheaper filler in the cabinet do the same?

How much $$$ padding is GR-research doing here?

 

[tvih]

Nice improvements, though the kit costs almost as much as a pair of the speakers. I wonder if people wouldn’t be better served just by buying a better speaker in the first place.

Well, at least here the upgrade isn't twice the cost of the speakers like with his SSCS5 upgrade?

 

[ROOSKIE]

KEF Q350 comes to mind, but it has quite a bit of energy 150~600Hz (and distortion). Much better polars though.

Or Monoprice THX-365IW, typical HT speaker though, so little output < 100 Hz. In contrast, it has much more distortion > 1 kHz

Measured elsewhere: Polk Audio Reserve R200.

I enjoyed the KEF Q350, it has much better bass in play than the testing suggests. Nice tonality with a very mellow trend. Most mellow KEF I have used.

I thought the R200 was POS*. Worst speaker I have tested over $300 maybe ever. (*Probably not fair to say that until In get another pair to test. Still open to that, but have moved on for now due some much going on with life and other hifi gear I am messing with.)
I personally can't stand that tweeter nor the horrible drop off in the off axis high frequency range that starts at 5k. No air, no vibrancy, no excitement. Oddly though well in the past in a different house I did kind of like the L200. Possible change in taste, possibly the change in rooms which are meaningfully different, maybe mine where defective but Polk suggested no. I might not ever know. I did not use the L200 very much, maybe an hour or two. I was just borrowing them for a day or so.

These are $700 plus tax. , I paid 300 plus 244 for kit. Have seen zero dbr62 reference on the used market. Trust me, I’ve looked.


Used RP600M with GR Kit $544

Reserve r200 $749 (never seen used) even more beaming than 600M
Selah DIY $630 starting if not more now with the pandemic for the kit without no MDF or flatpack
Q350 seen used for $700 in my area quite a bit of ringing from 500 to 1K, distortion is horrible when turned up starting at 100hz
Airmotive t2+ $1000 and is a tower
r100 $649 closer in price but quite a bit of distortion
Monolith 365IW In wall speaker?!?!?! really?
Revel m16 $1000
RP600m II $749

Revel M16.
Best speaker I have used that costs $1000 or less.
I vastly preferred to some strong competitors such as the KEF R3 amoung others. Note "vast" is becoming a rare term in my vocab as many things are close but like some others that Revel sound just got me. So good for the money.

 

[ROOSKIE]

The next question is: could a much cheaper crossover kit (parts price wise) with no tubies and some cheaper filler in the cabinet do the same?

How much $$$ padding is GR-research doing here?

Lots of padding. GR has to recoup R&D and make a profit as a biz and they like to do this by padding the parts rather than selling just the crossover design.

If for 2 channel, Just use PEQ. The directivity is already pretty good so eq handles the responce mod easily.

I know theater makes this a bit harder, but for theater they are likely fine as is.

 

[tvih]

It was much better than this (unmodified) version and it is certainly good to see the company fix what they changed in the new version. I think Amir and everyone got it right in the old review and in those similar to it. The speaker was modified to stand out in show rooms. Once they were being sold at Best Buy along with all sorts of other speakers, getting it sold by any means was the goal. They know exactly what they are doing. Hopefully things are changing now. Seems that there was pressure, which shows sites like this are working.

? You make it sound as though Klipsch themselves made this "fix" kit, which is obviously not the case.

 

[Nwickliff]

I enjoyed the KEF Q350, it has much better bass in play than the testing suggests. Nice tonality with a very mellow trend. Most mellow KEF I have used.

I thought the R200 was POS. Worst speaker I have tested over $300 maybe ever.
I personally can't stand that tweeter nor the horrible drop off in the off axis high frequency range that starts at 5k. No air, no vibrancy, no excitement. Oddly though well in the past in a different house I did kind of like the L200. Possible change in taste, possibly the change in rooms which are meaningfully different, maybe mine where defective but Polk suggested no. I will never know. I did not use the L200 very much, maybe an hour or two. I was just borrowing them for a day or so.

Revel M16.
Best speaker I have used that costs $1000 or less.
I vastly preferred to some strong competitors such as the KEF R3 amoung others. Note "vast" is becoming a rare term in my vocab as many things are close but like some others that Revel sound just got me. So good for the money.

Been dying to hear a pair of Revels!