Klipsch RP-600M Speaker Review

[remix84]

Hello,

I got a Klipsch 5.1 as follows :
- RP-8000F
- RP-504C
- RP-502S
- SPL-150

Which are plugged to an AVR Denon X3600H. Unfortunately, my AVR got power-amp blown twice during the last 2 years. First time the front left channel and the second time the surround left channel. (second time at very low volume, 30s after powered-up the AVR). It came back repaired last week, and in parallel I ordered an additional power amp just for the front (Hypex Ncore NC252MP). Before the re-plug everything, I try to understand impedance / DC resistance matters.

I've read everywhere that these speakers were easy to drive, and my Denon should handle them correctly.

From Audioholics review : https://www.audioholics.com/tower-speaker-reviews/klipsch-rp-8000f/conclusion

Minimal impedance is 5.7 Ohms at 40Hz, while they are labelled at 8 ohms nominal.

I measured DC resistance at each speakers terminal without any wires plugged, and all 5 speakers measured between 3 and 3.7 ohms.
I though as a general rule, these values should be 70/80% of the nominal impedance, but here it's much lower.

So, are these DC resistance values seem "normal", and I should only keep in mind the 5.7 Ohms as the minimal impedance. Or these values are considered as low, and that's why my AVR is struggling to power-up the speakers ? Should I leave the AVR impedance setting to 8 ohms, or better to set it at 6 or even 4 ohms to protect it ?

Thanks

 

[abdo123]

I lifted my speakers today and now listening at ~20 degress off vertical axis (listening position will move later) and dear lord it's like you're not listening to anything. The music is not present at all.

I really doubt people who think this speaker sounds good out of the box knows what they're talking about.

 

[Vladimir Filevski]

I measured DC resistance at each speakers terminal without any wires plugged, and all 5 speakers measured between 3 and 3.7 ohms.
I though as a general rule, these values should be 70/80% of the nominal impedance, but here it's much lower.

So, are these DC resistance values seem "normal", and I should only keep in mind the 5.7 Ohms as the minimal impedance. Or these values are considered as low, and that's why my AVR is struggling to power-up the speakers ? Should I leave the AVR impedance setting to 8 ohms, or better to set it at 6 or even 4 ohms to protect it ?

DC resistance (at f=0Hz) is always smaller than minimal AC impedance (e.g. at f=40Hz). Amplifier does not "see" DC resistance, minimal AC impedance is what is important. Minimal AC impedance should be 80% of nominal impedance, but DC resistance has no such relation..
DC resistance of 3 ohms seems to be low enough to qualify that speaker as nominal 6-ohm, or maybe as 4-ohm. You should set AVR to 6 ohms.

 

[ThoFi]

I lifted my speakers today and now listening at ~20 degress off vertical axis (listening position will move later) and dear lord it's like you're not listening to anything. The music is not present at all.

I really doubt people who think this speaker sounds good out of the box knows what they're talking about.

Can you please explain more in detail

 

[Head_Unit]

Should I leave the AVR impedance setting to 8 ohms, or better to set it at 6 or even 4 ohms to protect it ?

Leave it at 8 ohms for peak power, if something sounds bad/strained/distorted TURN THE VOLUME DOWN immediately, all should be fine for speakers and amp. That said, AVRs are packed full of stuff and even unused channels generate waste heat. Get one of these lovelies https://www.acinfinity.com/receiver-amp-cooling-fans/

 

[ThoFi]

These days I switched from my tube amp to my Class D amp.
With my Harbeth SHL5 the Class D was bright, harsh.
But with the Klipsch RP600M this isn’t the case.
I am totally surprised!!!!!
The sound is, of course, punchy, fast, dynamic, well controlled.

 

[tjtremor]

quick questions for you guys

It looks like the plastic ring & plastic point guide thing are separate on the tweeter. Can I remove the point guide plastic part without affecting much on these ?


*that would be a no, the clear part seem to be fused to the black frame

 

[Anthony101]

I own a pair of RP600m, and these speakers are not as bad as some have posted here. Just because you see a dip doesn't mean it's wrong; even Amir enjoyed the sound of the RP600m with some EQ.

To review a pair of speakers, you should also listen to pieces of music that you know, and listen to it and ask yourself, is it nice? Is it pleasant? Am I enjoying this, and I certainly appreciate the sound of my RP600m.

I am not disputing Amir's measurement; you have to be an utter idiot to do that, but in my subjective opinion, I enjoy the sound of my speakers with dip or no dip. One might have to add that there is no piano maker, flamenco guitar maker, violin maker, flute maker, or harp maker who goes into an anechoic chamber with an oscilloscope to ensure that everything is clinically flat.

 

[barfyman362]

I own a pair of RP600m, and these speakers are not as bad as some have posted here. Just because you see a dip doesn't mean it's wrong; even Amir enjoyed the sound of the RP600m with some EQ.

To review a pair of speakers, you should also listen to pieces of music that you know, and listen to it and ask yourself, is it nice? Is it pleasant? Am I enjoying this, and I certainly appreciate the sound of my RP600m.

I am not disputing Amir's measurement; you have to be an utter idiot to do that, but in my subjective opinion, I enjoy the sound of my speakers with dip or no dip. One might have to add that there is no piano maker, flamenco guitar maker, violin maker, flute maker, or harp maker who goes into an anechoic chamber with an oscilloscope to ensure that everything is clinically flat.

I didn't like mine without an EQ and I liked them quite a bit with the EQ. It made the biggest difference to me on male voices. Amir reviewed some SVS bookshelves that measured very well but he still didn't recommend them because he didn't like the way they sounded.

 

[tjtremor]

I own a pair of RP600m, and these speakers are not as bad as some have posted here. Just because you see a dip doesn't mean it's wrong; even Amir enjoyed the sound of the RP600m with some EQ.

To review a pair of speakers, you should also listen to pieces of music that you know, and listen to it and ask yourself, is it nice? Is it pleasant? Am I enjoying this, and I certainly appreciate the sound of my RP600m.

I am not disputing Amir's measurement; you have to be an utter idiot to do that, but in my subjective opinion, I enjoy the sound of my speakers with dip or no dip. One might have to add that there is no piano maker, flamenco guitar maker, violin maker, flute maker, or harp maker who goes into an anechoic chamber with an oscilloscope to ensure that everything is clinically flat.

I know you won't enjoy my rp-600m with my current setup / amp without EQ. The woofer brightness starts early (500hz) +4db over regular volume. The tweeters blast past that at +10db after the crossover.

Around 1w 90db or 95db they are annoying as hell without the EQ adjustments.

I didn't have this issue with my vintage receiver full of distortions / warm sound It lacked the power, clarity to drive the mid range / high frequencies. They would get annoying around ~50w or so.

 

[tjtremor]

I didn't like mine without an EQ and I liked them quite a bit with the EQ. It made the biggest difference to me on male voices. Amir reviewed some SVS bookshelves that measured very well but he still didn't recommend them because he didn't like the way they sounded.

The voices both female & male depending on the pitch will either play mostly on the tweeter or the woofer and sometimes the other driver will have the highlights.

EQ doesn't help as much as getting the drivers in phase (shouldn't happen unless the amp is vintage & doesn't like impedance changes) or getting the middle listening height / tilt perfectly aligned with your ears.

You will know if they are not in phase because you'll be missing the voice highlights in one of the drivers while the other driver will have higher perceived voice volume.

I have mine on a small stand, +4 degree tilt up to have the woofer voice directional with the tweeter before reaching the listening spot. Works wonder for voice clarity.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?attachments/1648438664880-png.195838/

The other trick for voices clarity is to bi-amp them with a receiver that is high current. You don't get the heavy dip at 1.5k cross-over. It gets shifted around 2.2k with half the dip.

 

[Talisman]

The dip in the midrange will make dialogue difficult to understand. How this speaker got such great reviews is beyond me. I used to think if everyone liked something it was good. There must be a bellwether out there and the rest of the sheep just follow.

I own these speakers, with a bit of shame I have to admit that I really like how they sound, even compared to the kef Q350s I own, actually I find them funny, I can't explain. I definitely like the colorful sound.
However this thing about voices that feel bad I don't share, I also use them for movies and they are some of the speakers that make me hear voices better.
Attention I'm not defending them at 360 degrees, only in this particular juncture does this evaluation seem unfair to me

 

[Beave]

One might have to add that there is no piano maker, flamenco guitar maker, violin maker, flute maker, or harp maker who goes into an anechoic chamber with an oscilloscope to ensure that everything is clinically flat.

Maybe that's because those are acoustic musical instruments, made to produce music, not speakers or electronics that are intended to accurately REPRODUCE the sound of those acoustic musical instruments.

 

[Beave]

The voices both female & male depending on the pitch will either play mostly on the tweeter or the woofer and sometimes the other driver will have the highlights.

EQ doesn't help as much as getting the drivers in phase (shouldn't happen unless the amp is vintage & doesn't like impedance changes) or getting the middle listening height / tilt perfectly aligned with your ears.

You will know if they are not in phase because you'll be missing the voice highlights in one of the drivers while the other driver will have higher perceived voice volume.

I have mine on a small stand, +4 degree tilt up to have the woofer voice directional with the tweeter before reaching the listening spot. Works wonder for voice clarity.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?attachments/1648438664880-png.195838/

The other trick for voices clarity is to bi-amp them with a receiver that is high current. You don't get the heavy dip at 1.5k cross-over. It gets shifted around 2.2k with half the dip.

 

[tjtremor]

lol, did I get the crazy emoji ?

It's very noticeable on my side for voice quality on these speaker depending on the configuration & type of amp you use them with.

 

[abdo123]

One might have to add that there is no piano maker, flamenco guitar maker, violin maker, flute maker, or harp maker who goes into an anechoic chamber with an oscilloscope to ensure that everything is clinically flat.

Keep in mind that people with these type of jobs barely exist anymore, and there as a tremendous amount of skill and experience required to build and tune a piano by ear that far exceeds anything with regards to speakers.

Yes they don't use an oscilloscope but no body can be trained within a reasonable timeframe to do what they do either.

 

[Anthony101]

Maybe that's because those are acoustic musical instruments, made to produce music, not speakers or electronics that are intended to accurately REPRODUCE the sound of those acoustic musical instruments.

Certain speaker specifications only make sense in an anechoic chamber, a room with absolutely no echo. The problem with flat measurements in speakers is that the room will significantly impact the speaker's overall sound. Maybe we should all listen to our speakers in many different locations, take all the furniture out of our rooms, pull up the carpets, take away the curtains, and play the world's most famous symphony by Ludwig Van Beethoven. To check that everything is measuring flat and for peace of mind. If what you want is to accurately "REPRODUCE" the sound of acoustic musical instruments from your speakers, get a pair of boring studio monitors!

Look, any HIFI speaker manufacturer worth his salt will tell you that what they are trying to achieve is to produce a speaker that will work as well as possible in various environments."

 

[Beave]

lol, did I get the crazy emoji ?

It's very noticeable on my side for voice quality on these speaker depending on the configuration & type of amp you use them with.

Your post got the crazy emoji because it was so puzzling, I didn't know how else to respond. Just a technical word salad.

 

[Beave]

Certain speaker specifications only make sense in an anechoic chamber, a room with absolutely no echo. The problem with flat measurements in speakers is that the room will significantly impact the speaker's overall sound. Maybe we should all listen to our speakers in many different locations, take all the furniture out of our rooms, pull up the carpets, take away the curtains, and play the world's most famous symphony by Ludwig Van Beethoven. To check that everything is measuring flat and for peace of mind. If what you want is to accurately "REPRODUCE" the sound of acoustic musical instruments from your speakers, get a pair of boring studio monitors!

Look, any HIFI speaker manufacturer worth his salt will tell you that what they are trying to achieve is to produce a speaker that will work as well as possible in various environments."

I have no idea what you're trying to say - and I'm starting to think you don't, either.

Why are studio monitors "boring?"

Have you read any of the research that tells how to "produce a speaker that will work as well as possible in various environments?" Hint: That research suggests a flat response on-axis measured in an anechoic chamber. Gasp!!!

 

[Anthony101]

I have no idea what you're trying to say - and I'm starting to think you don't, either.

Why are studio monitors "boring?"

Have you read any of the research that tells how to "produce a speaker that will work as well as possible in various environments?" Hint: That research suggests a flat response on-axis measured in an anechoic chamber. Gasp!!!

Are you sure you have no idea what I am trying to say? Judging by your comment, you understood very well what I said about studio monitors and how loudspeakers sound different depending on the environment. I am no expert, I have to admit, but I am starting to think that you are not one either, So go ahead and do some research yourself.; ask a speaker manufacturer why they try to design their loudspeaker to satisfy as many customers as possible.