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Klipsch RP-600M Speaker Review
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
Harman research has shown that most people prefer neutral sound, but that a neutral sound has a slightly downward tilt in the in-room frequency response. Additionally wide directivity and a smooth power response have also been correlated with favorable performance.
The Klipsch RP-600M fails according to this "most people" standard.
Scientifically,
the most popular car in California and Washington State is the Honda Civic.
the most popular car in Arkansas is the Nissan Altima.
the most popular car in New York is the Honda Accord.
https://insurify.com/insights/most-popular-cars-by-state-2020/
What is important isn't that mass market doesn't translate into sports cars/SUVs/trucks, but that even the mass market can come to different conclusions.
The hype isn't coming from reviewers who are being paid to promote products. The hype is coming from
- sighted bias. US reviewers will always try to like US-branded speakers.
- reviewer subjectivity (i.e. some people like the distortion of tubes)
- poor level matching. The sensitivity is lot higher for the higher frequencies, so if something in the 250-500 Hz range seems like it's level matched, the Klipsch will play louder in the higher frequencies.
Amir noted "Dial in some simple EQ though and the speaker transforms into a beauty" which may help for reviewers who were testing in a home theater environment with EQ.
The advantage of the measurements at AudioScienceReview is that you can see the strengths/weaknesses of each speaker design. You may prefer coloration and that is OK.
The BBC dip is another good example. Some people think speakers sound better with a BBC dip. Others do not.
AnalogSteph
Major Contributor
Lack of proper listening test methodology is certainly a factor.
Since these speakers are remarkably consistent, I would assume that the "ear EQ" would at least partially take care of the frequency response aberrations once you get used to them. Works for headphones, anyway. Also, good point about room EQ - that would basically flatten them right out.
IMHO it is easier to detect major dispersion irregularities by ear (you just have to move your head around) than frequency response aberrations, especially if your testing material does not include correspondingly revealing samples like, say, pink noise. We're also talking a dip, which tend to be substantially less obtrusive than peaks. So while the results certainly aren't ideal, it could all be a whole lot worse than speakers that can mostly be fixed with EQ.
Since these speakers are remarkably consistent, I would assume that the "ear EQ" would at least partially take care of the frequency response aberrations once you get used to them. Works for headphones, anyway. Also, good point about room EQ - that would basically flatten them right out.
IMHO it is easier to detect major dispersion irregularities by ear (you just have to move your head around) than frequency response aberrations, especially if your testing material does not include correspondingly revealing samples like, say, pink noise. We're also talking a dip, which tend to be substantially less obtrusive than peaks. So while the results certainly aren't ideal, it could all be a whole lot worse than speakers that can mostly be fixed with EQ.
Thanks for the comprehensive explanation. I think ASR is a great website to get another perspective on the audio gears.
Hello everyone . First, sorry for my bad english.. i just discover this website . I am a rp600m owner .. and now i am very disappointed .... I buy these speakers as an ignorant in audiophile systems and because i read everywhere that they were incredible for the price . I buy them in one pack with an Yamaha rn402 amplifier at 750 dollars both ..
what should i do ? Sell everything and start with something other ? With what for maximum 1k ?
I have downloaded equalizer APO and tryed reproduce this :
i choosed peak filter is that correct ?
However, sorry for the newbie questions . If my message is inapropriate you can delete it . Thank you
what should i do ? Sell everything and start with something other ? With what for maximum 1k ?
I have downloaded equalizer APO and tryed reproduce this :
i choosed peak filter is that correct ?
However, sorry for the newbie questions . If my message is inapropriate you can delete it . Thank you
Darinik,
If all you need is a bookshelf look no further than Monitor Audio Gold 100 5g. I haven't seen the measurements but guarantee much better than rp600m. If you want end game speakers for bookshelf which cost a bit more than get Audio Note-E/K. Of course i reccomend tubes but if you need receiver go for Marantz or Denon. I heard all Yamaha S models sound bright. Get off the merry go round and then start enjoying to your music collection. Btw when I causally strolled by mass market store who had them playing with Denon receiver I recalled a sweet treble which was surprising but the mids sounded off like. I don't know how those youtubers couldn't hear that human voices didn't sound right! Good luck.
If all you need is a bookshelf look no further than Monitor Audio Gold 100 5g. I haven't seen the measurements but guarantee much better than rp600m. If you want end game speakers for bookshelf which cost a bit more than get Audio Note-E/K. Of course i reccomend tubes but if you need receiver go for Marantz or Denon. I heard all Yamaha S models sound bright. Get off the merry go round and then start enjoying to your music collection. Btw when I causally strolled by mass market store who had them playing with Denon receiver I recalled a sweet treble which was surprising but the mids sounded off like. I don't know how those youtubers couldn't hear that human voices didn't sound right! Good luck.
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No problem! If you can't afford them right now then start saving and keep Klipsch for now. No use making a lateral change. If you want speakers that deliver on tone and texture it cost a bit. Most of your budget should go towards the speaker I prefer high efficiency) and then look at your room acoustics as they are as important.
ta240
Major Contributor
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My guess is a combination of several factors.
What reviewer/infomercial host would want to piss of Klipsch by saying I don't like these? Also one of the key things that is often mentioned in subjective reviews is "I heard things I'd never heard before" If some frequencies are boosted and others cut aren't you likely to hear things in the music that didn't stand out before?
Doing a review that says the RP-600M is an amazing speaker just about guarantees you a good number of views
It is perfectly acceptable and almost required that they come out and say they don't like bose but, I would think, one reason most don't do reviews of products they don't like is to avoid alienating any of their fans by saying they don't like a product that the viewer likes. But with some products you have to review it or you will stand out as the only reviewer that hasn't done one on it.
When so many reviews have said they are amazing I'd think some would second guess themselves if they didn't think they were amazing:
And finally, for many people creating youtube content they are not doing it to inform us; it is all about pleasing the algorithm.:
This list would be a good place to start.
Since you mentioned EQ, the cheapest way to improve the sound would be to get hold of a measurement microphone and try to apply some room correction to your speakers if you haven't already. If you do get a measurement mic, you'd be able to verify if your aping of Amirs EQ is working or not (though, that ought to be evident by simply listening to the speakers in this particular case).
I wonder if any of the usual EQ masters would be willing to try their hands at correcting this speaker from Amirs data. I think it'd be very interesting to hear what these speakers could sound like as the potential is there (sorry if someone has already done so, I only skimmed through this thread).
Edit: I'm blind, see post by Eetu.
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Did you enjoy them before reading this review? If you did, continue to enjoy them for now, they are pretty decent speakers for the money. There's always something better just around the corner but you can't let that kill your love for what you have. For a max of $1k your not going to get something that will make a monkey out of the 600M's .
If you do enjoy them, keep them around till you can afford something much more expensive. Then keep your eyes open here for something in that budget. I'd be thinking something in the $3-5k range to make a real meaningful upgrade, chosen properly that IMO is the sweet spot for speakers, above which it begins to get very expensive to make a serious improvement.
That is some very good advice Darenik, and will be the beginning of a learning experience that can be of great value in the future no matter what you may upgrade to at some point.
I second that - strongly! Don't let your new knowledge spoil your fun.
Hello . I answer a little bit late . Thank you all for your advice . Yes i enjoy my speakers and will certainly keep them . Reading this topic the first time was very brutal haha .
i tried to reproduce this :
But i dont know if i’m doing good . Is it peak filter ? What is the name of the software ?
Again, thank you all
i tried to reproduce this :
But i dont know if i’m doing good . Is it peak filter ? What is the name of the software ?
Again, thank you all
REW - Room EQ Wizard: https://www.roomeqwizard.com/
And yes, peak. You can use any Parametric EQ such as Equalizer APO (I recommend Peace with it) or the one in Roon like our host. The biggest flaw is the ~2khz dip, otherwise they are nice speakers, don't worry about it
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I recently put some cheap (6 €) self-adhesive paper/ foil that is usually used to cover furniture on my black RP600Ms. I just like white speakers much more and white speakers better match my room. It took only 20 minutes for both and I am not really handy. I like the result. It looks slick. It is definitely not perfect. Especially, the edges are very round and the fit is not good at the edges. But it works really well with the RP600Ms due to their rectangular shape.
That’s what I bought: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01L043HWC/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_udSKFbG9X1AQS?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
That’s what I bought: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01L043HWC/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_udSKFbG9X1AQS?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Do you have access to some of the "wraps" that are available? They don't have an adhesive back, but you use a blow dryer to have the wrap conform to your item you are covering. It tends to work a bit better - you shouldn't see any bubbles, etc. when applying it.
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Here's a link to a video on how to install a wrap on an item. You can basically find many colors of wraps on sites such as Amazon, Ebay, etc. Just watch the video on how to install, then search some of your available sites for the product.
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