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Klipsch The Fives Powered Bookshelf Speaker Review
- Thread starter hardisj
- Start date
Many thanks man! But this EQ is for the new firmware or is an old EQ?
And why when push the mute button on my TV controller the white noise is 100% gone?
TimW
Major Contributor
Idk, look at Erin's review and the date of the update to determine what version the EQ is for.
Is the white noise there when nothing is connected to the speaker? How is the TV connected?
Yes, the white noise is with nothing connected. The TV is connected via HDMI 2.1.
It's a combination of the tweeter being extraordinarily sensitive (compression driver and all that) and a less than great amplifier for it. I owned a $4000+/pr set of monitors with quite audible hiss (Barefoot FP01s, if you're curious).
And... There is any way to fix it?
I have zero white noise that I can discern, even at night when the world has gone quiet. Maybe you can try using different source inputs and seeing if the white noise happens for all or just some. You might be able to isolate the the source. It could be your TV. But if the white noise occurs everywhere, then see if you can RMA.
As for the muffled sound, if you mean the low range, then the app has a setting for speaker placement with three options. Each setting will change the curve to increase/decrease the bass.
However, by "muffled," if you mean the tweeters, I've noticed that they sound tinny and not as bright as I expected. This, with the low dispersion, makes the tweeters a bit disappointing. For movies, this isn't a problem for me because I set the 3-point equalizer on "Vocal" anyway. But, for music, I send the audio through a pair of splitter cables into both The Fives (photo input) and another set of powered speakers. I, then, adjust both speakers' volumes and profiles to get the eventual sound I want. The setup sounds cumbersome, but I get great sound by using two sets of speakers together that have very different use cases when used separately on their own.
As for the use case of The Fives, I think it's basically a better alternative to the soundbar: Very convenient for a simple 2.0/2.1 audio on HDMI ARC to a TV for watching movies. For this narrow use case, I'd give it 4.5 stars. For playing music, I'd give it 3 stars due to the muffled tweeters and the lack of network WiFi casting.
As for the muffled sound, if you mean the low range, then the app has a setting for speaker placement with three options. Each setting will change the curve to increase/decrease the bass.
However, by "muffled," if you mean the tweeters, I've noticed that they sound tinny and not as bright as I expected. This, with the low dispersion, makes the tweeters a bit disappointing. For movies, this isn't a problem for me because I set the 3-point equalizer on "Vocal" anyway. But, for music, I send the audio through a pair of splitter cables into both The Fives (photo input) and another set of powered speakers. I, then, adjust both speakers' volumes and profiles to get the eventual sound I want. The setup sounds cumbersome, but I get great sound by using two sets of speakers together that have very different use cases when used separately on their own.
As for the use case of The Fives, I think it's basically a better alternative to the soundbar: Very convenient for a simple 2.0/2.1 audio on HDMI ARC to a TV for watching movies. For this narrow use case, I'd give it 4.5 stars. For playing music, I'd give it 3 stars due to the muffled tweeters and the lack of network WiFi casting.
Yeah, the main use case is as a tv speaker/soundbar replacement. I like that when you connect a sub, it turns on a high pass filter automatically, which is something you would otherwise need an AVR for. Most other active speakers play full range whether or not you have a sub attached.
The ELAC ConneX is the other guy in town and it's priced higher (street prices), so The Fives is still the best value (assuming you can get it at the often discounted price below $500 USD). I think looks-wise, I prefer a modern look instead of the vintage look grille material and controls, but that's just me. I think that a speaker like this should have a wider directivity because you are most likely not directly in the sweet spot for shared tv watching (the Elac looks like it has a shallow waveguide and maybe it might do better in that regard)
Nope.
Just PM’d, sorry for the delay.
So I been using the fives for some months with a topping dx1, switching between Maiky76 and Pierre eq setting and I can say that those speakers just sound much smoother than the ilouds mm that also has eq settings from noaudiophile and napilopez. The ilouds produce a more tridimensional sound, they sound "bigger" than the klipsch in the high frequencies, orchestra music sounds much more impresive in the ilouds but sometimes instruments sound a little to harsh, meanwhile those klipsch produce a much more direct sound, hearing orchestra music is not as impresive but the sound of those instruments are much smoother and more enjoyable in long hearing sessions, the same happens with voices, I can listen for several hours to those speakers without my ears getting tired unlike the ilouds mm. In comparison to the iloud MTM, with the calibration the mtm produce a more realistic sound than the fives, you can also hear those speakers for several hours as they dont dont make any instrument to sound harsh and the diference between the MM and the MTM is night and day, the problem is the turbulence on the port even a 50 hz and the qc of ik multimedia.
Last edited:
Dodgexander
Member
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Forgive me for my ignorance. Why is it useful for nearfield use to make the LW flat? Is it to reduce bass since it's probable the speakers do not have as much room behind them?
As this thread was meant as to be a review by the OP, after more than 3 years of use, I'd like to summarize my own pros and cons to The Fives as it stands today. Part of my hope is that Klipsch will improve the firmware to fix some of the shortcomings. Plus, some may still be in the market for The Fives, so I'd like to share my experience with people so they can see what might work or not work for them.
Pros:
1. Thumpy bass when Dynamic Bass is on. People are surprised that I don't have a hidden subwoofer.
2. Good cable input connectivity. Phone/Line switch for amplified vs. pre-amp input. USB audio for PC.
3. HDMI ARC input from TV to use just like a soundbar.
4. Subwoofer output.
5. Phone app controls input selection, volume, bass features, a simple 3-point equalizer, and firmware updates.
6. It only needs power to one speaker. A proprietary 4-pin cable (13 feet / 4 meters) connects to the other speaker, and a switch toggles the Left vs. Right. This greatly simplifies power routing.
7. Walnut veneer looks great. Natural cork base feel good psychologically for some reason. The dials on the top are great conversation starters.
Cons:
1a. Bass response with Dynamic Bass emphasizes a narrow band, so frequencies above and below this band will be soft. This can be distracting when listening to music with a ripping bass line. But for movies, this is not a problem, unless music with a bass line is playing.
1b. Muddy overall sound. I think this is partly due to the tweeters being tame (i.e., not bright), and partly due to the 4.5" speakers working woofer duty. For me, this compromises the clarity of both highlights and midrange.
2a. No bare wire input. You'd have to splice or get an aux or phono cable with one bare end.
2b. No Wi-Fi playback.
3. HDMI ARC to TV doesn't seem to connect as stereo. TV seems to send audio encoded in 5.x/6.x/7.x channels without downmixing to stereo. Hence, when playing movies and TV shows, you'll have muted vocals. Some apps, such as Netflix, have 5.1 and 2.0 options. But this has to be manually selected to 2.0 everytime you play something, including the autoplayed next episode. Other apps have no option, so you'll be reaching for your remote control to increase the volume for dialog (because there is no center channel) and to decrease the volume when sounds effects get loud.
4. No line-out, so you cannot augment the sound profile by chaining to other speakers. Also, unlike a soundbar, you cannot grow this beyond 2.1, so this is basically a dead-end other than the sub-woofer connection.
5. Phone app takes very long to connect, even when re-connecting after your phone screen goes off. And, the app often loses connection, so the app has to be restarted.
6. If connected to HDMI ARC, after connecting to the phone app and/or changing input when TV is off in order to listen to a music, The Fives then become muted when switched back to the TV despite The Fives responding to the TV remote as usual (i.e., On/Off/Volume).
My own take:
Con item 1: My workaround is to connect my music source by cable to a pair or JBL Partybox 100's, which have steroe aux-out. I use an 3.5mm-to-phono cable to connect the JBL to The Fives. This augments the weakness of the 100's, which have poor vocal range and a slightly different narrow bass response. The two play well together, and the volume control on The Klipsch becomes a sort of a limited equalizer to emphasize the vocals/bass. Convoluted, but works for me.
Con item 3: Possible dealbreaker if you have many 5.x/6.x/7.x audio sources.
Con item 4: Possible dealbreaker if you want to grow your system.
Con items 1a, 5 & 6: Possible dealbreakers. Sadly, I think the developers can fix these in the firmware. I'm holding onto hope for another firmware update, but after several updates I have low hopes.
As always, your mileage may vary.
Pros:
1. Thumpy bass when Dynamic Bass is on. People are surprised that I don't have a hidden subwoofer.
2. Good cable input connectivity. Phone/Line switch for amplified vs. pre-amp input. USB audio for PC.
3. HDMI ARC input from TV to use just like a soundbar.
4. Subwoofer output.
5. Phone app controls input selection, volume, bass features, a simple 3-point equalizer, and firmware updates.
6. It only needs power to one speaker. A proprietary 4-pin cable (13 feet / 4 meters) connects to the other speaker, and a switch toggles the Left vs. Right. This greatly simplifies power routing.
7. Walnut veneer looks great. Natural cork base feel good psychologically for some reason. The dials on the top are great conversation starters.
Cons:
1a. Bass response with Dynamic Bass emphasizes a narrow band, so frequencies above and below this band will be soft. This can be distracting when listening to music with a ripping bass line. But for movies, this is not a problem, unless music with a bass line is playing.
1b. Muddy overall sound. I think this is partly due to the tweeters being tame (i.e., not bright), and partly due to the 4.5" speakers working woofer duty. For me, this compromises the clarity of both highlights and midrange.
2a. No bare wire input. You'd have to splice or get an aux or phono cable with one bare end.
2b. No Wi-Fi playback.
3. HDMI ARC to TV doesn't seem to connect as stereo. TV seems to send audio encoded in 5.x/6.x/7.x channels without downmixing to stereo. Hence, when playing movies and TV shows, you'll have muted vocals. Some apps, such as Netflix, have 5.1 and 2.0 options. But this has to be manually selected to 2.0 everytime you play something, including the autoplayed next episode. Other apps have no option, so you'll be reaching for your remote control to increase the volume for dialog (because there is no center channel) and to decrease the volume when sounds effects get loud.
4. No line-out, so you cannot augment the sound profile by chaining to other speakers. Also, unlike a soundbar, you cannot grow this beyond 2.1, so this is basically a dead-end other than the sub-woofer connection.
5. Phone app takes very long to connect, even when re-connecting after your phone screen goes off. And, the app often loses connection, so the app has to be restarted.
6. If connected to HDMI ARC, after connecting to the phone app and/or changing input when TV is off in order to listen to a music, The Fives then become muted when switched back to the TV despite The Fives responding to the TV remote as usual (i.e., On/Off/Volume).
My own take:
Con item 1: My workaround is to connect my music source by cable to a pair or JBL Partybox 100's, which have steroe aux-out. I use an 3.5mm-to-phono cable to connect the JBL to The Fives. This augments the weakness of the 100's, which have poor vocal range and a slightly different narrow bass response. The two play well together, and the volume control on The Klipsch becomes a sort of a limited equalizer to emphasize the vocals/bass. Convoluted, but works for me.
Con item 3: Possible dealbreaker if you have many 5.x/6.x/7.x audio sources.
Con item 4: Possible dealbreaker if you want to grow your system.
Con items 1a, 5 & 6: Possible dealbreakers. Sadly, I think the developers can fix these in the firmware. I'm holding onto hope for another firmware update, but after several updates I have low hopes.
As always, your mileage may vary.
How are these speakers for a desk? I have the space for them but I’m a bit conflicted on whether these are good or just bass machines. I’m not looking for a subwoofer and these speakers seem to get as low as I want. I was checking out some Wharfedales,KEF’s and other speakers but they don’t seem to get as low or they always have a bright sound to them. I can get these for about 500 and I’m not sure what other speaker beats them in sound that can get in the 40hz area.
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