Soundstage, Imaging and Seperation, which is better? (Polk R700 vs Klipsch RP8000 II)

[HeadDoc12]

Hi,

Long time lurker first time poster!

I listen to Jazz music primarily.
Im looking at buying new floor standers and these two floor standers are in my price range. I hope I explain myself correctly.


I had a chance at listening to the Klipsch RP8000 II. And really liked the way they sounded. It's weird because they do seem to get mixed review but I really liked them, yes they aren't $6000 speakers but for the price they were good to my ears!

In terms of sound characteristics im really looking for Open, Live, nice soundstage with good instrument placement. I think this is the best way to describe what im looking for in terms of a sound signature. I like a nice stereo field. I would possibly trade off other things to get a nice soundstage. Almost like listening to a live recording and hearing the horn section somewhere in the field that makes it 3D, I dont know if im describing it correctly or not so apologies ahead of time.

I don't have a chance to demo the Polk R700's right now.

Can anybody maybe chime in on which of the two speakers has a nicee soundstage and best instrument placement between the two floor standers?

Thanks for any advice!

You might want to check out Andrew Robinson's YouTube channel. He RAVES about the Polks, and directly compares the Klipsch speakers to them in his review of the R8000 IIs.

 

[AllJazz]

I have indeed seen and read all of the reviews on the RP8000 II's. I figured out what I love about the Klipsch sound. It's the live sound of the horn! I think it pairs extremely well with Jazz music, at least thats what I think when I listen to them vs another speaker and I enjoy that kind of airy feeling I get when I listen to them. Again might not be the best words but thats what I think. So aside from room treatment this is my imagined setup thus far:

- Klipsch RP8000 II's
- Audiolabs 7000a
- Audiolabs CDT 7000
- Project Debut Carbon Evo + Schiit Mani 2
- Phillips SHP9500
- Good Quality but not too expensive audio cables
- miniDSP

Hopefully a few year down the road I upgrade to Klipsch Forte IV's.

Thanks everyone again for the advice & links to reviews and articles, This is truly an amazing community for audio enthusiast's!

Cheers

AllJazz

 

[aaronsarkissian]

I have indeed seen and read all of the reviews on the RP8000 II's. I figured out what I love about the Klipsch sound. It's the live sound of the horn! I think it pairs extremely well with Jazz music, at least thats what I think when I listen to them vs another speaker and I enjoy that kind of airy feeling I get when I listen to them. Again might not be the best words but thats what I think. So aside from room treatment this is my imagined setup thus far:

- Klipsch RP8000 II's
- Audiolabs 7000a
- Audiolabs CDT 7000
- Project Debut Carbon Evo + Schiit Mani 2
- Phillips SHP9500
- Good Quality but not too expensive audio cables
- miniDSP

Hopefully a few year down the road I upgrade to Klipsch Forte IV's.

Thanks everyone again for the advice & links to reviews and articles, This is truly an amazing community for audio enthusiast's!

Cheers

AllJazz

Hey, just read the thread.
Wanted to suggest the cables if you didn’t purchase already.
Take a look here:

I tested them on two different systems, they sound really nice and build quality is great.

As for the RCA cables, I went with the Amazon Basics RCA (read amir’s review on them)

 

[aaronsarkissian]

Oh and pro-ject is doing a promo, you can get a cartridge upgrade: https://pro-jectusa.com/news-room-blog/debut-promo/

I’m thinking to buy one in few days, probably the green one with Schiit Mani 2.

 

[MaxBuck]

Hey, just read the thread.
Wanted to suggest the cables if you didn’t purchase already.
Take a look here:

I tested them on two different systems, they sound really nice and build quality is great.

As for the RCA cables, I went with the Amazon Basics RCA (read amir’s review on them)

It doesn't matter what speaker cables one buys, assuming they're thick enough and the amplifier isn't incompetent.