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Klipsch Unveils New Flagship Reference Premiere Series INDIANAPOLIS (September 9, 2004) At CEDIA EXPO 2004, Klipsch Audio Technologies will introduce the Reference Premiere Series, an elite new line up of specialty market loudspeakers that the companys brand manager calls the pinnacle of modern day horn-loaded technology and design. Slated to ship in the spring of 2005, the luxurious and sophisticated Reference Premiere Series consists of a floorstander, center channel, surround speaker and subwoofer. The Premiere floorstander and center channel are three-way designs that utilize a .75-inch titanium dome, Tractrix® Horn-loaded supertweeter coupled with a unique Tractrix Horn-loaded 4-inch midrange that together provide unparalleled dynamics and clarity. The woofers and midrange drivers on these models incorporate a Nomex honeycomb core sandwiched between two fiberglass layers for a cone that is incredibly light and rigid with ultra-low distortion and quick low-end response. Coupled with cast frames and powerful motor structures, these drivers are able to deliver astonishing realism. The two-way surround speaker features dual 1-inch titanium-dome compression drivers with high-output ceramic motors mated to square 90 degree by 60 degree Tractrix Horns in a proprietary Wide Dispersion Surround Technology array. The speakers dual 6.5-inch fiberglass/Nomex woofers with cast frames and massive motor structures deliver the same quick low-end response as the floorstander and center channel. The surround also features dual keyholes with threaded inserts for multiple mounting options. Making an ultra-performance statement, the subwoofer offers a unique digital control interface with DSP room correction for unparalleled in-room performance. It delivers extreme impact and quick low-end response due to its 15-inch cast-frame, fiberglass/Nomex rear-firing active woofer with a massive motor structure and high-excursion surround. An 18-inch fiberglass/Nomex front-firing passive radiator gives this loudspeaker its controlled deep output. The subwoofers 850-watt digital hybrid amp offers excellent control and 2400-watt dynamic peak capability. Each Reference Premiere speaker features furniture-grade real-wood veneer elliptical enclosures with a premium fit and finish. This elegant design, in conjunction with extensive internal bracing, results in a more rigid and structurally sound enclosure. Other professional grade materials include premium 4th-order networks, custom internal wiring and magnetically attached low-diffraction grilles. Steady growth of the Klipsch brand over the past five years has proven to more and more people that horn-loaded loudspeakers just sound better, said Jim Garrett, Reference Series brand manager. Now that the Klipsch name is so much more well known and trusted on a broader scale, we believe the market is ready to see Klipschs more esoteric side. When the Reference Premiere Series launches in 2005, the recommended 5.1 system, consisting of two floorstanders, a center channel, two surround speakers and a subwoofer, will have a target U.S. MSRP of $14,500.

I just saw in the news section of the website that Klipsch is going to be releasing the Reference Premiere series of speakers next year. They list them as being 3 way speakers, with a .75 inch horn loaded tweeter, a 4 inch horn midrange, but they don't mention the size of the woofers. Does anyone know about them? They look pretty awesome, but at a msrp of $14,500 for the system, they had better look and sound awesome. G-

I see that the reserve price of $200 was met. Somebody may get a good deal on it, but there is still 4 days to go. BTW the Item # is 3040340325. G-

They didn't look Cherry to me. They appeared to be black satin. G-

You can get a copy of any review that Stereo Review has performed for $5, just check the following link. You need to ask for the Klipsch Forte review from July 1986. http://www.roger-russell.com/magrevsr2.htm#sr1986 G-

I just listened to the RF-35's, the RF-5's, and in another room, the RF-7's. It could have had something to do with the placement, but the RF-35's seemed boomy. The woofers didn't match well with the tweeter, and overpowered it. The RF-5's were very smoooooooth, and were the best sounding speakers that we heard that day. I wish that we could have compared the RF-5's directly to the RF-7's, but they were in a different room, with a different amp, and were tested with different music. The RF-7's sounded good, but they didn't blow us away like I thought that they would. For my money, the RF-5's were the clear winner. The RF-7s probably would go much louder and deeper, but I've got a good subwoofer and like a smooth midrange, and the RF-5's delivered that.

I bought an earthquake supernova-15 off of ebay a couple of months ago, and it really goes low. I looked at Velodyne and SVS as well, and was not sure if I would be satisfied with the earthquake. I am glad that I bought it, it is really loud, and goes really, really deep, but it is not boomy and has a controlled musical nature. I wouldn't trade it for anything close to it's price range, and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. G-

I listened to them this past weekend with my girlfriend, and we thought that they sounded very good. But.... We both agreed that the RF-5's sounded better. The RF-7's were in a different room, so we couldn't do a direct comparison to those. The RB-35's were in another room as well, so we couldn't directly compare those, but we both liked the RB-35's nearly as much as the RB-75's, and they were half the price. How could the price double by just having a different tweeter, and a little larger cabinet, to accomodate the tweeter? It is so tough to compare speakers when they are not in the same room. Especially when listening to different amps and music. Last week we listened to some speakers, we thought that the old RB-5's sounded better than the RB-35's which replaced them, but this week my girlfriend liked the rb-35's. Go figure.

Wow, you are going to do alot. I'll have to check flights to Indy tomorrow. Thanks, Gary

I was seriously debating making this trip, but to fly to Ind. for a couple of hours at the Klipsch headquarters just does not seem worth it. I think that you should dump the NCAA and mall stuff and have a full day dedicated to interesting klipsch stuff. If anyone wanted to visit Indy, then they could do that on Friday or Sunday. Dream list of Klipsch activities: 1) Listen to all of the Heritage speakers that we hear so much about. I would love to listen to a Khorn and see what I am missing. 2) Listen to the new line of Reference speakers, and compare and contrast the different speakers with several different music genre's. 3) Listen to some heritage and reference speakers with different amplification sources to see the difference. Since most of the readers of this forum can't afford to buy a dozen different amps to see if they can in fact hear a difference, it would be good to have a quick demonstration. 4) I have seen posts by Trey discussing how the computer programs that they use to model crossovers. It would be nice to see a demonstration, and listen to a speaker with different crossover points. He also discussed how many months it took to design and build a new speaker. It would be nice to see the different steps, and listen to a couple of the 'rough drafts', and compare it to the final product. 5) I would like to see how they test the speakers. 6) Maybe a one hour class on speaker theory. Possible topics two way vs. three way speakers. Horn loaded bass vs. direct radiating. Discussion on how they are able to get the reference speakers to sound so much better than the synergy line, when their spec's are similar. 7) A discussion on the state of the industry, and why they have chosen the strategic path they are following. I don't know if anyone else would be interested in these items, but it surely would make my day. It would be interesting to talk to some of the regulars to this forum, but to me, the main item of interest is the speakers. BTW, yes I am an engineer, so I am interested in the geeky aspects of this hobby. Gary

I have a friend who hunts black bears and mountain lions with a pack of hound dogs. The hound dogs probably weigh between 60-100 pounds, and can be vicious. The lions and bears run from the dogs because they are not used to anything chasing them, and if the dogs get too close they hopefully will climb a tree to avoid them. Hopefully you will never encounter a bear or cougar that decides to fight instead, because once they learn how easy it is to kill the dogs, then they become killing machines. From that point forward they will no longer run from a pack of dogs, they just kill them. A big mountain lion will weigh about 180 pounds and the black bears are probably 300-400 pounds, so figure out what a 600 pound cat could do.

The anticipation is killing me avman. How is the timbre match to the RS-7's? Gary

You will have your whole life to acquire and enjoy Khorns and any other stereo equipment you long for. You only have a short time to enjoy all of those pretty, young, and adventurous co-eds that are so abundant in school. Believe me, when you are 35, and locked away in some cubicle, you will be longing for the days when you could hang with some of those girls that you are going to be avoiding by entering the workforce. Wishing I was on Campus, Gary

Although the tweeter size is the same as used in the RF-7, if you look at the specifications, they actually use different tweeters. RB-75 - K-50.1-DB 1.75" (4.45cm) Titanium dome compression driver RF-7 - K-67-DV 1.75" (4.45cm) Titanium dome compression driver Which one is better? Do they sound the same? Why did they use a different driver? These are questions that only the Klipsch engineers can answer for now.

I was just kidding on the rear center, and am not planning on buying one. I think that is a good idea about building a custom center, and it has intrigued me, as there is a pair of K-53K midrange drivers on ebay, which is the same as in my forte's. There is also a K-77 tweeter. If I were confident on which woofer to use and how to build a crossover, then I would attempt it. Since most of the music is in the midrange, I think that the timbre' match would be the best that could be attained, short of having a full sized speaker as the center. As far as buying an academy, it frustrated me when they were either being sold outside of the auction, or having one sold almost immediately with a 'buy it now' price. I was also hoping to get one for $300 by waiting and sniping, but they never last until the auction ends. So, I finally resigned myself to the fact that I'm not one of the lucky ones to get a low price, and the going rate seems to be $500-$600. I thought that it was outrageous since they were only $400 when they were new. But that is supply and demand, and with the RC-7s retailing for $800, then that price doesn't seem so bad. Especially when you consider that the RC-7's are ported, which gives added distortion, and the Academy's are of a sealed design. G-

Yes, that was me bidding on the academy. I figured that I could use my existing two academy's as surrounds, and the ebay one for a center. I would prefer to use Forte's as surrounds, but my room is too small, and the significant other won't allow me to do that unless I build an expasion on the house for a home theater system. It is much cheaper to buy an academy. It is wild that you could get a pair of Forte's much cheaper than a single Academy. Supply and Demand I guess. Now, if I could just get one more academy for the rear center ... G-

I read this article on the Behringer Feedback Destroyer digital parametric EQ, and was very impressed. The best part is that you can get them for less than $150. See the article at: http://www.snapbug.ws/bfd.htm The author graphed the frequency response of his room from 16hz to 160 hz, and was able to minimize the peaks, and boost the valleys, to get a much flatter response. G-

Remember, for a while, Mr. Ford also thought that the Model T was the perfect car, and they didn't ever need to make another model. In the roaring 20's other companies started making flashy new models in many different colors. When asked about this, Ford replied, "The customer can get any color he wants, as long as it is black". His lack of following the rapidly changing times almost caused the fall of the corporation. When the sales got too low to be viable, he shut the assembly line down in order to re-tool for a new, more flashy model. He was forced to change to keep up with the rapidly changing new consumer. If he didn't, the Ford Motor Corporation would not exist today. For the first time in decades, the market place is changing rapidly and so are consumers expectations. I would love to get three pairs of RB75's for my HT, and I have never even heard them. I trust that they will be good due to my longstanding ownership and auditioning of Klipsch products. I received an ad from the Good Guys! that had a pair of these speakers advertised for $1199. There is no way that I'm spending $3600 on this set. Judging their markup, based on clearances of current products and the grey market, I am guessing that if the new models hit the grey market, they will be priced around $800, which is $2400 for the three pairs. I will pay that in a heartbeat.

I have the Earthquake SuperNova 15", and it is awesome. I haven't heard either of the smaller subs. It has really low extension, is loud, and has a very tight bass sound, not boomy at all. They took the sunfire concept and adapted it to a much larger sub, and it works! I was amazed at the price difference between the 10, 12 and 15 inchers. If you do buy one, let us know what you think.

I have heard some good things about the behringer professional products. They make a product called the behringer feedback destroyer, that has multiple parametric equalizers, and can be purchased for less than $150. I am looking at buying one myself. For information go to www.snapbug.ws/bfd.htm G-

It is funny to listen to the dealers talk about the unfair advantages of internet sales. When large stores like the Good Guys and Circuit City came into the market, they crushed all of the 'Mom and Pop' stores. Same thing with Home Depot, WalMart, Gart, and all of the other large stores that are selling their wares at reduced prices. The smaller stores claim that if they were to sell at that slim of a profit margin then they would go out of business. Well, it worked for the big chains. If the Ma and Pa stores sold their stuff at the bargain prices, maybe they would have been as popular as the chains, and they would now be big enough to compete. Let competition sort out the marketplace. If all of the equipment suppliers just let the free market work, and not interfere with distribution, then the B&M's would change their models to compete with the internet. Maybe the stores like Good Guys would change from the fancy showrooms and slick sales people to more of a warehouse environment like Sam's Club or Costco. You would go in, pick up your boxes of RF-7's and go purchase them for $1500, and if you didn't like them, you could bring them back. Why have the Costco's been so successful, because they provide value. Good products at great prices. By squashing internet sales, you are taking yourself out of the fastest growing market in history. Look at the companies that are embracing internet sales, and see how well they are doing. The biggest glaring example of this is to simply look at the Klipsch forum under subwoofers. There is much more discussion of SVS subwoofers than klipsch's own line. You would think that it was a forum for SVS. These subwoofers are only available from the net, and nobody can audition them with the competition before purchasing them, yet they are immensely popular. When is the last time that you saw an ad for SVS in a home theater magazine? I never have, yet when I looked at subwoofers, it made it to my short list, along with the Velodyne HGS-18 and the Earthquake Supernova. None of these products have dealers within 100 miles of me. It is all about value. Americans want the best products at the best prices. The current B&M's can provide the good products, but the price issue will hurt them unless they change to meet the consumers changing expectations. How many people are choosing to compare products at home or at work rather than have to visit a half dozen different stores with sales men that have an agenda to sell you as much product as possible in a short amount of time. There is no way to compare all of the different subs in one room, yet by spending an hour searching the internet I can find unbiased reviews from major magazines, and thousands of postings on forums such as this to find the best product. Internet sales are getting bigger and bigger every year, and as the younger generations become the target audience, do you think they will feel embraced by the manufacturers that are preventing them from getting the most value for their dollar? Do the OEM's really think that it is a good idea to segregate themselves from such a huge market? I personally have purchased my new receiver from a B&M, because I knew the risk of purchasing off of the internet, and chose the safe route instead. If I purchased from the internet, then I could have purchased the next higher model in the line for the same cost, but due to the complexity of the product, I was conservative. On my subwoofer purchase, I did the opposite. I knew that I could save $750 by an internet sale, and if I had any problems I could purchase a replacement driver or amp for much less than $750. I am now thinking of buying more products from that vendor because I am so happy. Embrace technology and the advantages that it brings. If you live in the sales model of 1950, you will be trampled by those that are living in 2003. Thanks for letting me get this off of my chest. G-

I've got two of them, the salesman told me that two center channel speakers are better than one, to put one above the TV, and one below the TV, boy was he wrong. So I've had one in the closet for about the past eight years. I've been meaning to put it on ebay, just been a little too lazy. The academy's are nice speakers, and I wouldn't trade the one that I'm using with my Forte's for anything.