Impressions of RB-61 II Speakers

[jjennings2510]

I finally got my RB-61 II speakers today so I thought I would write up my first impression of them. I didn't take any pictures of the unboxing because I didn't think about it and I didn't think anyone cared unless they were Heritage speakers or RF-7s, lol. I can take some pics of the speakers if you all want me to. But let me get to my impressions.

I must say these things are huge and heavy. When the box was dropped off by UPS it was heavier than I thought. And bigger but I figured Klipsch had put a lot of packing material in the box. Well i was wrong. Don't get me wrong, they are packaged well in stryofoam but packing material is light. Nonetheless it would be pretty hard in my opinion to damage the speakers while they are packed in the box unless you are trying to damage them. As I said these speakers have some heft and weight to them. The build quality is great (which is to be expected with Klipsch. Even if they're not built in Hope) These are some beautiful speakers. I don't know why I liked the older grill style (Reference IV) better than the new grill style but I do. The grills are nice and yes they are magnetic but personally I think these speakers look way better with the grill off. These speakers are a little sexier than the last generation 61s but for the most part they look the same. As far as size if you're trying to gauge the size from the pictures.....don't do it. I expected these to be comparable to my sony bookshelf speakers which had 5 inch woofers and a 1 inch tweeter but these are literally almost 3 times as big. With these flanking my 42" Samsung TV my TV now looks puny. I feel like I should upgrade to a 46" or bigger (which I would if I had the room) so make sure you measure first if you're limited on space. But hey at least they're great to look at. I think with the gold woofer and the curvier horn these meet the WAF. Because my mom stopped by when i told her I had gotten some new speakers and she said she really liked the look of them. She said the gold woofer was "cute" Not how I would describe them but hey they're big so its a compromise for both parties. The women will like the gold woofer and overall design while the men will like the sheer size, lol. Now on to the sound.

Now I've listend to F3 theater systems and a RF-62 theater system. I've never heard Klipsch bookshelf speakers in person (only on youtube which does them no justice) until now and I must say the sound blew me away. After I hooked them up I set my Onkyo to 2ch stereo and turned off my sub (also Klipsch) and the bass really impressed me. These things can really push some bass but its not boomy. This speaker is very balanced between the high and low end. The highs don't overpower the bass and vice versa. Now positioning is very important with these speakers. They sounded good pointing straight but they really shined toed in. Also if you use these on speaker stands play around with the height to find the best sound that suits your personal taste. I set them up on my tv stand so the tweeters are about 1 to 2 inches below ear height. This gave me the most balanced sound. When I raised or lowered the speakers bass increased but it didn't overpower the highs. So if you want a little more bass raise your speakers a little. You will miss a little of the dynamics though. I achieved the best results with the tweeters close to ear height. How do these compare to other Klispch speakers? Well they sound better than the F3s. They seem to have better detail and clarity....but don't get me wrong the F3s are some darn good speakers. Now the overall sound is similar to the RF-62 but the crossover seems smoother. I know a lot of people dislike the "laid back" sound of the Reference IV speakers while others love it. I have never heard the in your face sound from other generations (RF-35s, RF-7s etc) so I can't compare the two but as I said compared to last generation Reference the sound is similar but yet improved. More refined. Smoother crossover points. The lows blend seamlessly into the highs. And the speaker does a great job of putting you "there" with "there" being in the movie you're watching or in the studio of the artist that you're playing. I've played Avatar, Master and Commander, This Is It, and The Dark Knight and in all of those movies I noticed a lot more details. Especially after I ran Audessey setup. The most dramatic case was the Dark Knight. In the beginning of the movie when the bank robbers are firing their guns I could always hear the shells hitting the ground but it sorta sounded like a jumbled mess. I could tell more than one shell was hitting the ground but it was hard to pick the individual shells out on my Sony speakers. Well on the Klipsch speakers I could hear every single shell hit the ground and could easily pick them out.When I watched This Is It I felt like I was in the arena bc all of the echos and arena sounds were more pronounced. I barely heard them on my Sony's (if I did hear them. Most of the echos and stuff were non existent) and I don't know where to start with Avatar or Master and Commander. So many sounds and things going on in both movies. The details and clarity was definitely there. I felt like I was in Pandora and on the ship with Russel Crowe......and this is only with me replacing my two main speakers. I still have a Polk center and HTiB surounds. I can't wait to replace those remaining 3 speakers. When I do my bedroom home theater will be complete and I can start working on the front. So the laid back sound I love it but then I've never heard the "in your face" sound but I honestly don't see how it can get any better if you have a full Klipsch setup. These speakers can put some floorstanders to shame with their dynamics etc. As far as ear fatigue I have been testing these with movie after movie and my ears don't hurt and they're not ringing or anything like that. I could go on for quite awhile longer. And I have what many people consider a "bright" receiver" (onkyo) the only time I can honestly say my ears started hurting a little was when I turned them way up. I was curious how loud these things could go. Well I never found out as I reached my limit way before the speakers or receiver did. They are very easy to drive (which you all already knew.) My Blu-Rays have new life and I def will be rewatching all of my movies to see what details I have been missing and I will watch them 3 more times after I complete my setup. I haven't had a chance to listen to music yet. I played a couple of songs but can't really give a fair assumption on the sound with music because I was playing MP3s. Was not impressed but thats to be expected because Klipsch speakers don't mask detail (good or bad) like a lot of speakers. So I will follow up with my impressions on music once I find my cds. (they're in storage somewhere since I converted them all to MP3) I have a variety of music (rap, jazz, classical, rock, r& to test them with so I can't wait.

All in all I definitely consider these an improvement over the last generation. Smoother crossover, Great dynamics, great highs that don't fatigue (I have some sensitive ears) great bass that's not boomy or overpowering. Definitely not what I would call "In your face" sound.....but I would definitely call it "putting you there" sound. An explosion and flying wood on this movie just scared the &^%& out of me. How's that for clarity? LOL. I don't know if the speaker break in myth is true or not but if it is I can't wait because these things already sound great but if they're going to sound even better in a couple of months then......I may pass out from happiness. These speakers definitely bring my system together(so i can only imagine how great it will be once everything is Klipsch) I may not go to bed tonight as I try to find more movies and probably some music to test on these babies.....If you're on the fence don't be. These speakers are worth it. Now I'm not an audiophile but I feel as though I know great sound when I hear it! The only con (if you can call it that) would be the size. You definitely can't hang these on the wall.....you can mount them tho which may lead to some big holes in the wall for the speaker mounts....but of course you have other options such as stands so it may or may not be a con.......I definitely give these speakers 2 thumbs up! Give me feedback on my writeup guys and if you have any questions feel free to ask!

[Youthman]

I didn't take any pictures of the unboxing because I didn't think about it and I didn't think anyone cared unless they were Heritage speakers or RF-7s, lol.

You might be surprised. I took photos of unpacking the RC-64. My wife thought I was crazy (possibly so). Photo Gallery

Give me feedback on my writeup guys and if you have any questions feel free to ask!

Long and thorough. [] Just messing with ya. Great write up. It's awesome to hear when people move from something like Sony to Klipsch. There truly is a huge difference.

Ok, now you have to bust out the camera and post some pics of your new setup.

[SuBXeRo]

keep in mind, they should sound better with age as your wear them in!

[Youthman]

keep in mind, they should sound better with age as your wear them in!

It depends if you buy into that theory. []

[SuBXeRo]

psht, i definitly do, it takes time for the materials to wear in

[dtel]

Congratulations, and Mom and WAF likes them, you have got it made, take time and finish into a 5.1. [Y]

[jjennings2510]

I didn't take any pictures of the unboxing because I didn't think about it and I didn't think anyone cared unless they were Heritage speakers or RF-7s, lol.

You might be surprised. I took photos of unpacking the RC-64. My wife thought I was crazy (possibly so). Photo Gallery

Dang it i sort of wish I would have taken pictures of the unboxing now. [] But you know Klipsch never ceases to amaze me with the sheer size of some of their speakers. The RC-64 actually looks massive in the pictures (I've never seen one in person) and with it standing on its side it actually looks like it could pass for a floorstander. I plan on getting one of those for the front room but of course the question becomes where to put it? I'll worry about that when I actually start working on the front. [] Lol at the wife thinking you're crazy. Thats one thing I don't think women will ever understand. Men taking pics of an unboxing of equipment so other men can drool over them. You would think we were passing around explicit pics or something. LOL. I should've used my common sense though because I know I love looking at unboxing pics. Can't wait to see the unboxing of the new RF-7s.....hint hint forum guys lol.

I don't know how to pick out specific things to quote yet so I'll just respond to the other quote as well. It definitely came out longer than expected. But I wanted to give as much detail as possible to anyone considering these speakers. Glad you liked it. And yes it is a huge jump. I mean I could tell that when listening to my parent's system and my friend's system but there's nothing like having your own to play around with. Its definitely better than I remember. Oh and nice pics btw

[jjennings2510]

keep in mind, they should sound better with age as your wear them in!

I've heard alot of people say that Klipsch speakers are notorious for their long break in period. And alot of people say its the imagination. Some folks say 50 hrs should break them in. Others say upwards of 200 hrs. I'm just going to use them the way I normally would and see if I notice any improvements over the coming months. If I do I will definitely post but I don't have an opinion one way or the other since the only Klipsch speaker I had before these was a Sub 10. Now I do admit the brand new one sounded better than the old one. (The old one I got used. I put that one up front for now and got a new one for the bedroom) but that seems to go against the break in rules.....so imma just assume that maybe the old one was abused? Nonetheless I am looking forward to the changes bc so many people believe in break in so there has to be some truth to it. I will give you guys an update in a couple of weeks.

[jjennings2510]

keep in mind, they should sound better with age as your wear them in!

It depends if you buy into that theory.

Do you buy into the theory? So many people on different forums say Klipsch have really long break in periods that I'm starting to believe it......

[jjennings2510]

Congratulations, and Mom and WAF likes them, you have got it made, take time and finish into a 5.1.

Thats the same thing I said. when my mom stopped by and said they were cute I knew I didn't have anything to worry about with the WAF. She said she's stopping by today to hear how they sound. (she's impressed by the RF- 62 setup they have at their house) Nonetheless the boss still hasn't seen them yet. Family issues (her sister is in the hospital) but I'm not worried.....and hopefully the system will be complete next month. I still have to do it in pieces because the boss was baffled by the price of the full 61 theater setup. At least it doesn't seem as bad piece by piece, lol. I can't wait until they release the full RF-7 set so I'll know what kind of damage I'm looking at. Can't wait to see the new subs either (even though I'm pretty much set on the SVS PB13 Ultra)

But thanks for the congrats. I may get on your level one day. You have a ton of stuff don't you? []

[Youthman]

Do you buy into the theory? So many people on different forums say Klipsch have really long break in periods that I'm starting to believe it......

LOL...not me.

BTW, here are some tips when you want to quote someone.

If you want to quote several parts of a single user's post, highlight the text you want to quote and hit the quote button. Then type your response under the quote. Then you can repeat the process again if you want to make additional comments while quoting them.

If you need to quote multiple persons (like you needed to do), I typically open the thread in two separate browser tabs or windows. The first page is where I will add all of my comments, the second page is where I use to copy the quote. On the second page, hit reply next to the person you want to quote and do as you would do to quote a single user but copy/paste it back into your reply on Page one. Then go back to Page 2, hit the Back button on your browser, then hit reply to the next person you need to quote, do your quoting, then copy/paste it into your reply on Page 1 again and repeat the process.

Hope that makes sense. It's much easier to do it than it is to explain it via text.

[Youthman]

Here is an example of quoting multiple persons in one reply:

I finally got my RB-61 II speakers today

My comments to you

keep in mind, they should sound better with age as your wear them in!

My comments to SuBXeRo

Congratulations, and Mom and WAF likes them, you have got it made

My comments to dtel

And there you have it. If you need additional help with it, let me know and I'll try to explain it better []

[Youthman]

But you know Klipsch never ceases to amaze me with the sheer size of some of their speakers. The RC-64 actually looks massive in the pictures (I've never seen one in person) and with it standing on its side it actually looks like it could pass for a floorstander.

Yeah, I know I knew it was going to be big but I was kinda in shock when it arrived and I began to unpack it. You know you have a big center channel speaker when it is wider than one of your theater seats. []

[SuBXeRo]

i certainly believe you can damage a speaker by running it too hard when you first purchase it. Like when i got my car new, i didnt run the speakers too rough at first, played it at a decent volume just to get the speakers used to moving and breaking in, same thing with the engine, it needs a break in period IMO, Could it be fallocy, i suppose so, it cant hurt though to not take the chance. After a while, you dont notice the sound differences unless its sudden or a really crummmy speaker. But thats just my opinion!

[Youthman]

I can maybe understand taking it easy on speakers when you first get them but I just don't buy into the thought that speakers sound better after they have been "broken in". It is all subject to our own opinions since there is no way to prove either thought is correct.

[dtel]

I may get on your level one day. You have a ton of stuff don't you?

A ton of speakers , yes, but for Ht only Fortes and a Yamaha receiver and a sub and all the speakers are from the late 80's. And a few other 2 ch setups with barely enough electronics to run them.

Not by choice but I had do do it a little at a time also when a good deal would come up.

[jjennings2510]

BTW, here are some tips when you want to quote someone.

Ahhhh I understand. Thanks for the tips! I understand what you're trying to explain. I just had to read the "multiple quotes" part more than once. lol.

[jjennings2510]

Yeah, I know I knew it was going to be big but I was kinda in shock when it arrived and I began to unpack it. You know you have a big center channel speaker when it is wider than one of your theater seats.

Yes I saw that. I know the theater seats are usually pretty wide and I saw the RC-64 easily laid on both arms of the chair.

[jjennings2510]

i certainly believe you can damage a speaker by running it too hard when you first purchase it. Like when i got my car new, i didnt run the speakers too rough at first, played it at a decent volume just to get the speakers used to moving and breaking in, same thing with the engine, it needs a break in period IMO, Could it be fallocy, i suppose so, it cant hurt though to not take the chance. After a while, you dont notice the sound differences unless its sudden or a really crummmy speaker. But thats just my opinion!

I definitely agree. I'm not hard on my speakers (or equipment in general) so I don't push my speakers hard anyway but even if I did I would take it easy on them for awhile. Because as I said earlier in the post both of my Sub 10s sound good but the older one doesn't sound as good as my new one. The newer one seems more accurate and not as boomy. It just sounds better period. And they were setup the exact same way in the same spot in my room. Same levels, crossover etc. So I assume the old one (which I got used) was probably driven pretty hard. I know Klipsch has the rep of being able to take anything you throw at them and being driven hard without flinching but I feel like just because something has that rep doesn't mean you should because I don't care how well built something is if you push it to the limit or past the limit then you run the possibility of failure way quicker than normal.....or at least premature failure of some parts etc. Even when watching movies I never make it past a certain point on my receiver. I want to keep my equipment for more than 6 months and I want to keep my hearing too. [] But there's nothing wrong with "turning it up" sometimes. But now I'm a little disappointed. You guys have talked me out of the break in thing. I'm not expecting improvements anymore. Thanks guys [:'(] I guess its better to be disappointed now instead of later. lol.

[jjennings2510]

I can maybe understand taking it easy on speakers when you first get them but I just don't buy into the thought that speakers sound better after they have been "broken in". It is all subject to our own opinions since there is no way to prove either thought is correct.

It may be placebo. It may be an actual improvement in sound. idk which to believe but I've been talked out of it again. I guess I'll just have to be patient and see what happens!