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Klipsch RP600 to be reviewed by stereophile


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Good news and I hope it points to a more practical direction for the magazine. It is nice to read the some articles about ultra high end exotics, but for too long that has instead been the primary focus. More gear that average consumer can actually buy is something that has been a steady demand coming from numerous readers on the letters page.

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On 3/3/2019 at 8:25 PM, YK Thom said:

Good news and I hope it points to a more practical direction for the magazine. It is nice to read the some articles about ultra high end exotics, but for too long that has instead been the primary focus. More gear that average consumer can actually buy is something that has been a steady demand coming from numerous readers on the letters page.

 

Agreed, and it would also be enjoyable to read the occasional comparison test among peer equipment.  Not so much with an eye toward choosing winners and losers but perhaps describing differences; pros & cons of each.  You wouldn't know it from reading most reviews, but most pieces really do have pluses and minuses.

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It will be interesting on what they say about cabinet resonances and the balance on the highs.  

I have 160Ms and I think the cabinet with the base was better than the current incarnation though I guess if it goes on a stand, a lot of folks don't care about the base.  To me though, it's a nice option and finishes out the speaker nicely.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Pzannucci wrote: "It will be interesting on what they say about cabinet resonances and the balance on the highs."

 

From John Atkinson's "Measurement" of the Klipsch RP-600M: "I found on all panels a strong, high-Q mode at 316 Hz and a lower-level one at 422 Hz. These are .... high enough in level that I would have thought they would lead to some midrange congestion."

 

As for the balance on the highs, Atkinson wrote, "Both drivers are relatively flat in their passbands, but....the tweeter is a couple of dB higher in level than the woofer."

 

OK, granted these are $549/pair Chicom-manufactured loudspeakers. However, based upon the Stereophile measurement graphs, it appears the woofer's crossover frequency chosen is too low and the tweeter's response is elevated in an attempt to fill in the dip at the crossover point. 

 

He also noted that his estimate of the RP-600M's sensitivity was 6.5 dB lower (89.6 dB(B)/2.83V/m) than the RP-600M's advertised sensitivity of 96dB/2.83V/m.   

 

He concluded the review by writing, "Overall, and that lively enclosure aside, the Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-600M offers impressive measured performance, especially when its affordable price is taken into consideration."

 

Lee

 

 

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10 hours ago, Arkytype said:

Pzannucci wrote: "It will be interesting on what they say about cabinet resonances and the balance on the highs."

 

From John Atkinson's "Measurement" of the Klipsch RP-600M: "I found on all panels a strong, high-Q mode at 316 Hz and a lower-level one at 422 Hz. These are .... high enough in level that I would have thought they would lead to some midrange congestion."

 

As for the balance on the highs, Atkinson wrote, "Both drivers are relatively flat in their passbands, but....the tweeter is a couple of dB higher in level than the woofer."

 

OK, granted these are $549/pair Chicom-manufactured loudspeakers. However, based upon the Stereophile measurement graphs, it appears the woofer's crossover frequency chosen is too low and the tweeter's response is elevated in an attempt to fill in the dip at the crossover point. 

 

He also noted that his estimate of the RP-600M's sensitivity was 6.5 dB lower (89.6 dB(B)/2.83V/m) than the RP-600M's advertised sensitivity of 96dB/2.83V/m.   

 

He concluded the review by writing, "Overall, and that lively enclosure aside, the Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-600M offers impressive measured performance, especially when its affordable price is taken into consideration."

 

Lee

 

 

So what your point on quoting only negative aspects?

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Celestial_Sound wrote: So what your point on quoting only negative aspects?

 

My point wasn't to single out "negative aspects" of the RP-600M measurements---I was responding to Pzannucci's interest in two particular performance areas. 

 

Had JA not found any untoward cabinet resonances or a more balanced treble output, I would have quoted those findings. 

 

Lee

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22 hours ago, Arkytype said:

 

 

Celestial_Sound wrote: So what your point on quoting only negative aspects?

 

My point wasn't to single out "negative aspects" of the RP-600M measurements---I was responding to Pzannucci's interest in two particular performance areas. 

 

Had JA not found any untoward cabinet resonances or a more balanced treble output, I would have quoted those findings. 

 

Lee

Arkytype, thank you. 

I haven't had a chance to read the article but the areas I pointed out were the areas I thought that Stereophile would pick on (with my own RP-160Ms).  Basically the same speaker and figured it would be voiced similarly and in my opinion, cabinets not quite as nice as the 160Ms, though the 600's horn is growing on me.

The other part was I wanted to see if they complained about these areas in the listening.  I have long thought they consider hotter speakers balanced.  I myself like a little rounder bottom end then they seem to enjoy.

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These are Herb Reichert last words:

 

Quote

A speaker this inexpensive isn't supposed to be this good. It isn't rational. The Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-600M is not just a great loudspeaker for its price, or for horn-loving Klipsch Kids—it's way better than that. If you're nor already a fan of Klipsch speakers, all I can say is, why not? You don't like speakers that spin torque and exude horsepower? Some tool told you that horns sound like megaphones? And you believed him? If you're not a fan, I have to ask: What other speaker manufacturer has continuously manufactured the same flagship model for 73 years? What other speaker maker has three anechoic chambers, one engineered specifically for measuring the compression drivers of horns? What other speaker maker would sell a "Reference Premiere" model for only 549/pair? Most important: What other stand-mounted loudspeaker lets itself be driven by low-powered, single-ended, directly heated triode amps with the air, punch, boogie, and resolution of the Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-600M? None that I know of. In my world, this speaker is a uniquely important discovery. Super-highly recommended. 

 

I strongly recommends to everyone to buy the magazine (8$) and read the whole report. 

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Very nice dispersion and decay plots. Biggest problem with the FR looks to be at the crossover, especially if the grille is left on, as JA notes that the grille takes about 1db off the elevated tweeter output from 3-8k, and increased on axis treble above 13k will be compensated by off axis rolloff. Looking at measurements for the two other Klipsch speakers Stereophile has reviewed, these look a lot more like Palladiums than RB-15s.

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1 hour ago, Dkfan9 said:

Very nice dispersion and decay plots. Biggest problem with the FR looks to be at the crossover, especially if the grille is left on, as JA notes that the grille takes about 1db off the elevated tweeter output from 3-8k, and increased on axis treble above 13k will be compensated by off axis rolloff. Looking at measurements for the two other Klipsch speakers Stereophile has reviewed, these look a lot more like Palladiums than RB-15s.

I wonder if you removed a binding strap and put a 1 or 2 ohm resistor in it's place, if that would solve the elevation of the tweeter.  That would also be a way of effectively raising the crossover point of the woofer to the tweeter, a second issue though maybe not enough.  Then you could take the grill off and not feel like you were being slapped around by the highs if your room isn't super damped.

Even better, do that on a sturdier cabinet with another few liters of volume.  A giant slayer for slightly more than what Klipsch currently charges.  The only thing you wouldn't have attacked in the criticism is the self damping of the hard cone driver.  Sounds like a great project either way.  Dynaudio look out.

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Good news and I hope it points to a more practical direction for the magazine. It is nice to read the some articles about ultra high end exotics, but for too long that has instead been the primary focus. More gear that average consumer can actually buy is something that has been a steady demand coming from numerous readers on the letters page.

 

for some reason this earlier post reappeared.

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I picked up the issue yesterday and read the review this morning. Very well done and they were quite impressed. I haven’t heard this model but if it is similar to its predecessor model (which I take away from the review), it is definitely a keeper punching well above its price point. 

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On 3/23/2019 at 6:07 AM, pzannucci said:

I wonder if you removed a binding strap and put a 1 or 2 ohm resistor in it's place, if that would solve the elevation of the tweeter.  That would also be a way of effectively raising the crossover point of the woofer to the tweeter, a second issue though maybe not enough.  Then you could take the grill off and not feel like you were being slapped around by the highs if your room isn't super damped.

Even better, do that on a sturdier cabinet with another few liters of volume.  A giant slayer for slightly more than what Klipsch currently charges.  The only thing you wouldn't have attacked in the criticism is the self damping of the hard cone driver.  Sounds like a great project either way.  Dynaudio look out.

That's an interesting idea. Seems like an easy DIY experiment for some owner here...

 

But after thinking about it my initial response bit more, I wonder what that crossover region looks like closer to 8' out (JA is measuring at ~4'). Possibly this is a case of the speakers being voiced to be flat at 8' or so out (seems like a typical enough listening distance for HT and stereo). If so, I would expect the crossover region to be flatter and the treble to shelve down a bit, though I'm not knowledgeable enough to say that's the case for sure and if so, how much the distance increase would affect FR. But I guess what I'm saying is that without a more comprehensive set of measurements, I might have been jumping the gun a little too quickly, especially at the crossover region.

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