Thoroughly Impressed with The Fives - REVIEW

[Youthman]

After listening to The Fives in four different rooms and setups, I have to say these little guys pack quite the performance, especially considering their size.
 

Bass was surprisingly powerful from a 4.5” woofer. There are a lot of things that Klipsch got right with these.

 

Anyone else have a chance to hear them yet? What are your thoughts.

 

Michael
 

 

[Casual_audiophile]

Just received mine couple days ago. And like you said.  Big punch from a mighty speaker.  Overall , great , especially for music, connectivity is seamless. I do wish it had a way to increase vocals as the lows are a little overpowering 

[tarant]

After more than one month.

Bass is often too strong (but very precise), even with dynamic bass out. But speakers are near the walls and the corner in a small room of 10 square meters. Dynamics is excellent.

Some sources via analog input may overpower amplifier, causing distortions (DAP iBasso DX220, PC sound card Soundblaster X AE-5). I had to reduce their output volume about 20%.

[rockhound]

Youth what amps are in these?

[tarant]

Bi-amp D-class, 60 W for bass, 20 W for higher frequencies (over 1663 Hz?). Official data are modest...

https://f072605def1c9a5ef179-a0bc3fbf1884fc0965506ae2b946e1cd.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/product-specsheets/The-Fives-Spec-Sheet-v05-1.pdf

[parlophone1]

All I heard are web reviews, this one sound demo for example:

 

Of course this is not like actually having them, but if the recording is right it usually is a good guide to me.

Fives are impressive little speakers. If I would have to mention where a room for improvement would be, the above opinions regarding bass overpowering the mid hit the right spot.

But in such a small speaker, and taking into account the whole package you get, this is acceptable.

 

Sound-wise, they remind me of Acoustic Energy Radiance 1 bookshelves. Small woofer, tweeter with controlled dispersion, big sound.

[MeloManiac]

Qobuz Magazine also does hardware reviews. Here is a link to their pretty extensive review of The Fives.

It is a generable favourable review, but there is some criticism too: "The Fives are not suited to classical music. We tried them with many of our favorite classical tracks and were never overly pleased with the outcome. The speakers are not subtle enough to do justice to the greatness and the diversity of an orchestra."

 

https://www.qobuz.com/be-nl/info/Hi-Fi/Bancs-d-essai/Klipsch-The-Fives-A-pair-of-active183344

[OO1]

I really like the badges on these grilles ----they are monochrome and retro-looking ,

[OO1]

closeup of the badges -----

 

[Oicu812]

Why is there a Yamaha logo on the video speaker pic???

 

*<;o)

[Helder]

I am quite disappointed with the sound of my recently purchased The Fives.

Hopefully I am just doing something wrong, wondering if someone can help to find out what 🙂

 

 

I am not an experienced audiophile, so not comparing to any high end system.

In essence, currently my only reference are the built-in speakers of my smart TV.

 

Sound Issues

• Movies
  • The sound has for sure a lot of base, but there is no clarity on the highs, especially for the voices, where I need to raise the volume to understand during movies, and then it becomes too loud when music or effects start
  • This is severe to the point that I had to turn them off and go back to the sound from my TV internal speakers
• Music
  • Again a lot of base, but lack of clarity on the highs, where voices and some instruments are muffled

My base setup

• Connection via HDMI ARC to my TV LG SM9010PLA
• Firmware: 1.5.2
• Software: 5.7.5

What Have I Already Tried

• Reviewed the sound settings on the TV, setting sound output to PCM, Pass Through and Auto and turning on/off the eARC
• Adjusted the bass to "Dynamic Bass EQ", "Flat" and "Bass Cut" modes (on Flat and Cut gets slightly better on voices but still poor)
• Played videos from different sources
  • HDMI Set Top Box
  • Apple TV (LG App)
  • Apple TV (via HDMI)
  • Netflix (LG App)
  • Youtube (LG App)
  • Plex Server (LG App)
• Played music from different sources
  • Apple Music via Bluetooth
  • Youtube Music (LG App)
  • LG Music App
  • CD Player connected via optical cable and via analog output
• Placed speakers on different locations (inside my bookshelves, outside away from walls and on the floor)

Could not perceive any huge difference between all the above experiments in terms of highs and voice clarity.

 

What can I be doing wrong?

[MyOwn]

^^^Suspect????

[Helder]

47 minutes ago, MyOwn said:

^^^Suspect????

Why suspicious?

Maybe I can clarify.

[MeloManiac]

Are you using the correct hdmi cable? 

[Helder]

Yes, the HDMI cable is working fine.

Please note the issue is not only with the HDMI input, it persists via Bluetooth, Optical, Analog or even USB inputs.

 

[CJ75]

Try plugging in an RCA cable into the "sub out" port. The fives will automatically cut bass even if no subwoofer is connected on other end of RCA. Maybe you like the sound of it. 

[fmalloy]

Are you hearing sound out of the tweeters if you put your ear close to them?

[DeanG Crossovers]

On 12/6/2020 at 12:45 PM, MeloManiac said:

Qobuz Magazine also does hardware reviews. Here is a link to their pretty extensive review of The Fives. It is a generable favorable review, but there is some criticism too: "The Fives are not suited to classical music. We tried them with many of our favorite classical tracks and were never overly pleased with the outcome. The speakers are not subtle enough to do justice to the greatness and the diversity of an orchestra."

 

https://www.qobuz.com/be-nl/info/Hi-Fi/Bancs-d-essai/Klipsch-The-Fives-A-pair-of-active183344

 

This is just funny. Yeah, a 4 inch "woofer" isn't going to get you there with the large scale stuff.

 

I am looking at them as an alternative to a sound bar for streaming on the TV and music from my phone. These are examples of things you don't want high resolution with.

[Helder]

13 hours ago, CJ75 said:

Try plugging in an RCA cable into the "sub out" port. The fives will automatically cut bass even if no subwoofer is connected on other end of RCA. Maybe you like the sound of it. 

Thanks for the tip, but with the latest software there are 3 levels of base ("Dynamic Bass EQ", "Flat" and "Bass Cut"), and I have tried them all.

Even when selecting the "Bass Cut" (where base almost disappears) voices continue worst than my TV built-in speakers!

 

[Helder]

11 hours ago, fmalloy said:

Are you hearing sound out of the tweeters if you put your ear close to them?

Yes, they both work, I just cannot understand why voices are so muffled/low (even with "Bass Cut") compared with my TV built-in speakers, meaning I need to raise the volume to understand  voices but when music or effects start the overall volume is too high and need to decrease it again.