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New Consumer reports test rates Klipsch low


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Consumer reports just released an issue (August 2001) that tests bookshelf speakers.

The SB-3 monitor ranked 21st of 23 speakers tested. The accuracy of the speaker was rated 76 in a three way tie for last of all the speakers tested. They were also the 5th most expensive speaker tested.

The comments were that the speaker was the among the best for playing bass-heavy music very loud. CR said the emphasis is on midbass and the speaker has weak treble.

Now I know none of us uses CR as the final say on speakers but they attempt to do an objective test so how about sparing the 'CR are idiots' comments that inevitably follow any kind of CR test.

Comments? I would like to hear BobG's or Phil's explanation. What is it that CR doesn't get or are they accurate in their assessment?

My opinion of Klipsch over the last 25 years during which time I've owned several sets and currently own Forte's and KLF-20's and a c-7 has gone from the best speaker made, to probably the best made given the times, to best for the money, to pretty good for the money but quality-wise going downhill.

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If I'm not mistaken, CR rotates the speaker while keeping the microphone in a fixed position for their test. I do not recall how far the speaker is rotated in degrees. But in any case, I think you will find that speakers with wide dispersion characteristics fare better in CR's test and those that are directional in their output. As we all know, Klipsch prides itself on "controlled directivity". I believe that is why all Klipsch speakers I have ever seen tested by CR rate very poorly relative to other speakers.

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To each his own said the little old lady as she kissed the cow.f>

I am often amazed at what I hear when I finally go to someone's home to hear a stereo system they have been bragging about. Sometimes I think the ears get used to sound comming from little limited boxes - and after a while anything that sounds live sounds bad. Sometimes people put unrealistic and strange demands on a stereo. What does rotating the darn speaker have to do with how it really sounds in your home listening environment? Gee, try that with a khorn. If you can't rotate the corner of the room you have a big problem.

Rather than apply weird, silly, and usless standards to testing speakers I'd rather trust my own ears and listen to it at different volumes, from different sources and with different types of music. What sounds closest to live wins.

To me, Kilpsch sounds more live than anything else but live itself. I don't care what the eggheads at consumer reports think!

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I believe that CR uses rotating the speaker as a way of measuring the on & off axis characteristics of the speaker. I believe that CR's criteria is that a flat frequency response average thru the measurement window would give a speaker a rating of 100. How much a speakers response deviates from flat results in a rating, such as the 76 received by the Klipsch speaker. So, for example, a speaker with limited dispersion may well measure great on axis, but as the speaker is rotated off axis, the measurements will naturally suffer. This poor off axis response will negatively affect the rating. Horns, by their very nature, limit the off axis dispersion, thus the generally poor measurement (and rating) under CR's test.

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There are very few products where I would base my purchase on Consumer Reports. Audio equipment (especially speakers) would probably be the very last thing I would trust them with. This of course is just my opinion.

I think Mr-Bob hit the nail on the head. They judged these speakers based on taking measurements, not by using their ears to judge them.

The guys measuring and rating speakers were probably the same guys measuring and rating washing machines last month. What does that tell you?

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But I thought the louder a speaker got the better it was.

Loudness = Quality right?

The more Wattage the better..... am I wrong?

You know, them bose cubes are great, They are small take up little space, and get loud.

Correct me if I am wrong.

------------------

Living Room:

Yamaha Natural Sound A-500 Stereo Amplifier

2 Klipsch Heresys on A switch

2 Fisher STV-873 on B switch

My Room:

Klipsch Pro Medias

2 Fisher Surrounds

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LOOK!! I said it before and i'll say it again. KLIPSCH are the best ever ALRIGHT!!! Don't make me open a can up on ya if your talkin $#!+ about Klipsch.

KLIPSCH ARE THE BEST!

BOSE WE USE FOR TARGET PRACTICE!

WE NEED NOT TO SPEAK FURTHER ON THIS!

KKM's RULE!

Monty!

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CU reports on anything have to be taken with a grain of salt. They do report the factors to their bottom line, and those sometimes allow a critical reader to make judgements contrary to theirs.

E.g. a very fine circular saw I own got gigged by them for being too heavy. Doesn't matter to me.

Many years ago they demoted a car I owned because it had a manual choke. Hey. I thought it was one of its advantages.

CU does a lot of good work. However, it is mainsteam consumerism. What toaster oven to buy.

With speakers, you should buy with your ears. The numbers don't tell the story. PWK has lamented that reviewers, some with an ax to grind, publish hard numbers which are difficult to reproduce in serious testing. And of course, the numbers are often contrary to what our ears tell us.

Gil

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