Description
Klipschs highly responsive Reference Premiere RP-600M Piano Black loudspeaker with its horn tweeter ($649/pair retail) compares to conventional box speakers with direct-radiating dome tweetersI first encountered this affordable stand-mount at my friend Spheres house. When he played Miles Daviss In a Silent Way (LP, Columbia CS 9875), I noticed all these formerly obscure musical happenings that made me love Herbie Hancock more than I used to. With the Klipsch two-ways, Hancocks Fender Rhodes piano emerged from producer Teo Maceros mix in a pronounced, über-electrified way. Every note felt statically charged. At one point I saw Miles, whod introduced Hancock to the Rhodes, motioning to him, drawing him out, begging for more keyboard. Hancocks notes revved and floated effortlessly, like orbs of light. My eyes followed his hands—they seemed lifelike, and at their proper height above the floor.Spheres room is big—at least 35 by 25, with 10 ceilings. Hed set up the RP-600Ms about 8 apart and 10 from the wall behind them. The next day, I contacted Klipsch.Horns: A Brief Primer 1925: Chester Rice and E.W. Kellogg develop the first direct-radiating dynamic loudspeakers, based on principles that are standard-issue in most speakers made for domestic use today (footnote 1).1926: First, Victrolas and radios, then motion pictures that talk. To service the emerging business of talkies, two Bell Labs engineers, Edward C. Wente and Albert L. Thuras, develop the Western Electric 555 compression driver: an extremely light, 0.002-thin, aluminum diaphragm with a corrugated surround and a light, rigid voice-coil. This piston-coil assembly was set within a heavy, high-powered electromagnetic structure and designed to be easily mounted behind a variety of horns. Its bandwidth was about 300Hz–5kHz. Unbelievably, this ancient high-tech driver is still being used in many of the worlds finest audiophile playback systems.Naked, the WE555 diaphragm looks a lot like a metal-dome tweeter, and almost exactly like the drivers in some of todays best and most expensive headphones. I mention this because, without a horn, these aluminum domes become dome tweeters that convert less than 1% of the energy supplied them into acoustic output. With a horn attached, the WE555 converts more than 20% (footnote 2).Horn loading accomplishes two things. First, a horns restricted throat mechanically loads the dome (or cone). This restrictive loading creates a region of high pressure that a horn whose flare is of a certain length and rate of expansion can effectively convert to a large, pulsing wavefront at normal atmospheric pressure. This elegant form of tuned acoustic impedance matching not only makes a horn speaker more sensitive to voltage, it reduces the amount of diaphragm excursion required to produce a given sound-pressure level (SPL), thereby linearizing the system and reducing distortion. Within their designated passbands, horns can be incredibly linear and low-distortion—especially at very low and very high SPLs, where conventional direct-radiating speakers compress and distort.1946: Paul W. Klipsch founds Klipsch and Associates, and patents his design for the famous Klipschorn corner loudspeaker. This original design, along with Peter Walkers original Quad electrostatic loudspeaker (1957), marked the beginnings of high-fidelity home audio as we know it today. The illustrious Quad ESL was discontinued in 1985. At the Klipsch factory in Hope, Arkansas, the legendary Klipschorn is still being manufactured, 73 years after its launch.Description The Reference Premiere RP-600M is Klipschs flagship stand-mounted speaker model. Its small, at 15.7 high by 8 wide by 11.9 deep, and the pair of them fit my Sound Anchor Custom Signature stands (24 H by 8 W by 12 D) as if speakers and stands had been designed for each other. The RP-600Ms Linear Travel Suspension vented tweeter is built around a 1 titanium diaphragm, loaded by a hybrid Tractrix horn whose mouth measures 5.75 by 5.75. The tweeter horns first expansion is circular and seems made of hard plastic; its second expansion is made of a soft, rubber-like material. The tweeter is crossed over at 1.5kHz to a direct-radiating, 6.5 Spun Copper Cerametallic woofer with a rear-firing port with a flared, Tractrix profile. When I tapped the RP-600Ms enclosure with a knuckle, it sounded like a thinnish (15mm) particleboard drum with minimum internal bracing. My review samples were covered in a black ash vinyl that felt extremely durable and solidly applied.The RP-600Ms sensitivity is specified as an extraordinarily high 96dB/W/m, its frequency response as 45Hz–25kHz, ±3dB.Setup Getting the RP-600Ms to serve up their full menu of pleasures required positioning them with care. The speakers off-axis response delivered a sweet spot at least two people wide, and generated satisfying instrumental tone everywhere in my room. At 10 from the front wall in Spheres room, the RP-600Ms tonal character leaned toward lean, but so what? They made a mile-deep soundstage. In my room, moving them 3 from the front wall reduced soundstage depth by at least 50%, but the bass and lower midrange were fuller—more to my liking. I also discovered that each inch I moved them farther from or closer to the front wall changed their tonal balance. With the Klipsches only 66 apart and 75 from my ears, their front baffles precisely 29 from the wall behind them, and no toe-in, the weight and timbre of Alexander Melnikovs piano as he performed Book 2 of Debussys Préludes (24-bit/96kHz FLAC, Harmonia Mundi/Qobuz) was just right for me.I also noticed that when properly Blu-Tacked in place, the Klipsch boxes seemed to merge with my heavy, 24-high, four-poster Sound Anchor Custom Signature stands. I have zero doubt that these heavy stands positively contributed to the quality of sound I achieved.I had a slight preference for the sound of the RP-600Ms with their magnetically attached grilles in place, but my review observations were made without grilles.Listening Listening to soprano Elly Ameling sing J.S. Bachs Cantatas 51 and 199, with the German Bach Soloists under the direction of Helmut Winschermann (LP, Philips LP 6500 014), I noticed how visceral and dynamic a human voice can be. With my First Watt SIT-3 power amplifier (18Wpc) driving the Klipsch RP-600Ms, the sound of Amelings voice was vibrantly present in the room—I repeat, vibrantly present, physically clear, and beautiful to behold. The only indication that I was listening to her through budget speakers was a moderate lack of soundstage width, and some decreasing imaging focus, as my attention wavered from the left to right of the stage.I first noticed this contracted soundstage with Georg Solti and the Vienna Philharmonic playing the prelude to Act 1 of Wagners Die Walküre (5 LPs, London OSA 1509). I noticed this effect only when I listened for it, and it was more than offset by the RP-600Ms grand ability to direct my attention toward rhythm and melody. The RP-600Ms slightly emphasized the leading edges of notes, which in turn allowed those notes to do an extraordinary job of emphasizing the beat, diagramming the melody, and propelling Wagners drama. Think ultimate PRaT.Compared to the Harbeth P3ESR Besides the British speakers higher price and quality of finish, there were three important differences between the Harbeth P3ESR ($2190/pair) and the Klipsch RP-600M ($549/pair). The most obvious had to do with the fact that the Harbeth is decidedly lacking in voltage sensitivity (83dB/2.83V/m), while the Klipsch is unusually sensitive (JA measured 89.6dB/2.83V/m). This difference affects every aspect of music playback.As noted above, more sensitive loudspeakers will play more succinctly at low and high SPLs. They can sound pure and operatic in a way that makes insensitive speakers seem as if theyre compressing the signal. For me, though, the chief virtue of sensitive speakers is that they allow their users to experiment with high-quality, low-power amplification.In my experience, the Harbeth P3ESR needs at least 25W to get going—and to take off and fly, it needs something like the 100Wpc of Rogue Audios Stereo 100. In contrast, the Klipsch RP-600Ms roared like jet engines with just the 18Wpc of the First Watt SIT-3. And, as youll soon see, the Klipsches could play really loud with even a simple 8Wpc single-ended-triode amplifier. The little Harbeth cant play loud with any amp.The second difference I heard was one of tonal character and saturation. The little Harbeth reproduces recordings with a sound that reminds me of Kodachrome photographs shot through a polarizing filter, which limits the angles of light entering the camera, thereby reducing glare and increasing contrast and color saturation. The result is supersaturated color with no-glare highlights. In contrast, the little Klipsches generated images that were sharp and well focused but that seemed naked in comparison to the P3ESRs images—as if shot through a lens without filters or coatings. With the Klipsch, light occasionally glared off a trumpet bell, or from the polish on the body of a violin.The third difference was spatial. The Harbeth P3ESRs present music with a wide perspective and substantial depth of field—like photos shot with a stopped-down f16 aperture on a 24mm wide-angle lens: Everything is in focus. In terms of force and impact, these speakers play small, but in projecting a soundfield, theyre giants—especially when I set the P3ESRs far out from the front and sidewalls and sit in the extreme nearfield.The Klipsch RP-600Ms projected music with considerably more force and impact, but within a narrower horizon line and a shallower field of focus—as if shot with a 90mm lens.Compared to the DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/93 The raison dêtre of DeVore Fidelitys Orangutan O/93 loudspeaker ($8400/pair) is to provide a high-quality, musically satisfying transducer for use with low-powered class-A and single-ended-triode amplifiers, and at this it excels. The O/93s sound is less detailed than DeVores more expensive Orangutan O/96s, but no one could fail to admire the O/93s effortless flow, saturated tones, or waltz-and-polka musicality. The 93dB/W/m-sensitive DeVores revealed the full merits of both the 18Wpc, solid-state First Watt SIT-3 and the 8Wpc, 300B-tubed, single-ended EleKit TU-8600R amplifiers.Both of the abovementioned amp-speaker combos made me never want to change my system again. Both reproduced Elly Ameling singing Bach cantatas with a quality of tone and an assuredness of tempo that made me forget all audiophile concerns. How could the humble Klipsch RP-600M compete?The first thing I noticed when I switched from the DeVore O/93s with their 10 woofers to the Klipsch RP-600Ms and their 6.5 woofers was the reduction in energy from 80 to 300Hz. The German Bach Soloists, and especially the cello, harpsichord, and organ, moved back in space and became less fully realized. Bass was strong and detailed down to about 60Hz, but definitely on the lean side. Suddenly, I wanted to add one or two of Klipschs matching subwoofers.The Klipsch emphasized odd-order harmonics, which made their sound feel punchy. Rhythms grabbed my attention. The RP-600Ms delivered more microdetail than the DeVores, and with greater dynamic ease. They put a smaller but denser, quicker-revving energy into my room. Compared to the DeVores, the Klipsches delivered less bottom-octave fullness and midrange color, but more tuneful fun and visceral excitement. And, lest you forget, the RP-600M costs less than 7% of the price of the esteemed DeVore.With the Line Magnetic LM-518 IA On recording after recording, with every amplifier I tried, the one virtue of the RP-600M that kept holding my attention was how piano notes and keyboards were presented. More than any other speakers I use, the RP-600Ms forced to me watch how piano notes are played: their sequence, their shifting patterns, their touch and force. This effect was most obvious with a 22Wpc single-ended 845 tube amplifier, the Line Magnetic LM-518 IA integrated amplifier ($4450).The RP-600M showed me anew the elegant simplicity and intoxicating virtuosity of Skip Jamess piano, guitar, and singing. Ive rarely experienced the full intricacies of his piano playing as I did when listening to Little Cow, Little Calf Blues, from Blues from the Delta (44.1/16 FLAC, Vanguard 79517-2/Qobuz), through these speakers. Ive rarely been more attuned to the way James bends a phrase. The counterpoint of his modulating voice, set against his mad little melodies, was never more conspicuous.Likewise the timbre of Alexander Melnikovs piano in Debussys Préludes, Book 2. I was using the Line Magnetic amp while I fined-tuned the setup of the RP-600Ms, and folks, I swear on Debussys grave, this $4999 amp-speaker combo reproduced piano recordings with $10,000 worth of élan and realistic presence. If, like me, youre psychically invested in piano recordings, I urge you to give this speaker a whirl—maybe with Line Magnetics LM-518 IA and a Klipsch subwoofer.Compared to the KEF LS50 While using the Line Magnetic LM-518 IA amplifier, I switched to a speaker that I know this SET amp really likes: the universally admired, super-well-balanced KEF LS50 ($1299/pair). The first thing I noticed was a denser, more palpable energy in the two octaves from 50 to 200Hz. The LS50s midrange (200–1600Hz) was also richer and fuller, more consistent in tone, but with less sparkle and vitality in the octaves above 1.6kHz.The KEF LS50s sound was more rounded than the RP-600Ms—darker, slightly veiled, more compressed. Through the KEFs, Melnikovs piano was smaller and farther from the microphones. Sometimes, it seemed that the LS50s couldnt keep up with Melnikovs fingerings.Compared to the Zu Audio Soul Supreme Wagners Die Walküre was more fully and subtly expressed when I switched from the Klipsch stand-mounts to Zu Audios floorstanding Soul Supremes ($4499/pair). The RP-600Ms 6.5 woofers felt small compared to the primary 10 full-range drive-units of the crossoverless Soul Supremes. John Culshaws historic production of this opera got bigger, more immediate, more epic-dramatic; the layout of the recording venue became more comprehensible.Both speakers enjoyed being driven by low-power amps, and both performed gracefully under the direction of the 22Wpc Line Magnetic LM-518 IA, but the Zus treated-paper cones delivered gentler, more lifelike timbres than the Klipsches Cerametallic cones. The Soul Supremes showed me the walls of the recording venue. The Klipsches didnt.My chief criticism of the RP-600M was that it lent an extremely slight, overdamped hardness to everything it reproduced, especially brasses and strings. Similarly, the leanness of its bottom octaves reduced my ability to enter the Solti-Culshaw recording space. Obviously, each speakers woofer had its own sound; I prefer the relaxed nature of Zus treated-paper, full-range cone to Klipschs harder cone.Conclusion A speaker this inexpensive isnt supposed to be this good. It isnt rational. The Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-600M is not just a great loudspeaker for its price, or for horn-loving Klipsch Kids—its way better than that.If youre not already a fan of Klipsch speakers, all I can say is, why not? You dont like speakers that spin torque and exude horsepower? Some tool told you that horns sound like megaphones? And you believed him?If youre 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.SpecificationsDescription: Two-way, rear-ported, stand-mounted loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1 (25mm) titanium-dome tweeter with hybrid cross-section Tractrix horn; 6.5 (165mm) Cerametallic-cone woofer. Crossover frequency: 1.8kHz. Frequency response: 45Hz–25kHz, ±3dB. Sensitivity: 96dB/W/m. Impedance: 8 ohms. Power handling: 100W continuous, 400W peak. Dimensions: 15.7 (400mm) H by 8 (200mm) W by 11.9 (300mm) D. Weight: 16 lb (7.3kg). Finishes: Piano Black Gloss. Price: $649/pair for Piano Black Gloss finishes. Warranty: 5 years.Free shipping in the lower 48 states. International shipping done by Ebay.
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