Klipsch RP-600M bookshelf review at Stereophile

everettT

everettT

Audioholic Spartan
Not sure that I dont see the bump. Seems like a swing up
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
The real star of that show is the very nicely controlled dispersion that matches the on-axis response. That is very good control of directivity.

One interesting thing to note is that there is an on-axis null at 20kHz but an off-axis flare of energy in that same range. Dogs and bats probably find this speaker obnoxious! I would guess the reason for that maybe a breakup mode throws the tweeter in reverse phase that, combined with the horn geometry, creates a phase cancellation null on axis but creates a big spike off axis. It's not a big deal though, since few adult humans can hear that high. Young children can, however.
 
Kvn_Walker

Kvn_Walker

Audioholic Field Marshall
Boy that review is gonna piss of a lot of snobs.

edit: just read the comments and sure enough, pissed off snobs.
 
afterlife2

afterlife2

Audioholic Warlord
 
killbill13

killbill13

Full Audioholic
At $549, the Klipsch RP-600M are capable of over-achieving with the right electronics. Drive them with a cheap receiver, or even expensive analytical sounding amplifier and you will find very little joy with them. Connecting them to something like the Schiit Audio Aegir or Ragnarok 2, Heed Elixir, or any robust sounding EL34/EL84 tube amplifier will be a match in sonic heaven and end the argument that inexpensive loudspeakers can’t move you emotionally. A future classic.

so whats the proper amplifier to connect them? my marantz 5013 doesnt qualify? Am i in the “little joy“ group?
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
At $549, the Klipsch RP-600M are capable of over-achieving with the right electronics. Drive them with a cheap receiver, or even expensive analytical sounding amplifier and you will find very little joy with them. Connecting them to something like the Schiit Audio Aegir or Ragnarok 2, Heed Elixir, or any robust sounding EL34/EL84 tube amplifier will be a match in sonic heaven and end the argument that inexpensive loudspeakers can’t move you emotionally. A future classic.

so whats the proper amplifier to connect them? my marantz 5013 doesnt qualify? Am i in the “little joy“ group?
Your receiver should handle those well enough, I'd think. :)
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
so whats the proper amplifier to connect them? my marantz 5013 doesnt qualify? Am i in the “little joy“ group?
The 5013 may be weak for some especially demanding speaker, but for the rp-600m you will never come close to pushing it beyond its limits!
Don't buy the BS!
Reclaim your joy!!!
 
Last edited:
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
The 5013 may be weak for some especially demanding speaker, but for the rp-600m you will never come close to pushing it beyond its limits!
Don't buy the BS!
Reclaim your joy!!!
My own personal prejudice aside, I think these would easily outperform the speakers he is using. :)
 
killbill13

killbill13

Full Audioholic
or even expensive analytical sounding amplifier and you will find very little joy with them

whats an expensive analytical sounding amplifier? Mine is not?
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
or even expensive analytical sounding amplifier and you will find very little joy with them

whats an expensive analytical sounding amplifier? Mine is not?
The amplifier isn't going to change the experience much with that speaker. Don't listen to the goofballs who are advising exotic amps. The differences are a product of their own imagination.
 
Jon AA

Jon AA

Audioholic
Uhg. While one could say "waveguide" is a better technical term to describe what's on this speaker for those hung up on semantics (because it has a dome tweeter, not a compression driver) he's wrong about all the reasons. And he perpetuates the audiophile myth that "horns are shouty" (that was, to be fair, based in some reality of very bad designs in years past that did sound "shouty").

Well designed horn/driver combos on good speakers don't sound "shouty." If he didn't find this speaker to sound that way, it has nothing to do with it "not being a horn."

I'm sure Don Keele would be interested to be "educated" by him that controlling directivity is not a goal of a good horn design.
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
Uhg. While one could say "waveguide" is a better technical term to describe what's on this speaker for those hung up on semantics (because it has a dome tweeter, not a compression driver) he's wrong about all the reasons. And he perpetuates the audiophile myth that "horns are shouty" (that was, to be fair, based in some reality of very bad designs in years past that did sound "shouty").

Well designed horn/driver combos on good speakers don't sound "shouty." If he didn't find this speaker to sound that way, it has nothing to do with it "not being a horn."

I'm sure Don Keele would be interested to be "educated" by him that controlling directivity is not a goal of a good horn design.
The transducer isn't what determines an acoustic loading device to be a horn or a waveguide. You could use a dome or compression driver or ribbon tweeter or even a plasma tweeter in either a horn or a waveguide, it doesn't matter. Klipsch's hybrid tractrix waveguide is very much a waveguide as well as a horn.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
The transducer isn't what determines an acoustic loading device to be a horn or a waveguide. You could use a dome or compression driver or ribbon tweeter or even a plasma tweeter in either a horn or a waveguide, it doesn't matter. Klipsch's hybrid tractrix waveguide is very much a waveguide as well as a horn.
This makes sense to me. But is there a point of distinction between a waveguide and a horn? Are all horns waveguides? Are all waveguides horns?
I need Venn diagrams man! ;) :)
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
This makes sense to me. But is there a point of distinction between a waveguide and a horn? Are all horns waveguides? Are all waveguides horns?
I need Venn diagrams man! ;) :)
Earl Geddes coined the term waveguide, but he has a very specific definition for it. A really dumbed down explanation is that all waveguides are horns, but not all horns are waveguides. The difference is that horns are simply a device that acoustically loads a transducer so that it has a greater acoustic impedance than free air in order to achieve greater efficiency. Technically, you could put your hands around your mouth to better shout over a long distance, and that is a horn. A waveguide does all that but also takes directivity control into account. All horns are not necessarily designed for directivity control, but waveguides are supposed to be. This is a very generalized explanation of the difference.
 

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