Klipsch Reference Series RB-81 II Bookshelf Speaker (Black)

I have wanted these speakers since getting my first pair of KB-15's, an earlier model made for Best Buy (5.25" LF/1" Al dome driven horn HF) and bargain priced at $130/pr shipped. I was amazed at their sound and sensitivity (efficiency). I A-B-ed them with mythen previous favorites - a pair of NHT SuperOne 2.1's bought new 12/14. Their great sensitivity over the NHT's almost sealed their fate - the small Klipsch speakers were moved to my hobby room, where they have been seriously enjoyed. My NHT's remained in my office, an 11' x 12' room where they are driven by an Onkyo 50 Wpc stereo receiver (TX-8020) and CDP (C-7030). I was pleased with the controlled bass and decent treble of the NHT's - but the midrange appeared lacking - I thought that the RB-81ii, with it's 8" LF driver and 1" Ti horn HF driver might be the answer. They seemed to have evaporated last winter.I checked Amazon for Prime stock of the speakers aperiodically - including a few weeks back, when I found them for $249/ea - a great price for the top of the line bookshelf speaker in their 'Reference' line - so I ordered a pair. I felt guilty - and cancelled the order the next day. Last Saturday, I checked - they were still available - I ordered another pair. I was determined to get them this time and they arrived Tuesday - in a word wow! They are large and heavy, which I was prepared for, having moved the bookcase's next shelf up allowing 22" vertical clearance. They are fed by #14 stranded zip cord, with the HF/LF jumpers in place. The front firing port allows placement of the 12.5" deep speaker in a 12" deep shelf, canted inward.. The coverage is wide - my ears are centered two feet in front of the plane the speakers are in and equidistant from the speakers (~5 ft). The stereo effect is consistent almost to the back wall (8 ft) and covers a cone three feet wide at my seated central position to six ft wide in front of the back wall. The LF is there, while the HF are great - and the MF is now present! It also takes a lot less to drive these speakers - my half-power HD < .03% can be appreciated (<.08% @ 50 WPC). I may have found my ideal speakers! If you think you might like them - don't wait too long - order your's. Oh, if they get any better after break-in... I'll be shocked. Besides being bi-wire capable, they have a nice grill cover that is held in place by magnets. The instruction manual is multilingual and pretty sparse. They come individually well-packed, too. My s/n's were ~100 apart... they looked identical - perfect - and 'factory fresh' - quite decent quality.

Great speakers for home theatre use but for music I would look elsewhere. They look great, are huge and can easily fill a large room with sound. The have a broad range but for real bass you’ll need a sub. Overall the functionality for these is great!

THESE 2 WAY SPEAKERS ARE NOTHING BUT OUSTANDING. THESE Klipsch RB-81 REFERANCE SPEAKERS ARE ON THE DISCOUTINUED LIST, BUILT LIKE A TANK, & THE SOUND IS SO CLEAR EVAN AT THIS PRICE POINT. THE SOUND STANGE IS EXPANSIVE WHEN YOU DRIVE THEM A LITTLE / LIKE A RACE HORSE. THE HIGHS ARE CLEAR & CRISP WHILE THE BASS IS TIGHT WITHOUT BOOMING OR EXHIBITING ANY FLABY DISTORTION. ( EXAMPLE ) GET A PHIL COLLINS CD & PLAY IN THE AIR TONIGHT & YOU WILL FEEL LIKE YOU ARE AT A LIVE CONCERT. TRUE, THE MIDS ARE A LITTLE THIN BUT WHAT DO EXPECT FROM A 2 WAY DESIGN. THESE SPEAKERS ARE IN MY BASEMENT BY THE BAR & EASILY FILL THE ENTIRE ROOM. UPSTAIRS FOR CRITICAL LISTENING I HAVE A SET OF 4 WAY, TOWER, STUDIO MONITOR SPEAKERS WITH A COST OF OVER $ 24,000.00 VERSUS THE Klipsch RB-81 BOOKSHELF SPEAKERS DOWNSTAIRS AT A COST OF LESS THAN $ 400.00 IT'S A NO BRAINER. THESE RB * 81 SPEAKERS ARE THE REAL DEAL SO YOU BETTER GRAB THEM WHILE YOU CAN BEFORE THEY ARE GONE.

These are such powerful and highly efficient speakers. You won't have to raise the volume past 2 or 3 before it fills a large room with powerful lows lows and highly articulate highs. Just keep in mind that these aren't really "bookshelf speakers"! They are large and heavy and will require pedestals (which they are already set up for) or a very strong shelf! However, they are worth every penny!

These are great speakers, but...Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Klipsch fan. There's just something about these speakers that could be a bit better. What is it? Well... My experience, is that they are almost too precise. There's a kind of edginess in the high end, like the designers wanted to make sure that every little metallic element of the music came through. The highs are certainly present, but there's a "granular" quality to them that I don't experience with paper speakers. It's almost like they're too clean and crisp. The lows are low and full, but a little loose, I imagine that is because they're ported and I'm using them in a relatively small room (12x14 bedroom) with parallel walls (not the best). What I like, is the headroom when it comes to volume. These guys can take some input and stay clean. I think they'd be great in larger rooms, where the sound can travel and "mature" a bit. Close up, they're just a little harsh and lack the organic smoothness of paper cones. That being said, this is Klipsch design and it's beautiful. I'm glad I bought these but I still miss my Tannoy PBM8s that I stupidly sold for $100. What was I thinking!

Possibly biased because I like Klipsch speakers. All I can say is that the quality of the enclosure is matched by unexpected performance rivaling far larger speaker systems. Clarity of highs, authoritative bass, and very competitive price to performance. These are currently being used as studio monitors instead of powered speakers, but have the power to fill a large room (24x30) with full, rich sound.

These speakers are a little old but I found them to be actually superb value and produce excellent sound. If you can find them, buy them.