My new toys

[ravaneli]

The most beautiful non exotic speakers I have seen. No photo can make those justice. They are very dark (like coffee indeed) and camera doesn't capture them well





Don't get me wrong, the A7s are easy on the eyes to say the least, but these are so sophisticated-looking. The new RTi line while better than the old, still leaves something to be desired with the grills off. The periphery of the drivers should have been darker gray in my opinion.

These.. if I were to revise them with the designer.. I have nothing to say. So so pretty.

And yes, I never heard them and never cared. I've been thinking about the Icon W Espresso series for 3 months now and 3 days ago spontaneously click the buy button.

Will leave my impressions later, although I don't have any frame of reference other than the A7s and the A6 really..

[zane77]

Those look really clean, be sure and post a review

[Rick88]

Congrats, those Icon W Series are gorgeous speakers, and they sound very good. I had a pair of WB-14's in cabernet as my surrounds before I dismantled my home theater last summer. They were some of the best built, most beautifully finished speakers I have owned, regardless of price. I'm anxious to hear your thoughts on them after you listen to them for awhile. Here's a photo of mine before I sold them:

Attachment 66877

[Rick88]

Let me add:

Attachment 66878

[Sherardp]

Congrats on a gorgeous speaker. Had no idea Klipsch was still at it. I like the Palladium P-39F Floorstanding Speaker they came out with as well.

[obieone]

I was stunned a couple of years ago, when I discovered these speakers at a Magnolia, down by Hilton Head.
"These are Klipsch?! They can't be! They sound GOOD!"
The one speaker I liked by that co., and they stopped making them. MORONS!
Back then, they were $600/ pr. Now they're at newegg for $200. Damn good price for the sound AND finish.

Enjoy your new toys

[ravaneli]

OK, I tried them last night on same positions where the Rtis were, with same gear, and same songs that I listen to 100 times in a row.

The sound is quite different from the RTi line, easy to notice with non trained ear. While the little RM7 satelites easily blended with the expensive RTi, the rear pair that is still hanging on the wall did not blend with the front WS 14 bookshelves. and the WS 24 center at all. U step towards the back and the entire sound picture changes. It's like Wow!

Unfortunately, I am a little disapointed with the Klipsch front.

See, I have no problem coming in a Polk forum and saying the Klipsch sound better, and say 'bring it'. But they don't. While they win the beauty contest (and a contest it is), the RTi are one whole level of detail on top of these.

But let me step back and start with the good. These Klipsch speakers are ANYTHING but bright. Not compared to the RTi at least. They sound so mellow and laid back. They are much easier to listen to for a long time. I know everyone says Klipsch is bright, but this Klipsch is certainly not. That reminds me that one time I heard some nice Klipsch towers in Best Buy and thought: 'hm everyone says they bright but these don't sound bright to me' , and then scratched my head and walked away.

They are also very smooth. My ear keeps trying to find the crossover point between the horn and the mid driver. Nada. Butter smooth transition. The AVR crossover is easy to find though, you can tell what frequencies are routed to my 660 for they sound different. But back to butter, actually the whole speaker sounds like butter. Very smooth and mellow. Yes, I like this butter description.

Now if that were all, they would be just a different speaker, not a worse speaker.

But,

Unfortunately that smoothness smooths out some of the music detail. Quite noticeable to me, and my ear is not that trained. My A7s kind of zoom-in the music one step further. Depressing the single piano keys on one of my favorite songs gives me chills on the A7s. Here it just sounds nice and smooth. I am losing some of the contrast, the separation between the separate strings of the guitar or the keys of the piano. The A7s just dig deeper and make everything more obvious. Perhaps Klipsch is the 'natural' speaker and that's how things actually sound, and the A7s add 'coloration'. I don't know, but I like that extra detail, that extra contrast between the different components.

As I am finishing this, Norah Jones - Don't Know Why came to my Pandora station. Wow, sounds so authentic through the Klipsch, her voice is coming out dry as paper. That song is made for Klipsch. If only they could play like this, but have the same detail the RTi line does..

[Rick88]

Are you comparing the little WB-14 bookie with a 4" woofer to the RTi-A7 tower?

[pyrocyborg]

I'm sure they would be more of a match against a pair of RTiA1 or RTiA3. Comparing them to towers, at least in that price bracket, is comparing apples to oranges...

Yet, I do agree they are beautiful. I've seen them in person, and the cabernet color is wow!! Looks like furniture.

[ravaneli]

Yes, this comparison is A7s + A6 vs Espresso bookies + center + W660 Polk sub, so take it for what it is.

With that said, I don't think the kind of difference in sound can be attributed to size. As a matter of fact the Icon speakers image surprisingly well throughout the room, and they are not sensitive to my listening height. I was folding my laundry, standing up and away from the center, and they have the same milky, buttery sound filling the room. These are no poor sounding speaker. Actually, their little driver pack respectable punch in the mid base. I found that they reproduce old music in some unique magic way.

I am not bashing the Klipsch, I am KEEPING these, and I am LOOKING for the WF 35 towers! Ping me if u have a pair for sale at newegg prices.

But when it comes to detail, contrast, granularity, the A7s add to the definition. The Klipsch, even in the most comfortable range in the middle sound a little .. i don't know.. blurry, muddy, foggy. I really don't think that if I compare them against the A3 everything will change. Even the A7s... they have 1 tweeter and one mid driver, just like the bookies. Yes they have 2 7" drivers but those have other duties. I think in the top range of the spectrum the comparison of the towers against the bookies is not that unfair.

There are several reviews on Newegg that complain of the same muddy feeling. Perhaps detectable only if you have owned a decent speaker. Most of the cheerleaders on Newegg (category in which u can probably dump me as well) had a logitech 5.1 all their life and their first purchase of Klipsch bookies sounds like what they think paradise would sound like. But I am telling you, there is something with the level of detail that is just a property of those speaker and I can bet u a dollar that the towers from Espresso line will sound the same way.

[lanchile]

I had Klipsch speakers before and the sound was very good but the sound in klipsch speakers tends to be bright to the point it is fatiguing if I listen for more than one hour. Right now I have the RTi A1 and these small tanks are breath taking!!! RTi series are very pleasant to listen for many hours without ears bleeding or fatiguing. Hats off for the RTi A1 speakers.

[brianle]

Good looking speakers

[Rick88]

Yes, this comparison is A7s + A6 vs Espresso bookies + center + W660 Polk sub, so take it for what it is.

With that said, I don't think the kind of difference in sound can be attributed to size. As a matter of fact the Icon speakers image surprisingly well throughout the room, and they are not sensitive to my listening height. I was folding my laundry, standing up and away from the center, and they have the same milky, buttery sound filling the room. These are no poor sounding speaker. Actually, their little driver pack respectable punch in the mid base. I found that they reproduce old music in some unique magic way.

I am not bashing the Klipsch, I am KEEPING these, and I am LOOKING for the WF 35 towers! Ping me if u have a pair for sale at newegg prices.

But when it comes to detail, contrast, granularity, the A7s add to the definition. The Klipsch, even in the most comfortable range in the middle sound a little .. i don't know.. blurry, muddy, foggy. I really don't think that if I compare them against the A3 everything will change. Even the A7s... they have 1 tweeter and one mid driver, just like the bookies. Yes they have 2 7" drivers but those have other duties. I think in the top range of the spectrum the comparison of the towers against the bookies is not that unfair.

There are several reviews on Newegg that complain of the same muddy feeling. Perhaps detectable only if you have owned a decent speaker. Most of the cheerleaders on Newegg (category in which u can probably dump me as well) had a logitech 5.1 all their life and their first purchase of Klipsch bookies sounds like what they think paradise would sound like. But I am telling you, there is something with the level of detail that is just a property of those speaker and I can bet u a dollar that the towers from Espresso line will sound the same way.

Hmm, it sounds a little odd that you're not hearing the details in the WB-14's. Perhaps with break in that will improve? What frequency do you have them crossed over at?

[cnh]

I've heard Klipsch Icon towers go up against the more lowly TSI-400s and I have to say. I did not think the Klipsch won that contest. The Polks sounded "cleaner" to me. I can't imagine them being a match for RTi-A towers!

Then again, I'm never been into horns much.

Nonetheless they are purdy!

cnh

[ravaneli]

I've been switching between 80 and 50 for XO. These are the only ones my AVR has. The bookies go lower than 80 though, I am telling you, they are trying to hit it on 'bottoms up'.

They are lovely little speakers, and at 200 for the pair they ain't going nowhere.

By the way Newegg offers open box WF 35 towers now, and my heart almost stopped when I saw that. I want those towers so bad. But they only offer the cabernet color, and my rooms are no match for reddish speakers.

[Rick88]

I kind of wish I'd kept my 14's to use as pc speakers sometimes.

What avr do you have? Most of them nowadays offer far more crossover choices than that. When I used my 14's as surrounds I crossed them over at either 100 or 110 hz, I can't remember which...

[ravaneli]

if u liked them so much why did u sell them? At least I am keeping mine.

No, I have several over 80, but I wish I had 60 and 70 instead of those. I don't like high crossovers for the sub, because the range of 100 and more doesn't travel as well off axis and I lose some sense of direction. Plus, my sub sounds really boomy when it goes that high.

[gudnoyez]

I don't have those they look sweet, I bet they sound better than my Klipsch Synergy B2's but I think they sound pretty good. I hook them up from time to time Nothin wrong with Klipsch, those are good on the eyes and ears I'am sure of that. Ive never had Fatigue from them Horns. Nice speakers Ravaneli

[Rick88]

I sold them because I got out of home theater to go back to a 2 channel setup, and did not want a sub, so I needed larger speakers... I wouldn't use 14's as main speakers anyways...

Anyhow, I hope you can tweak yours to your liking. Perhaps experimenting with room placement might improve things for you?

[DSkip]

I haven't heard a horn yet that won me over. I've heard some I enjoyed listening to, but none that made me want to look deeper into the world of horns. Those are purdy, but I don't find many speakers more appealing than the RTiA9 in Cherry. That's definitely a beauty I'd approach in a bar after a few drinks. The A5/A7 are pretty too, but not nearly as sexy as all those drivers the A9 has.

For $200, I don't think you could ask for more out of those Klipsch's aesthetically though.