Thanks! Got ‘em ordered.
Klipsch RP-600 M Vs My Vintage JBLs
Here’s a subjective take on the Klipsch RP-600Ms, subject of glowing (and sometimes less-than-glowing) reviews of late, compared with my 43 year old JBL L65s (“A”). The ‘65s were refoamed in the mid 90s and still sound wonderful to my ears....currently, the foam surrounds are still looking fine. Unsure, however, whether or not the 1990s maintenance included attention to capacitors/crossovers, etc., so there’s that disclaimer.
I recently got the RP-600Ms as front channels in a wholly separate, 5.2 channel HT system which occupies the same AV cabinet as my 2 channel rig which is powered with a PrimaLuna Prologue Classic integrated running the Mullard EL 34 reissues and stock preamp section tubes. Out of curiosity, I disconnected the Klipsches from the 5.2 yesterday afternoon and hooked them up to the PrimaLuna for a “from-recent-memory” comparison to my JBLs. My observations from listening to several hours of Norah Jones and Diana Krall “Masters” playlists on Tidal visa Bluesound Node 2i are:
- The RP-600Ms are very “musical” and display very little of the high frequency and mid/high frequency harshness other reviewers have attributed to them. Their time playing in my listening space hooked up to my tube integrated leaves me with 90% of Guttenberg’s enthusiasm for these speakers! Plus, my L65s make excellent stands for them...lol.
- (Big surprise to me!) These Klipsches and JBLs don’t seem to be much different from each other as far as efficiency goes.
- If anything, the L65s are slightly more “strident” to my ears than the RP-600Ms (the 077 tweeter in the JBLs?).
- In my 12 x 16ish listening space, usable bass response from the Klipsches and JBLs are both very pleasing and “too close to call” in comparison to each other......I will say that bass seems more tailor-made-to-my-listening-room with the RP-600Ms though.
- For me, the JBLs have a razor thin edge on the Klipsches in terms of “cohesiveness”(??). This I’m defining as a smooth and euphonic transition between different sound frequencies (3 way Vs. 2 way?).
Overall, the differences I hear between these RP-600Ms and my L65s are subtle-in-the-extreme to my ears.....the difference between living in a blue house and an identical house with a blue-violet exterior. To me, this is a heckuva testament to the RP-600Ms at their price point!
Thought this might be usable info to someone considering the RP 600Ms...
I recently got the RP-600Ms as front channels in a wholly separate, 5.2 channel HT system which occupies the same AV cabinet as my 2 channel rig which is powered with a PrimaLuna Prologue Classic integrated running the Mullard EL 34 reissues and stock preamp section tubes. Out of curiosity, I disconnected the Klipsches from the 5.2 yesterday afternoon and hooked them up to the PrimaLuna for a “from-recent-memory” comparison to my JBLs. My observations from listening to several hours of Norah Jones and Diana Krall “Masters” playlists on Tidal visa Bluesound Node 2i are:
- The RP-600Ms are very “musical” and display very little of the high frequency and mid/high frequency harshness other reviewers have attributed to them. Their time playing in my listening space hooked up to my tube integrated leaves me with 90% of Guttenberg’s enthusiasm for these speakers! Plus, my L65s make excellent stands for them...lol.
- (Big surprise to me!) These Klipsches and JBLs don’t seem to be much different from each other as far as efficiency goes.
- If anything, the L65s are slightly more “strident” to my ears than the RP-600Ms (the 077 tweeter in the JBLs?).
- In my 12 x 16ish listening space, usable bass response from the Klipsches and JBLs are both very pleasing and “too close to call” in comparison to each other......I will say that bass seems more tailor-made-to-my-listening-room with the RP-600Ms though.
- For me, the JBLs have a razor thin edge on the Klipsches in terms of “cohesiveness”(??). This I’m defining as a smooth and euphonic transition between different sound frequencies (3 way Vs. 2 way?).
Overall, the differences I hear between these RP-600Ms and my L65s are subtle-in-the-extreme to my ears.....the difference between living in a blue house and an identical house with a blue-violet exterior. To me, this is a heckuva testament to the RP-600Ms at their price point!
Thought this might be usable info to someone considering the RP 600Ms...
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