Thread: KLipsch RB_61 II

One of the brands that are synonymous to horn speakers is Kipsch. The horn speakers by the company are easily available in the country and come at a reasonable price. While we reviewed their flagship speaker, the Palladium p39-f, in our floorstanding speakers issue, this time around we have the opportunity to test Klipsch's RB-6III from their reference series. in front of the driver (the tweeter in this case).

This is a special assembly, developed by the folks at Klipsch,to acoustically amplify the overall sound without the need of supplying more electrical power. For instance, it is similar to an action where we cup our hands around our mouth to amplify the sound. This is interesting as with such an arrangement they have managed to add more loudness to the speakers so that it can give a sensitivity reading of approximately 95dB whereas most bookshelf speakers dwell in the range of 86dB to 89dB.

Considering the logarithmic scale of decibels,this difference of 6dB amounts to four times more loudness than its counterparts can produce.The titanium tweeter used in the RB-61 II is the same tweeter with linear travel suspension that is used in the flagship Palladium p 39f floors tanding speaker. Supporting the elaborate horn*tweeter arrangement, they have incorporated the light yet rigid cerametallic woofer cone that features specially treated aluminum to help better dampen and prevent distortion. The tweeter crosses over at 2kHz to the 6.5" mid-bass driver.




OUT OF THE BOX
When Klipsch RB-61 II arrived at our studio, the very first aspect that grabbed our attention was its horn. Made of titanium and carved neatly in a boxy cabinet, the horn houses the tweeter. In contrast to the metallic grey of the front baffle, it has a shiny metallic mid-bass driver, which looks like it is made of copper. When you think of Klipsch, you usually expect a massive speaker due to its horn arrangement, but surprisingly the RB-61 II doesn't have such a big footprint, which made handling and plaCing it very easy, unlike other horn speakers (both bookshelf and floors tanding) with massive dimensions.

TECHNOLOGY
We start with the Tractrix horn that finds place in all the Reference series speakers by Klipsch. As most of you must have understood by the shape, they have placed a horn right.

PERFORMANCE
Setting up the Klipsch RB-61 II wasn't tedious, and we started by trying the conventional placement option with them. Driving the speakers was the Quad Elite CD.