Klipsch The Fives

amazon Klipsch The Fives reviews

We don’t often review powered bookshelf speakers these days, and even less when they cost $799. But we test many soundbars in this price range, and with The Fives, Klipsch aims to provide a hearty left/right channel alternative. These powered speakers are beautifully designed, powerful, and can be used with a sub but hardly need a sub. All the modern connections you’d expect from a soundbar are here, including Bluetooth connectivity. The result is a pair of speakers that act as a self-powered, remote-controlled entertainment system solution for those who want true stereo separation, real bass depth, clear highs, and ease of use.

Design

Available in matte black or walnut models, The Fives features a real wood veneer-covered MDF crate with a tweed mesh that magnetically snaps into place for easy mounting and dismounting. The grille is attractive and features the classic Klipsch logo embroidered on the medallion in the lower right corner. For the black model, the mesh panels have a tweed-like grid, while the walnut mesh panels have a less geometric, more natural tweed look.

The grilles hide is the real thing for some of us – each is equipped with a horn-style 1-inch titanium dome tweeter and a 4.5-inch composite fiber cone woofer. These speakers look amazing with or without the mesh; these speakers look amazing — the surface underneath the mesh is all black, and the horns, in particular, capture the light lovingly.

Measuring 12.0 x 6.5 x 9.3 inches per speaker (HWD), the speakers combine for a total output of 160 watts. The woofers take up 60 watts each, and the tweeters give 20 watts each, providing a frequency range of 50Hz to 25kHz. The main speaker weighs 11.8 pounds, and the subwoofer weighs 10.7 pounds.

At the top of the main speaker, there are attractive integrated dial-in source selectors and volume controls. (The volume works independently, not along with the master volume of your paired or connected device.) The source selector uses a white LED to show which input is currently selected.

Both speakers feature rear trigger ports for driver movement and efficient airflow. You’ll want to place these, ideally at least a few feet away from the wall. The back of the subwoofer only has connections for the included 4M cable that connects two speakers, while the back for the main speaker is loaded with connections. There’s an HDMI (ARC) port, an L/R switch for assigning channels to the main and sub speakers, a pairing button for Bluetooth devices, and a connection for phono (RCA model with grounded screw terminal), aux ( 3.5 mm), and subwoofer output (RCA). Those are analog connections, but there’s also a digital panel with Optical and USB inputs.

All these connections mean that Blu-ray players or media players can be connected, turntables, TVs, computers, any device with a 3.5mm output, and of course, Bluetooth devices can be paired. All in all, this is a better connection than some of the soundbars we tested.

The 4M mentioned above cable connects two wide-length speakers so you can get serious stereo separation. The main power cable connects the back of the main speaker.

Fives also ships with a remote that runs on two AAA batteries (included). The remote has buttons for play/pause, volume up/down, subwoofer up/down, mute, and dedicated buttons for the different sources you can connect: TV, Aux, Phono, Optical, and USB. There’s also a Bluetooth button and a Subwoofer level reset. Out of the box, with the batteries in, the remote worked flawlessly and was easy to use, playing and pausing music from the paired iPhone without problems or much lag. However, you do have to make sure aimed at the front of the main speaker—The sensor is on the right side between the tweeter and the woofer.

The speakers use dynamic bass EQ — DSP (digital signal processing) to adjust bass levels as the volume changes. You can enable or disable this feature by pressing the Sub-Reset button on the remote for three seconds. Performance differences will sound more subtle on some tracks than others but are easy to switch back and forth with the remote.

Fives is compatible with Bluetooth 5, supports AptX, AptX HD, AAC, and SBC Bluetooth codecs.

Later this year, Klipsch announced support in the Klipsch Connect app (for Android and iOS) for The Fives, including EQ for fine-tuning the audio signature. It’s disappointing that it wasn’t available at launch, but the speaker sounds great. The EQ will most likely be more helpful in tailoring the system to the room than changing the sound signature entirely.

Performance

On tracks with strong bass content, such as The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” The Fives delivers powerful bass depth. At the highest volumes and with bass management in play, the speakers don’t distort and manage to deliver a healthy amount of deep bass while balancing everything well with higher frequency content. It’s also important to note that The Fives can be quite noisy. At both high and moderate volumes, they deliver a balanced and powerful audio experience.

Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of The Fives’ overall tonal character. The unnatural sound doesn’t muffle the drums on this track sound almost thunderous, but — they manage to absorb some noticeable bass boosters and never seem to overshadow any other element of the mix, sitting back despite the fuller and deeper sound. Callahan’s baritone has the ideal mix of mids and highs detailed here. The tonal textures are also delivered with bright detail and clarity — what we ended up with was a lovely balance. The lows are enhanced and eventually make the kick drum heavier, but it never threatens the rest of the mix. There’s plenty of room for vocals and guitars and registered percussion tracks higher than activity.

In Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” the kick drum loop gets an ideal presence in the mid-highs, while some low frequencies complement the loop sustain. Sub-bass synth hits that interrupt beats are delivered with less power than higher bass frequencies — this is what the subwoofer output does. Even if the sub-bass on this track doesn’t make the house shake, the bass and mids are full and rich — The Fives delivers powerful low-frequency response bass lovers will appreciate. The vocals on this track are delivered with crisp clarity, and none of the overtones are added. That is a well-balanced sound that pushes the bass-forward without making things look opaque.

Orchestral tracks, such as the opening scene in Mary’s Gospel According to Others, by John Adams, sound fantastic through The Fives. The lower register instrument offers a bit more than purists might like, but it’s balanced with brass, strings, and higher register vocals. With ample spacing between the speakers, you get a great sense of space when recording like this — something soundbars and all-in-one speakers can’t reach.

Conclude

Not many things we’ve tested recently are directly comparable to The Fives in terms of design or price. You have a lot to choose from in the $500 to $1,000 range, and they come in many forms. For example, our favorite soundbars in this price range include the $600 LG SL10YG and the $800 Sonos Arc.

The $500 Audioengine A5+ speaker offers a solid audio experience in an attractive design in the bookshelf realm. At the same time, the $400 Klipsch R-41PM is a smaller pair with similar features to The Fives. But for $800, Klipsch doesn’t disappoint. Even without accessories, you get a great audio experience with The Fives, as well as the necessary ports to connect any audio source to them.

where can you get a Klipsch The Fives online

Klipsch The Fives Powered Speaker System with HDMI-ARC in Walnut: Buy it now

Klipsch The Fives Powered Speaker System (Matte Black) (Renewed): Buy it now

Klipsch The Fives with SPL-120 Subwoofer- Matte Black – Powered Speaker System with HDMI ARC and 12″ Powered Klipsch Subwoofer: Buy it now