Later this year, Klipsch claims there will be support in the Klipsch Connect app (for Android and iOS) for The Fives, which should include EQ to tweak the sound signature. Inputs abound on The Fives, all of which are found on the primary speaker. This allowed for the dedicated crossover circuity in The Fives to kick in, and helped to bring out the mids to enhance overall clarity. There’s an HDMI (ARC) port, a L/R switch for assigning channels to the main and secondary speakers, a pairing button for Bluetooth devices, and connections for phono (RCA style with a ground-screw terminal), aux (3.5mm), and subwoofer output (RCA). Klipsch The Fives feature set The Fives are fairly large bookshelf speakers that measure 12 x 6.5 x 9.25 inches (HxWxD). Excellent sound signature with crisp, detailed highs and round, rich bass depth Handsome design, with removable tweed grilles Lots of connectivity options, including Bluetooth, HDMI, Optical, and an input for turntables 192kHz/24-bit decoding from USB inputs It was just great to see how Klipsch was able to manufacture a bookshelf powered speaker this good. The lower-register instrumentation is given a little bit more body than purists may prefer, but it's balanced with the higher-register brass, strings, and vocals. The difference in performance will sound more subtle on certain tracks than others, but it's easy to switch back and forth with the remote. The Fives from Klipsch look and sound fantastic, with far more connectivity options than your standard pair of bookshelf speakers. Klipsch The Fives characteristic set. Your subscription has been confirmed. As he found a decade During my listening sessions, I played each track on the Fluance Ai60 wireless bookshelf speakers, reviewed here, in addition The Fives for comparative purposes. We will review these in the features section below. It’s not often that we review powered bookshelf speakers these days, and it's even rarer when they cost $799. The Fives also feature 192kHz/24-bit decoding for flawless reproduction of high-resolution audio tracks. Alongside True Wireless IEMs and active noise-cancelling headphones, American giant Klipsch has, at CES 2020, quietly announced the forthcoming availability of a new mains-powered loudspeaker. But we test a fair number of soundbars in this price range, and with The Fives, Klipsch aims to provide a hearty, left/right channel alternative. The Fives are Klipsch' first active stereo speakers to feature an HDMI ARC Input, allowing for direct, high-definition connection to TVs, as well as convenient control with the TV remote. PCMag Digital Group. Turning to some classic country, I cued up “Devil in a Sleepin’ Bag” by Willie Nelson from his remastered album Shotgun Willie. Note: When you purchase something after clicking links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. But unlike some such systems, you can select whether the primary speaker is on the left or right with a switch on the back, which makes placement more flexible. Design. The Fives will feature a 1″ tweeter and 4.something” mid/bass driver, reportedly borrowed from the company’s Reference line. But if your taste tends toward a refined sound, they could be well worth the investment. The speakers still sounded a bit restrained, though. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. For example, on the Scriabin piano piece, they sounded ever-so-slightly strident. Sign up for What's New Now to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every morning. The sax and piano sounded excellent, while the highs in the cymbals were a tad recessed. The Klipsch Fives are available now in the UK, priced at £829 ($799, AU$1599). The LED source indicators also form a volume ladder when you change the volume. Write your own review for Klipsch The Fives As before, The Fives sounded smooth and a bit restrained, especially in the upper frequencies, with no appreciable bass bloat as I had heard on other tracks. The top of the primary speaker offers two knurled knobs that are embedded with only a portion of each one extending above the surface. These powered speakers are handsomely designed, powerful, and can be used with a sub, but hardly need one. And the build quality is top notch. Enter the Klipsch The Fives powered bookshelf speakers. The same LEDs, when you adjust the volume, momentarily become meters, gradually fading until only one is lit (when at the lowest volume levels) or all of them are (at maximum volume). If your TV doesn’t have an ARC input, you can use its optical digital-audio output or line-level analog-audio outputs to connect to The Fives. The review tracks to my own listening, almost went with RP-600M but wanted to try the LS50 as my last listening room set were Klipsch. Even if the sub-bass on this track doesn’t make the house shake, the lows and low-mids are full and rich—The Fives deliver a powerful low-frequency response that bass lovers will enjoy. This process is far better than downloading the update to a computer, putting it on a USB flash drive, and plugging that into the speaker. Each 2-way speaker includes a 4.5-inch high-excursion fiber-composite cone woofer, the size of which is close enough to 5 inches to give the speakers their name. Audiophile-grade Powered Speakers with HDMI-ARC. At €899 per pair, is this wireless speaker as musical as the American … Read our, Fluance Ai60 wireless bookshelf speakers, reviewed here, Bass is slightly overemphasized, sometimes a bit bloated, Mids and highs are often a tad recessed or even slightly veiled, LED indicators are hard to see if you're directly in front of the speakers. With or without the grilles, these speakers look fantastic—the surface underneath the grilles is all black, and the horns, in particular, catch the light in a lovely way. Best smart speakers: from Echo to Sonos; According to Klipsch, the app will be updated with EQ and other functions later this year. The Fives were designed to be totally stand alone so all you need to do is add sources to get the music going, and boy do they have a lot of source options. He specializes in reviewing audio products, and is obsessed with headphones, speakers, and recording gear. I set the Ai60s’ EQ to a flat response and disabled The Fives’ Dynamic Bass EQ, which sounded better to my ear. The Fives present a smooth, refined sound that's a bit bass-heavy with slightly recessed mids and highs. On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” The Fives deliver powerful bass depth. Otherwise, the app isn’t very useful. The main speaker weighs 11.8 pounds and the secondary one is 10.7 pounds. When I first tried Klipsch's bookshelves way back when (62i or something), the seller told me they'd be 12db louder at my seating position given same amp level. Callahan’s baritone vocals have an ideal mix of low-mid richness and detailed high-mid treble edge here. Home audio has evolved over the years. Is this a true alternative to a premium stereo soundbar? If I had to pick one word to describe this system, it would be versatile. Rounding out the connections on the back of the primary speaker is an RCA subwoofer output, a USB-A port for servicing, a 4-pin connector that’s used with the included cable to connect to the secondary speaker, and the AC power receptacle. The back panel of the secondary speaker has only the connection for the included 4M cable that connects the two speakers, while the back panel for the main speaker is loaded with connections. It’s not often that we review powered bookshelf speakers these days, and it's even rarer when they cost $799. At top volumes and with the bass management in play, the speakers don’t distort, and manage to deliver a healthy dose of deep lows while balancing things well with the higher-frequency content. (You can read more about ARC in this story.). Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of The Fives’ general sound signature. We steer you to products you'll love and show you how to get the most out of them. As with most such wireless bookshelf systems, the primary speaker houses all the electronics, while the secondary unit is nothing but a passive speaker. Klipsch The Fives Powered Speaker System Review Specs Drivers: 4.5-in fiber-composite cone woofer, horn-loaded 1-in titanium tweeter Rated Power (watts): 2 x 60 (woofers) + 2 x 20 (tweeters) This upbeat Latin track has lots of electronics and deep bass, which again was slightly bloated on The Fives. The deeper bass is completely understandable, since the Ai60s’ low-frequency extension is specified down to 35Hz, while The Fives are spec’d down to 50Hz. I had a lot of fun reviewing the fives. 3. One interesting feature is Dynamic Bass EQ, which is normally found only in A/V receivers. A 1-inch titanium LTS (Linear Travel Suspension) vented tweeter with 90 x 90-degree Tractrix horn is derived from the company’s lauded Reference Premiere series. Klipsch The Fives Powered Loudspeaker Review When I summed up the R41 PM, I did so to the effect that there were a few rough edges but it was a huge amount of bang for your buck. This wonderful track follows the best tradition of Earth, Wind, and Fire updated for the 21st Century. The Fives are somewhat huge bookshelf audio system that measure 12 x 6.Five x nine.25 inches (HxWxD). In addition, the selected source LED blinks twice when you disable Dynamic Bass EQ and once when you enable it. Read the review. The Fives earn our Editors' Choice award for their grace, versatility, and most of all, their excellent sound quality. Some might consider the Ai60s to be somewhat brash and splashy, more like ear candy and less sophisticated than The Fives, but this didn’t bother me—in fact, I preferred the sound of the Ai60s overall. Basically, the level of low frequencies relative to the entire spectrum changes depending on the overall level you set—the lower the overall level, the more the bass is boosted to accommodate how the human hearing system perceives different frequencies at different levels. Both speakers house rear-firing ports for efficient driver movement and airflow. As he discovered a decade earlier while comparing horn-loaded and cone-based speakers, horns offer greater efficiency and more controllable dispersion. US Street Price $799.00 July 18, 2020 And the bass can be a bit overblown. Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, sound stunning through The Fives. The knobs feel very sturdy and substantial, just like the rest of the speaker. The Fives are fairly large bookshelf speakers that measure 12 x 6.5 x 9.25 inches (HxWxD). We’ve moved from a gramophone to a big wooden box in the lounge that combined speakers, turntable, and a receiver, to a rack of separate hi-fi components feeding a pair of standalone speakers. You can enable or disable this feature by pressing the Sub reset button on the remote for three seconds. The display of third-party trademarks and trade names on this site does not necessarily indicate any affiliation or the endorsement of PCMag. Another new discovery for me is saxophonist Nubya Garcia. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are delivered with less power than higher bass frequencies are—this is what that subwoofer output is for. The new Klipsch The Fives Powered Monitors active speaker systems are now available at retailers. In this case, you must connect your source devices to the TV and use it to switch between them, and you can’t use the TV’s HDMI ARC input as an input. The sturdy-feeling top-mounted controls let you select the source and adjust the volume. A Bluetooth button lets you pair The Fives to a Bluetooth source. It is not easy to spend a similar budget to purchase a combination of “amplifier + speaker” and achieve the sound quality level of Klipsch The Fives. Also, the speakers come with a handsome magnetic grille-cloth cover. These powered speakers are handsomely designed, powerful, and can be used with a sub, but hardly need one. This feature can be disabled using the included IR remote. For wireless connectivity, there’s Bluetooth 5.0 with support for the aptX, aptX HD, AAC, and SBC codecs. On the other hand, if you crave more excitement in the sound of your speakers, the Fluance Ai60 is a better choice, and it’s less than half the cost. Disabling Dynamic Bass EQ helped, but I couldn’t really hear much difference between on and off. At $799/pair, The Fives are not cheap. But we test a fair number of soundbars in this price range, and with The Fives, Klipsch aims to provide a hearty, left/right channel alternative. The piano sounded smooth and cohesive, and I didn’t notice any bloat in the bass on this track. The Fives incorporate high-quality parts throughout. The EQ will most likely be useful in tuning the system to a room rather than radically altering the sound signature. In addition, physical digital inputs include optical Toslink, USB-B for connection to a computer, and HDMI ARC for connection to a TV. The Fives can accommodate just about any audio setup. The remote has buttons for play/pause, volume up/down, subwoofer up/down, mute, and dedicated buttons for the various sources you can have connected: TV, Aux, Phono, Optical, and USB. At first, I didn’t want to register the product since it’s a review sample, but the app wouldn’t go beyond that point without it, so I input my info. Klipsch The Fives Powered Speaker REVIEW. The grilles are attractive and have a retro Klipsch logo emblazoned on a medallion in the lower right corner. The Klipsch R-4B II is a quick and simple way to round out your home theater setup without sacrificing quality, this 40-inch soundbar provides amazing dual-channel sound and comes equipped with a wireless 6.5-inch subwoofer for tremendous bass, without the need for additional cables cluttering up your living room. The magnetic grilles are made from a tough woven fabric. The result is a pair of speakers that act as a self-powered, remote-controlled entertainment system solution for those who want real stereo separation, real bass depth, crisp highs, and ease of use. All of these connections mean it's possible to have a Blu-ray player or media streamer connected, as well as a turntable, a TV, a computer, any device with a 3.5mm output, and, of course, it’s possible to pair Bluetooth devices. Part of Klipsch’s Heritage Wireless series, The Fives sets out to give a tiny taste of what it’s like to own a grown-up Klipsch without having to drop £ on the La Scala AL5.Whether you’re an old-school wired-for-sound audiophile touting a 3.5mm-to-RCA phono lead, a smartphone-wielding Bluetooth dude, or a digital fanatic with a Toslink cable, you can make music play through this speaker. There’s not much that we’ve tested recently that compares directly with The Fives in terms of design or price. On The Fives, the vocals were super-clean, but the highs were slightly veiled, and the bass was just a bit bloated. In my notes, I wrote that the speakers had a “sophisticated, polite sound.”. I placed The Fives on top of the Ai60s, which worked out well, since the Klipsch speakers are a bit smaller. https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/klipsch-the-fives, Excellent sound signature with crisp, detailed highs and round, rich bass depth, Handsome design, with removable tweed grilles, Lots of connectivity options, including Bluetooth, HDMI, Optical, and an input for turntables. You can also control The Fives with the included remote, which is small and simple. The app offers a quick-start guide with videos, which is basically an enhanced version of the printed guide. The main speaker weighs in at 11.eight kilos, whilst the secondary speaker is a little bit lighter at 10.7 kilos. Overall, The Fives sounded smoother and more refined than the Ai60s, though also a bit restrained in the high end with slightly overblown bass. If you click an affiliate link and buy a product or service, we may be paid a fee by that merchant. Contributing Editor Tim Gideon has been writing for PCMag since 2006. Thanks to Tidal’s user interface, I was able to switch between them seamlessly. The 4-pin connector at the bottom right (left, when viewed from this angle) connects the primary speaker to the secondary speaker using the included cable. These powered speakers are handsomely designed, powerful, and can be used with a sub, but hardly need one. Thanks to true stereo placement, The Fives should provide a sound image that's like superior to most soundbars. The Ai60s have a 1-inch silk-dome tweeter in a shallow waveguide and a 6.5-inch woofer in a sealed cabinet, and they list for $299.99, less than half the list price of The Fives. Our favorite soundbars in this price range, for instance, include the $600 LG SL10YG and the $800 Sonos Arc. Yes, the lows are boosted and end up making the kick drum heavier, but it never threatens the rest of the mix—there’s plenty of space for the vocals and guitars and higher-register percussive hits to operate. Klipsch took a new path in the volume control and source input selector on The Fives that adds to the unique appearance. 11, in which Corea injects a jazz interpretation in a few spots. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time. In the bookshelf realm, the $500 Audioengine A5+ speakers deliver a solid audio experience in an attractive design, while the $400 Klipsch R-41PM is a smaller pair with similar features to The Fives. Amazon Echo vs. Apple HomePod Mini vs. Google Nest Audio: Which Sub-$100 Smart Speaker Should You Buy? But we test a fair number of soundbars in this price range, and with The Fives, Klipsch aims to provide a hearty, left/right channel alternative. The HiFi Summit 2020 Best in Show winner, The Fives features premium stereo sound with a matte black or walnut finish.They have a throwback, legacy design with classic Klipsch … Read our KLIPSCH THE FIVES Review. The woofers account for 60 watts apiece and the tweeters for 20 watts apiece, delivering a frequency range of 50Hz to 25kHz. Measuring 12.0 by 6.5 by 9.3 inches each (HWD), the speakers combine for a total of 160 watts. Klipsch The Fives pack a massive amount of technol­ogy into a small space and I could barely […] The drums on this track sound almost thunderous, but stop shy of sounding unnatural—they manage to absorb some notable bass boosting and never seem to overshadow any other element of the mix, sitting back despite sounding fuller and deeper. The vocals on this track are delivered with crisp clarity and no real hint of added sibilance. There’s also a Bluetooth button and a Subwoofer level reset. The wide range of connection options make The Fives well-suited for many applications, including Bluetooth, computer and TV audio, and even direct input from a turntable. This allowed for the dedicated crossover circuity in The Fives to kick in, and helped to bring out the mids to enhance overall clarity. Speaking of which, analog inputs include a 3.5mm stereo analog jack and a phono input with two RCA jacks and a ground terminal; the phono input can also be switched to line level. In all, this is better connectivity than some soundbars we test. SOUND QUALITY CONCLUSION MEASURED PERFORMANCE VERDICT With these little loud­speakers you get a whole hi-fi system, albeit without source. The main power cable connects the back panel of the main speaker. On Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” the kick drum loop receives ideal high-mid presence, while the loop’s sustain gets some added low-frequency heft. The primary speaker weighs in … I listened to Scriabin’s Prelude #4 from Op. Ever since 1946, when Paul Klipsch started promoting his patented Klipschorn audio system, the corporate that bears his title has been inextricably linked with horn-based designs. The download took less than a minute, while the process of updating the speaker took several minutes. Amazon Echo Show vs. Google Nest Hub: Which Smart Display Should Be in Your Home. The Fives from Klipsch look and sound fantastic, with far more connectivity options than your standard pair of bookshelf speakers. “The Message Continues” from her debut album Source is a basic jazz combo of bass, drums, electric piano, and tenor sax. Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology. It’s not often that we review powered bookshelf speakers these days, and it’s even rarer when they cost $799. At both high and moderate volumes, they deliver a powerful, balanced audio experience. The Fives trade on Klipsch’s own Heritage line of products, that is to say they look “vintage” in comparison to many modern powered speakers, which is a good thing. Pricing and availability are still being finalised, but the Klipsch The Fives should be on sale by Q2 2020, with a price point south of $800. In addition to identifying the selected source, the LEDs also indicate the volume when you change it. The new Klipsch The Fives Powered Monitors will come with a matching infrared remote control. Klipsch takes their powered speaker concept and ups the connectivity, power and drive units to create a more premium offering. The Fives are part of Klipsch’s Heritage Wireless series, so there's a choice of matte black or walnut finishes, with metal switches and a ‘mid-century modern’ design. What the grilles hide are, for some of us, the real things of beauty—each speaker is armed with a horn-style 1-inch titanium dome tweeter and a 4.5-inch fiber composite cone woofer. In the $500 to $1,000 range, you have plenty of options, and they take many forms. The Fives Review/Overview. I think Klipsch The Fives is … By contrast, the Fluance speakers were brighter and more open with deeper, richer, cleaner bass that was better balanced with the rest of the spectrum. TechHive |. The Fives sounded smooth if a bit restrained, and as I had come to expect, the bass was a bit overblown. Also as usual these days, I started with some Jacob Collier—this time, “All I Need” from Djesse Vol. Available in matte black or walnut models, The Fives have MDF enclosures covered in real wood veneers, with tweed-covered cloth grilles that snap into place magnetically for easy removal and placement. This week we reviewed the Klipsch The Fives: wireless speakers equipped with a 160W amplifier.In keeping with the Klipsch Heritage speaker look, the Klipsch The Fives also offer an all-in-one system with a Bluetooth receiver, 24-bit/192kHz USB DAC, line, phono and digital inputs, as well as an HDMI ARC input. Keep an eye on your inbox! It’s disappointing that it isn’t available at launch, but the speakers sound great out of the box. Up top on the main speaker, there are attractive built-in rotary dial source selectors and volume controls. How to Free Up Space on Your iPhone or iPad, How to Save Money on Your Cell Phone Bill, How to Find Free Tools to Optimize Your Small Business, How to Get Started With Project Management, The Best Bluetooth and Wireless Speakers for 2020, How to Use an Amazon Echo as a Speaker for Your Television, Apple Announces $99 HomePod Mini Smart Speaker.