Klipsch R-14M 4-Inch Reference Bookshelf Speakers (Pair, Black)

I've always wanted to try the venerable Klipsch brand out for a long time, and saw an opportunity to upgrade my current nearfield PC speakers (Micca MB42X). I'm ecstatic that I did! As good as the little Miccas are, these are noticeably much better in every way! Immediately (even without 'break-in', which many audio enthusiasts insist is necessary), I was struck by how much larger and full-bodied these sound than they actually are. They are amazingly dynamic, efficient, detailed, resolving, lively, timbrally accurate, they image like demons, and the bass is amazing for a small horn-loaded speaker with a 4" woofer! As just one example, I played a cut from The Alan Parsons Project called 'Lets Talk About Me', where there is some very low conversation in the beginning of the song, which is usually subdued and un-intelligible in many other lower priced speakers. Ditto with songs from Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side Of The Moon'. The vocals were very clear and present on the R-14M's. Then I tried listening to female vocals, such as Mary Fahl (The October Project), Suzanne Vega, Joni Mitchell, and Barbra Streisand. I was floored! Even the backround horns and stringed instrument orchestration in some great, classic 70's songs sound lively, and so present! If you are looking for truly great sounding, and efficient compact bookshelf speakers for a small to medium sized room, or for nearfield PC system use, look no further. There is something special about the lively sound of a horn-loaded design (and no, they are not harsh sounding or bright). These are AMAZING!Equipment used:* FiiO X1 digital media player, with FLAC and WMA lossless music files* basic Dell PC soundcard on my mini-tower system* Qinpu A-6000 hybrid tube & solid state integrated amplifier (no bass or treble controls- runs 'flat')

I debated about these speakers forever. I did lots of research and read lots of reviews. I also used to work at a national electronics retailer before they shut down in the home audio department and was in charge of the sound room. So basically I spent months comparing speakers with customers with every kind of music and movie imaginable. Let me save you a lot of time and debating: Just But These Speakers! They sound amazing for the price. Listening to music, the difference between this and my old HDT500 Front Left/Right speakers is readily apparent. What is really surprising is when watching a movie, as FL/FR speakers they still blend with the HDT500 center until the music starts playing, and then they jump to a whole new level and you just kind of get a "Wow!" moment.Goods:Fit great in a bookcase. Under 10" tall with the rubber feet, perfect for Bookcase/Bookshelf. Unlike most people, I actually have these in a bookcase and they fit perfect.Great sound. Movies sound great, music sounds even better.Stereo separation is amazing. My Denon receiver never sounded so good!Great value. Got them for $103 which is half of retail.Pair great with other Klipsch speakers, even lower quality/smaller/older design.They don't "overpower" a small/medium size room. I have a 12'X19' media room and their physical footprint is small yet they fill the room with sound perfectly.OthersHoles for the speaker grills are GIANORMOUS! Wish these had the magnetic grills like newer Klipsch.May not be big enough for large rooms or rooms that have 2-floor tall ceilings.Really need 8-9 hours to break in. The Copper IMG woofer needs to break in, tweeter sounds great right out of the box.Still need a subwoofer. I listended to them without the subwoofer and there is a giant hole in the bottom end.Best value and quality on the market today.

This is a very nice bookshelf speaker for under $100 which is what I paid at the time. I only had the ability to use the speakers off my IPad at the time. After about 20 hours of music, I can say an quite happy with them. Using MP3 music only (both CD players were broken), I noticed trouble with vocals on some music like Brian Wilson's voice. The highs created a distorted vibration. But put on Dianna Krall and that disappeared and I heard a wonderful, full deep voice. I have to think ripping CD's and downloading music from Apple Music just creates a wildly different experience from all. So, I did what other reviews said was to add a subwoofer to these speakers and they will shine. I surely had in mind doing this but paying more for a sub for bookshelf speakers at these price might be overkill. I order the Polk PSW10 for the same price ( a little less as I purchased them through the warehouse) I paid for the speakers, and what a difference. It was like a different sound system. This time I am playing Amazon Music (as it is cheaper than Apple Music) through Alexa and I can say this is a huge improvement. I am running this all through a 90's Kenwood AR 304 100 watt receiver. This receiver is new enough that it has a subwoffer seperate output. Soon, I will get to use them for what I purchased them for is the run a phono for all my albums. I expect even better results. I would buy these again but only for the under $100 price. They cost twice that now and I would have to think and try other speakers for that price.Update after a few weeks. I upgrade the score to 5 stars. I don't really understand the break in period of speakers, but these sound much better after 2 to 3 weeks of playing. A good, quality bookshelf speaker.