John
Regular readers will recall that I didn’t like the sound of Klipsch’s ‘The Fives’. A year on, the US loudspeaker giant is back with the slightly larger, similarly MCM-inspired and similarly awkwardly-named ‘The Sevens’ (€1500). And whilst I am clearing the air, I simply have to point out that The Sevens’ long-throw fibre-composite mid-bass driver measures six-and-a-half inches across, not seven. A flared bass reflex port fires rearward. The tweeter that sits in the middle of the Tractrix horn enclosure is the same titanium one-incher found in Klipsch’s RP-600M II. But ‘The Sevens’ are not passive loudspeakers. They’re active.
Active means the crossover (here done is DSP) precedes the amplification. Less common is how all four Class D amplifier modules – 2 x 20 Watts for the tweeters, 2 x 80 Watts for the mid/bassers – reside in the primary loudspeaker. The signal handoff to the secondary loudspeaker takes place over a 4-pole umbilical. Our choice of 4m or 2m — both can be found in the box alongside a small plastic infra-red remote control. Not everyone is a fan of (what used to be called) a master-slave configuration, where one speaker is mains powered and the other not, but manufacturers asking consumers to find nearby wall sockets for both active loudspeakers are equally damned. As such, I appreciate Klipsch’s alternative take.
Outside of an aptX HD-equipped Bluetooth input, ‘The Sevens’ offer no streaming functionality of their own. Thankfully, small outboard devices like the WiiM Pro (or WiiM Mini) are easily connected to the primary loudspeaker’s TOSLINK input without breaking the bank. I hooked up another awkwardly-named product – a Samsung ‘The Frame’ TV – to The Sevens’ HDMI ARC input and a PS Audio phono stage to the line-level input. Moving magnet cartridge runners can go direct with the flip of a switch. I used the USB input to connect a MacBook Pro running REW to measure the effect of The Sevens’ Dynamic Bass enhancement feature at the listening position but at normal (not low) listening levels.
Those are the basics. The video has the rest.
🎥 Camera: John Darko / Olaf von Voss
🎬 Editor: John Darko
🌈 Colour: Olaf von Voss
🕺🏻 Motion GFX: John Darko
💰 Ad segment: Jana Dagdagan
🎵 Song IDs? Playlists of all music heard in this video – and other videos – can be found on PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/johndarko
Further information: Klipsch
👉 As seen in this video…
Klipsch ‘The Sevens’
🛒 https://amzn.to/3ryS9ji
Klipsch RP-600M II
🛒 (US) https://amzn.to/44FA1CA 👈 heavily discounted right now
🛒 (UK) https://amzn.to/44PyUk5
Audiolab 6000a
🛒 https://howl.me/ckanjd3sVPi
WiiM Pro
🛒 (US) https://amzn.to/3OevwJT
🛒 (UK) https://amzn.to/3OgrIYQ
Samsung ‘The Frame’
🛒 https://amzn.to/3rxhr1p
What is the Fletcher-Munson curve?
📖 https://www.izotope.com/en/learn/what-is-fletcher-munson-curve-equal-loudness-curves.html
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