Klipsch KB-15 Icon 5-1/4-Inch 2-Way Bookshelf Speakers (Black Ash, Set of 2)

These are beautifully made speakers, with the quality you expect from Klipsch. A terrific value for the money. I use them in a home theater application in a basement room, and they fill a large space nicely. Even without a subwoofer, they provide a satisfying level of bass.

I was a bit skeptical as some reviews complained that these are too bright but the price was attractive and I figured I would give them a try and return them if I agreed. I think these complaints led Klipsch to abandon the Icon badge and bring out the RM series which have been widely praised. Marketing! Go figure....As these two models share the same components with the RM's have a copper colored woofer and the same internal crossovers I am a bit confused by the radical difference in reviews. But, speakers are very subjective, source material so different, and applications vary from home theater to two channel stereo playing vinyl. I find the Icons to be crisp, yet punchy. They have really upgraded my home theater experience (previously using Polk RM6750). Also the Icons really expose the muddy sound of the Polk center channel so I'll pick up the matching Klipsch center. Price for the Icon's is excellent! You are truly getting the RM's for a lot less as the Icons are being closed out. If you don't care what color your woofer is I think you will be pleased with the Icons. Be sure to withhold judgment until you have broken them in for a week or so -- as with all speakers these days. I ran the Audessy calibration from my Denon AVR after a break in period and these babies really came to life. Crisp without being shrill, punchy without boom or distortion. But I agree with those noting that a sub is required, especially with home theater. And that is true for most all bookshelves with 4-8 inch woofers in HT applications. I run a sub and matched the crossover between it and the Icons and I am delighted! Next purchase will be the center channel if they are still available at a good discount. One last note, the sensitivity of these speakers is excellent! This matters, folks.

Picked these up about a week ago. They’re paired with a nobsound MS-10D MKII, and a yaqin ms-23b preamp, Dual 1219 turntable. I think they sound quite good for the price. Not fatiguing at all. I had read that they’re not as bright as some of the other models in this range and that is what I was looking for. The bass is quite good for a speaker of this size. They’re in a 20x20 room and they fill it quite nicely. They’re being used as my main speakers for music. I’ve owned a LOT of speakers over the years. JBL D130’s with 075 tweeters, JBL L26 decade, JBL S38II. These are the first bookshelf speakers I’ve owned and I’m very happy with them.

At first when I hooked these up, they sounded terrible and I was going to return them. I was really upset because I have other Klipsch speakers that sounded amazing right out of the box. I never believed in a speaker break in period until now. Playing them just a few days at higher volumes with heavy bass made them sound amazing. Punchy bass, great mid and crystal clear highs. The more I play them the better they sound. Give them a chance to break in and you won't be disappointed. They handle my Kenwood 100 Watt RMS per channel amp with ease.

The KB-15 pair was $130 2-5-15 on Amazon Prime and I had to try a set! They arrived today, 2-7-15 - thank you FEDEX, and were unboxed and hooked up by 11 AM! My Onkyo TX-8020 50W receiver still had the identical length cables run alongside the runs for my Christmas present - a set of NHT SuperOne 2.1's, a similar sized enclosure to the KB-15's, but enclosing a 1" dome and a 6.5" LF driver in an acoustic suspension, ie, a sealed enclosure, system. I had A-B - ed the NHT's with my prior bookshelf system, a pair of Infinity P163's - the Infinity's were beat by the clarity of the less sensitive NHT's - and retired to my upstairs 'hobby' room recycled Yamaha A/V system. Now to A-B the NHT's with the new Klipsch KB-15, a bit difficult as, despite the smaller LF driver, it has much greater sensitivity (94db SPL vs 86 db for the NHT's - believe me - you can hear that!). Riding the gain pot while A-B - ing the two systems was tiring - so I just listened to a mix of music, including James Taylor, Marc Cohen, Stan Getz, and even some Outback music - with a didge. The range was very similar - with the bass ever so slightly more apparent on the KB-15's - the bottom end seemed equivalent in low end response - I've always enjoyed the controlled thud of a properly executed acoustic suspension system to a bass reflex, but the Klipsch hasn't a hint of the usual bass reflex hangover. It's extreme sensitivity is appreciated. And the horn-loaded Al dome is well done, too - really produces a wide high end well - with no discernible hot spots. I noticed that the NHT's are on sale again - still, the Klipsch KB-15 is so nearly equivalent in it's performance - I would grab a pair while you still can!2/8/15: I continue to be impressed by the range and sensitivity of the KB-15's. Thinking the highs might be slightly muted, I am amazed to hear cymbals pop out of no where. I have to admit - as I approach 67 - my hearing really has a 3-5 kHz loss I have a reason for not 'listening' to my wife...) and a limit of 12 kHz - probably a life of too many loud noises. I do enjoy a strong midrange and good upper end - these speakers deliver those quite well. My younger wife thinks my NHT's are too 'bright', anyway. Oh yeah - more about the KB-15's... their binding posts have easily removed inserts to use banana plugs with - and appear properly spaced for dual plugs, too. I used twisted stranded pure copper #14 zipcord for hookup - with banana plugs at the receiver end. The Klipsch speakers came 2 to a box in a large Amazon box with kraft paper jammed in between the top and one side of the inner box. In it's less than 24 hours of travel from Amazon to my door, it banged around in the outer container, but they survived in A1 shape, no thanks to Amazon. Not to belabor the point, but Prime 2-day shipping isn't free - I paid $100 for a year of it - this is their worst packing after many excellent deliveries - rant off. While I am being negative - the KB-15's grille is pretty skimpy... but most folks will leave them in their separate boxes anyway. Still - I am impressed with these KB-15's - certainly they behave better than mere 'starter' speakers, as others have suggested. Certainly Mr. Klipsch would be proud of them - and likely upped their price considerably, no matter where they were made.2/22/15 They were $130 again - I got another pair - packed poorly - again - in the outer Amazon box - just like the other set. They were fine, however. I compared the brand new pair with the 'broken-in' pair - and could detect no difference. I did reduce the display case one sets on propensity to rattle it's glass doors with heavy bass by using a thicker foam beneath the speaker. I may put one set in my hobby room on a recycled AVR/DVD player combo. I am that impressed with the small speakers that I really just bought a spare pair due to the price!