Klipsch RC-52 II Black (Ea)

Remarkable balance of performance and value

Owner Reviews, Ratings, Comments and Criticism
Looks Boxy but looks impressive, looks more like a receiver then a speaker. Also the lower band displaying REFERENCE adds to the impression that it is a high quality product. A little heavy but I believe heavier the better as it cancels out any vibrations or turbulence. Take the grills off and everything oozes quality. Sound Quality This is replacing Klipsch RVX-42 which itself was a great speaker, my favorite klipsch till now but RC-52 II contains 5.25" woofers compared to 4 inch woofers in RVX-42. So although the midrange is still the same as RVX-42, the biggest difference is the male voices which appears stronger and chestier with RC-52 II. I had always wanted to buy RC-52 but the tapered array technology dual crossovers balked me every time as although a great idea, dual crossovers resulted in interference. Since 90% of dialogues in a movie come through center channel and most people crossover their system at 80hz, With RC-52 II I get everything. Chestier heavier voices with a woofer small enough compared to 6.5 and 8 to be very responsive and a crossover low enough 1600Hz that there is no gap between midrange and treble. Although I cannot comment on the off axis performance, On axis the highs are smooth and detailed and match my RVX-42s fronts very well. Also there is no noticeable port-boom which is a good thing. In my opinion, it is better than RC-62s as it has smaller woofers and anything lower than 80Hz anyways goes to the subwoofer. Unless somebody is power hungry or bass crazy or have a very big room, this is perfect as a center channel whether you are pairing up with any bookshelves or the smaller towers in the Klipsch reference Lineup. There are a few things I cannot comment now as it is a center speaker and I cannot compare it directly to other speakers in my system as I cannot A/B this speaker alongwith the other ones. One is performance off-axis. Secondly, its performance in music but a center channel rarely plays any music. Although its hard to beat RVX-42s for music. Although the new crossovers are supposed to be different(supposed to be), I am not able to detect a difference between the RC-52 or RC-52 II. It does not mean there are not better but its just my inability. I am not comparing RC-52 II with center channel from other manufactures as there is no comparison. Klipsch is always miles ahead. I am comparing it to other Klipsch reference speakers, past and present.