The Klipsch RP-8000F speakers were measured in free-air at a height of 4 feet at a 2-meter distance from the microphone, with the microphone raised to a 7’ elevation that was level with and aimed at the tweeter center. The measurements were gated at 5-milliseconds. In this time window, some resolution is lost below 400 Hz and accuracy is completely lost below 200 Hz. Measurements have been smoothed at a 1/24 octave resolution.

Klipsch RP-8000F Horizontal Response +/- 100 degrees

The above graphs depict the Klipsch RP-8000F’s direct-axis and horizontal dispersion out to a 90-degree angle in five-degree increments. The first thing to note is how remarkably flat the direct axis response is. For all of Klipsch’s reputation of having sizzling hot treble, it just isn’t here. This is a very neutral response. The region between 1.5 kHz and 4 kHz does have an approximately 2 dB shallowness, and that slightly recessed upper midrange might make the speaker sound slightly bright compared to a totally neutral response, but it wouldn’t be very noticeable otherwise. In fact, in my listening, I wouldn’t have characterized the speaker as ‘bright’, although not ‘warm’ either. It sounded neutral to my ears, and that is basically what is being displayed in these measurements. What’s more is that this midrange recession happens right below the range where most treble tone controls attenuate, so those who want a warmer sound can simply bring down the treble tone control by a few dB. One small blemish that we see in these graphs is there is a null around the crossover point that ends up turning into a fairly high Q dip at far-axis angles. This isn’t really a serious flaw since it is not a very wide bandwidth dip, and it doesn’t subtract much until one is very far off-axis, but I don’t think very many people are going to be listening to these things at angles greater than 50 degrees. It is an imperfection, but it isn’t likely to be very audible.

We do see some interesting diffraction effects occur off-axis at very high frequencies, and these may be coming from the interior of the horn. They are not likely to be audible at all for a variety of reasons. One reason is that they are far too narrow bandwidth to make a serious difference, and another is that, as diffraction effects, they change in frequency at different angles and different distances, so they would not be a persistent tonal effect. They also occur at such high-frequency bands that many people are not very sensitive at that range and wouldn’t be able to discern small ripples of such modest amplitudes. They are an interesting acoustic effect to observe in measurements but are not likely to mar the sound. The bottom line for this set of measurements is that the RP-8000F is showing itself to be a relatively accurate loudspeaker.

Klipsch RP-8000F Polar Map of Horizontal Response +/- 100 degrees

The above graphs show the same information that the preceding graphs but depict it in a way that can offer new insight regarding these speakers’ behavior. Instead of using individual raised lines to illustrate amplitude, these polar maps use color to portray amplitude, and this allows the use of a purely angle/frequency axis perspective. The advantage of these graphs is they can let us see broader trends of the speaker’s behavior more easily. There is a lot of good news in this polar map of the RP-8000F’s horizontal response. We can see that the hybrid tractrix horn does a pretty good job of controlling dispersion all the way up to nearly 16 kHz. Between 15 to 16 kHz, the tweeter is beaming pretty hard, so it is not really interacting with the horn anymore. That is not a big deal since not many adults can hear well at such high frequencies, but those who don’t want to miss this range should listen within a +/- 15-degree angle of direct axis. The horn keeps dispersion pretty stable within about 35 degrees of direct axis from about 2 kHz and above, with some minor flares near the bottom of its passband. Although there is waistbanding around the crossover frequency of 1,750 Hz, the 8” woofers are otherwise well-matched in directivity to the horn in this region in that they do not make for a dramatic shift in dispersion around the crossover point. An advantage with a relatively narrow dispersion pattern like this is that these speakers will not be as adversely affected if they are placed near a sidewall since there isn’t as much lateral acoustic energy to reflect off of nearby surfaces. The dispersion pattern here isn’t absolutely perfect, but it is pretty good, and the result is that listeners should experience a fairly consistent sound anywhere within a 30-degree angle of direct axis, which is an angle that will cover most listening positions in a normal room.

Klipsch RP-8000F Low-Frequency Groundplane Response

The above graph shows the Klipsch RP-8000F low-frequency response that I captured using groundplane measurements (where the speaker and microphone are on the ground at a 2-meter distance in a wide open area). In this response, we see a very slight roll-off from 200 Hz to just under 50 Hz, and 40 Hz is clearly the port-tuning frequency. In other speakers of this price class, we have seen a more aggressive roll-off down to port tuning so that the speakers do not risk overloading the low-frequency response of room and so the low end of their +/-3dB spec has largely been with room acoustics factored in. Klipsch seems to subscribe to this strategy but not nearly to the same degree, so their anechoic low-frequency response is less tapered off than other tower speakers in its class. The disadvantage is that a small room or congested area might boost the low-frequencies to an unnaturally bass-heavy sound. Klipsch may be betting that few people are going to place large tower speakers with dual 8” woofers in a small room, which is a sensible bet to make. With this kind of bass response, users may want to keep these speakers away from corners and side walls for the most natural bass sound.

The solid bass response down to 40 Hz means that for most types of music, the addition of a subwoofer is not needed. Room acoustics will likely take that response down a bit lower as well, and few types of music dig lower than the upper 30 Hz range. Pipe organ aficionados and bass-heavy electronic music fans may still want to use subs, since those music types do dip under the tuning frequency of this speaker. This kind of extension will not be able to capture all of the deep bass in many modern action or science fiction movies either. Nonetheless, the RP-8000F is a fairly capable speaker for low frequencies.

Klipsch RP-8000F Impedance and Phase Response

The Klipsch RP-8000F is a high-fidelity speaker that faithfully reproduces the sound of the source content.

The above graphs show the electrical behavior of the Klipsch RP-8000F. Klipsch specifies this speaker with a nominal impedance “compatible with 8 ohms” which is a fairly ambiguous spec. I take that to mean you can safely use this speaker on amplifiers that are only rated for 8-ohm loads, and that is largely true. There isn’t much here that would be problematic for most amplifiers. The impedance minima occur at 160 Hz with 5.17 ohms, but the phase angle isn’t too severe. A more challenging point may be the port tuning frequency at 40 Hz which sees a 5.7-ohm impedance dip at a steep phase angle. That may be tough on feeble amplifiers if you crank them hard, but even an amp in a mid-range AVR should be able to handle these speakers without much of an issue. The use of a subwoofer here would make these speakers a much easier electrical load by alleviating the amplifier of having to power the port frequency range.

What helps to make the RP-8000F an easier load than many other speakers is its above average sensitivity. I measured its sensitivity as 92.1 dB for 2.83v at 1 meter. That isn’t bad; it’s better than most speakers in this type and price class. However, it is significantly below what Klipsch specifies for it which is 98 dB for 2.83v at 1 meter. That is quadruple the sensitivity that I measured. Klipsch is using an in-room estimation of sensitivity that factors in a quarter-space environment over a greater distance. It is true that the in-room sensitivity would be increased, but I think that should be stated in their specs if that is their reasoning for their sensitivity rating. We've seen this discrepancy in other Klipsch products so it doesn't seem to be a statistical outlier in how the brand rates sensitivity of their products.

Conclusion

As a speaker brand, Klipsch has fa shioned and honed a reputation for themselves that the RP-8000F doesn’t quite live up to- and that’s a good thing, in my opinion. The RP-8000F is better than a mere “rock’n’roll” speaker. It is a high-fidelity speaker that faithfully reproduces the sound of the source content. Users who want a signature ‘rock’n’roll’ response of hot treble and hot midbass may want to use an equalizer with these speakers. These speakers look a lot more aggressive than they sound, thankfully. Without the grilles, they have an almost muscle car look. Historically speaking, muscle cars could go fast in a straight line but didn’t have great handling otherwise. An analog in the loudspeaker world might be something that can get very loud but doesn’t have a very linear frequency response. In both cases, what is missing is control over all of that power. This is not at all the case with the RP-8000F.

Before wrapping this review up, I will enumerate some of the pros and cons of this product, and, as always, I will start with the cons. There are only two, and only one concerns the RP-8000F itself. The first is that the crossover doesn’t quite provide a perfectly seamless transition from woofer to tweeter. It isn’t terrible, and it isn’t even likely to be very audible, so this complaint might be totally academic, but I think that perhaps the crossover could be made so that the woofer/tweeter transition is nearly invisible so that there is no off-axis evidence of it. That might require a much more complex crossover which would raise costs considerably though, so it might be a case of diminishing returns, but it would be a nice touch, even if only for merely theoretical benefits.

The other ‘con’ in our pros and cons list concerns its sensitivity spec, which is rather inflated on the face of it. This is not a 98 dB/2.83v/1 meter sensitive speaker, and it’s not even close to that level. But here my beef is with Klipsch’s marketing and not the speaker itself. Its sensitivity is just fine at 92.1 dB for 2.83v at 1 meter, and as I said before, that is above average. The speaker itself is very good, but this reported spec is not accurate by the norms that sensitivity is normally reported. This is a powerful speaker that few owners will ever drive to the maximum limits of their amplifier, so the sensitivity spec doesn’t need to be represented in this misleading manner. If Klipsch wants to emphasize that aspect of the speaker, they just give the true sensitivity spec some context.

Let’s now go over some of the highlights of the RP-8000F. The first, as I have mentioned, is the neutral sound. This speaker does not significantly emphasize any particular frequency band and has a tonally balanced character. Furthermore, it has fairly good directivity control with good off-axis uniformity, so non-direct axis sound correlates nicely with direct sound. That means that it will have the same tonal balance in a 60-degree angle across the front of the speaker. It also means that reflected sound will not be dissimilar to direct sound, so a gob of acoustic treatments are not going to be needed to make it sound better. To put it simply, this is a speaker of very good sound quality that sounds good with any content.

Aesthetically these speakers also look good, at least in the gloss black edition that we have in for review. That gloss black is a $300 surcharge for the pair over the standard RP-8000F finish, but that premium sure does make these speakers look slick. The standard edition looks fine and might be a better value if money is tight and the buyer’s highest priority is the sound. Those using these things around a projection screen might want to think twice about the gloss black finish as well, as this kind of finish reflects light back into a projection screen pretty easily.

Their dynamic range is very good, as one would imagine given their design. They can get loud with even modest amplification, my griping about the inflated sensitivity spec notwithstanding. They have punchy and deep bass with a true anechoic response that is solid down to 40 Hz. The RP-8000Fs are not a very taxing electrical load either, and most amplifiers are suitable for driving them.

The RP-8000 might look like a muscle car, but it drives like a sports car. It is a well-engineered, well-crafted loudspeaker whose performance doesn’t quite match its aesthetic. It looks like it was made for ear-splitting, loud music, but the fact is it handles all content with finesse and equanimity. Klipsch aimed for accuracy as a performance target and has largely achieved it. I commend Klipsch for that and hope they continue making speakers this good.