Famous Klipsch Fives powered loudspeaker

 Klipsch’s new powered loudspeaker will knock your listening room for six, says a deeply impressed David Price

Part of Klipsch’s Heritage Wireless series, The Fives sets out to give a tiny taste of what it’s like to own a grown-up Klipsch without having to drop  on the La Scala AL5.

 Whether you’re an old-school wired-for-sound audiophile touting a 3.5mm-to-RCA phono lead, a smartphone-wielding Bluetooth dude, or a digital fanatic with a Tos link cable, you can make music play through this speaker. Plus The Fives connects to your TV via HDMI-ARC (Audio Return Channel), so you can switch between the audio sources hooked up to your screen (like games consoles, etc.) – in effect making it a superior sound bar. 

There’s even an RCA line input with a switchable moving-magnet phono stage. Oh, and don’t forget the USB input, letting you play music from a computer at up to 24-bit/192kHz PCM resolution. Finally, there’s a subwoofer output should you wish to turn The Fives into a 2.1 system. It’s all well and good having a highly versatile set of powered loudspeakers, but such packages can be compromised by the fact that they’re gimmicky with cheap and nasty cabinets, drive units and amplification. 

The Fives is more robust than you’d expect at the price. Genuine walnut wood-veneered MDF is more than most rivals offer, and there’s the option of a matt-black finish. Lurking inside each cabinet is a 25mm titanium TLS-vented tweeter, with Klipsch’s proprietary Tractrix horn; this is a version of the premium high-frequency drivers found on its Reference Premiere range. Claimed benefits include increased efficiency, controlled directivity, greater dynamic sound and a wider soundstage. 

Sharing the action is a custom-designed 110mm long-throw fiber composite coned mid/ bass unit, loaded by a Tractrix port – inspired by the Heritage range. The electronics inside serve up a claimed 160W RMS of power, with a maximum quoted sound pressure level of 109dB (at 1m). The juice comes courtesy of Class D modules, running in bi-amped configuration with passive crossovers. A sturdy proprietary umbilical cable runs from the powered speaker to the passive one, carrying a proper balanced amplified signal. Claimed frequency response is 50Hz to 25kHz. There’s also tailoring of the sound via Klipsch’s Dynamic Bass EQ, effectively a variable loudness feature. The package is augmented by the inclusion of a suite of different leads – including 4m of four-conductor