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United States

Klipsch

Horn-loaded, and unusually easy to drive

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In brief

An American loudspeaker manufacturer whose designs use a horn-loaded tweeter and publish high sensitivity figures — the specification that decides how loud a. Reviewed here: Klipsch R-60M passive bookshelf speakers, Klipsch R-12SW active subwoofer, Klipsch R-40SA Dolby Atmos elevation speakers, Klipsch R-52C and 10 more. 13 of the 14 had an Amazon.com offer on October 25, 2026.

What they actually do

Speakers across the home theater range — bookshelf, center, surround, height modules — and active subwoofers, built around horn-loaded compression tweeters.

Why that matters on this site

Sensitivity, in dB at 1 W and 1 m (3 ft), is the figure that says how loud a speaker plays for a given amplifier. A high-sensitivity design asks less of a receiver’s weakest channels, which is exactly where surround and height speakers sit.

What it does not tell you

Sensitivity is not quality. It is a match: a very sensitive speaker on a very powerful amplifier gains nothing, and reveals amplifier noise more readily.

Every Klipsch product we have reviewed

What each Klipsch review concluded

  • Klipsch R-60M passive bookshelf speakers — A good speaker in a coherent range, sold here in its European listing only and without the numbers that make Klipsch's case — those are on the maker's own sheet.
  • Klipsch R-12SW active subwoofer — The only subwoofer here sold on Amazon.com on October 25, 2026, and the largest driver on the shelf: 12 in, front-firing, with 29–120 Hz stated.
  • Klipsch R-40SA Dolby Atmos elevation speakers — A horn-loaded height module that publishes its dispersion — the right figure for the job — and not the sensitivity that is the brand's usual argument.
  • Klipsch R-52C — Ninety-five decibels of sensitivity and the only frequency response on this shelf published with a tolerance.
  • Klipsch Reference 5.1 Bundle — A complete Klipsch system with a Denon 8K receiver, for $422 more than the Klipsch pack with Atmos and no receiver on October 25, 2026 — the gap was two dollars when this review was written.
  • Klipsch Reference 5.1 Home Theater Pack (R-620F) — Ninety-six decibels of sensitivity, published — the only sensitivity figure on this shelf, and it means this system needs an eighth the amplifier power of an ordinary one.
  • Klipsch Reference 5.2 — Two twelve-inch subwoofers rather than one, which is the whole reason for the four hundred dollars — two bass sources fill each other’s room nulls.
  • Klipsch Reference Cinema 5.1.4 Dolby Atmos — Four Atmos height channels — twice what the eighteen-hundred-dollar Klipsch bundle has, for seven hundred and fifty.
  • Klipsch Reference Dolby Atmos — A nine-channel Onkyo driving a five-point-one-point-two speaker package — so two amplifier channels sit spare for rear surrounds later.
  • Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-140SA — Three bullets, one of which is the country of origin, for forty dollars more than the Klipsch below it.
  • Klipsch Reference R-41SA — The only listing here that says plainly these are passive speakers with no amplifier — and the only one that includes fifty feet of cable.
  • Klipsch Reference Series 5.1 Pack (R-625FA) — Atmos elevation channels built into the towers, and a five-year warranty — for $422 less than the Klipsch bundle that includes a receiver instead, on October 25, 2026.
  • Klipsch Reference Theater Pack 5.1 — A wireless down-firing subwoofer and satellites with both a keyhole and a threaded insert — the only listing here that solves placement twice.
  • Klipsch RP-500SA Reference Premiere — A switchable crossover, which is the quiet admission that firing at a ceiling needs different tuning from firing at a listener.

Prices quoted in these summaries are dated readings. The live price is shown next to each product.