Klipsch RP-160M vs Wharfedale 225

I have been hearing good statements about the newer Klipsch RP-160M. I understand the typical aggressive tweeter is toned down and this speaker is well balanced. I like the 96dB sensitivity that is really closer to 92dB for my 11 watt RMS per channel tube amp. I also heard the smaller RP-150M is slightly better balanced for smaller spaces and also plays bass within 3Hz (48Hz vs 45Hz).
I have been considering Wharfedale 225s at 88db sensitive. But, I do not find any higher-end reviews on the Klipsch. Your thoughts?

 

I use the RP-160M in my garage setup. I am driving it with a Parasound 120wpc amp and the Klipsch speakers play clean and loud. I do use a subwoofer for lower frequencies.

 

You've told others that Wharfedale offers the best sound in this range, so why not follow your own advice?

 

Does it?

 

You tell us. That was your claim in another thread.

 

The Wharfedale are $449, the Klipsch RP-160M are $349. The Klipsch RP-150M are $309. The speakers are not in the same price range as the Wharfedale. So, I ask the question anyone heard the Klipsch and any professional reviews. My question is legit.

 

Bump. Wondering about the Klipsch as well?

 

I retired my Mitsubishi MS-20 monitors recently, in favor of the RP-150M. It was really more for WAF reasons, as the Mitsu’s are a large bookshelf speaker and they were never liked by my wife. I read lots of reviews, and was really dreading the thought of downsizing, but they are in our family room vintage system and my wife had put up with large speakers for a long time. I can say, I’ve been very pleased with the 150M, and they are quite surprising for their size. Soundstage is very good, and they are very smooth and musical. I have Klipsch RF-25’s running in my main vinyl rig so I’m very familiar with the tractrix horns.

Klipsch did a very nice job with these little bookshelf speakers, and they sound very natural and effortless. I have them paired with a refurbished Mitsubishi DA-R35 receiver that puts out 85 wpc, and they match very well with it. Bass is tight and controlled, with surprisingly good extension. They won’t reach down as low as the 10” woofers in the MS-20’s, but they are full sounding and not thin at all. Midrange is nice and clean, with no harshness, and the high frequencies are crisp and sharp, and not over emphasized.

I’ve not heard the 225’s, but at this point, I have no desire to. The 150M’s do everything I could ask for in a small package.

 

I think the Klipsch are very competitive at their price, a great $400 pair of speakers but they are appropriately priced. If you have a little more to spend, you can certainly do better.

This is a case where I think the sensitivity rating is a bit misleading. Not that it wrong, it just doesn’t mean it pairs all that well with a low powered amp. It takes about 100 watts to wake them up and if I’m not mistaken, that is the recommendation from Klipsch.

I’ve not heard the warfdale in question but that would be my choice if pressed to make a decision. The Klipsch sound a little hot and bossy to my ears. Like Klipsch advertising says’ “pissing off the neighbors for 70 years.” They make their stuff to be loud, it can get a little tiring, especially at the lower end of their product line. Loud and cheap isn’t a great combination.

 

BTW- I bought a used pair of Revel M22 speakers. And, modifying/upgrading a Sherwood 8000IV for possibly needing 30 watts per channel vs the 11 watts per channel I have in the Allied 333.

 

Actually on the 150M, 70 watts is the maximum continuous rating, and they don’t need anywhere near that to sound good. The 160M is rated at a maximum of 100 watts continuous. They play quite nicely with little power, and do acoustic music and vocals very well. I think you may be mistaking these for some of their previous models. As always, having an amp with plenty of headroom allows you to get plenty loud with very little power. These are far from tiring, perhaps you should hear them with a very clean vintage amplifier.

 

They are designed for home theater and to be a part of a surround sound system, where dialog is more of a priority and one ore two subs are in play to give you the low end. "clean vintage" is a bit of a contradiction but my preference would be for a warmer or more musical amp, this speaker has a preponderance of high end that I would want to tame. I'm fairly experienced with Klipsch speakers and vintage amps, This is one I would pair with my Sansui 9090 and not a Fisher 400.

 

Done.

-Bill

 

I had a pair of Klipsch Reference R-15M's in my house this week, trying them out with my Peachtree Nova 65SE.

This is a very excellent sounding speaker. The horn really created an awesome soundstage on my desk, which is 5' wide and 3' deep. So I was sitting 4'-5' away. I listen to jazz and classical. The mids and highs really sang. Buddy Rich CD "Buddy's Rock" sounded particularly good. On one track you can hear Buddy shouting or directing band, and it comes from an exact spot on the soundstage.

I'm a musician and I know what instruments should sound like. Most of them sound like the actual instruments with this speaker. Ever heard a trumpet live up close, like on stage playing drums with a horn section over your shoulder and to your left? This speaker has that same realistic sound. It's not mellowed out or "warmer". It sounds real. Put Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" on your CD player and you'll hear what a real trumpet sounds like. It can be harsh in real environment. So can a sax. They sound like that. This speaker does not hide that. Which I like.

If there is one negative it's the bass. It's not bad, it just sounds different. It doesn't go as low as my Peachtree D4 speakers with a 4" woofer. There are definitely lower frequencies audible on the D4, which makes a stand-up bass sound richer. It's not as noticeable when a bass is bowing, but when the player is picking with fingers the bass sounds less full on the R-15M's.

 

So you have listened to them with a vintage amp?

 

The RP-150M and 160M are quite different than the R-15M.

 

No, no I haven't. I heard a store demo and didn't feel compelled to bring them home. I'm pretty good at being able to hear what is there and knowing how it's going to work with what I have.

But I feel we have wandered off point. I do think they are good speakers but not for low powered tube amps as was sited as a need by the OP. You like them but you are giving them 85wpc, kind of proving my point. Much like the OP, I was looking to match them with low powered tube. The efficiency rating would lead you to believe they would be a good candidate for that. They are close in efficiency to a pair of Heresy's but they are very different it what they need in power to make them bloom.

 

I'm currently using the RP-160M's in a den system. I've used them with both the TubeCube 7 and the NAD 316bee V2 and they sound great to me. Listening to vinyl and Tidal sounds very pleasing and dynamic at moderate volumes. Louder volume levels can be fatiguing if the source is overly compressed/loud to begin with though.

The TubeCube 7 is a 7 watt tube integrated. It had no problem providing enough power with plenty left.

 

Wow, isn't that tube cube like 3 wpc? Where they on your desk as you worked or did you have them further from the listening position?

 

I think it's 3.5 watts per channel. The speakers were about 10 feet apart in width from each other on stands, and about 13 feet from my seated listening position. They filled the room very easily and could be heard from the other end of the house. The efficiency rating is pretty accurate. There is no need for a 100 watt amp, they bloomed just fine with the modest NAD 316bee as well. That was entire reason I bought them. I wanted to have dynamic sound at moderate volume levels without having to buy a larger amp than I really needed.

 

My apologies if I missed your point. From your first post, it seemed your point was, “they are loud and cheap” and only good for “pissing off the neighbors.”

 

Yes, that part really does stand out but it is true. Cheap meaning you can spend much more than $400 on a pair of bookshelf speakers and they do like their speakers to get up to a high volume. It's kind of a thing for them.



I'm a member of a couple Klipsch groups, you should see whats going on there. It's a bit like a Harley owners group, they are passionate about the company and like it loud.

 

Yes, but I think the Wharfedale 225s is a closer comparison to the R-15M than the RP-150M.

 

Klipsch owners can definitely be passionate about their products! I'm actually pretty loyal to the brand myself, having owned a number of different pairs of their speakers over the years. I would love to be able to demo the Wharfedales, unfortunately we lack a dealer anywhere reasonably close. At least I can order the Klipsch online and pretty much know what to expect.

 

The Klipsch dealer network is atrocious. It's nearly impossible to demo anything from the Heritage line without driving 3 to 5 hours.