R-41M Reference Bookshelf Speakers (Pair), Black

Having spent some time with the Klipsch R-41M speakers, I'm excited to share my thoughts on these impressive audio companions. Whether they're sitting on your desk or seamlessly integrated into your home entertainment setup, these speakers offer a lot of bang for your buck. Let's dive into the details: In terms of setup, I've placed these speakers in my living room, which is quite a large space. Paired with a AK35 200W Dual Channel Bluetooth 5.0 Stereo Audio Amplifier, they fill the room with clear, detailed sound without overwhelming the space. I am mainly using them for my record player via cable and my computer via Bluetooth connection. When it comes to cables and connections, investing in quality components is key. I've opted for reliable Crutchfield speaker wire and a 3.5mm to 2RCA interconnect for seamless connectivity between my devices and the speakers. Now, onto performance. The Klipsch comes equipped with a 4" copper-spun woofer and Klipsch's signature horn-loaded dome tweeter. The result? Crisp highs and satisfying lows that bring your music to life. While the tweeter tends towards the brighter side, a quick adjustment of the treble control on the amplifier balances things out nicely. In terms of value for money, these speakers hold their own, especially when paired with quality components. However, where they truly shine is when you add a subwoofer into the mix. I've paired mine with the Sony SACS9 10" subwoofer, and the difference is remarkable. With the crossover set at around 80 Hz, the Klipsch deliver a full-bodied sound that's perfect for everything from casual listening to movie nights. In summary, the Klipsch R-41M speakers offer impressive sound quality in a compact package. Whether you're a casual listener or a dedicated audiophile, these speakers won't disappoint. Just be sure to pair them up with quality components and take the time to set them up properly, and you'll be rewarded with an audio experience that exceeds expectations.

I'm very impressed! Small in physical size yet colossal in high quality sound! It turns out that my new amplifier is pathetic. I bought it because of it's small physical size and alleged specs. They lied! At first I blamed these speakers. Then came to my senses... Klipsch wouldn't sell junk. So, I brought my beloved, vintage, 1970s Marantz receiver out of storage, dusted it off then connected it to these speakers. The difference in sound quality was astonishing. Don't let the small size deceive you. It's their performance that truly matters. The old Marantz receiver is too big for my intended use but paired with these speakers, I just can't walk away. I'll figure something out to use both.

I bought these to replace an old Infinity 5.1 speaker system I've had for at least 20 years. These sound really good. Hard to describe, but they sound "fuller". The bookshelf speakers are larger than I expected, but still small enough to fit where I needed them (barely). Used banana plugs to connect to my receiver. Great sound and great price. Very happy!

SUMMARY At $150 (at time of review), matched with quality components in a desktop set-up, or small to medium-size room, the R-41Ms are capable little performers. Adding a subwoofer though, puts them in audiophile territory, with their impressive sound stage and detail creating a truly immersive experience. I'm using the excellent 10" Sony SACS9 115W sub ($100), making this 2.1 speaker set-up, very hard to beat at only $250. AMPLIFIER/ROOM SIZE I have the R-41Ms in a desktop configuration in my video editing studio, which is 12' x 12', running from my Macbook Pro. I'm driving them with a Fosi TB10A, 100W, Class D stereo amplifier. For $70, this tiny, capable little amp with its famed TPA3116 chipset (an audio enthusiasts favorite), is a perfect companion for the R-41Ms. INTERCONNECTS AND SPEAKER WIRE You won't get the best performance out of these (or any) speakers if the components in their path are of insufficient quality to allow them to perform optimally. It can be an astonishing revelation, just upgrading to good quality interconnects and speaker wire. They are the bottleneck where sound stage, and vocals and instruments will either be allowed to breathe, or suffocate and die. There are many electrical properties with significant benefits claimed by their manufacturers (E.g. oxygen-free copper to combat cable oxidation) but the difference they make to the sound quality is rather undecided and often down to personal opinion. The most important consideration, is that your speaker wire gauge is suitable for the impedance of your speakers and the length of your wire. I'm using Crutchfield 16g speaker wire between the amp and speakers, and the thicker Crutchfield 14g wire between the speakers and subwoofer. Confusingly, speaker wire gets thinner the higher the gauge number it is. I use a dual-shielded, 3.5mm (aux) to 2RCA interconnect between the Macbook and Fosi amplifier. It's an 'Amazon Basics' product, and I find it be of excellent quality (around $10). FEATURES AND PERFORMANCE The R-41Ms use a 4" copper-spun woofer and Klipsch's trademark, 1" horn-loaded, dome tweeter, used across the Reference Range. The tweeter definitely places higher frequencies in the more bright category, but with the treble control on the Fosi amp, I was able to dial it in to fit into a relatively well balanced low-mid-high mix. The woofer is well made, but is constrained by its size. While it performs well overall, it can struggle with the lower frequencies at medium to high volumes. Of course, a lot will depend on what you're playing through them. In a desktop set-up, with near field listening, you may find them to be more than adequate, but at the core of a home theater set up, or with bass heavy music like Travis Scott's, "Highest In The Room" or "Butterfly Effect," without a subwoofer, you're going to notice the R-41M's limitations pretty quickly, especially at higher volumes. While they're reasonably capable performers by themselves (with an amplifier, of course), and much better than most active speakers in the $100-$300 range, they're not particularly neutral or consistent. The Klipsch tweeter can be a blessing or a curse, depending what you're playing through them. The 4" woofer can sometimes cope admirably and other times really struggle, particularly at higher volumes. This makes for a varied experience depending on what you're playing through them and at what volume. The good thing, though, is that by simply adding a subwoofer, EVERYTHING changes. I use the excellent Sony SACS9 10" 115W sub ($100) and it's as though I can hear the R-41Ms saying, "Thank God you came to the party." This is where you experience neutrality and consistency across a wide variety of music, with an open sound stage and balanced detail across the lows, mids and highs. Crossover is the frequency where speakers begin to roll off and the subwoofer picks up and runs with the bass notes and low frequencies. I've found that the sweet spot for the crossover for the R-41Ms, is around 80 Hz, and that's where I've set my Sony sub. PRICE TO PERFORMANCE Without a subwoofer, the R-41Ms are competent performers, as long as you use a quality interconnect, amp and speaker wire, and don't push them too hard, or expect too much low frequency response. However, it's when they are part of a balanced set-up to include a subwoofer, that the R-41Ms yield an impressive, immersive listening experience. They run loud and clear at a volume that apartment neighbors will not appreciate. In a studio/house, you can run them beyond being able to hold a conversation, and they easily justify their price. With my amp, speakers, sub, interconnect and good quality speaker wire, I have an audiophile system for less than $400. I hope this review helps you make an informed buying decision.

I replaced a pair of JBL bookshelf speakers with these, as the JBL's had been in use for decades and were starting to sound flat and lifeless. Plus I needed to conserve some space on the shelves. I am using these in a small recording studio where I do voice overs and produce thousands of radio commercials every year. So I need something that sounds good, but not something so high end that it won't give me a realistic overview of the over all sound of a produced piece. I had been satisfied with other Klipsch speakers used in my home stereo systems. Fine clarity and nice spectrum of sound. Now, these little buggers don't sound as good as a pair of speakers costing 10 or 20 times the price, but for their size and value they are very very nice. My studio is not much larger than a typical small bedroom so I'm not pumping hundreds of watts into these. They do sound very nice and give me a respectable playback of what I can expect my work to sound like in the wild. These, obviously, are NOT studio monitor speakers e.g. you wouldn't use them a references mixing the latest production from a music studio as special designed speakers are used for this work. For voice over and commercial production I need to listen to things the way the public will be hearing them, and few people are listening to radio commercials on high end systems. These are built solid, look nice, and sound better than I expected and with a bit more clarity than I expect from speakers of this price. Bass ports on the back give them a little extra punch in the low end - and means you probably don't really want to hang them on a wall even though a keyhole for doing this is provided on the back. Other reviews are correct - there is nice bass and clear crips highs, and just a hint of a dip in midrange response but I don't find this to be an issue -- or hardly noticeable unless you're listening for it. All in all they're quite nice at this price point. They fit where I need them. I used banana plugs to connect the speaker outputs - in fact I also ordered some plugs to make up my own speaker cables when I ordered the speakers. First time I've used banana plugs that I didn't have to solder. I did take the advice of another reviewer and picked up the little Fosi amplifier to drive them - I had been using a Realistic/Optimus mini amp for the past 40 years and decided to upgrade. The little Fosi Audio TB10A amplifier sounds great with these (see my other review). You can't really miss with these little Klpisch speakers!

A couple days after i ordered these for $148, they popped up for $114...not realizing it was a different seller, i requested a refund to get them at the cheaper price, but have decided to keep them since i ordered them at this particular sellers sale price. And i am NOT upset about it one bit. I am running my Klipsch R-41M speakers through a Fosi T20 50w x2 mini tube amp with Riverstone Audio tubes, plugged into my Echo Dot using a Primedia audiophile grade 3.5mm to RCA cable, streaming Pink Floyd on Amazon Music Unlimited. Given the setup, the sound is quite amazing, the Riverstone Audio tubes are a bit warmer than the tubes the amp comes with. The mids could be a tad better, but I have absolutely zero complaints, it's a 4 inch spun copper driver, and I like to enjoy my music so I don't play excessively loud. I have foam speaker isolation pads coming Friday, they should be a nice improvement over my glass desktop. So far i have thoroughly enjoyed music from Pink Floyd, Stick Figure, Gary Moore, and Golden Earing. Everything sounds fantastic, nothing like my Klipsch KG 5.5 towers, but for bookshelf speakers with a 4 inch driver, i love these things. They look amazing, and sound fabulous. After listening to these i am upset one bit about having to pay the higher cost, they're good, very good. Use high quality, heavy gauge speaker cables to get the best sound....12 or 14 awg. I am using 12 awg now, but ordered a higher quality pair with banana plugs. Quality cables will make a difference. EDIT: Since my initial review, i have over 50 hours of burn in time on my tubes, the speakers are broken in, they are on foam isolation pads with the new 12 awg speaker cables from Micca. The sound is beyond amazing for such small speakers. I have learned that they are very picky about placement, they do best with a wider sound stage, about 6 to 8 feet apart and pointed directly at your ears while sitting at least 6 feet away. The bass is nice and tight but still offers a bit of a thump, the mids have greatly opened up, and the highs are so sweet - but can be a bit much on some songs if not adjusted right. After the break in period i set my bass to the 2:00 position and treble to the 3:00 position. I also connected these to my Denon PMA 757 amplifier, still running through my Echo Dot, and holy cow they sound incredible, but i switched back to my Fosi T20 tube amplifier because i enjoy the warmth of the tubes. Once you get these broken in, there are a couple of songs i recommend listening to that will show you just how good these are, even if it's not your cup of tea. Electrified II, Cold Flame, and Domingo, by Yello. ...the horns in Waba Duba, also by Yello, are just wild and really shines on these speakers, the song in a bit weird though, lol. If you only choose one, i suggest Cold Flame.

Klipsch reference line is a love it or hate it kind of speaker. Some find the highs to be a bit harsh and that can cause listener fatigue for some. Personally I am not affected by this so I find the speakers to be excellent. Find a local place to listen before buying if you can (my local Bestbuy has them on demo). This review is for the r-41m bookshelf speaker. I have two pairs as front and rear height channels in a 5.2.4 setup with 2 r620f towers, an r52c center, 2 r51m side surrounds and 2 r100sw subwoofers powered by a Denon avr-x4400h. I am not an expert by any means on speakers, so I cant give technical details about them, but from a casual end user I can say that I have been very pleased with the quality. Build quality is excellent, enclosures are well made and heavy, finish looks great and the copper tone woofer looks great in my house. Sound is great. I listen to just about every genre of music from classical to classic hip hop and everything in between. The speakers are able to accurately reproduce the music up to incredibly high levels with little to no distortion. Same goes for movies. Dialogue comes through crystal clear at all levels and the rest of the movies audio is reproduced excellently. I have the r41m speakers positioned high on the ceiling in front and rear of my main listening position (angled towards seating area) and right now have them crossed over at 200hz as that is typical Atmos spec since height/atmos channels do not need to reproduce much bass. Because of that I can't comment on bass reproduction from the r41m, but they do an excellent job producing the desired height effects for my setup. Ideally I would have used wide dispersion in ceiling speakers aimed down but I have a very high angled ceiling with an odd shape which ruled out both in ceiling and atmos upfiring speakers in my room. All in all I have been very happy with these speakers (and the other reference line speakers in my setup). I'd love to have some RP series speakers but I'm ballin on a budget. Look for 40 to 50% off sales occasionally and you can get some great deals on a great setup. I'll be buying another set of either these or the r51m when I'm ready to move to a 7.2.4 setup.

These fit nicely in a relatively small space. Sound quality is good for normal listening. I am still testing different uses. My turntable seemed to exhibit noticeable distortion with High notes, but normal broadcast sounds for news and movies are easy listening.