Klipsch RP-500SA Dolby Atmos Surround Sound Speakers (Ebony) (1066507)

Im not sure what kind of random super luck I had last week but I got these for $499 each along with a RP504c at $499 and a pair of RP500sa for $399 all in piano black from vendors listed on Klipschs website as authorized web vendors. It might be worth setting up a camelcamelcamel alert to watch for these on sale again. Anyway, a little story. I have had a pair of Polk RTi70s for years that I like so much I bought a second pair of for another room. I really liked them but thought I would see what else I could hear with my Christmas bonus. I have been a fan of SVS Subs for quite a while so I bought a pair of their Prime Pinnacles. After reading all the glowing reviews how could I go wrong? Well, they are better than the old Polks but still not the massive improvement I was hoping for. Reviews of the Pinnacles say the highs are laid back, to me they just werent as clear and crisp as I was hoping for. I started seeing YouTube videos with reviewers liking the RP8000Fs better. Then I came across the sale. I contacted SVS and even though I was past the 45 day trial period, they agreed to take back the Pinnacles and refund me. I cant say enough about their customer service. Top Notch! So I set up a return and ordered the RP8000Fs. Then I realized that with what I was getting back from SVS, I could also get the RP504c center and still be ahead so that got ordered as well. The next day, I decided this is probably my one chance to get the matching surrounds on sale so the RP500SAs were ordered as well. Several days later they all showed up within minutes of each other. I unboxed and set up all 5 speakers with my Denon X3300W 105w per channel. After running the calibration I was blown away! This is the sound I have been looking for. The highs are right there but not overpowering. The bass blends well with my 2 SVS SB12s. Sweeping around the room the sound from each speaker is matched perfectly whether coming from the 51/4 woofers in the center and surrounds or the 8 woofers in the RP8000Fs. Everything sounds so crisp and clean whether its Easy E or the Eagles. The sound is sweet and perfectly matched in every frequency, no overpowering bass even though it is strong. No overpowering high end like Klipsch is known for. These are the Goldilocks of speakers. Everything sounds just right. I put few movies in as well and was just as impressed. Thunder booms powerfully, lightning cracks sharply, you hear every individual rain drop. Its like my ears got an upgrade. These things are fantastic! In the end, if you have the money, buy them! If you dont have the money, start saving and look for a sale, then buy them!

Added these as height speakers to the front and back of my home theater surround sound set up. They look good and sound great with both movies and music.

I hooked them up for my rear sound they sound awesome

All I can say is now thats true ATMOS!

Already had Klipsch 7.1 setup with Onkyo NR-7100. Added these as top middle speakers at the top of the side walls about 3 feet in front of my head. These sound great and really filled out the sound bubble!

I can’t install speakers in the ceiling or walls. These work fairly well. If you are like Me and you can’t get Atmos any other way these will give you some of the experience.

Moving from Polk and will never look back! Well built and sound terrific !!

So far I have these on top of my mains (RP8000Fs). Definitely a much better separation of sound coming from above when these are mounted higher on the wall. Thats going to be a project for me mainly due to wire management, I dont want the wires dangling on the wall & would need to hire an electrician to drill holes & snake the wires through. Too lazy to do all that now but sound is sound, and the extra sound coming from these is more immersive than not having them. My ceilings are 8, supposedly the upfiring design makes sound bounce off the ceiling if 8, very subtle though & still not the same as mounting them on the wall. If you have taller ceiling or cathedral ceilings, there is likely zero upfiring benefit you could hear. But hey, they look cool sitting on the towers lol. In my setup its easier having these then two extra rears for 7.1, so I am going with 5.1.2 Another advantage is the option of a Dialogue lift with my AVR, meaning the center dialogue can get added & spread out to the Atmos speakers in addition to the center channel. For that purpose its better having these on top of the tower speakers so the sound is coming from the TV. Mounted up high, that feature may sound odd. I cross these over to the sub at 100 hz, I hear most people use that or 120. Atmos speakers are not designed to handle any significant bass, not even effectively down to 80 hz. My overall system these are playing with: AVR - Yamaha Aventage A2A. Two Outlaw Monoblock Amps 2220 powering the fronts (RP8000Fs). This frees up the AVR power more for the other surround speakers including these, making them all come to life a bit more. Center is RP500C & rears are RP500M. Sub is SVS SB3000. Very happy with these as part of a very enjoyable upgrade I have made to my sound system over the past month. Also, especially with Atmos, a total waste of money going with the Gen 2 substantially more $. Gen 2 is the same speaker big picture, just with tweaks to very subtly change the midrange. The subtle difference is for critical music listening, totally not worth it & at times depending on the song I actually preferred how the Gen 1 sounded. But when going to surrounds, especially Atmos, not going to hear any difference so my recommendation is dont spend about twice as much for the Gen 2. If I was willing to spend twice as much, Id save up a bit to add a bit more and make a real upgrade - to the next tier of speakers. Like the RF7iii or Heritage Forte iv. Maybe down the road I do. Until then Ill keep thoroughly enjoying the current upgrades I made to an entry level Polk set up I had the last 11 years.

The speaker looks great with the covers on or off I definitely like how easy it is to take off the covers.. the tweeter on these Klipsch units are super clean an crisp

I love these Atmos enabled speakers as they have the great Klipsch Reference Premiere sound, look, and can function as upfiring speakers or as a full range height speaker. My only problem is the value and here is why. Klipsch knows there is little competition in the Atmos enabledheight speaker realm and mounting bookshelf speakers as front height speakers looks a little weird. In store at NFM i was able to get RP-8000fs for $340 each an RP-504c for $400 and 2 sets of RP-500Ms for $250 a pair for my rear surround and rear heights. These i paid $500 for a pair on Amazon and NFM in store had them for $275 each so in comparison these are MUCH more money in comparison for the size and output of the other speakers. The RP500M is a better full range speaker for $250 a pair (NFM) vs $500 a pair for these RP-500SAs. My ceiling is vaulted so upfiring atmos is not an option I have these RP-500SAs as my front heights and RP500Ms as rear heights. The RP-500SAs have a few things on the RP-500Ms that made me bite the bullet and get them. 1) the option for upfiring atmos is there if i ever move and have this option and they fit and look nice on my RP-8000fs. 2) they have a full range (surround) switch that allow them to be mounted as height speakers and they look much better as front angled height speakers than mounted RP-500Ms. 3) I have compared these to the Sony SS-CSE atmos speakers and would recommend these over them but sonys cost $100 currently and these are $500... are these 5 times better.. no. Do these fit in my Klipsch setup and sound a bit better, Yes which is ultimately what made up my mind to purchase these. I run these at 4-5dbs above my front speakers to keep height channels clearly audible and not drowned out by front speakers. I would think the smaller less powerful RP-140SAs (which i have not tested) would be quickly drowned out at high levels. Basically if you want atmos for a klipsh setup this is the way to go and you wont be let down but the value for money compared to my other Klipsch speakers i feel is lacking.