FIRST TESTS
Klipsch The Fives
They may look like stereo speakers, but this powered speaker system is a one-stop shop for home audio
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Stereo speakers | £839 whf.cm/Fives |
It’s not often we are presented with a product such as the Klipsch The Fives. They’re clearly a pair of stereo speakers, and yet we have to ask ourselves what they are actually for. That only happens when a product’s feature list blurs the lines between hi-fi and TV sound, and also occasionally the morning after the What Hi-Fi? Awards ceremony.
Klipsch describes The Fives as a ‘powered speaker system’, which is probably about as specific as you can get. They can be used as a hi-fi system – either standalone or with a source plugged in – as desktop speakers, or indeed as a true stereo alternative to a soundbar thanks to the seemingly simple, but nonetheless shrewdly incorporated, HDMI ARC connection.
Driving audio quality
Klipsch sees this as a potential driver for many customers adopting The Fives. And, as a publication that generally favours stereo speakers as an alternative to a comparably priced soundbar – in terms of basic audio performance for the money, at least – we don’t see anything wrong with that concept.