The Klipsch The Fives are quite large bookshelf speakers measuring 304.8mm high, 165.1mm wide and 234.9mm deep. The main speaker weighs five and a half kilograms, while the secondary speaker is slightly lighter at 4.8 kilograms. As with most wireless bookshelf systems, the main speaker houses all the electronics, while the second speaker is nothing more than a passive speaker. But unlike some such systems, you can choose whether the main speaker is on the left or right using a switch on the back, making placement more flexible.
The two-way speaker system features a 4.5-inch woofer with a long-throw fiber composite cone that’s close enough to 5 inches to give the speakers their “The Fives” name. The one-inch titanium LTS (Linear Travel Suspension) vented tweeter with 90 x 90 degree Tractrix horn is derived from the famous Reference Premiere series. The bass reflex cabinet has a Tractrix rear port and is made of durable MDF with natural wood veneer. Additionally, the speakers come with a beautiful fabric cover with a magnetic grille.
The custom-designed built-in amplifiers deliver a total of 160W of power (320W peak), with each woofer receiving 60W and each tweeter receiving 20W from their own separate amplifier circuits. Maximum output is 109 dB at 1 meter from the stereo pair, and frequency response is 50 Hz to 25 kHz with bass extension down to 46 Hz at 35 percent volume.
One interesting feature is the dynamic bass equalizer, which is usually only found in AV receivers. Essentially, the level of bass frequencies relative to the entire spectrum changes depending on the overall level you set – the lower the overall level, the more the bass is boosted to accommodate how human hearing perceives different frequencies at different levels. This feature can be disabled using the included IR remote control.
The Klipsch The Fives wireless speaker system has a wide range of connections so you can centralize all your sources without the need for an external preamp or DAC. All these connectors are located on the rear panel of the right speaker. They include an RCA line input that can be switched to a phono input for connecting a turntable without pre-amplification. Grounding is available to eliminate unwanted ground noise. The Klipsch The Fives speaker also has a 3.5mm mini-jack input. Moreover, Klipsch The Fives is designed not only for playing music, but also for playing movie soundtracks. For this purpose it has an HDMI ARC input. However, the TV must be HDMI ARC compatible and the audio stream must be in PCM format. For TVs not compatible with HDMI ARC, the speaker has an optical digital input.
In addition to analog and digital inputs, the Klipsch The Fives speaker also has a built-in USB DAC so you can connect your computer. The DAC supports the vast majority of audio formats, including WAV, WMA, MP3 and FLAC up to 24bit/192kHz. It operates asynchronously, meaning that it uses its own clock to completely bypass the computer’s audio circuitry. This provides more accurate decoding and reduces jitter. With a Mac, the Klipsch The Fives speaker can be used as a USB DAC once it’s connected to the computer. However, for Windows PCs, you need to download certain drivers from the Klipsch website.
The top of the main speaker has two knurled handles, with only a portion of each protruding above the surface. One selects the source, and the other adjusts the volume. There are six white LED indicators next to the source selection knob. In addition to identifying the selected source, the LEDs also indicate the volume as it changes. Additionally, the selected source LED blinks twice when you turn Dynamic Bass EQ off and once when you turn it on.
You can also control the Klipsch The Fives using the included remote control. Along with the on/off button, it has a play/pause, volume up/down, subwoofer up/down, mute, and dedicated source selection buttons, as well as a Sub Reset button that resets the subwoofer level to the desired level. nominal value, and turning Dynamic Bass EQ on and off.
The free Klipsch Connect app for iOS and Android offers another control option for some of the company’s products, including the Klipsch The Fives. But the current version only provides setup procedure, firmware update and product registration. The app offers a quick start guide with videos, which is basically an extended version of the printed guide.
Klipsch The Fives features a Bluetooth 5.0 receiver that allows you to stream music from your smartphone, tablet, DAP, or even your computer. The transmission range is about 10 meters, which gives the user enough flexibility to move freely from room to room with a smartphone in their pocket without interruption to the music. However, the receiver is only compatible with the SBC codec. Although the latter provides support for all Bluetooth devices, its transmission speed is limited to 320 kbps, which is not enough for listening to Hi-Res music. Despite this, we found audio over Bluetooth to be clear and detailed enough to enjoy online music services like Deezer and Spotify.
Klipsch The Fives Features
Speakers: 1 x 1″ (25.4mm) titanium dome tweeter, Tractrix horn, 1 x 5½” (11.43cm) diameter woofer
Frequency response: 50 Hz to 25 kHz
Sensitivity: 109 dB
RMS power: 160 W (2 x 80 W – low: 60 W / high: 20 W)
Peak power: 320 W
Bluetooth 5.0, range approx. 10m
Auxiliary input: 3.5mm mini jack
Switchable line/phono input (pre-amplified): 2 x RCA
Audio USB port (Type B)
Optical digital audio input
HDMI ARC input
Dimensions (W x H x D): 165 x 305.5 x 240 mm
Right speaker weight: 5.05 kg
Left speaker weight: 4.85 kg
Accessories included
Right speaker to left speaker cable (4 wires, 4 meters long)
3.5 mm mini jack auxiliary cable
USB cable (Type A to Type B)
HDMI cable
Remote control
Power cord
