RP-8000F floor-standing speakers are Klipsch’s top-of-the-line traditional tower speakers next to the RF-7 III. They cost around $600 each, but the Piano Black finish takes the price up to $750 each. Dolby Atmos speakers are a little more valuable, but we would prefer to concentrate on fundamental efficiency rather than on Atmos embellishments, as the sound character of these speakers would essentially be dictated by the basic design. These are reasonably priced tower speakers and in a very favorable price bracket.
Appearance
RP-8000F is a little bigger than most tower speakers, but it’s not as huge as tower speakers. With the grille on, the black RP-8000f piano is a bright, tall, black case. With the grid removed, we are confronted with Klipsch’s distinctive copper cones and a Tractrix horn-loaded tweeter. The overall effect is something that is debonair but strong, almost like a well-heeled MMA warrior.
The piano black finish, a slightly angled position and a subtle bevelling give the speaker some style, even with the grilles on. The massive 8″ woofers and the horn-loaded tweeter give it an undeniably muscular cast that can’t be overlooked but is carried out in a very attractive manner. This is the nicest-looking speaker I can remember seeing, except for the discontinued Palladium series.
Design Analysis
The Klipsch RP-8000F is a big tower speaker with two 8″ woofers and a horn-charged tweeter. It’s built to be a moderately efficient loudspeaker for home audio.
The RP-8000F uses what Klipsch calls the ‘Hybrid Cross-Section Tractrix’ horn. The geometry of the shape of the horn plays a major role in deciding its sound character. This geometry appears to be shared through the Reference Premiere line, but differs from the previous Standard Reference line that also used the Tractrix horn. It is a shape that is used in loudspeaker horns on the premise that the evolving pressure waves expand from the transducer diaphragm.
The RP-8000F horn is divided into two parts by a copper ring embedded in the horn. A 1″ titanium dome tweeter is used to load the horn and uses what Klipsch calls the ‘Linear Travel Suspension’ mechanism. Two massive 8″ woofers perform the bass duties as well as some of the midrange ones. In the case of deep bass, the bass driver loads a small, rectangular port flared on both sides using a tractrix geometry like a horn. The port is placed right above the terminal cup, which has dual 5-way binding posts for those involved in bi-amping.
The cone composition of the woofer appears to be an aluminum sheet that has been hard anodized to form a ceramic coating that is stiffer than the aluminum substrate and also has a copper color. I can’t be sure how well it functions against a simple aluminum cone, but I’m sure Klipshis wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of anodizing all their cones if the impact was negligible. Instead of standard legs, the RP-8000F uses some cast aluminum rails that keep the cabinet up at a slight angle.
The cabinet is a fairly heavy construction and consists of an overwhelming majority of 60 lbs speakers. The large scale, the large woofers and the horn-loaded tweeter should make for a high sensitivity design. The overall configuration shows that the speaker is highly effective and also has a relatively narrow directivity. ÃÃ1⁄4 reviewer: “The bigwoofers can also do a lot to limit the sound to a tighter dispersion pattern than the standard speaker.
Sound
Overall quality is really good, beautiful to look at as a center piece of your audio system or home theater. Highs are well balanced and rich, with more meat around the notes than the previous horn drivers of the RP series. Midrange is tonally correct with a strong balance, not forward or recessed. Bass performance in the lower region is very strong, deep and very authoritative. But the upper to lower mid region of the bass is a small lack of definition for me, most people do not notice their musical listening experience.
Instruments such as drums, saxophones, guitars and synthesizers were very expressive, accurate and natural without visible coloration. For two-channel movies set up, simple dialogs are very satisfying and a realistic sound with just two speakers is effectively reproduced. I would love to hear these speakers with tube amps for my personal taste, I know they’re going to sound beautiful. I play a lot of different songs, RP-8000F(s) have never been able to satisfy my musical pleasure.
The key strength of the RP-8000F speakers is the sound of any kind of music genre. If I’m trying to buy a pair of two or three thousand floor standing speakers, I’d get them and save money or get a better amplifier. Today the hifi audio market is crowded with many pretenders without real note worthy performers, most of them not worth asking for a price for their performance, but not these speakers. If you’re on the market, try to hear the speakers. I will highly recommend it to anyone looking to get a new floor standing speaker. Well, it’s worth the price because the speakers’ output was beyond asking the price.
William Copeland is a music lover, reviewer and founder of Laoperaring. He's been an audiophile for over 20 years and has tried many different types of audio equipment.
As a musician himself, he understands the importance of high-quality sound in order to produce quality recordings. William uses his skills as an audiophile to help other musicians find the best products for their needs.
