Klipsch RP-8000F II Reference Premiere Floorstanding Speaker - Each

I've seen comments that, though these speakers sound great with rock and similar genres, they're good but not great with Jazz and Classical. While I'm sure there are speakers that are better, I am very pleased with how the RP-8000F IIs reproduce Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, and my favorite classical works as well as rock, country, bluegrass, and everything else I've thrown at them. They also are working very well for movies streamed from my laptop, with the video going to our television and the sound through the stereo.

These speakers are dynamic and produce plenty of bass, enough that I'm not considering a subwoofer. Dialogue in movies is clear and easy to understand, not veiled behind the sounds of other things going on at the same time. They reproduce well-recorded live performances very well. Allison Krauss and Union Station live from The Louisville Palace in 2002 comes through sublime. And the instrument separation and imaging are great. They are VERY enjoyable speakers. Yes, there are better speakers ... at twice the price!

I've found them to be very forgiving. Our family room is not exactly audiophile. I'm driving them with a 35-watt Hitachi solid state receiver from the 80's. It didn't take long to get the toe-in (just a little) just right. And, though they're rear ported, I don't have to pull them a couple feet out from the wall. I will say that getting them at least 8' apart was a good thing. They still sounded good at 6', but the separation wasn't as evident. And while some people don't like the vinyl "wood veneer", they seem like they'll be much easier to keep clean than a set of gorgeous Wharfedales that come with a set of white gloves because you don't want to get the oils from your hands on them!

Unlike a lot of other speakers I've heard, they sound just as impressive at low levels as at high volumes. And, driving them with only 35 watts in a 26' x 21' room, I'm not getting past 6 or 7 on the volume control before they're LOUD. So, yes, they ROCK, but also deftly handle the more delicate, intricate sounds of acoustic music.

At some point I want to pick up a better integrated amp for them - something cleaner, with a bit more power and damping for better control. If I'm remembering correctly, Colin Rogers demo'd them in the store for me with a Cambridge Audio CXA61, which showed me that there's more in them than I'm getting with the Hitachi, and that they'll bloom even more as I upgrade my other components. But in the meantime they still sound GREAT even with the Hitachi.

And MANY THANKS to Colin for his patience as he handed me the pad and let me run through a large number of varied tracks while he switched between sets of speakers for me. I never felt rushed or that he had anything more in mind than doing whatever he could to help me make the kind of critical evaluation and comparison I wanted. He even brought in a pair of RP-6000F IIs from another room so that I could A/B them with the 8000s. (The 6000s also sounded great, but I would have wanted a subwoofer with them.)

In short, my entire family is thoroughly enjoying these speakers. They're great 2-channel speakers that also work well for movies. They're very forgiving. And as I improve my other components, it will unlock even more of their wonderful characteristics.

Finally, like buying shoes or boots, which I don't even consider buying online because I need to try them on and wear them a bit before deciding whether to buy, I recommend Colin, Dave Sailer, and the other folks at World Wide Stereo to you. This isn't the new car lot of audio stores. There's no pressure. They're patient. There's no feeling like a cat that's trying to escape the clutches of a toddler that won't let it go. On the contrary, my experiences have been that they're focused on doing whatever they need to ensure that we're able to determine what works best for us. And then they still have their return policy if, after all that, it doesn't actually work well at home!