Retro Fidelity Reimagined

KLIPSCH THE NINES HERITAGE INSPIRED SPEAKERS

- Leslie Shapiro

KLIPSCH THE NINES, found in the Heritage Inspired Speaker lineup, harken back to a time when HiFi stereos were all the rage. Even The Nines' logo is 100% mid-century modern inspired. It's no secret that the legendary Klipsch speaker company was bought by Voxx (originally Audiovox), it should be noted that Voxx recently acquired Onkyo. Now it all makes sense - let's put classic Klipsch speakers in a cabinet powered by a 240-watt amplifier (480-watt peak power), using knowledge and expertise from that latest acquisition. The result: self-powered, bi-amped speakers with the signature Klipsch horn; no receiver or additional amplifier needed.

The Nines are self-powered and interchangeable - you can select which speaker you want to be left or right, since one speaker must be plugged into AC power. The Nines feature a high-excursion 8" woofer (I know, didn't you expect a 9" one?) in a ported configuration and a 1" titanium tweeter with the Klipsch-exclusive Tractrix horn. The 90-degree by 90-degree silicone horn extends completely to the edges of the cabinet. The drivers are housed in a luxurious-looking MDF cabinet with real-wood veneer in either black or walnut finishes and the color-coordinated speaker grilles are removable. Instead of rubber feet, there are cork pads on the bottom. I had no problem sliding them around on my hardwood floors without concerns of scratching.

On top of the active speaker you'll find a subtly attractive flush-mount aluminum panel with The Nines logo and two brushed aluminum vertical knobs, one for input selection and the other for volume. The knobs have a luxurious feel and elegant look. All other connections and switches are on the back panel. All digital inputs use 192kHz/24-bit decoding for hi-res reproduction.