Hey folks! A good amount of detail and differences were lost once this was uploaded to KZfaq. The original recording was 24/192 and obviously YT compresses everything. Anyhow, let me know what you all think in the comments section.

I dont know all the terminology or how to describe certain things but A seemed flatter and B seemed brighter and a little more detailed in the mids and highs

First off, thank you for your hard work setting this up. That being said, my earbud headphones are the best I have for revealing a difference between the speakers. conclusion? I was shocked when you said B was stock because all the way through I preferred B. The high hats decay, instrument separation, and overall tonality seemed "better". Restored my faith in the multi million dollar r&d budget and crossover gurus at Klipsch.

Just listening on a pair of AirPod pros, speaker B sounds like a door was opened. Just more present and alive. Not going to say the mod was a bad idea but I’m glad I liked the stock more because I’ll be getting these speakers in the future when I upgrade my set up. Thanks for the comparison!

B has quite a bit more detail. More of live band feel.

i feel like some of the clips soun better on A some better on B , but i think this must be done live to realy get a good opinion.I feel that the modified pair is more of an audiophile speaker now, especialy women voices sound more natural .The standard pair is more of a party speaker and it could get a bit fatigue on long listening sessions. Thank you Ronn for your efforts.Also a big Thanks to Danny for doing this

This is proof you must trust your ears and your own taste. Absolutely hilarious when he said "B" is stock version. "A" version was muffled even through youtube and sounded dull. Oh man ! Thank you for saving our hard earned money.

I expected a lot from the upgrade but I liked the stock better. It sounded a lot cleaner and "alive". Pretty weird, considering the upgraded versions has some better quality components.

I absolutely love my Klipsch RP600M's, Paired with a Nad C388! I did hear a difference here and speaker B sounded like the upgraded one. I wouldnt know exactly how to tell them apart, but i feel the midrange on the upgraded is a bit better. Its also sounds a little more laid back. Nice sound anyways, but I will keep mine stock :D

The weak link is, and will always be, the last mile. In this case KZfaq and final conversion within device being used for playback. If my ears can hear differences through all that, there are certainly audible differences. It's too bad we couldn't be sitting in your listening chair, Ron. I think that would tell the story in a far more definitive way. We're all coming over next week for a listening session...snacks would be nice. Wonderful choice of clips, by the way, and as good a KZfaq reproduction as I've heard. I was listening while surfing elsewhere so I didn't jade my thoughts. For most, including me, I think your analysis and commentary are as valuable as the clips themselves.

Ron, I want to thank you for your excellent advice on the JBL Studio 530 speakers. After watching your video I checked around and you're not going to believe the amazing sale in just got. A brand new set of the JBL speakers for $249, with free shipping included! Direct from JBL to my front door!!! Before I made the purchase I checked out several other videos and reviews of the speakers and everybody, including you, says they are fantastic. I could not be more pleased, I was going to buy the Klipsch RP-600M and modify them, or consider the Klipsch RP-500M, but instead I got this amazing deal. Honestly, at $249, I just don't see how I can go wrong! Thanks again for your awesome video and fantastic advice.

Thank you for this video! So much to choose from nowadays. Amazing channel content! Keep up the good work, Cheers!

I enjoyed the Klipsch RP600 series very much. Old ears (75) & damaged hearing so I couldn't tell much difference between A & B but correctly id'd A as a bit better and no difference on connectors. Appreciated the recommendations at end.

With all the mixed comments here, it just goes to show there wasn't a clear winner or a night 'n day difference between the 2 speakers. If the "modified" speaker sounded noticeably better, then there would've been more of a consensus. Personally, I think I'll save $299 and just stick to the stock version but with the modifications noted below. Even though you'll still have the dip around 1.5Khz, you can easily pad down the tweeter by changing the 9 ohm resistor with a higher value Mills resistor. That'll set you back a whooping $8 for two resistors. The 3.9uF MKT in series with the tweeter can easily be changed out to the MKP cap of your choice. I don't believe in using expensive caps but some people do. If cabinet vibrations are something that keep you up at night, then you could purchase the No Rez from Danny or use whatever flavor of dampening material you prefer. I also have the RP-600M and Studio 530. I respectfully disagree with Ron about the JBL sounding better than the Klipsch. The JBL sounds pretty good with strong bass(especially from a 5 1/4" woofer), but mids sound somewhat veiled compared to the Klipsch. Thank you New Record Day for all the time and work you put into making this video!

What a difference of night and day despite the limitations of you tube compression etc. ! To hear a lot of difference I think it is important to listen on a reasonable good stereo installation, not television or computer sound. My television is coupled to my 100 watt rotel stereo unit. The stock speakers sound messy, hollow, harsh, shouty and uncontrolled, and the voices were negatively affected by the speaker. I cannot believe people buy this. The upgraded speaker was a revelation, still a Klipsch sound, but composed and controlled, not messy anymore and a great improvement of male and female voices. Shouty and hollow is not to be confounded “with more space” ! Listen to the voices! My compliments to New Record Day for the good work, till now I believed that it was not possible to hear meaningful speaker sound differences on you tube, and a lot of reviewers will not let you hear the sound op speakers, but you can! I also saw Danny Ritchie with his improvement kits for speaker on you tube. My reaction was always, yes yes I’ m sure the components are better but can you hear it? And: why not just buy a better speakers? From now on I’m a believer of the good work of Danny from GR research and of the 4 dollar parts the manufacturer put in speakers to meet their pricepoint. Also the speakers ar made for a big market of people who listen to the sound of their phones, the soundbar of the tv …why bother to use better parts?

Listening the comparison on my unmodified RP660M's, the spacial separation and super subtle definition in all frequencies on these GR speakers still speaks volumes. I'm now definitely getting the GR-Research mod now

You need to publish the lossless sound clips to a web hosting service for download, for serious comparison.

I just want to share my experience of hearing these in person. I did this GR Research upgrade to my own RP600M speakers. After listening to those original speakers for a couple months, I was not that thrilled. There was a clear sound of the box- it was like listening down a hallway. There was also a harshness, even tinkering after the bass mid and treble settings. I did the upgrade on one speaker first. Now I’m listening to the same music in the same room, and the difference is clearer than it sounds on these KZfaq tracks. I find the changes make this into a really nice warm speaker. Better clarity without any harshness, and a tight clean bass. Is it worth the cost? If you already own those Klipsch speakers, and like to tinker, definitely yes.

Great list of song clips for this comparison, Ron. They pretty much cover a full range of instruments and therefore frequencies. Some make it easier to hear the differences and others not so much. Good job with that selection, man.

I listened without looking at the screen. Really subtle difference but when I thought it sounded better to me I would check and A was definitely my pick. You describe the differences very well. The modified sound more effortless and clear.

Thanks for putting this demo together, absolutely awesome:) B sounded so much better, brighter yes, but more emotionally involving. Better presentation overall.

I really looked forward to this video and appreciate both Danny and Ron’s great work! I clearly heard the differences, I knew immediately that A’s were the mods, not bad, but am not going to pursue a full mod since I like a bit more brightness of the originals but would like to either add to the bottom and mids or bring the top end in, perhaps I will just change to the tube connectors and the norez mod instead of changing the entire cross over too?

Replacing electrolytic caps in a stock crossover has always had benefits for me. Swapping them out with Polypropylenes always got rid of grit in almost all crossover mods I do, However, as controversial as it may be, they do require break in, also called "forming". I swapped out the cheap crossover on my Maggies with foil inductors and Poly's and I found it too behaved at first play. Using some dummy loads and running a bass heavy CD for 2 days straight, the highs opened up and it wasn't as polite and restrained, it was now open and smooth. I' ve moded NHTS as well with the same results. Worthwhile in my opinion and fun!

Wow that’s a big difference, thank you for doing this!

This is actually a great experiment that proves youtube can't be used for judging sound quality on speakers! I couldn't hear much difference. Good recordings though- my headphones sound great! :)

Great review! Love the Pedal Show t-shirt. Now I want new speakers and new D&M getup..

I recently helped a friend upgrade his RP-600Ms, and we noticed all the same improvements you did. Except, we also noticed and increase in bass detail, too.

I'm on my work pc and listening through my Sennheiser MB Pro 1 via bluetooth headset. Keep in mind this only has one ear piece. I can hear a distinct difference between A and B. With B being a lot better and clearer and more defined.

Unfortunately, My 70 year old ears could hear no difference. I guess this could be a blessing or a curse.

I just got the JBL 530s in for a review on my channel , I have 40 hours of actual listing time in the last 2 and a half weeks and yes i got them for $299.00 I broke them in quickly by playinflg them while i was at work i just pushed repeat on me cd player 😆 but after about a week 60 hours of break in time the horns smoothed out even more !! Crazy good bass for a small driver also !

You guys did a good job of putting a little Dynaudio into a klipsch. Personally I like the warmer neutral sound it sounds more Hi-Fi to me. It's really easy to EQ the top end up if you want a little more but that mid-range has noticeably improved you don't have the random notes that just kind of hit you wrong or at least I didn't hear any of that did

As I've commented before, your recordings are probably the best I've ever heard on KZfaq -- for a start, the stereo is very apparent and I could almost be listening to recordings on my own nearfield gear in that respect. No Idea how you do this -- so much better than any other reviewer I can think of. I hear slight differences between the stock and modded pairs, and of the two prefer the stock versions -- but not sure whether I would if I listened to full tracks for an appreciable period in a live situtation. Listening fatigue might be a factor, and the vid is too short to assess that. But as I said, a very enjoyable review which I greatly enjoyed. 🙂

On my setup the B speakers sounds the best. The A speakers was to boring and sounded like there was a blanket hanging in front of the speaker.

Sounds like some of the clips have been mixed up to me. I prefer B until 6:10, then A appears better for a while, then back to B.

I feel like I left a comment on this video shortly after it came out a few months back, but I decided to come back to it, to get 2nd impressions. Listened via Bluetooth to my Sprout 100 & Sennheiser HD6XX headphones. Modded vs Stock: A has a richer & fuller mid-range and the treble is tamed to a reasonable level, and whenever it shifts to B it feels like there a sudden hole in the midrange, while the treble becomes bright & almost metallic in nature. The places where the differences are most noticable is when a lot is happening across the whole spectrum. When it's just one instrument or one vocalist, there's not enough information to really be able to pinpoint any difference at all. But when there's a full array of instruments, and it switches back & forth, you can hear the slope change from flat to V shaped. Stock vs Tube Connectors: It's really quite subtle. But For me, the biggest tell was in the vocals. They had a just little more presence & clarity with the tube connectors. Binding posts gave vocals a gritty, almost "noisy" texture to them. It also feels like there's a slight smear in the trailing edge of the vocals too, which is where most of that gritty-ness appears for me. It's very subtle, it's 95% identical. Best way to describe it like getting a new pair of glasses, & only increasing the prescription by one notch. You could still see just fine with the old pair, but now there's just that little extra crispness to everything. Something you don't really notice until you to swap back to your old pair.

How much money did I save by "not" doing this upgrade?

Ok, just installed the upgrade, and now I can hear for myself with songs I am familiar with. The truth here is that it maintains the klipsch sound, but all the music gets through. And it is more plesant to listen to for long periods, and I dont get listening fatigue anymore. When people hear this klipsch for the first time, the reaction is that it is so bright and clear. NO, It is not. It,s just what it sounds like because of a dip in the crossover and some parts of the full soundspectre drown in the highs and lows. Now I can hear much more details and everything sounds balanced. I dont even feel like kringing when I turn up the volume. AND, it packs a mightier punch than before. It still sounds a bit distorted to me on sybals from drums, but I guess the drivers are at their limit now. Anyway, I am definetly going for the xls, if it is twice as good as this sound, cause the sound I am getting from the klipsches now is pretty darn good. I do have clearer sound in my JBL 4312, but they are a step up though. But they dont sound as deep as the klipsches do now. It doesent matter one likes the squikie distorted highs from klipsch. If thecrossover is not balanced you will feel tired in your ears after some dedicated hours of listening.

I couldn’t hear any significant differences with my eyes closed listening through KZfaq on $100 budget powered speakers. Also with the differences, I couldn’t determine which was better. I’m sure the differences scale upward and are more noticeable as the quality of the overall system increases. Thanks for doing the tests and uploading for us to hear.

Speaker "A" sounded like it was down in the mud (muddled) and was boring. Speaker "B" sounded more realistic and livelier. If I didn't know which speaker was modified, I would have chosen Speaker "B".

Remember guys the thing that makes Danny’s upgrade so phenomenal is how it affects the in room presentation, something that’s harder to get than just the tone, through a recording. That Being Said... I personally think the bass and lower midrange sounds way better with the upgrade. I think B sounds "peakier", like there's a peak at 150hz and sounds blurry at 60hz. Despite having less tweeter amplitude the Top End actually sounds less choked at the very very top on B, like 16-20khz, which I found more pleasing. "A" had a louder decay sound, but it kinda "covers up" that super super top end. B just sounds more like a tweeter + a woofer. While A sounded like single point sources (again sort of harder to hear through a recording but still very noticeable) which I found a lot less fatiguing and when listening to this at a high volume rather than hearing 4 separate sound sources. B appeared to make a taller sound stage while A sounded slightly wider than B and balances out to an overall much more realistic scale. While B was all over the map as far as scale. Bass instruments sounds like the real instrument. I think the upgrade is a no brainer for people planning to use these for mixing in ANY capacity.

I see why people call the stock 600m live, vibrant and dynamic! Its coloured for sure, but I think it has cool style. The mod opens up the soundstage huge and smooths everything out, presenting itself as a more high end audiophile speaker.

@New Record Day, can you tell us what is gained with the LS Encore? I’m loving the speakers with the upgrades. I’m just curious what is left on the table vs the encore. I got the rp600m’s used for $300. No way any cabinets I make look like the rp600m’s or the cabinets you showed of the encores. So for the what I paid I wonder if I could have done better with another speaker. You think the JBL 530’s are better than rp600m with upgrades? Love my jbl305 for my desk.

I listened to this on my Fluance ai60's. I couldn't tell much difference, but its probably because of the compression you mentioned caused by the upload.

Thanks for the video, are you doing any measurements as well?

That fact that I could actually hear a difference (On most of the tracks) while listening on an iPad is astounding. I did not expect to hear a difference without using the appropriate listening equipment. Wow!

Thank you for all your great videos. In your opinion, how would you compare the stock JBL 530 vs. upgraded RP-600M in term of over sound quality? If you have to pick one, which one would you keep if money is not an issue?

A sounded better on most tracks. Some of the female vocals sounded like the A/B was mixed up? As far as the tube connectors go, I'd have to hear it in person, I didn't hear much of a difference in these sound clips. Consider linking to the 24/192 originals so we can listen with a better sample.

I'm listening to this on the SVS SoundBase and a pair of Klipsh R51M speakers, I could hear quite a big difference in a few tracks. I cannot wait to do this upgrade to my SVS Ultra's. I like the sound difference, at least what I heard. Then we will look at getting a kit from Danny and build one of his Encore sets. Also going to head over to CSS and bag a pair of those too.

I found this comparison great. If I didn't hear them both side by side I would have been happy with both. I personally don't think I would spend the money or the time for what seems to me as very little gain. Klipsch should be very happy with this test as they have a great speaker straight out of the box.

Can we get a playlist for this? There are definitely some songs I'd love to hear in its entirety in their original hi-res form

Thank you so much for doing this. Is there any way I can download high quality versions of the first few clips to test for myself?

Wouldn't it be a better option to buy a Schiit Loki Mini and (at least in part) tailor the sound that way? Considering the differences in recordings, it gives nearely endless possibilities and you can always turn the knobs back to flat or flick the bypass switch for comparisons.

I’ve heard both of these sets in person in Ron’s listening room, through headphones like all of you smart people who used headphones to listen to them here, and also compared the unmodded version to my own speakers in my room with an AB test as well (I built my speakers for about the same price of the modded version). In person the differences are more noticeable than what you’re hearing here, albeit I still hear the main gist of the differences on KZfaq. The reality is this for me - I don’t really like this speaker in either option at all when you look at the price point. Ron is right that the GR encores walk circles around them, but so do the Elac Unifi’s, and the JBL’s Ron shared. I’m biased for sure but my set handily beat up the unmodded terribly so for you DIY guys out there, don’t bother here. The Klipsch sound so forward and bright, coupled with a thin midrange, that I just couldn’t enjoy them as much as I wanted to. Danny’s mod‘s definitely improved that forward top end and he did provide a bit more richness to the mids, but the reality is the weakest links of that speaker have not been fully addressed - the flimsy cheap box needs bracing, and the less than stellar woofer. I don’t want to make Ron’s head swell too much, but he is right on the money with his final thoughts...if you have these speakers already and you want to make them sound better (again - subjective word but the reality is the mods do improve the speaker), get Danny’s kit. However, my opinion? The hype around these speakers this past year was way over the top from the other reviewers out there! They must own stock in Klipsch, or have broken ears. ;) 🤘🏻

Very interesting comparison. Thanks for posting this. I agree with you regarding the midrange on the modified version, and the dynamic presentation of the stock version. I have a stock pair, and do not feel inclined to mod them. However, I have to wonder if I can get the best of both worlds by adding a REL, to not only preserve the dynamics of the original design, but potentially improve upon both the midrange and the bass performance. My curiosity is piqued. A REL/600M paring might, theoretically, be the golden ticket (along with some cabinet deadening). I happen to already own a few REL’s, so the cost to me is $0. That said, I probably wouldn’t go out and buy a REL if I didn’t already own one ( or two or three). If you are also inclined to try this, I’d be interested in your experience. That’s the great thing about this hobby; so many possibilities...

I appreciate the upload. I'd be curious how long you have had the 600s. They tend to really smooth out on the top end over time the more you use them so who knows. I do like A a bit more but I don't like that you lose that live sound. I wouldn't really say it's worth 250 bucks but who knows.

Hello! Do you mind uploading the A B files for download? Interested in trying to hear the difference. Can not be sure of what i am hearing via bluetooth in my car. But with a good source it may be better at home. I recon youtube ruins it all :-)

I would love to have heard the the stuck version compared to the same filter setup but only with better quality components. I bet that would have made a greater difference. In many ways people who think they can only rely on measurements to do filter design don't put into consideration how much impact the room adds to the overall sound of speakers

Super interesting as I just grabbed a pair of these for a second small 2-channel system for crazy cheap. I can absolutely hear difference all over the place but different doesn’t always equal improvement. Some tracks I preferred “A” while on others I preferred “B” so it was a bit of a wash for me. I would imagine the differences would be even more pronounced during an in-person demo. However, after initially being interested in the upgrade, I now can’t see spending what is now over $300 for the kit. To your point, the better move is to buy the kit from the get-go and build your own which would be far more rewarding imo.

Hey Ron. Thanks for this video. Im not using my shure 1540s just this cheap studio monitor. The modded one sounds more airy spacious more natural. Has more separation and detail. The original one sounds more one piece and in you face. And true, for $800 I will buy some used dynaudio😄🙏

Excellent video! I used headphones to hear a bit more quality. One thing that would be helpful in this comparo is to give us an audible “a” or “b” so we can listen with eyes closed without having sight get into the mix… thx for posting!

I guess the verdict is still out on these, listening to them thru a good set of headphones, recorded by some of the best measurement microphones, my ears prefer B, but then, my last hearing test shows that I have severe dropout in the higher frequencies, personal preference would determine if you upgrade or prefer them stock. Maybe I will have a different opinion if I heard them live in the listening room. That being said, I do enjoy these videos, lots of good info and tips for someone wanting to improve their stock setup. Keep it coming.

I listened trough some headphones (B&O drivers) --> NAD --> DAC (TI chip). I could not hear a difference of sound in any of the cases. I have GR Research XLS (build 10 years ago) I use for my computer stereo speakers powered by an old NAD amp and DAC. Kudos on your recordings as they were very well done. My ears are 56 years old and test average for a man my age. For the DIY I would buy the 2.1a Hivi kits on Amazon but they have recently doubled in price so I would not buy them now. DO you have the links for the flatpaks? Good work!

Some samples sounded better on A, some better on B. Great material and cool upgrade DIY guys! Keep it up :)

I know the SVS ultra bookshelves are a higher price but I wonder how they compare to the normal 600m and the upgrades ones

Ya differences over KZfaq into my headphones is very very subtle at Best, if I was to be very honest I'd say the entire experiment is a wash due to technical limitations of the platform.....once again proving sound clips are a waste of time on KZfaq.. Ron, in my opinion you are putting in great effort on a platform that is not all all suited to your desired outcome. That being said, speaking about sound is like dancing about architecture and sound clips on KZfaq are always a failure so I'm not certain where that leaves us in the end. Good job though, even if the outcome is not great your work ethic and passion is appreciated!!

I really appreciate this video. I was about to click on the purchase button for the crossover kit, but decided to follow through in the video series and hear the test as well as read the comments. As a result I've decided not to waste my time and money on the upgrade. Given that it's a youtube audio format and even though I used my best headphones I could not hear much if any difference between A and B, and where I could hear it, I preferred A. Yes, I may very well be a caveman with the hifi perception of a slug, but in the end it's me I have to please, not some elite audiophiles or sound engineers. I like the sound from my stock RP600Ms the same as, or in some instances slightly better than the modified versions. Regarding data graphs, the human hearing scale as far as sound levels is logarithmic so even though a graph might show a 2-3 db shift in signal variations over the audio frequency range which of course represents a doubling or halving of power (3db) the human ear can barely notice this or not notice it at all. Especially with the fast dynamic changes in the music signal. Point is that the graphs are more sensitive than our ears are. I don't argue that the charts are wrong. I totally believe them. However that doesn't mean I'm going to hear those differences because of how tiny they are to the human ear.

Is there a link for the Flat Packs? Thanks!

Ron, were you running any Class D gear like amps? I know you sometimes do, because the transients on both sound really harsh. I have heard other sound demos of this speaker like on a class A/B Denon PMA intergrated amp that sound nothing like this. I Agree with what you said but also others. I think A has better noise handling and B is slightly more etched and less midrange and musical bass impact and pace rhythm and timing aspects. That being said At times A is overly smoothed on top. I am listening to this through my ifi idsd micro DAC and AKG K7XX with a Furutech ADL Rhodium terminated cable and upstream USB filtering, but I wonder if the upgrade would sound more like the original speaker but better if the reworked crossover had the same values as the original one with better parts. I also wonder if another type of capacitor like a teflon one from Audience might up the performance even more and quiet down and control the tweeter better. I guess I am dubious of the designers work he did in his home without a proper lab set up to measure and without reworking things inside of an anechoic chamber for measurement. He says it's flatter, but how can he know for sure without dead silent measurement tools.

I agree 100% with you. The D version sounds more ‘real’ vs the brighter sounding stock speaker.

I normally don't comment on videos like this but after reading some comments I decided I would (bourbon might have had an influence). Anyway, sorry if I offend anyone but I cant understand. Well. wait.... Dang Ron, wish you wouldn't have told us which speaker was A or B in this video since it's going to make my comment invalid. Back to where I started my comment. I don't understand the people complaining about this being on youtube and not being able to hear the difference. I started my comment thinking Ron wasn't going to say which speaker was playing since I was still in the middle of it and started reading comments. Anyway, I'm listening through my htpc, Marantz SA14 (as dac), virtue 901 amp, and diy speakers. I easily heard the difference. At least enough to tell which speaker was right and had a sound as though it was closer to the recording. To me the brightness that is heard in the clips isn't rising response in high frequencies for detail. I hear distortion that is like sibilance which is masking the low to high mids and ruining the detail of each recording. Of course my own speakers are flawed but I built them in 05 when I was 24. Maybe I wouldn't have heard a difference if I had listened through headphones and reduced the number of my own sound reproduction components. Thanks for the video and the entertainment Ron. May you and your family have a new year full of blessings.

Great vid.. I absolutely could tell the difference, I did not cheat left comments at points of listening,

Great recording gear!!!

I didn't know whether A or B was the modded version whilst the tracks were being played,but B came across better through here to me.I couldn't hear any difference between connectors,however i have changed my connectors on my own speakers in the past though and,yes there's a difference.In the flesh i may prefer the modded version (A).Thanks.

I was really looking forward to this review after watching Danny's upgrade video. But, now that it's here, I was underwhelmed. Maybe it's youtube, or the fact that I was listening on my laptop. I had my Sennheiser HD650s and the settings on 1440p for better audio, but it didn't seem to make much difference. The speakers sounded so much alike, with the unmodded actually sounding better some times. Maybe if I could hear them in person, but from what i heard in this video, it just doesn't seem to justify the cost and effort for the upgrade. Like you said, I would put the total cost toward another speaker.

I really could tell the difference on almost all tracks and that surprised me. over all B was better than A. the clean midrange of b was more enjoyable. i really do appreciate a speaker comparrison video where i can tell the difference between the 2 speakers in my opinion Ron is the winner.-- thanx 4 a gr8 vid NRD.

It sounded like there were 4 different pair of speakers; depending on each recording, the characteristics of each pair seemed to change and/or deviate from their own sound signature. In saying that I did like speaker A better overall. Basically warmer, wider, and holographic(a wee bit on the last characteristic)to be simple. Pair B sounded so compressed and forward especially with vocals(with some of the recordings) IMO. Would be very interesting to hear both pair through my own little set up. Thanks for what you do Ron. :)

I just did the upgradea week ago and your video definitely helped in the decision to get it. Here's my experience of it, the upgrade was not hard but definitely tedious+little bit of thinking as it's my first time doing this. You definitely feel satisfied after completing the full upgrade and hearing both speakers play perfectly. Now in terms of sound, I have the Klipsch RP-160M (yes I did check the crossover network and checked with Danny if it could be done to the RP-160M and he replied yes, as many others have done). Had the RP-160M for nearly 2.5 years now and enjoyed it until I got the Magnepan LRS , Atohm GT1 and other speakers to play with. Then the V-curve of the Klipsch became extremely apparent in the original design, the highs were too extended and lows extended but no controlled enough with a very lacking midbass/vocals. It does however play extremely loud for a bookshelf, filling up a large room easily when a sub is added. But ,since I stopped enjoying the Klipsch for Music in favour of the LRS and wanted to keep it for movies. I thought the $210 upgrade should be worth it if tames the highs, provides a better midbass punch and tighter bass. I didn't need an extended low end as I always planned of using subs for the sub 50hz notes. This is exactly what the modifications did for me and would be happy to recommend it if the above if what you are looking for. The frequency response curve showed by Danny fully explains what to expect with speaker. So don't think just because Speaker B appears brighter/louder/more detailed in a video, that Speaker A will sound muffled in real life. It is the complete opposite, the brighter sound of Stock Speaker B can be fatiguing if you have other more neutral speakers to compare it with, then you will enjoy the more balanced sound from the upgrade. Also putting your ears next to the bass port when playing bass heavy songs, the No Rez effect on cabinet resonance can definitely be heard(from boxy sound to a much tighter bass, you may lose some low end kick, in favour of more controlled/tighter mid-bass and bass). I would not recommend buying a new Klipsch + the upgrade, get another speaker that is already more balanced. Do it if like me, you have enjoyed the speakers for years, like the looks and overall power of the klipsch but keeps on wanting more, instead of selling it for cheap to buy a $1000 speaker, just get the upgrade, it's well worth it.

I think its important to listen with a good installation, not computer or television sound. I listened to my tv coupled to my rotel stereo system. What a difference of night and day! So it is possible to hear meaningful sound differences between speakers with the you tube sound! The stock speakers sounded messy, hollow and shouting. The voices of the male and female singer suffered a lot on the stock speakers. The upgrades speakers were more composed and balanced, great improvement of the voices but they dit not loose the Klipsch sound signature. Before I was very skeptical of the work of Danny from GR research, yes yes better parts, but can you hear it? And why not just buy a better speaker? From now on I’m a great believer in the work of GR research and of the 4 dollar parts the manufacturer puts in speakers. And also the confidence in my ears got a boost… Also my compliments to New Record Day to take the trouble to let you hear sound from speakers on you tube with a good recording system, most reviewers don’t and said it cant’ be done. I listened to his review of a 7000 dollar Revel? speaker and I concluded it was not for me. At the end of the video New Record Day had the same comments as me expressed in a much more polite way…

Just from beginning of clips to this point, B sounds digital car audio, huge jumps from bass/mids/highs.. still watching /listening. Through IEM's and DAC/amp

Through an HP Pro 600G1 Desktop w/SSD hd--> Audioquest Jitterbug--> Dragonfly Red DAC-->Audioquest Goldengate interconnects--> Vista Spark Integrated--> doubled 4 (something? I forget!) Kimber cable speaker wires--> R-51M Klipsch Speakers "A" sounded more enjoyable to me. I downloaded the video with 4K Video Downloader, and played it back with JRiver 25. :) I chose "A" before the reveal.

Through my headphones, it is clear to me that A has the more neutral sound. B sounds like a V shape equalization curve was applied. Mind you, some people actually prefer that type of presentation, particularly for rock music. I do believe the upgrade to be worthwhile. I also believe that the samples for the first female vocal are switched, with A being B and vice versa. I would love to be able to find out how much of the difference in sound is due to the different crossover design vs the upgraded components. If it were to be the second, I would replace the crossover components in my speakers in a heartbeat. I suspect it is mostly the design, though. I cannot hear the difference between the connectors.

Overall I liked B but some songs sounded better on A....my "guess" is if the recording was "bright" A sounded better and if the recording was more "neutral" B sounded better. Being a frugal person I would be very happy with the stock version.

Crushed it Ron and GRR! Thank you for your time, talents and dedication to getting us your best.

So, question....tube connectors definitely do sound more dynamic throughout the entire frequency spectrum, but I wonder if it is slightly louder because of better connectivity. And, if it is louder if you equalize the other would it sound similar. I have experience with testing cable and this observation you made is very similar to the comparison of OCC VS OFC cable. Love to see a spectragram with spek software of both speaker terminals. If you walk that path you'll find OCC has same improvement. So OCC cable with tube connectors will improve sound a great deal.

It seems that Elac has taken a page from Danny's playbook. They recently modified their value-oriented Debut 2.0 and are receiving rave reviews on the results that they now call Debut Reference. Basically, the same drivers in a new box and improved xover. Pretty much the same game plan that Danny performed on the Klipsch 600 pair.

Both make me appreciate my current GR upgraded Carnegie CST-1'S 😎 It appears that Klipsch ear burners 👂 improve KZfaq audio. Nice work 🙏

@New Record Day Could you do one of these a/b recordings on two wildly different sets like the rp-600 vs magnepans or something like that?

Can you explain how tube connectors matter when the speaker binding posts are cheap metal?

Hey Ron. Curious mind wants to know.. how does the Encore compare to the JBL.. also in a different world than the JBL?

Listening on my headphones, I really preferred version A, not much at the beginning, but more and more so as the minutes passed by.

B is exactly what I heard in the store and reason why I chose KEF speakers. B is base/terble boosted, while the A is balanced and more detailed. And hey I do listen with pro audiophile headphones and dedicated DAC with natural profile so i heard each change from B powerful to A more detail and clarity and midrange..

Hello Ron I was tossing up between the Klipsch rp 600 and kef q350 for my front and surrounds with matching center channel I was what would you recommend I have a small room I'm leaning towards the kef q350 thanks

You can acheive this by running multiband eq then to speakers. My home theater I eq the rp35s towers and center all reference and it sounds amazing. My speakers are eq to a laminate flooring over old wood floor and low freq is eq to smooth strong hit but no blurry. I have old Denon amp run 7.1 PC Asus Max hero motherboard with excellent outputs in 7.1 ins to amp. Room correction is done via tape measure and db levels via sound meter at 70db test tone for each channel. Sub volume is set to 3. I like to feel movie then stop. Crossover is 100hz so all my speakers including dipolars on rear no bass is missed. My Denon amp was last to allow 8 channels in. Most have pre amp out. Current is 4.3 amps which equals 85w per channel. But at 100 db sensitivity per speaker at 5 db below reference it's loud! And my room is 24feert wide by 34 feet long . My rears and sides are mounted ceiling. Sorry but I like the horn. Klipsch had a sound that duplicates horns, hits on hi hats. Trumpets, crashes and strings. I'm more movies person. Klipsch is ok for music but these speakers are more for movie sound tracks!

wich speakers is it the brown one ?

I had my eyes closed while listening to this in my 5.2.4 Klipsch/Onkyo setup and the differences are there

I tried different headphones with my mobile and it was hard to tell much difference. I am with some of the others that depending on which misic is played sometimes A sounds better and sometimes B. I ordered a kit already and I know from personal experience that changing the parts especially condensators and coils to better ones makes a huge difference and improves the quality of the sound. I agree that listening on KZfaq might not be the best way to compare it. I think you need to listen to the real thing once the upgrade is done.

What is a flat pack for the XLS Encore and where is the link. My apologies if I overlooked it.

Wow all I can say is that even though I heard the comparison over my phone speakers I could hear a difference. On my phone with its crappy sound I think I preferred the stock speaker. However if I was there in person that might change.

Who does the flat packs for the XLS Encore? I'm looking to upgrade my surrounds soon. How well do you think the XLS or JBLs will mix with my Klipsch RF-7 IIIs that I have for my fronts? I'd love to see Danny tackle the RF-7s too so that I can see what I could do with them too.

I was listening to the Sound clips on a Sonos sound bar. The difference is obvious and apparent. The tubes just open up the soundstage. There is more airiness and openness with the tubes. The binding posts constrict the sound and make it sound constricted. Almost compressed in comparison.