KLH TW-09B Speakers - 80Hz-20KHz Frequency Response? I Wish...
Written: Mar 14 '03 (Updated Mar 14 '03)
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Pros: Low price, adequate performance for speech and no-bass-demanding effects
Cons: Lack of bass and midrange, short warranty, "thin" sound, poor music performance
The Bottom Line: These speakers are adequate for watching movies in a Dolby Digital or DTS setup (provided you get a subwoofer). At $20 a pair they ...
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| dkozin's Full Review: KLH TW-09B Main / Stereo Speaker |
I have used KLH TW-09B as a center speaker for a while (before I happily returned them to Best Buy). At the time I got 09B, they were on sale for $20 a pair, which is very cheap for a pair of speakers. But, as happens virtually always, you get what you pay for (or in this case, just a little more).
These are not bad speakers if you don’t expect them to produce deep bass or use them for music. For a movie-watching surround sound setup, they are adequate. Especially well they do with speech reproduction and it is nice that they have compact size with tow-way design.
The bass is, of course, lacking, as is the midrange, even though (on paper) the speaker is rated as having frequency response of 80Hz-20kHz. The sound comes out “thin”.
Some Specs
The speakers are two-way design with 3.6-inch woofer and 0.6-inch tweeter. They handle up to 100W of power. The impedance is 8 Ohm and the frequency response is 80 Hz – 20 kHz (on paper).
I have seen quite a few speakers, that are, although they feature good frequency response (on paper), sound as they have no midrange. I guess some manufacturers (like KLH) don’t publish frequency range at +/- 3 dB. That is a very uncool marketing trick.
Installation
The speakers have spring-loaded clips for speaker wire connection and I had no problems connecting a 16-gauge speaker wire to them. The separate “woofer” (how can you call something that does not produce much bass a woofer?) and tweeter sections each have a removable grille.
Size-wise, they are not too small (6.4x4x5 inches) and they are quite heavy for their size. The plastic mounting brackets and speaker wire are supplied. I would not use the supplied wire though, because it is very thin.
Warranty
The warranty is only 90 days. The KLH L853B (which I also got for $20/pair on sale at Best Buy) had 5-year warranty, sturdy binding posts and 3-way design with much better bass.
Conclusion
These speakers are adequate for watching movies in a Dolby Digital or DTS setup (provided you get a subwoofer). At $20 a pair they are very cheap. They reproduce speech and sound effects that does not employ deep bass quite well. I wouldn’t use them for any kind of music though. I have to give them 3 stars only because they are so cheap.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 20/pair
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Epinions.com ID:
dkozin
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 in Electronics |
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Location: California
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About Me:
I love to push buttons on electronic (audio and video) equipment. It makes me happy.
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