Description
What the R-50M Is
The Klipsch R-50M is a pair of passive two way bookshelf speakers from the next generation Reference line, built around a 5.25 inch woofer and a horn loaded aluminum tweeter. The listing confirms two speakers are supplied, which is worth stating plainly because bookshelf speakers are sometimes sold singly. They are passive, meaning they have no amplifier of their own and must be driven by a receiver or integrated amplifier over speaker cable.
These sit in the same family as the Klipsch R-52C center channel and are designed to be combined with it, which matters because tonal matching across the front three channels is what makes a soundtrack pan smoothly across a screen. They can equally be used as a stereo pair for music. Anyone comparing across brands should look at the Wharfedale Linton and the SVS Ultra Evolution Nano, both of which take a conventional dome tweeter approach rather than horn loading.
The Tractrix Horn and Tweeter
The defining feature is the horn. Klipsch describes an all new 90 by 90 degree Tractrix horn with increased outer dimensions, and explains the benefit in engineering terms rather than adjectives: the larger horn mouth allows directivity control over a wider bandwidth of frequencies, which improves high frequency directivity and produces a more accurate sound stage. That is a real and specific claim. A horn controls where sound goes, keeping more energy pointed at the listening position and less at the ceiling, floor and side walls where it would return as reflections and blur the stereo image.
Inside the horn is a 1 inch aluminum tweeter using Linear Travel Suspension with a Kapton suspension, which Klipsch states minimizes distortion. Aluminum is chosen because it is light and rigid, which raises efficiency and pushes the first breakup mode above the audible band. Horn loading and a light dome together are the reason Klipsch speakers are unusually efficient, which in turn means they play loudly on modest amplification. Buyers pairing them with a receiver will find the Onkyo TX-RZ50 includes a mode that applies Klipsch specific crossover values automatically.
Woofer, Cabinet and Finish
The woofer is a 5.25 inch spun copper thermoformed crystalline polymer unit, which Klipsch describes as trickle down technology from the Reference Premiere series. The specific improvement cited is steeper angling of the cone, which the company says produces a smoother response with improved accuracy. Cone geometry affects how a driver behaves as frequency rises and the cone stops moving as a rigid piston, so this is a meaningful design detail rather than a cosmetic one.
The cabinet is reinforced three quarter inch MDF with what Klipsch calls an all new bracing design intended to reduce cabinet vibration. Bracing is one of the least glamorous and most effective things a speaker manufacturer can do, since a panel that flexes radiates sound of its own and colors everything above it. The finish is scratch resistant textured wood grain vinyl, with hidden fasteners, an edge to edge horn and low profile magnetic grilles. Dimensions are given in the feature list as 13.9 inches high by 7 wide by 9 deep, with a listed pair weight of 22 pounds.
Highlights
- Supplied as a pair rather than as a single speaker.
- New 90 by 90 Tractrix horn with a larger mouth for wider band directivity control.
- 1 inch LTS aluminum tweeter with Kapton suspension.
- 5.25 inch spun copper thermoformed crystalline polymer woofer with steeper cone angling.
- Reinforced three quarter inch MDF cabinet with new internal bracing.
- Magnetic low profile grilles and hidden fasteners for a clean baffle.
- Scratch resistant textured wood grain vinyl finish.
- Pair weight listed at 22 pounds, which points to substantial cabinet construction.
Things To Consider
The attribute table describes an active wireless product, which these are not. It lists a built in microphone and bass boost as special features, gives the power source and controller type as corded electric, states a Bluetooth range of 10 meters and names Bluetooth as the connectivity protocol. It also gives a surround sound channel configuration of 5.1.4 and a vehicle service type of Car. These are passive loudspeakers with binding posts and nothing else. The dimensions are additionally given twice with the width and height transposed between the feature list and the specification block.
More important is what the listing does not publish. There is no frequency response, no sensitivity figure, no impedance and no power handling rating. Klipsch publishes all four for the matching center channel, so their absence here is an omission on this page rather than a company policy. Those numbers determine whether a subwoofer is needed and how much amplifier power is appropriate, and a buyer should get them from Klipsch before ordering.
On practical grounds, a 5.25 inch woofer in a sealed bookshelf cabinet does not produce deep bass, and a pair of these will need a subwoofer for home theater use. Horn loaded tweeters are also a matter of taste, with a forward upper midrange presentation that some listeners find energizing and others find fatiguing at volume. And bookshelf speakers named for a bookshelf usually sound better on stands, away from a rear wall, which is a cost and a space requirement worth planning for. Buyers who want more low end from the speakers themselves should compare the wider bookshelf speakers range or add something from the subwoofers category.
Who It Suits
The R-50M suits someone building a home theater or a stereo system around a receiver, who wants high efficiency and controlled dispersion, and who intends to add a subwoofer. They are a sensible front pair for a Klipsch based system and a straightforward stereo pair for a smaller room, and the magnetic grilles and hidden fasteners make them tidier than most speakers at this level.
They are the wrong purchase for anyone without an amplifier, anyone expecting Bluetooth despite what the specification table claims, and anyone who wants full range sound without a subwoofer. Buyers who want a smaller matched option in the same family should look at the Klipsch R-51M.
