“You Can Buy Happiness”
Klipsch bills the Klipsch R-26F as “You can buy Happiness, It’s copper and black”. I must admit, Klipsch is quite creative with their words, another quote that I like from Klipsch would be “Tell Your Neighbors We’re Not Sorry”.
Anyway, Klipsch has long been known as a maker of high-quality speakers, and they have worldwide recognization for their sound quality. They even make bold statements such as “You’re not buying a speaker – you’re buying a piece of American audio history”.
In today’s article, we are looking at Klipsch’s floor-standing speaker, the R-26F. Let’s see if it lives up to all the hype I just mentioned.
Starting with the Design/Build/Connectivity:
At first glance, you will understand what Klipsch meant by the “It’s copper and black. The speaker comes in a fully black cabinet along with two 6-1/2″ copper woofers that help on creating natural and full-range sound with solid bass response.
While its woofers are impressive on their own, the star of the show it is definitely, the dynamic aluminum tweeter horn. Over the years Klipsch has become famous for their Tractrix® horn-loaded tweeter. This blueprint produces clear, accurate, and high frequencies.
It measures 39″ H x 7.8″ W x 13.5” D and weighs 41.9 pounds. The Brushed black polymer veneer cabinet is quite sturdy and is made to last. You can place it anywhere in the living room since the signature look of Klipsch, promises to blend with any furniture or room design.
The front-firing port provides fast, yet efficient airflow from the cabinet for clear and powerful bass.
Its removable grille offers a clean and streamlined look. There are also the dual 5-way binding post speaker terminals that can be either bi-wired or bi-amped.
For those who don’t know!
Bi-amping is a speaker connection method that uses two channels of amplification so it can power one single speaker.
Bi-wiring is the opposite it uses just one channel of amplification in order to power the same type of speaker.
Performance:
Klipsch R-26F has a frequency response of 38-24,000 Hz (±3dB) with a sensitivity of 97 dB. Its power handling goes up to 100 watts RMS (400 watts peak) and an impedance of 8 ohms.
It is made to fill medium rooms and will work just fine but it can benefit a lot from an extra subwoofer since there’s no built-in subwoofer. If you are listening to a wide range of music, a decent subwoofer might come into use. Or if you just do home theater type and average stuff, without going overkill, it will sound perfectly fine as it is.
A subwoofer that comes to my mind right now, that works wonders with the R-26F, would be the Klipsch R-12SW Subwoofer. Overall, they sound amazing especially when watching movies or listening to vinyl records.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Greatly Priced
- Good Looking Design
- Sturdy and robust
Cons:
- It lacks on lows
- Would work best if paried with other speakers
Buying Advice:
Before obtaining a new floor-standing speaker, I’d propose thinking about the budgetary arrangement and furthermore, basically, how far you’re set up to dis out to a speaker.
Klipsch R-26F is a quality speaker, as with most quality speakers, you will be prepared to break your bank, so taking a smart decision is key here.
Klipsch R-26F comes at retail for just under 300$, which is a rather high price, I can’t lie.
Yet, it is much more affordable compared to the competition, which can’t even come close to R-26F quality.
My Final Words:
If you are on the “hunt” for a floor-standing speaker that has a really high-frequency fidelity, you will be hard-pressed to find a floor-standing speaker that can match the Klipsch R-26F. With the price, it comes and with the value, it brings, totally unbeatable.
What Others Say:
Since I shared my final thoughts, it would be nice to know what others say regarding the Klipsch R-26F.
Most of them were impressed by the versatility and capability of the R-26F. Since Klipsch is mostly known for its hights, it sure didn’t fail to impress many in this range aspect.
Most of the comments that were going around were how clear, bright R-26F sounds in both movies and music. Some criticized the lows, just as I said above you will need a decent subwoofer to push this floor-standing speaker to its full potential.
Further Reading
Some other great reviews that you can read, are: JBL Flip Essential Review, Sony WH-XB910N Review, and Yamaha YH-L700A Review.
Audio Engineer
You’ll never find anyone more passionate about audio as me. I love to share my knowledge with others and help people find the right equipment for them.
