Customer Reviews

Klipsch B-3 Synergy Bookshelf Loudspeakers (Pair, Black)

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've had this pair since June last year. It's perfect for my listening purposes. I was on a budget and was thinking of getting the JBL Arena's. Tested it from Best Buy's listening room and I moderately liked it. Tested a few other speakers and saw the B-3. Never heard of Klipsch before but it blew me away. It was a three-fold difference from the JBL Arena. Even if it was twice the price, I didn't think twice and ordered the B-3's from Amazon. I don't have a home theater and only listen to music with these in a 2-ch stereo mode and sometimes with a subwoofer. A Sony STR-DG520 powers them speakers.

I listen to a variety of music but I especially listen to Jazz. The clarity of the instruments and vocals are what amazes me. Some artists I play are: Gene Harris & The Three Sounds, Miles Davis, Diana Krall and Poncho Sanchez. They all sound realistic especially the live albums. It's like their physically in my room.

With just the B-3's, I hear a very dynamic soundstage. You can almost not have a subwoofer because it reproduces great low frequencies. The horn loaded tweeter disperses the highs and does not seem to have any coloring on the sound.

I have no complaints about this pair. This is a great entry-level set of speakers for a budding audiophile. Get it! =)

I have been using a pair of Bose 6.1 bookshelf speakers for 25 years. they have never disappointed. We recently remodeled and the Bose speakers no longer fit on the entertainment unit - they were too big. I ordered BIC speakers. They had good midrange but too little bass. Then I purchased Bose 301's from a local retailer. They had too much base and not enough midrange.
Finally, Klipsch arrived from Amazon.com via FedEx. They are fabulous! The sound cannot be beat for their size - crisp vocals, strong base, and well balanced. Also, the price, through Amazon was significantly less than Best Buy. These are a wonderful addition to any home system, stereo or surround sound.

I've had these for a couple months, and I'm very happy with them. I've paired them with the C1 center, S1 surrounds, and sub10, and it is one bad*ss home theater system. If you are just going to get the B-3s (and no sub), they would work well for tv/movies, but might lack a little bit of that deep bass for music. They have a well-balanced sound, and they will reveal the deficits if you have poor quality music files. If you are able, go to a store a listen to any speakers before making an investment. Different speakers have different types of sounds, so make sure you like the signature first.
I'm very happy with these though, and would buy them again.

The Klipsch B-3 book shelf speakers sound great - they're not the best I've ever heard, but for being as inexpensive they are - they sound GREAT!

If you aren't familiar with the Klipsch "bright" sound, I would of course suggest that you listen to them (or other horn-loaded Klipsch) before you make a purchase. If you have heard Klipsch speakers before (anything from the synergy line or say some Promedia 2.1's) then you will know whether or not you like the Klipsch "sound." Being a previous Klipsch owner, I was well aware of their bright sounding nature and I enjoy it (even if it is slightly fatiguing after long listening sessions).

The reason I like the B-3's so well is that they offer quite a bit of detail - things you were missing before are now made distinct. I purchased these as a temporary place holder for some F-3's, with the plan of moving the B-3's to rear surround duty... but now I'm not so sure - they sound really great for all of my home theater use as well as playing music.

You will hear that Klipsch speakers are efficient, these are no exception, I have a modest receiver/amplifier (a Onkyo TS-RX607) and it is totally capable of driving these B-3's (along with the rest of my 5.1 surround sound system) to very high levels with minimal distortion. I drove these speakers well past where it is comfortable to listen, and they maintain a low level of distortion.

For the money I believe these are tough to beat - especially if you already own other Klipsch speakers to match them to. Even if you really are using the B-3's for stereo music, they do a wonderful job - and I do use them for listening to music in 2.1 stereo mode).

There is only one drawback, and that is the bass output. The B-3's have moderately sized woofers and do an ok job of producing mid bass. I originally was displeased with their complete lack of bass. What I found out was that my receiver was setting the crossover down to like 40 or 50 hz. While the B-3's can play at this range... they are not overly powerful to do so. If you set the crossover to somewhere in the 60's 70's or even 80's, the speakers don't waste valuable effort trying to play in a range they aren't phenomenal at (i didn't say bad). I found the bass output increased significantly, albeit in the mid range only, when the crossover was dialed up. Overall I felt this added to the music enjoyment. Of course I have an ample subwoofer to add its voice to the music, making a crossover at 80 even more ideal, regardless of 2.1 or 5.1 use.

I am quite picky when it comes to sound - I have done a significant amount of my music listening using a pricey headphone setup (Sennheiser HD650 + DAC + amplifier) so when I listen to familiar music in a speaker setup, I know what is missing and what is coming through (this means just about every pair of speakers i've ever listened to are somewhat lacking). For what they are and the price range they are in, the B-3's perform and they perform well. Without going over $350-$400 (for a pair) - I don't think I can find a pair of speakers I'd rather listen to. They're precise, they're efficient, and they're fun. They'll play music well enough that you will literally think that the performer is in the room. I found the stereo imaging to be great - if asked to close my eyes and point to where the sound was coming from I would have pointed right in between the speakers and a few feet in front of me.

With well built (albeit not beautiful - but decent looking cabinets) they may not add to your home decor, but they certainly will not detract from it.

I'd give them 4 and a half stars if I could - but I'll have to settle with 4. They really are great speakers - truly excellent value - but they aren't quite perfect. I was slightly let down by the bass performance, mostly because other reviewers had either said it wasn't a concern or that they produced great bass; I know its subjective, but I didn't get what I was expecting in that regard. For every other aspect of the speakers, I love them!

If you've heard Klipsch speakers before and are ok with the bright sound and find it acceptable that these aren't bass monsters, they are a great buy and will offer quite a bit of aural bliss.

I have never owned what I consider high-end speakers. I believe that you will also be amazed by the precise clarity of the music. Whether you play the music very loud or just barely audibly the depth between highs and lows, and the ability to really pull out individual instruments and vocalists is amazing. I may buy different receivers in the future (Yamaha 465 is what I currently own) but I am definitely going to stick with these speakers. Also if you are setting up a new system I bought the S-3s also and the music really envelops the rooms with all 4 of these speakers going at once.

I'm building my home theater system piece by piece, on a budget, so I wanted to start with speakers that could hold their own until I add a sub, center and surrounds. These speakers fit the bill--as a matter of fact, I may wait longer than I originally anticipated before purchasing the rest of the components, as they have already made my listening experience better by orders of magnitude.

I'm driving them from an Onkyo TX-SR507 and after running the room calibration, they deliver clear sound across the spectrum. This is especially important in my case because even slightly distorted base tends to give my wife a headache, which leaves me listening at low volume levels or with the bass cranked down; with the B-3s, I can listen at a reasonable volume level, hear what I'm supposed to be able to hear, and my wife can still hear the dialogue without being overwhelmed by the bass (which is definitely present--just not distorted).

My biggest problem now is that, having now become familiar with the characteristics of a good speaker, I refuse to pollute my system with sub-standard surround components, so getting my 5.1 is going to take longer than I originally anticipated. I full expect it will be worth the wait.

I tried a pair of Bose 301 speakers for two weeks. I returned them for a pair of these B-3 speakers at the same price point. I couldn't believe the difference. These are far superior to the 301. If you are trying to decide between the two...these totally rock.

I used to be all over the place with my speaker purchases until a friend of mine turned me on to Klipsch. These are my smallest Klipsch front speakers and they seem to produce the most natural sound of all. The base response is excellent. For the value Amazon gave me on these speakers, they are providing the best bang for the buck yet.

When you consider what these speakers are engineered to be / do. Factor in their overall size, and the size of the components they are built from. add the quality, and durability you will be impressed. But what what matters most is how they sound and perform. After you hear these speakers you will be amazed!

There are prettier speakers to be sure, but if you are serious about sound and you must be if you are looking at these, this is as good as it gets in their "class" , size, and price range. A great bookshelf speaker!

I've had these speakers for approx the past 3 years. While these are not the best speakers I own they do hold their own compared to the Bose and JBL variants sold at big box retailers. I personally use these in my bedroom for occasional music listening backed up with a Polk PSW-111. The combo works well for that use.

The speakers themselves are fairly well built and look relatively nice. When it comes to audio quality they can leave a little bit to be desired.
I'm not in anyway saying these are bad speakers, on the contrary, but at the MSRP a better pair of speakers and be bought for only a few dollars more.
The Klipsch RB-61 are the reference equals and those can show you what a pair of book shelves can sound like.
You really should use a quality receiver when using these. Not high end but at least a good high amp with clean power. I use a
Harman/Kardon AVR 330 in stereo mode and it seems to work really well. I live in apt so I dont really get to crank it.

A few years ago my brother decided to have his wedding reception at his church's hall room. We used these speakers with Klipschs' own Sub-10 and a inexpensive pioneer receiver as our DJ station. We connected his Macbook as our music source and let me just say this, While I'm a fan Klipsch even I was impressed with these small speakers ability to fill this rather large room with good, clean sound. People asked me after wards if I was a professional DJ and what kinda equipment I was using. Needless to say, I told them I was amateur as it comes and the speakers were just some off the shelf speakers. I think I made some converts that day.

Use these as your main speakers only if you have a small room or if your not interested in really getting serious bass out of these. Otherwise get the floor models and place these in the back. A zone 2/b would make these ideal as well. Bottom line, think about spending just a few dollars more for the Reference series if your really into quality sound.