Klipsch HD 500 Compact 5.1 High Definition Theater system (Set of Six, Black)

Other products by Klipsch

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 14.6 x 9.9 x 11.8 inches ; 20 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 39 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B001XURGT4
• Item model number: HD Theater 500
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,200 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #34 in	Electronics > Home Audio & Theater > Home Theater Systems > Speaker Systems
  #49 in	Electronics > Home Audio & Theater > Speakers > Home Theater Speaker Systems

• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 20, 2009

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

From the Manufacturer

Klipsch – Power. Detail. Emotion.

At the heart of every Klipsch product is over 60 years of audio expertise beating strong. The company’s commitment to no-compromise sound performance has made Klipsch a leader in stereo and home theater sound as well as the preferred choice of top cinema operators worldwide.

From small surround sound speakers to large professional cinema systems to headphones, every product Klipsch makes is about you getting the true power, detail and emotion out of your favorite entertainment experiences.

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The same horn-loaded technology that powers Klipsch's world-renowned cinema speakers is inside the HD Theater 500

Real Home Theater … From the People Who Build Real Theater Sound

Energy Efficiency Produces Superior Sound Quality

Since 1946, proprietary horn-loaded technology has been the driving force behind the Klipsch’s highly acclaimed, stunningly precise sound. Superior quality, horn-loaded speakers are an absolute must for delivering the powerful, detailed soundtracks of today’s demanding blockbusters. Perhaps that’s why 50 percent of all new theaters in North and South America, as well as Korea and Australasia install Klipsch products.

Klipsch’s ongoing experience in the cinema industry is a significant benefit to you because the cutting-edge research that drives the development of the company’s professional theater speakers is also applied to its home theater systems.

The same advanced Tractrix® Horn geometry and compression driver technology that reproduces a more genuine, lifelike sound in theaters is inside the HD Theater 500. Horn designs dramatically increase efficiency, enabling Klipsch speakers to produce more output using less energy. This improves reliability and reduces distortion, so you hear exactly what the artists and directors intended, instead of speaker coloration.

A High-Def Picture Demands High-Def Sound

Sound accounts for half of the home theater experience, whether you’re watching a movie or sporting event—or even playing a video game. If you own an HDTV and don’t have high-definition surround sound to go with it, it’s like having a Ferrari without the engine.

Great for medium-sized rooms, the HD Theater 500 delivers everything the HD video experience has to offer—crisp dialogue, brilliant music and explosive special effects. It has what it takes to satisfy the most skeptical listeners. From punk rock to classical jazz and from shoot 'em up movies to tear-jerker films, this system shines.

Klipsch’s savvy designers applied decades of research and development experience to successfully value engineer this system, while staying true to the company’s audiophile heritage. It will fill your heart with joy without emptying your wallet.

Your TV is only one piece of the home theater puzzle. It’s the audio that drives the action, creates the mood and brings your video content to life. Make your music and movies matter today with a Klipsch HD Theater 500.

Easy, Breezy Set Up

The HD Theater 500 is a six-piece (5.1) system consisting of four compact speakers, a center channel speaker and a subwoofer. The curvy cabinets are finished in a combination of satin and high-gloss black with removable black cloth grilles, so they’ll look good next to any flat-panel TV and complement any décor.

The speakers—which can be placed vertically or horizontally—come with adjustable wall brackets that have a 40° range of motion and ¼-20 inserts for stand mounting. The center channel’s cradle base has a 45° range of motion. You get complete positioning flexibility when installing this premium home theater system.

If you opt for shelf placement, be sure to apply the included stick-on rubber pads to the bottoms of the speakers. Otherwise, the speakers might actually move out of position because they produce such powerful sound. With the pads installed, the speakers will stay put.

The HD Theater 500’s versatile subwoofer includes traditional volume, crossover and phase controls, allowing you to customize the level of bass for your room.

Amplifier/Receiver Recommendations

While Klipsch speakers are highly efficient and don't need a lot of power to drive them, you still need an amplifier/receiver that's appropriate for your system. After all, one of the most common causes of speaker damage is not having the right electronics support.

A good rule of thumb when searching for the right amplifier for your speakers is to buy at least as much power as your speakers are rated to handle. For example, if a speaker is rated at 75 watts maximum power, then you should buy an amplifier that can deliver at least 75 watts per channel. However, you don't need to limit yourself. You can buy a 100-watt per channel amplifier for a 75-watt speaker because speaker failure is more likely to be caused by too little power than too much power.

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What Critics Are Saying About the Klipsch HD Theater 500

"The highs are perfectly detailed, the mids are smooth and punchy, and the low-end is bold, precise and powerful. If you're a movie and music lover, you can rest assured the HD Theater 500 will easily handle both. [...] it simply fills the room with beautiful sound. Explosions were no problem for the 8-inch sub, gunfire was sharp and potent and voices were silky smooth." -Darren Murph, Engadget.com

"Dialogue remained clear even as bombs exploded and heavy gunfire ricocheted off the surround speaker channels. The complete HD Theater 500 system conjured an excellent sense of ambiance [...]. [...] Bass performance was punchy and potent, but never flirted with a bloaty or boomy sound." -Steve Guttenberg, CNET.com

"After an easy setup, we cranked up tunes ranging from punk rock to classical jazz. Virtually every genre of music we tossed at the system had clear tonal balance, distinct separation, and plenty of window rattling bass. However, it was when we started screening films that these noisemakers really shined." Rachel Cericola, Wired.com

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Product Description

Beautiful and compact 5.1 Theater system designed to make High Definition TV and sources really come to life with the Power, Detail and Emotion Klipsch speakers are famous for. Exclusive horn-loaded design that has made Klipsch famous for over 60 years and which provides unequalled detail and dynamics, is at the heart of the 4 small High Gloss Black speakers and center channel. A perfectly matched powered subwoofer delivers Klipsch-quality bass with heart-pounding special effects and full-bodied music, all from a compact enclosure featuring a heavy-duty 8" driver and 120watt RMS amplifier.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crisp, Clear, and Big Sound!, November 19, 2009

By	Joeham Joeham "joeham1999" (MI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have owned this 5.1 speaker system for 2 weeks. I have them connected to a Denon AVR-790 receiver. I am thrilled with the results - even though I have an unconventional setup. The living room and kitchen are conected as one 10 x 20 foot room - with a cathedral ceiling. Yikes!

This is my first surround sound system, and suffice to say, I was overwhelmed with the many 5.1 choices between the HTIB (Home theater in a box) and all the individual receivers with separate speaker systems. However, I'm not a newbie to great sound. I could join the AARP if I wanted to!
Anyways, I finally pulled the trigger and purchased the Klipsch 500 after many months of research online and hearing them at my local electronics warehouse store. The store gave me an offer I couldn't refuse.

My requirements were that I needed smaller speakers for the decor and the lack of space. The Klipsch 500 fit the bill. Moreover, the 8 inch powered subwoofer is more than enough ooomph for TV, music, and movies. A nice thunder!

My center speaker rests on the TV stand in front of the LCD TV on the Klipsch supplied rubber mat to hold it in place. It's inconspicuous and does the job of keeping the center speaker stationary. I purchased a couple of inexpensive speaker stands for the 2 front speakers.
I mounted the 2 rear speakers "in the "kitchen" on the opposite wall that the TV is on. I appreciate that the satellite speakers all come with plastic adjustable wall mounts that you can position toward your ears. I needed the mounts to position the rears horizontally at 8 feet above the floor pointing toward the chairs. I ran my rear speaker wires under the floor in the crawl space to hide them. That helps!

The only negative comment I have on the Klipsch 500 is the plastic spring-clip connectors on the back of the speakers. It does seem cheap - and not in a good way. I took off a star on my rating for the features because of that. But they do hold my 18 guage wire just fine. Conversely, I bought and used banana plugs to connect the other end of the speakers to my Denon receiver. That is a more secure connection. Nevertheless it's the sound I was after and the connections just needed to connect. All of them do.

I used the easy-to-use Audyssey auto-setup that came with my Denon receiver to balance the sound and voila! Instant home theater! Okay, so it took a little longer than an instant, but the results are just amazing.

Consequently, after 2 weeks of listening to the sweet sounds of 5.1 I would not hesitate to recommend the Klipsch 500 to anyone who wants crisp, clear, and big sound! I love em! I really love them!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars sweet sound with slick style, November 26, 2009

By	Riley L. Reynolds "Riley" (Gulf of Mexico) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

bought these with a yamaha 465 reciever from worst buy. the first set had 1 speaker that was messed up, it would send my reciever into protection mode when the volume was kranked up. i took that set bake to worst buy and exchanged it. no problems now. it was totally worth it as the sound for movies is perfect.

the room i put them is is 15x18 mounted all of the speakers on the wall with the adjustable mounts that come with it. the black matches my lg tv perfect and will probably match most tvs out there. you will need to buy speaker wire and a sub woofer cable (please don't buy monster cable it's to expensive and lower quality than what you can find for the same if not cheaper do some research on wire and cables) also some sort of screws to mount the sattelite speakers (if thats what you want to do) i went and got drywall anchors from lowes.
The satelite speakers are small enough to blend in but not so small that you don't notice them. the sub woofer is mate black and quite a bit larger you will ned to leave some space somwhere fo it but it doesnt look bad sitting next to a tv stand. the sub has rubber feet in it that are about an inch and a half tall and the woofer cone is exposed on the under side so it would probably be bad to locate it on long or deep carpet.

the sound is very balanced, not to bright or to warm. it is also very clear just as good or better than the bose systems they sell at worst buy for twice as much. with the blue ray hd sound you hear everything in the movie(one of our friends came over and in a rainy scene she asked if it had started raining outside). this stuff handle as loud of sound as i can handle; my girlfriend actually came home while i was watching transformers and told me it was loud in the driveway. it also plays music very well but the sub woofer has a little trouble keeping up with some of the metal i listen to when its kranked ( you can still hear all the guitar parts clearer than most other sound systems though.

i would recomend spending a little extra time and money buying this over most htib sistems as you can usually get these speakers and an excelent reciever in a package for under 800 bucks. there are higher quality speakers out there but these are as good as it gets for the price.