Customer Ratings & Reviews

I purchased the R-34C center channel speaker along with a pair of R-51M to use as surrounds and a pair of R-26F speakers as the mains. The center and surrounds are brand new from Klipsch, so I actually bought them without hearing them in person first. Knowing Klipsch quality, I didn’t have any doubt that the new series would perform just as well as the older lines. I didn’t receive the mains until about a week after receiving the other three. The R-26F, being last year’s model, are being phased out and were hard to find. I ran a 3.1 system for a week, and got to evaluate each element based on their individual merits. They were attached to a Denon AVR-S920W, outputting 90 watts per channel with 7.1 or Dolby Atmos capability. Starting with the R-51M’s, I can say that there bookshelves are highly capable speakers. The Tractrix horn produces the most clear and distinct upper register that I’ve heard. Some say that Klipsch has a history of being harsh on the upper end, but I’d argue that the clarity and sharpness of the tweeter makes you feel as though you’re getting the full range of the source. The woofer gives a solid mid-range performance, but might be slightly undersized to compete with the amazing horn. You don’t expect a lot of lower end from a small bookshelf speaker, so crossing over to a subwoofer at 90Hz made up for any deficiencies on that end. The crossovers in these speakers make it very clear which frequencies are getting sent to each driver, as when you’re standing right in front of the speaker, the directionality and separation of each makes a huge difference in the overall sound picture. Backing up 5-10 feet, the speaker sounds like one single full-range image. Next up, the R-26F main speakers. These things are tremendous. Attaching them to the left and right leads, these floors performed right out of the box. My first stop was a test of the upper and mid range, Alison Krauss’ “Paper Airplane” via Apple Music and Airplay to the receiver. I’ve had surround systems for years, mostly with satellites and ceiling mounted speakers, but this is the first time I’ve truly been “wow’d” with the clarity of the reproduction. I don’t care if you are a fan of that style of music or not, do yourself a favor and pull up anything from Alison Krauss and Union Station with your HT rig. It’s the most honest music I’ve ever heard, and her production of the music features the musicianship of the members over the effects of the studio. “Dimming of the Day,” “Maybe,” “Goodbye is All We Have,” “Stay,” “Ghost In This House.” Solo, her “River in the Rain” or “I Never Cared for You.” Her voice is haunting and true, powerful and gentle simultaneously. I found that I needed more power to drive the R-26Fs to the same volume than I had with the R-51Ms in the mail role, but still had a lot of headroom. I played it as loud as I could stand and still had about 20db before I maxed out the receiver. Even at that volume, the floors never wavered or chuffed, almost as if they were asking for more juice. In fact, they don’t really shine until you really push them, the lower end tends to fall off at moderate listening levels. I put the receiver in “pure direct” mode, then verified that nothing was coming out of the center or sub. With an acoustic performance like she and Union Station provide, I literally had to feel the sub to make sure it wasn’t in play. What I was getting from the floors was just as if the band was standing in front of me. Unadulterated, I could hear the picking of each Steele string as it was plucked and fell off. An acoustic bass is well represented here and doesn’t overpower. Moving on to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” the range between the highs of crash symbols and guitars were very well reproduced. However, the low end needed some serious reinforcement. I kicked the receiver into “music” mode, activating the LPF crossover and subwoofer. Adding that into the mix completed the picture. I still couldn’t tolerate maxing out the speakers, as they would have given more than my head could absorb. Bottom line, mid and high ranges are amazing with these mains, but don’t expect them to hit under about 90-100Hz without missing something. Those 6.5 inch woofers are good at the lower mid-range, but can’t sound like an amplified subwoofer. Imaging between the two speakers was very good, and stereo effects transitioned beautifully from one side to the other. I didn’t try a phantom center, because I’ve got a gem in that role. The R-34C is nothing short of a gift. Four 3.5 inch woofers and the trademark Klipsch Tractrix horn are an absolute pleasure to listen to. If the center channel is the heart of a surround sound system, this speaker beats strong. Mid and upper range is so well done, that the only word that I can find to describe the sound is “rich.” It makes no mistakes. I couldn’t possibly glow about this speaker any more. For dialogue and vocals, the representation is full and clear. Pronunciations and echo effects that you might have heard in a set of quality headphones are apparent on a big stage, front and center. The moderation of male and female voices alike is pits the voice against the rest of the system. I had to turn the levels on the center down about 4db to let the rest of this overall exceptional system keep up. The bite of “s” and the “c” sounds are true, making you take note, but isn’t distracting. Hearing the personality of the voice come through was a new experience for me; to hear how the vocalist moves the sound from throat to nose and back brings real personality to the music, and you can hear the vocalist moving closer and further from the microphone based on the timbre of their voice. So how to they all work together in a home theater? Wow. The first film I put on was “Ready Player One,” which I’d seen in an Atmos theatre, in 4K BD from an Xbox One S. Once again, the center was a little over-powering and the dialog dominated the opening. scene. Once I dialed the center back about 4db, the whole system was balanced and each speaker complimented and played off of one another. Van Halen’s “Jump” got the heart rate pumping, but Foley effects in the film didn’t let you forget where the action was. Cut to the first race scene, all I can say is that this system performed amazingly. Once again, I pushed the volume as high as I could tolerate and there was still plenty of headroom. I imagine that the ~97db sensitivity of this set makes a huge difference with regard to how much power is needed to drive these speakers to satisfaction, because I can’t imaging pushing them harder. My daughter actually complained that her ear was bothering her after walking in front of one of the mains. (Whoops). There was no distortion, no chuff, no struggle, no rumble, and no distraction. My son, whose seen the movie twice, was wrapped in by the audio. The experience of seeing the movie coupled with the enthralling sound track and effects brought the movie to life for him, and for me too. These Klipsch speakers are a home theater dream, even in my large room with open “walls” on two sides. My bottom line is that I’m glad to have spent the money to get a quality system. Perhaps I could have done better by matching the R-34C to the upper level of Klipsch Reference speakers, but I don’t think it’s wrong that the center shines so beautifully. The sound is still well matched, enveloping, and engaging. After calibrating the system with Audyssey Bronze, and coupled with my Samsung UN65M9000 display and Xbox One S serving up UHD Atmos content, I finally have a theater quality experience in my living room.

Sometimes you have to read reviews and take a chance. Just like the other reviews, I’ m so impressed. You can hear every word so clear with this center piece that I’m shocked. It’s not big and bulky either. I didn’t want a center piece that would take up the whole wall. Lol . Buy it and you won’t be dissatisfied.

Have had these for 1 year and sound great. They were easy to install. I use them in a meeting room.

Awesome sound and replaced a center speaker half of the size. This should have been when I replaced the satellite speakers. They are bigger than the originals and costly but worth it. Speakers can run into the thousands of dollars but decent ones can be bought in the hundreds. Many folks are happy with a simple sound bar but for the theater experience good speakers on a great system work quite well.

My surround system was good but the center channel was my weak link until I upgraded to this Klipsch center channel. Before I was frustrated by sometimes missing the dialogue in movies. This upgrade has solved that problem. Despite the smaller drivers, this speaker has plenty of power and detailed sound. I like that it fits in the slot under my TV in my TV stand. A larger center channel speaker would not. Highly recommended.

My original setup was a Denon 7.1 receiver and Sonance in ceiling surround speakers. It sounded great, but with the center channel high in the ceiling, dialogue was sometimes lost in the mix and felt like it was falling short. I added in this center channel speaker and was amazed with how much of a difference it made. Pros: - Size: Short but wide, makes for a profile similar to a soundbar but with more presence. - Sound: Crisp and clear dialogue and some added punch in the mid range. - Price: Was able to get it on sale for $299 and I feel like that's the perfect price point for a dedicated center channel in an average home theater setup. Cons: - Made me want to completely overhaul my setup to all reference series speakers. If you're currently running an in ceiling setup but struggle with dialogue, this is an excellent purchase. If you're looking to build out a whole system, definitely consider the Klipsch Reference series.

Great midsize center, I’ve had definitive, paradigm and now klipsch centers, this is my favorite, klipsch is well known for crisp highs and this horn loaded center has plenty, I have Yamaha 870 Adventage powering and it keeps up nicely with Klipasch 82ii mains, 12” klipsch subs, and has a footprint small enough to wall hang or sit. Don’t think you will be disappointed

I found this speaker open box and it has not dispappointed. I upgraded from the Sony center channel speaker and it has provided a noticeable improvement in clarity and quality of voice. I would recommend this even at full price.

The most clear sound output I've ever experienced. Almost have to keep it lower so the other speakers can catch up. My first Klipsch speaker and will not be my last. I recommend highly.

I bought this open box - excellent so I was able to save a little money vs. new. First off, it looks cool (and I have matching bookshelf speakers) - you might as well leave the covers off as long as you don't have toddlers with sticky fingers running the joint. Secondly, it pumps out a lot of sound. My receiver's auto-calibration wants to lower the decibels on this center speaker while increasing the output to my other speakers, but I turned this one back up some. It sounds great, voices are loud and clear. I would purchase again for sure. I probably didn't need a center this big/powerful, and could have saved some money going with something else, but where is the fun in that?! Sorry wifey!

They say great surround starts with center and your left and right channels. I purchased this and the 820f towers and 12 inch sub. You will not be disappointed by this setup at all. My surround sound has became so great and exciting to listen too I found myself addicted! My whole family and especially my daughter loves listening to music as well on these. It really sounds like your front stage! Clarity is flawless and bass is room filling. I can hear ever bit of dialogue with this center. Never asking or missing what some character said. Klipsch fan for live now!! Hard to listen to any other speaker even in the car.

Love this thing. It's sleek and sexy, and I can hear conversations crystal-clear. However, I dislike the mounting options on its backside. For some reason, Klipsch decided to place the brackets right in the middle where the center of gravity pulls the speaker forward from a wall. And, the placement makes it a real pain in the keister to wall mount...at least it was for us. We decided to go with this mount from WALI on Amazon and it has worked perfectly mounted into the studs. Look up: "WALI Center Channel Speaker Wall Mount Dual Bracket Holder Stands, Hold up to 30 lbs, Arms Extend Adjustment from 7 to 11.5 inch (SLK201), Black" Happy listening!

The R-34C provides excellent sound. We always had troubles with dialog from videos, music and regular tv but no more. Dialog now is crisp and crystal clear and this quad has plenty of power to compliment any surround sound system but just sounds amazing matched with other Klipsch speakers. This center channel replaces a older bigger Paradigm and sounds so much better. The R-34C paired with the Klipsch R-820F front floor standing speakers, R-120SW sub and RP-6000F for the rear surrounds just sounds amazing but it will shine in any system though.

Works great for us. We already had the other pieces of a surround system and this improved overall system.

Really happy with this center channel. Very crisp sound quality. Heard things I never heard before with this speaker. Definitely would recommend!

Great sounding speaker, from a Klipsch fan. Also purchased Klipsch R820F speakers and R-100 sub woofer. Paired with Onkyo TX-NR6100

This center channel speaker is superb. It has great clarity and has the bass to match. Please adjust your center volume wisely because this speaker is loud.

This was the most expensive speaker I had bought to date, and it was intended to replace a 8 year old Sony center channel. The difference was night and day vs the old speaker and I was super happy with my purchase... until the R820F floor speaker towers went on sale and I went nuts building a whole new home theater. Klipsch recommends this combo, but I think when you mix a massive dual 8" tower speaker next to a relatively small 3.5" driver you are in for a disappointing time. When the action on screen is at a lull you can hear dialog pretty well, but as soon as anything happens on L&R channels it starts getting hard to hear the center channel, even with the levels cranked up +6dB. When the much larger RP504C goes on sale, I will upgrade to that and put this center speaker back where I meant to put it (and replace my old Sony center). If you have a smaller room, or need a slim speaker this is a great choice. Look elsewhere if you have large, or highly efficient L&R speakers next to it.

First off, give it a few days of constant use as this speaker needs to break in. Right out of the gate the sound was clear, crisp, and wonderful! I replaced an undersized Bose center channel (junk as it turns out) with this masterpiece! I have it hooked up to an older Yamaha vx 675 in conjunction with multiple other Klipsch Reference series speakers. Let me just say HECK YES! This speaker doesn't take up all that much space, has incredibly immersive sound, and when you find it on sale... FAR exceeds the expectations at its price point! I held off on buying this for way too long. Don't make the same mistake I did and you won't be disappointed!

You can never go wrong with klipsch and this center speaker doesn't disappoint rich sound that feels the room