Impressed with their stamina, we started our auditions with something really big, the King Kong DVD. We felt the heat of the jungle, and when Kong finally appears, his guttural, bellowing growls emerged from the Quintet III's center speaker with startling ferocity. The entire system unfurled an enveloping jungle panorama with remarkable depth. Of course, the Quintet III was ably assisted by a Klipsch Sub-12 subwoofer, which supplied the room-shaking bass. The blend wasn't perfect, and we sometimes wished the satellites fleshed out more middle bass, but it performed well enough to get us caught up in the movie.
The Klipsch Quintet III reproduced the big, pounding drums on the House of Flying Daggers DVD with exceptional clarity and definition. We were again surprised by the Quintet III's ability to disappear as a sound source; its imaging specificity was well above average. We can't think of another comparably sized satellite system that comes close to the Quintet III's abilities.
Listening to CDs in stereo usually reveals shortcomings in pint-size speaker packages, but the Quintet III again surpassed our expectations. Tony Bennett's lush Sings Ellington CD sounded refined, and the spread of the orchestral backing wasn't inhibited by the speakers' stature. On our Barry White CDs, the Quintet III subtracted more than a few pounds from his weighty presence, but we regained some heft by turning up the Sub-12's volume.
We ended our time with the Quintet III with the Led Zeppelin II CD. Switching back and forth between stereo and Dolby Pro Logic II surround, the sound was equally enjoyable. The little speakers' vivid presence seemed to bring out the best from everything we tried. We have no doubt that Klipsch's larger systems, such as the B-2 or the F-1, will produce even more impressive results. But for those who prefer smaller speakers--and aren't averse to investing some time in adjusting their audio system for the best sound--the Klipsch Quintet III speakers will provide remarkably dynamic and pure sound for music and movies.
What You'll Pay
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