Good luck finding a more exhilarating audio experience in one box than what you get with Klipsch The Nines.

The overall concept with app control, phono, Bluetooth and HDMI (ARC) is only available from Klipsch. Even beyond connectivity, large active speakers with horn tweeters equipped with 8-inch basses are practically not found elsewhere on the market. So if you want the bass power of a floorstanding speaker and a large, perhaps still little damped room to play, for the Klisch The Nines are practically without alternative.

Klipsch The Nines speakers exude retromodern style and hypermodern versatility, making them a, well, sound investment for audio-video audiophiles.

By now, it should be clear that The Nines can do much more than just piss off the neighbors. This system can certainly play loudly when you want. But you will have to push it very hard before it begins to sound ugly—that never happened during my testing. Instead, what I consistently heard was smooth, fluid sound with gobs of dynamic expression. The Nines always invited me to keep on listening.

The Klipsch The Nines speakers are in the Heritage Inspired Speaker line, and the sound signature is certainly aligned with their historic products. Warm, rich, with that legendary detailed high end that is always a classic.

Throughout the time I have had The Nines here on test, my main reservation towards them has not been performance or price related; I think they sound good and, while they aren’t cheap, I think that the level of performance on offer is commensurate with the price too. My main issue is that I’m not completely sure who they are aimed at. Normally, when I test something, I can envisage someone I know being the keen owner of the item if they had the chance. The Nines are an odd thing in that they are a bit too ‘lifestyle’ for serious hifi people and a bit too ‘hi-fi’ for the lifestyle people. Klipsch calls them ‘the most versatile speakers on Earth’ which in some ways extemporises this; you can use The Nines in lots of ways but none for them exactly one thing or the other. I suspect that the more sensibly sized Sevens will sell rather more units and suit more people.