Stephen Mejias

Today Klipsch announced the launch of their new Synergy Series loudspeakers. If recent reviews by Wes Phillips (of the $20,000/pair P-39F) and Erick Lichte (of the $4000/pair P-17B) can offer any indication of what to expect from this new Synergy line, we are in for a treat.

There are eight models in Klipsch’s Synergy line: The F-30, F-20, and F-10 floorstanders, the B-20 bookshelf, the C-20 and C-10 center channels, and the S-20 and S-10 surrounds. All of the speakers include Klipsch’s Wide Dispersion Surround Technology, said to provide maximum surround coverage and improved placement flexibility, and employ Tractrix horn tweeters.

So old-fashioned, it comes in black & white.

I don’t care about the centers ($199 and $299) or the surrounds ($329 and $479). The floorstanders (ranging from $598 to $998/pair) are interesting, but my room is small—like my bank account. I’m most interested in the B-20 bookshelf, which, at $279/pair, happens to be priced identically to my PSB Alpha B1s.

The Klipsch Synergy B-20 loudspeaker measures 12.5” H by 7” W by 8” D and weighs just 11lbs. It comes in a nice black ash vinyl veneer. It looks like a speaker. It uses a .75” aluminum-diaphragm compression driver mated to a 90° by 60° square Tractrix horn, and has a 5.25” Injection-Molded Graphite (IMG) woofer. Its rated sensitivity is a relatively high 92dB, making it theoretically compatible with low-powered amplifiers.

The Klipsch B-20 is a bass-reflex design with a rear-firing port.

I think I’d like to hear it.