In this review, we will be comparing Sonos Five and RP-600M, two Bookshelf speakers from Sonos and Klipsch. The main difference between these two speakers is that the Sonos Five is a Powered speaker which means that it has a built-in amplifier inside the speaker body so you don't need an external power amp or an integrated amp whereas the Klipsch RP-600M is a Passive speaker so has to be matched with an amplifier to get any sound from it.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of Sonos Five and Klipsch RP-600M first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
In the following sections, we will get into more detail in order to better understand how the Sonos Five and Klipsch RP-600M compare and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one of these loudspeakers is the better choice for you.
Drivers
Both Sonos Five and RP-600M are 2-way speakers.
| Driver |
Sonos Five |
Klipsch RP-600M |
|
Driver Setup
|
2-way
|
2-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
3 x 0.8-inch
|
1-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
- |
- |
|
Woofer
|
3 x 2.75-inch
|
1 x 6.5-inch
|
Sonos Five features a 3 x 0.8" Dome Tweeter and 3 x 2.75" Cone Woofer . On the other hand, the RP-600M features a 1" Tractrix Horn Tweeter and 1 x 6.5" Cerametallic Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 1500Hz.
Frequency Response
Sonos Five has a frequency range of whereas RP-600M has a frequency range of 45-25k Hz. With a minimum frequency of Hz, the Sonos Five can go significantly deeper on the low side and provide stronger bass compared to the RP-600M's min frequency of 45Hz.
Below graphs depict how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average values of the Min and Max Frequencies of other speakers in the Bookshelf class in our database.
Sonos Five has a front firing port whereas RP-600M has a rear firing ports. Sonos Five's front-firing port gives more flexibility in placement in regards to proximity to walls compared to Klipsch RP-600M with its rear-firing port.
Size of a speaker can sometimes become an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare Sonos Five's and Klipsch RP-600M's external dimensions. Sonos Five has external dimensions of 201.6 x 363.5 x 174.6mm ( 7.9375 x 14.3125 x 6.875inch) whereas Klipsch RP-600M has external dimensions of 399.0 x 202.0 x 301.0mm ( 15.7 x 7.9 x 11.8inch) .
Sonos Five is 197.4mm shorter and 126.4mm less deeper than Klipsch RP-600M but it is also 161.5mm wider.
Base Surface Area Comparison
Base surface area of a loudspeaker may become a determining factor when the space in your room or desk is limited.
The base surface area of the Sonos Five is approximately 634.7cm2 / 98.4inch2 and base area of the Klipsch RP-600M is approximately 608.0cm2 / 94.2inch2. The Sonos Five requires 4% more surface area than the RP-600M which gives it a small disadvantage on placement in tight spaces.