Yawn : Klipsch The One II - Phono speaker review
This week due to a variety of circumstances I just have a simple video to show - a review of a retro styled speaker with a built-in Phono pre-amp.
For one reason and another most of the the week slipped away from me. With time running out I decided to do a quicker project, one that couldn’t really go wrong, hence why this is a video about a speaker.
There’s one thing I’ve determined while making this though - it is impossible to make a fun and interesting video about a speaker. So this will quite likely be my last speaker review - unless I happen to encounter one that does something bizarre.
Next time, all being well, I plan to have something more unusual and interesting to show - I’m just hoping it works. It’s BNIB, NOS I just hope it’s not DOA too.
I trust you’re all well, but if not I hope things improve for you quickly. I’ll get my head back in the game and we can have some fun next time. If things work out I'll try to get the next video to you before the end of the week.
UPDATE:
Re-uploaded the video due to some compression glitches with the first version.
Comments (50)
Oh, you publicized the video mid-week without a whisper. Good call. I wish someone could explain to me why I found the stereo test record recording bit amusing/charming and others found it sexist/offensive. I always wonder why I think differently about this sort of thing.
I’m watching this on my iPad Pro 11” so hard to comment on the sound-stage, but, in the A/B you did between the Klipsch & your Roth speakers, I found the Klipsch had noticeably better range and detail in the mids. I guess you get used to your speakers and only hears their characteristic sound in a direct comparison
This looks a bit like the old Bose - 901 Serie II - 901 Active Equalizer.
Something about the posh voices in that vintage test recording made me think about how the stuffy people in 50s England might have responded to it. Likely with a letter to the Times. "I don't approve of that Left Channel fellow simply walking straight over to the lady's channel on the right without waiting for the courtesy of a formal introduction and a proper invitation. Unless their fathers both were in school together, that simply isn't _done._ Also, surely we can agree that the speed of the metronome _needn't_ be so emotionally demonstrative and, frankly, vulgar. A steady, assured pace, expressed with calm, dignified reserve, is what made Britain great..."
Picked up one from Amazon at Very good warehouse condition and it was brand new,no warehouse sticker or certificate on the box.One slight bump in the corner of the box , I do suspect Amazon will no longer sell the phono version as new.I do have an extra proper grounded phono player but even as a Bluetooth speaker at $100 USD this is excellent,very heavy and a nice warm sound.Many years ago after seeing Mat do a video on the HK Aura I picked up 2 of those from their store in the plain box factory refurbished.Used one and after awhile got a video projector and that paired great with the HK.Mat comes through again with an excellent newer item and how to find one discounted.
I still have to get myself a decent record player. I have a somewhat sizable collection, just haven't pulled the trigger. This video is pushing me in that direction, ever so slightly
I’m 51 now so my ears are rubbish anyway, but I do think it’s quite a personal preference. To me, my airpod pros are the height of audio fidelity.
I expect the guy who recommended this to Mat is Zac from my favourite YT channel - 'Dropping Science'. Those Roth speakers sound terrible by the way!
I used to think they sounded fine - until this comparison. Shows you what I know about audio.
Hi, Mat, I think you did a good job with that. It's as interesting as anyone could make it! :-) About that wall-wart power supply, back in 1976-77, I was working for Tandy when the first TRS-80 came out. It was supposed to have a mains power supply built-in and anything with a power supply needed ASA (I think it was) certification. The US office sent one-off and nothing was heard for ages. The reason was the ASA had never seen a computer before and were a bit perplexed as to how to classify it. So Tandy took out the power supply, put it in a separate box, sent that to the ASA and said "approve that"! Which they did and the TRS-80 went on sale. SB.
Wow these are surprisingly cheap on eBay. I don't even need one but I'm tempted.
Klipsch: A Legend In Sound... now with Bluetooth 😑
An eklipsch.
The Klipsch seemed to have a warmer tone.
Definitely preferred the sound of the Klipsch. Couldn't tell you what it was about it that made prefer it, but it sounded nicer to my ear.
It sounds like my Mum’s old radiogram to me (younger viewers, just Google it). A lot of money, but most tech now seems to be priced by “Perceived value” rather than actual cost. Love the peel off. :)
Yes it’s definitely got that old valve/tube sound.
I find that test record damn useful. The anti-skate band in particular.
I’m surprised how badly the recording had been done on it though. I can clearly hear tape bleed through (a feint pre-echo of what’s about to be said). Also every wheezy breath of Jack DeManio is captured very clearly, I’m pretty sure he’s drunk too. But yes I agree it is a very useful disc - it comes in really handy.
I've thrown away countless numbers of those power supply adapter plates, as the other extreme approach is for manufacturers to include five plug styles. But where you can source the plates separately from a complete power supply is beyond me...
It has a very 50s/60s look to it ... and questionable controls ...
Cool video. Klipsch is based no too far from where I grew up and it was always the higher end brand for home Hi-Fi. After they were bought, more of this sort of thing started coming out and a lot of people weren’t thrilled about the quality compared to their standard powered speakers. Though the convenience make it a good pickup at around $100 in my opinion. £299 is far too much.
Mat, thank you for all your dedication and efforts. This wasn't a particularly interesting product for me, but you make it interesting and charming. I'm thankful to see anything from you. I know it is an odd comment, but when this place becomes quiet I sort of worry. I hope all is well at the TM castle; have a good weekend.
It wasn’t interesting to me either unfortunately. I’ll try and sort things out for the next one.
That "And now I'm on the right ... with a very pretty girl" clip is sampled by some record I own. Amazing to hear it in context. Now I have spend the evening figuring out what - Avalanches maybe? Anyone?
Answering this myself: "Interlude 1" from the Mint Royale album On The Ropes.
Hello ,I discovered the pricing irregularities and it seems the Phono input model of The One ii most likely has been discontinued as many listings on EBay appear to be items bought at close out shops.The Crutchfield listing you showed in your video is Bluetooth only ,there are 3 versions of The One .Bluetooth only,Bluetooth and phono and Bluetooth with built in Voice assistant (Alexa or Google didn’t really look at the specs).In the USA Amazon warehouse has a few at around $90 listed as very good but no new,that usually means they are selling there last units that are slightly damaged. Here is the Phono listing,I bought one of the last from Amazon for ability to return and speed of shipping,$93 https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08XLPJ8GZ?pf_rd_r=VR0KH3T7JAD0CXX53B71&pf_rd_p=1ab92b69-98d7-4842-a89b-ad387c54783f&pd_rd_r=c00b291a-a73f-4105-9aad-1f67a16b287f&pd_rd_w=xvFD1&pd_rd_wg=JHTPl&ref_=pd_gw_unk&th=1
I was about to suggest that they might be stolen loot. If the price sounds too good to be true, it often is. But your investigation thankfully points to a more plausible, and legitimate, explanation.
Imo a speaker with an external DC power brick is great especially if you have a record player that can also run off a DC power rather than AC (I have a Technics SL-10), as this will virtually eliminates AC hum or ground loop issues in playback as the DC powerbrick virtually eliminates those as long as you have a quality power brick. I recommend using reputable branded laptop style DC power bricks rather than the wall-wart style as they often come in the voltage and can handle the amperage range a device like speakers or record player require and unlike small wall-warts, often also include power filtering circuitry, signal/power correction, etc, since they are designed for more sensitive applications (computers).
Using a wall wart also reduces the cost of compliance testing. In order to sell an appliance in Europe, if it is mains powered, it has to be tested for safety according to the so-called "low voltage directive". By choosing to use a wall wart, the manufacturer of the appliance moves the burden of this test to the manufacturer of the wall wart. I enjoyed the video, all the best, Mat!
I believe this item is so cheap in the US (new listing on Amazon for $109, or can grab one new off online marketplaces for $65), as I assume some vendor, the manufacturer itself, or whatever must have had dumped stock and had a deep discounted sale on these, and the way I know there must have been some massive sale and people bought them up is because the online public marketplaces are flooded with listings (Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, Mercari, etc), as opposed to other products which there may be a handful of listings at most, or no listings at all on these public marketplaces. So this can explain why it's so cheap currently in the US, and it's a real shame to know you paid nearly £200 for it as i'm sure if you tried searching the US marketplace listings as opposed to the retailers, maybe could have found a seller who would be willing to ship internationally.
Update: I discovered the source; Walmart. It seems that back in September, Walmart was steeply discounting these and selling them for $37 to $41 https://slickdeals.net/f/15305413-ymmv-walmart-in-store-klipsch-the-one-ii-with-phono-speaker-as-low-as-41 and get this.. by October, Walmarts were selling them for just $15!!! https://slickdeals.net/f/15367174-huge-ymmv-select-walmart-stores-klipsch-the-one-ii-bluetooth-speaker-w-phono-walnut-15 So it seems that Walmart wanted to rid themselves of and dump stock of these and were virtually giving them away. Checking the comments, seems like they had no purchase limit too, as I see comments by people who claim they bought 6, or cleared the shelves, etc, so this does explain the sheer number of marketplace listings from those chaps trying to turn a profit.
I just want to say thank you for the 10 years of this well produced, informative, and interesting content.
Thanks - I'm not really happy with how a few of the recent videos turned out, so hopefully I'll have something better to show you soon.
Not my sort of product Mat. I have just taken delivery of my Denon 110 Anniversary Edition SACD Player and amplifier. My bucket list purchase. Probably better than my hearing, but what the heck. And a custom built cabinet is coming before Christmas. Let's hope I don't plop my clogs before it is delivered.
This video is an oasis of calm in the middle of my totally crap week. Heartfelt thanks.
I think it’s that time of year - I hope things get better.
I’ve got the Klipsch Three mark 2 which is the big brother to the one and I love it. Actually use it for my turntable and my tv since it has 2 inputs.
Have to admit, the nerd in me laughed a bit too hard at the "oh, yeah" moment. Never stop doing that.
"Oh yeah ... take it off" was good.
What's the music? YouTube Audio Library? Quite good. That's odd, the whole video seems mono to me. There's also some video glitching in the encoding or delivery at 9:00. Maybe it's a problem at YouTube's end. I tried on my PC (with a 20 year old 5.1 system, and with headphones), and on my phone. All mono. I prefer the Klipsche to the Roth. LMAO at "very pretty girl", though. Perfect timing. I had just sat down with food for a rest. Nice me-time, thanks.
I noticed the encoding issues - I’ll try to re-upload it later.
Can we have the full length audio of "Ohhhh yeah, take it off" 😂 I'm assuming the vocals were from yourself 😂😂
There is a bit more - for the longer peel… but it’d be too hot for many to handle.
On the inside it does look like a decently built device. Why then the wobbly knobs and the distorted bass? And in the Netherlands they're asking a whopping 349 Euros for it too.
It’s certainly a weird mix of a thing.
I wouldn't even worry about Patreon videos tbh.. I'm sure most of us just support you for the great content. I don't expect extra just because of it. I'd rather a longer standard vid than a short review and a Patreon extra. That's just my opinion though. As always, keep up the great work. 👍🏻
I only do the Patreon videos when there's time or something worth saying - or hopefully both. But it's a few weeks away from another one at the moment - I just need to get my act in gear on the main videos.
You should check out a pair of Klipsch The Fives. They are fantastic but a bit pricey though. I personally use a pair of The Fives paired with a JL E-110-ASH subwoofer for my PC sound. https://www.klipsch.com/products/the-fives-powered-speakers https://www.jlaudio.com/collections/home-audio-e-sub/products/e110-ash-home-audio-e-sub-powered-subwoofers-96276
This is the last speaker review I’ll be making - so I’m good…but thanks for the suggestion.