Today we will compare two big, premium active speakers - Klipsch The Sixes and AirPulse A300. They both have lots of power and 6.5inch woofers to change this power into sound waves. The big question here is "which one is better?". Let's go and find the answer!
Build Quality & Features
Klipsch The Sixes and AirPulse A300 are premium products through and through, the build quality is very good in both cases, but the aesthetic approach is quite different. Klipsch has very distinct retro look, very stylish both with and without the thick mesh grilles. The cabinet is finished in high quality real wood veneer that looks and feels great, but the cabinet itself is very big, similar in size to speakers with 8 inch woofers. AirPulse on the other hand, while still big, is slightly more compact, but also nowhere near as classy as The Sixes, it looks more utilitarian in comparison. A300's cabinet is made of thick MDF and finished in wood veneer as well but it doeas not look like a real wood next to Klipsch, mostly due to satin finish. Airpulse's cabinet do feel more solid than Klipsch's though, you would almost belive it is a solid piece of wood not hollowed inside - that is how solid it feels.
A300 and The Sixes, both have very broad set of features inculidng remote control, Bluetooth connectivity, 192kHz sample USB input and optical input. Klipsch ups the Airpulse with phono preamp input to use with your vinyl player and sub output to connect a subwoofer if you need more bass while watching movies. I also like the physical source selector and volume control on the front panel of The Sixes more. AirPulse counter that with tone controls for bass and treble, XLR balanced inputs and coaxial input. Unfortunately Klipsch have very audible hiss coming from the tweeters, much more audible than the subtle hiss from AirPulse.
Sound Quality
What you see is what you get. These two have the sound character matching their external appearence. Klipsch sounds big and bold, with big groovy bass, rich mids and nice treble extension, it has the perfect mix of qualities when you want to blast some tunes and have fun. Airpuls on the other hand sounds more restraind, but also more controlled, detailed and transparent, perfect when you take your time and hear into the recordings.
Bass of The Sixes is big and bold, slightly boosted in the midbass but also well controlled, it grooves nicely and keeps the control even when blasting at full steam. AirPulse feels like it has less bass than Klipsch, but that is mostly due to the fact that it is not boosted in the midbass. A300 has tighter bass as well, more transparent and full in fine details. This kind of differentiation continues into the midrange, where Klipsch feels denser and less open mut also slightly more forgiving to bad recordings. Again A300 has more transparent and more open midrange with less colourations, it may appear a bit more analytical but it is just more honest and true to the source material. Also upper mids and treble quality is superior in A300, sound is more airy and detailed.
Klipsch throws big, detailed soundstage that will wow listener, but it is the A300 that creates finer images with more air and depth to the soundstage itself. Both Klipsch and AirPulse have the ability to play as loud as one wishes with great control and low distortion.
Check out this sound comparison video of Klipsch and AirPulse from my YouTube channel:
Conclusion
In the end Klipsch The Sixes and AirPulse A300 are great active speakers on their own but they appeal to different kind of customer. Klipsch is a fun speaker with big and bold sound that is a pleasure to listen without going into fine details of music, while AirPulse is more surgical, transparent and honest speaker that is closer to very good studio monitor tha HiFi speaker. Both are great at what they do so choose the one that appeals more to your listening philosophy. For me AirPulse is the superior speaker here, because I like my music honest and true to the source material, but that very well may not be the case for you.
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