Klipsch RP-140SA Review – Powerful Dolby Atmos Height Speakers

Klipsch RP-140SA Dolby Atmos Speakers Review

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Release Date
June 12, 2015
Price
$269.95
Model:
1062410
Weight
12 oz
Size
11.3 x 6 x 7 in

Elevate your home theatre or atmos music experience with the Klipsch RP-140SA

For those of you who have been following my blogs for a while, you’ll know that I’ve already spent an extensive amount of time researching Dolby Atmos Height Speakers and also writing about whether elevated Dolby Atmos Speakers are worth it at all.

Editor’s Pick
Klipsch RP-140SA Dolby Atmos Height Speaker

The Klipsch RP-140SA is more expensive than some Atmos height speakers but they deliver the punchy and direct sound you want. Well made and quick sound delivery makes them a great choice for improving your home theater, or Dolby Atmos Music experience. They’re not small but that won’t bother most customers in this HiFi space.

The list that we started a couple of years ago hasn’t really changed much in terms of Dolby Atmos Height Speakers (the Klipsch RP-140SA are on that list) that are available in the market. But it’s clear that the company that is committed to Dolby Atmos Sound the most is Klipsch.

Klipsch RP-140SA Retail Box
Klipsch RP-140SA

My current setup is a pair of Concept 40 Q Acoustic Floor-Standing Speakers with a Q Acoustic Center Speaker, and two Fluance Bipolar Rear Surrounds.

These are all powered from a Denon AVR-X4500H Amplifier, which is more than enough power to push out some decent audio. I have an SVS SB-2000 Subwoofer, which provides plenty of bottom end, and my rear surrounds are connected wirelessly, to make sure the whole system passes the all-important WAF factor. This Klipsch Dolby Atmos Height Speaker review comes after an extensive amount of testing with these units, using them on top of my Q Acoustic Concept 40 floor-standers.

In an ideal world, I would have these wall-mounted at the front in a downward-facing position to ensure maximum efficiency, in terms of how the speaker throws its sound. My opinion on whether Dolby Atmos Height Speakers are worth it is a fundamental, basic yes.

I think any audiophile who is passionate about their home theater experience or movie listening or music listening experience, will appreciate that even a small layer of additional enveloping sound makes it all worthwhile.

Unboxing

The unboxing experience of this Klipsch was typical of almost any hi-fi speaker you receive and Klipsch do a good job of protecting their hardware for shipment. This package came halfway around the world and arrived in perfect condition. I chose Klipsch because of their reputation and their celebrated high-end horns, which for ambient sound effects seem to be a really good choice.

I wouldn’t recommend these if you’re planning to place them on smaller sized floor-standing speakers, as they are a decent size. I compared these at first to the RP-500sa model, but decided that for the setup I have and the room size that I have, that these 140-SA’s would be a sufficient size.

So, how do they sound?

Well, these certainly pack very sharp, attacking, powerful sound, perfect for the ambient sounds that you’re going to hear through them mostly if you’re using them as height speakers. This includes helicopters overhead, bullets flying past, rain falling from the sky, and other similar sound effects.

There’s no doubt that these are probably underutilized, when being positioned in a speaker top configuration, and would much…and would benefit much more from being wall mounted firing down at you directly, or as surround sound speakers, either as your main surrounds or as your height surrounds.

So it’s clear that they can do far more than what you’re asking them to do as just a height speaker.

Klipsch RP-140SA Dolby Height Speaker on top of floorstander back view
Klipsch RP-140SA Back View on Concept 40s

The challenge with these is making sure you get the most out of them. I initially used Audyssey to tune all of my speakers in when I received these and put them on top of the Concept 40s. The result was that the Denon Audyssey configuration didn’t quite give these enough signal for me to really appreciate what the speakers were doing, and what they were adding to the soundscape of my movie listening experience.

In terms of direction, they have a good throw. But it’s not immediately obvious in my couch that sits quite a long way back in the room. I could have tilted these upwards to increase the angle at which they threw their sound but I was already struggling enough with the looks of these on top of the floor-standers and the bulk that they added to my rather minimally furnished and decorated lounge, living room.

What I did instead was boosting up the levels of the two height speakers, so that they pushed out twice what was recommended by Audyssey, to ensure that they were throwing enough sound up at the ceiling to create the ambient effects that I wanted.

I think this is key.

I tried some new and some old, I tried “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” and also tried “The Tomorrow War,” and as I’ve mentioned, while you may not be able to individually separate out the sound that they’re throwing, they certainly do add just that little touch on top of what you already have in your home theater set up to add a layer of enjoyment.

Klipsch RP 140SA Pair
Klipsch RP-140SA on Floorstanding Speakers – The advertising stickers come off the front of them

One of the silly things I did, was trying to get behind the TV when the speakers were connected, and without realizing I pushed against the floor-stander, and the Klipsch Height Speaker fell off. The top of the floor-standing speaker fell against the wall, created a hole in my drywall, and also created a bit of a dent on the speaker.

Don’t get me wrong, these things are solid and incredibly well built, but the angle at which it fell just created a slight indentation on one of the corners. This was a fool’s mistake and one that I will not do again. #fail

In conclusion

It’s fair to say that I’m certainly a fan of the Klipsch RP-140sa for their price, sound quality, and build quality.

If you don’t have an enormous amount of budget for your home theater system, then there are slightly cheaper alternatives, or you can simply go without having Dolby Atmos Height Sound at all.

RP140-SA front view on top of floor standing speaker with a TV in the background

For me, personally, a couple hundred bucks extra to add another layer of ambient sound to my movies and audio is worth it. And while they don’t look particularly attractive on top of my floor-standers, I’m happy that I made the investment.

Klipsch have done an incredible job of creating a full suite of Dolby Atmos height-enabled speakers. And, while I think the ELAC 2.0 Height Speakers are very well priced, and a real competitor, for most home theater enthusiasts which is why I also recommend them, this Klipsch have certainly won me over.

One day I look forward to having a home theater room where I can front mount them at ceiling height in a down-firing position to really enjoy the quality audio they can produce.

Any questions, up fire them the comments below (see what I did there…).

Klipsch RP-140SA Dolby Atmos Speakers Review
Klipsch RP-140SA Review – Powerful Dolby Atmos Height Speakers
Price
Sound Quality
Build Quality
Reader Rating0 Votes
4.7

Endless hours of experimentation, professional work, and personal investment in Home Theatre, Hi-Fi, Smart Home Automation and Headphones have come to this.

Former owner of Headphones Canada, a high-end headphone specialty retailer.

This post was last updated on 2024-03-14 / Some images from Amazon Product API & some links may be affiliate links which may earn us a commission from purchases.


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