STEREO GUIDE verdict
With the Detroit, Klipsch is setting new standards in terms of hi-fi sound for portable outdoor Bluetooth speakers. The sound is rich, transparent and fun with all types of music. The features and connection options are quite rudimentary, and the sound is not the most spectacular for techno, hip-hop and the like.
Advantages
- HiFi qualities, sounds natural and transparent
- Can be easily transported and acoustically adapted
- Dynamic, rich sound image
Disadvantages
- Few functions and connectivity
- not the loudest in its price range
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Sound: Naturalness8.3
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Practice / Connectivity8.8
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Price/Performance8.5
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Sound: Bass / Dynamics8.2
When we unpacked the brand new Klipsch Detroit, the concept seemed miraculously familiar. Obviously, the Marshall Middleton, which we had already reviewed, seemed to have been the inspiration: a rather heavy, bar-shaped Bluetooth speaker in a rough rubberized housing with a carrying strap. The clearest difference: The Klipsch Detroit is a full 10 centimeters wider than the Marshall Middleton. In practice, this makes it more of a competitor to the medium-sized category of boombox and tubular speakers such as the JBL Xtreme 3 and Sony SRS-XG 300.
For transportation in a backpack or beach bag, however, the shape is an advantage: the Klipsch Detroit is much easier to stow away than the bulky, round competitors in its class. The weight of just under 2.5 kg could be more of an obstacle. Fortunately, Klipsch has integrated a length-adjustable shoulder strap that provides some flexibility. It can also be tightened using two hooks and allows the speaker to be suspended from sturdy tree branches, crossbeams and the like.
Buy Klipsch Detroit
It is also dust and water resistant to IP67 and has an excellent battery life of 20 hours. And there you have it, the all-round outdoor package that also promises higher volumes with good sound quality.
Two-way, stereo and quadruple bass power
Because the equipment makes you sit up and take notice: The Klipsch Detroit comes with two fully-fledged 2-way systems in stereo configuration. They are both located on the front of the 33-centimeter-wide transom. This makes the concept fundamentally different from its little brother Nashville and the competition from Marshall. The tweeters are equipped with horns for better directivity in the open air, and they are located on the very outside of the front baffle. So we can’t really understand the term “360 degree sound” in the advertising texts.
The manufacturer specifies an amplifier output of 2 x 15 watts sine wave. In view of the stereo circuit, this indicates a classic passive crossover between the woofer and tweeter. Since the cone drivers also have a proud diameter of 7.6 centimeters, it is fair to assume that real hi-fi technology is installed here and not miniature drivers with digital correction that are subject to compromises.
A bank of bass generators sits on the rear: a total of four passive diaphragms, also 7.6 centimeters in diameter but without their own magnetic drive, provide bass. Since these bass generators emit sound practically all around, it doesn’t matter whether they are on the back or the side of the speaker.
Inputs and operation
Bluetooth 5.3 is the only way to feed music to the Detroit. The USB-C port, hidden behind a rubber cover on the back, is only used to connect the charging cable.
The control options are also rather spartan: four buttons at the top handle the standard functions of on/off, Bluetooth and volume control. There isn’t even a title skip for forward and back, and the symbols next to the buttons are barely recognizable in the matt rubber. The fairly precise battery indicator with five LED segments is practical.
More in the Klipsch Connect app
We then found the playback controls in the Klipsch Connect app (for iOS and Android). This is necessary anyway when setting up the Bluetooth connection and it worked without any problems. Sometimes it took a few seconds to re-establish the connection, especially when connecting a smartphone and another source such as a laptop in parallel. This is no problem thanks to the multipoint capability.
The 3-band equalizer integrated into the app allows the sound to be adjusted quite well to the respective spatial conditions and tastes. In our review, the Klipsch Detroit only called for minor adjustments: in small rooms or close to walls, reduce the bass by one or two steps, at greater distances raise the treble by one step – that’s enough.
Up to ten Klipsch mobile speakers from the series can be integrated into a kind of party chain. This is a good idea for open-air events. Unfortunately, there is no stereo mode for two Detroit speakers.
This is what the Klipsch Detroit Bluetooth speaker sounds like
In terms of sound, the Klipsch Detroit convinced us in the factory tuning in almost every situation, even according to hi-fi criteria. It delivered sparkling, transparent and clean highs, natural vocals and a musically very well integrated bass foundation, which was also convincing with acoustic instruments. For a Bluetooth speaker of this size, this is truly not a matter of course.
Not only does it sound quite deep, but it also remains crisp, balanced and confident when things get a little louder. Or even quieter, because the Detroit can be heard at practically any level setting. It’s also fun with any kind of music, without reproducing or emphasizing anything unnaturally. Obviously, the 2-way concept with separate tweeters is bearing fruit here, because we have hardly ever heard such a fine reproduction with such dynamic and responsive highs in this class.
Tweeters do a good job
However, the additional tweeter horns were also noticeable in practice: The Detroit did not exhibit any problems with uncontrolled bundling. In the area in front of the speaker, you could hear sparkling clean highs over a wide angle range. Even at greater listening distances, it remained dynamic and lively. Only directly behind the speaker was the bundling noticeable in the form of a matte sound image. But we liked that much better than the pseudo omnidirectional radiation of its smaller competitors. One should not expect too much from the spatial imaging, the Detroit showed a rather narrow projection. For this
How much pressure can the Detroit put on an entire beach or basketball court? Well, for the size
Conclusion: Klipsch Detroit, or JBL?
Of course, the comparison with the more compact Marshall Middleton, which looks so similar to the Klipsch, comes to mind. The extra 50 euros for the Klipsch Detroit are well spent in terms of sound, because it does practically everything better than the Marshall. In the review, it suffered from its overly thick, grumpy bass, especially indoors. The Detroit’s high-fidelity sound with clean treble, rich but differentiated bass and decent level reserves is the most compact mobile Bluetooth speaker yet.
It has a harder time against the more voluminous competition: The JBL Xtreme 3 simply pushes more in the low bass and sounds more compelling as well as louder with typical party music. The Klipsch’s only arguments are its more compact dimensions and more natural sound reproduction indoors.
The Sony SRS-XG300 offers similar qualities to the Klipsch Detroit with significantly more functions. It doesn’t sound quite as natural and refined, but is now much cheaper than the Klipsch.
Technical specifications Klipsch Detroit
- Manufacturer’s suggested retail price: 350 Euro
- Dimensions (W x H x D): 33.5 x 10.5 x 12 cm
- Weight: 2.46 kg
- Battery life up to 20 hours
- Special features: Bluetooth 5.3, app control, IPX67, 2-way stereo, stack mode, hands-free system
- More at: klipsch.com
