“The best high-performance subwoofers Klipsch has ever made.”
This is something we hear, in the very literal sense, quite a bit. Rarely, does a product claiming to be the “best ever” live up to the hype. Obviously, we were pretty stoked to see that at the top of the spec sheets to set the tone as it were for the Klipsch Reference Premiere subwoofer series.

Sit down, pull up a chair, and we’ll break down just how good these new Klipsch subwoofers really are.

Klipsch Reference Premiere Subwoofers

Klipsch has been all about making high-performance speakers for over 7 decades. Their commitment to constant improvement is very evident with this new series of subwoofers. These are not just a cosmetic revamp, but an entirely new design that reaches far deeper into the lower octaves than we have ever seen on subwoofers in this price category. Their goal was to go deeper with more speed than any previous Klipsch subwoofer and we can say, they have certainly succeeded!

What’s New with the Reference Premiere Subwoofer Series?

Front-Firing Ultra Long Throw Cerametallic Woofers

Yes, Klipsch speakers and subwoofers are almost always outfitted with the signature Cerametallic woofers. And at first look you may not see any difference but if you could look under the hood you would find lots of updates. The Cerametallic woofer cone which is aluminum anodized with the copper color did not change but everything else dramatically improved. The aluminum voice coils have been upgraded to reduce mass thus increasing sensitivity. The size of the surround and the increased distance the cone can travel equals more woofer excursion than anything Klipsch has made in the past. The 14” and 16” models even have dual spiders for outstanding linearity over their huge range of excursion. The result of this to your ears is more effortless bass that goes deeper than you could imagine.

Updated Front-Firing Port

With decades of cabinet experience, the Klipsch engineers redesigned the subwoofer port for a faster, cleaner sound. We have always liked the front-firing port the previous models had as it gives you more placement flexibility.

Klipsch used computer-aided design to come up with a new flared port that minimized port noise and allowed the driver to perform at its best. They call it their Aerofoil slot port design. This is one reason the cabinets had to be a lot deeper. They found a right angle port like you see used in smaller subwoofers causes air turbulence and a chuffing noise. They wanted the cabinets to be large enough to use a straight port to let the woofer perform at its best. The benefit is faster, quicker, and tighter bass attacks, letting their subs sound even closer to a live bass kick drum.

Lots More Power & Better Power Too

The new power amps might be the most impressive part of these models. And even though these improved drivers need less power, Klipsch greatly increased the power available over the earlier ones. The smallest goes from 200 watts to 300 watts RMS continuous and the big guy jumps from 400 to 800 watts RMS continuous. The power supplies for these new Class D amps are also far bigger than anything Klipsch has had in the past. And remember, these specs are for continuous power, not peak when you are comparing subwoofer amps. Klipsch also torture tested these like never before to insure the amp would have a very long life.

This new amp is more efficient and even has a half-watt standby mode to save energy.

These rugged new power amps allowed them to do something we have never seen on a subwoofer amp. Normally a sub will have a 5-year warranty on the woofer cone and a one or two-year warranty on the power amp. Well with these models, it is 5 years on both.

Our only complaint is, we wish the phase control was completely variable instead of just 0 or 180, but you can learn how to fine-tune your subs phase control for better blending using your home theater receiver in our video on how to calibrate your subwoofer.

The new amps are also lacking any kind of automatic room correction. This used to be a big deal, but it is not really anymore. Almost all of the newer home theater receivers now have some sort of room correction feature that will work to fine-tune the entire frequency range including the bass.

Higher Output Than Ever

With all of these improvements, the new Reference Premiere Subs can produce astounding sound pressure levels. As an example the older 10” could hit 114 dB on peaks. That is darn loud, but the RP-1000SW will hit 118 dB on peaks. Now that may not look like much but you have to remember, a 3 dB change in volume level sounds twice as loud to the human ear, which means that bad boy will play over twice as loud as the earlier one. The biggest RP-1600-SW is similar, going from peak SPL of 122 dB to 125.5 dB, again, able to play twice as loud. These will all handle those big home theater special effects with ease.

Go Wired, Wireless, or Both

Yes, you see that right, both. With the optional Klipsch WA-2 Wireless subwoofer kit you can connect these up wirelessly. And obviously, you can use the RCA inputs. But for those of you who have a room that shares a home theater and two-channel system or desktop computer system, you could use the sub in both. You would, of course, likely have to change the level and maybe the crossover, but that is a pretty neat feature.

Attention To Design Detail

All of these come in an ebony finish with rounded corners and a new woven grill cloth. Klipsch had to pay a lot of attention to every aspect of these cabinets to prevent them from making any noise and installed steel posts for the new grills. The ultra-durable scratch-resistant ebony cabinet sits on special shock-absorbing feet too.

Long story short, Klipsch redesigned how these subwoofers process bass to create an even cleaner, faster, louder, and deeper sound while being more energy efficient. That my friends is impressive!

What Are the Size Options for the Klipsch Reference Premiere Subs?

So which of these subs would be right for your room. The best way to decide would be to reach out to our experts at or drop by one of our showrooms. Once we have the info on the size of your space, other components, and listening tastes, we can help with the best recommendations. Heck, with the 10” model being able to reach so deep, 2 or even 4 of those will probably be amazing in most theaters. There are so many variables to consider, it's nice to know with Audio Advice, you’ll have a passionate team of audio and home theater lovers helping you with your decision.

Klipsch Reference Premiere Subwoofer Performance Review

You know that feeling where you can feel the drums or bass line from a particular track right down to your toes and the whole experience shakes your floors? Your dog might bark or run in the other room from the vibrations. You can absolutely feel it, to the point the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

The great news is even the smallest model 10” RP-1000 can give you that feeling. These are by far and away the fastest and deepest-reaching subwoofers we have ever seen from Klipsch. We tested out 2 of the RP-1200’s in a medium-sized room and gave them a real workout with one of our favorite films for deep bass punch, Midway. Their exceptionally deep reach had our seat shaking when the big explosions hit.

Another cut we love to try out is the entry to The Greatest Showman. Here you have a crowd of people stomping on a bench and a very good subwoofer will let you hear the decay as the impact of their foot-stomping fades away. Again the Klipsch subs really impressed us with their speed and reach.

What is so remarkable about these new subs is their great price/performance ratio. Any home theater lover knows that putting 2 subwoofers into a room will give you far more even and effortless bass than a single subwoofer. With their low price, we see many people being able to do 2 of the RP-1000’s and not really sacrifice ultimate low-end reach as they go down below 20 Hz.

Conclusion

The new line of Reference Premiere subs from Klipsch might just be one of the best subwoofer values on the market today. They go incredibly deep with speed, which is exactly what you want in a subwoofer. The fact they can go so low for their price range just makes them even better.

If you are designing a new home theater or upgrading yours, we highly recommend you check out our YouTube playlist that covers all things home theater. Also check out our home theater section where you can find our free home theater design tool, buyers guides, inspiration gallery, and a host of how-to videos and install videos.

If you do decide to upgrade your Klipsch subwoofer or this is your first time going to the legendary Klipsch sound, your best way of supporting us is to buy them from one of our award-winning showrooms or from AudioAdvice.com. You can purchase with confidence with our price guarantee, two-day shipping, and lifetime expert support. If you have any questions or need help designing your dream home theater, just give us a call at 888.899.8776, chat with us on AudioAdvice.com, or stop into one of our award-winning showrooms.