Face-Off III: RBH 61-LSE

The RBH 61-LSE is a Limited Special-Edition Loudspeaker from the Signature series of RBH Sound, Inc. A few years ago, Gene approached RBH engineering with the idea of implementing the drivers from their fabulous Status Acoustics line into their normal Signature Series line given their similar model sizes and driver topologies. RBH Sound, Inc. Engineering welcomed the idea as a good concept, but the company didn't heed the advice right away. Instead, they chose to custom build Audioholics.com the first prototypes of the 1266, 661 and 61 LSE versions of these speakers.

RBH Sound, Inc. was very happy with the results from both a performance, and consumer value standpoint as they now had a product at about half the price of their high performance Status Acoustics line with nearly similar performance. We were equally thrilled to have possession of a truly high-end speaker system at a fraction of the cost of what one would expect to pay.

The key to the cost savings resides in the cabinet material. The Status Acoustic line-up features a superiorly inert and beautiful composite material, while the Signature line-up features an attractive standard MDF (medium density fiberboard) with a choice of over thirty real wood veneer finishes.

The standard Signature Series was impressive even before receiving the upgraded Status Acoustics drivers and crossovers. The Signature Series always had a very neutral, balanced and dynamic sound with tight and well-extended bass response that truly shined when paired with the best electronics. However, being the obsessed Audioholic Gene is known to be, more alterations were desired. Thankfully, a company was found willing to support his fanaticism, and thus the LSE series was born.

The 61-LSE shares many of the virtues of the original 61-SE's previously reviewed. However, with the Status Acoustics driver and crossover upgrades, these speakers have been lifted to a higher plane of musical enjoyment. Much like one of Gene's still favorite little loudspeakers the Status Acoustics Decimos, also previously reviewed, the 61-LSE managed to combine their best virtues along with those of the standard 61-SE's.

They didn't quite image as pristinely as the Decimo's, nor convey all of the micro-dynamics with as much poise and conviction. Nevertheless, their quality difference when compared to price is only beneficial to the most critical set of ears belonging those individuals with a fatter wallet and desire for a more cosmetically pleasing cabinet. In general, the upgraded, cost effective LSE's retained about 90% of the sound qualities of the much more expensive Decimo's. We would have to say that is an outstanding achievement and excellent compromise!

Listening to Sade on these speakers was a real treat. The highs were open and more fluid compared to other speakers in this review. Only the Monitor Audio GR-10's and Axiom Audio M22ti's, and maybe the Paradigm Studio 40v2 gave a close approximation of this sound quality, but none of them managed to do it so naturally and with such flawless quality. Just as the original 61-SE's, the upgraded 61-LSE's have a fundamental rightness to their sound. They don't come at you aggressively, but they do persuade you to listen. The more we listened to these speakers, the more they revealed their accurate and neutral character. The bass from the Sade CD ("Lover's Rock") was tight and reasonably extended, however, the deeper extension and elaborate slam offered by the Paradigm Studio 40v2 was missing, thus buttressing the argument about complimenting quality bookshelf loudspeakers with a musical sub. When the 61-LSE's were crossed over at about 60Hz and we connected the fabulous RBH 1010-SEP subwoofer, the bass impact was far more satisfying.

SACD really took on new life with these speakers. Particularly impressive was Gloria Estefan's ("Caribbean Soul") SACD. Every detail, regardless of dynamics, was present. We couldn't help but think how it would be a thoroughly enjoyable experience to listen to these babies at low volume during the late hours of the night while the kids are asleep.

Rebecca Pidgeon's voice sounded fantastically real on these speakers. However, we did notice a slight audible buzz at high volumes emanating from the phase plug during the track "Spanish Harlem".

It appeared that the bass from this track had the proper amplitude and frequency to excite increase turbulence thru the opening of the cone and phase plug enough to become audible. These is a common problem with phase plug drivers, but not a major issue, especially if you cross over the speakers at around 60-80Hz and allow the sub to handle the lower bass duties. Once we did this, the slight audible buzz diminished into nothingness leaving us with pure sonic enjoyment.

The phase plug essentially eliminates the need for a dust cap, which in turn, reduces cone mass. It allows more airflow thru the motor structure, which improves cooling and thus increases power handling. A Phase plug also helps to disperse higher frequencies that the cone is producing. It allows sound to emanate broadband throughout the driver as opposed from the center of the driver. This helps the driver to act like an ideal point source by reducing beaming effects at higher frequencies.

Note: Beware, many loudspeaker manufacturers use a quasi phase plug which looks like a phase plug for marketing purposes, but does not physically separate from the cone of the driver. These "so called" phase plugs can do more harm than good as they provide an inconsistent surface area and they also increase mass of the cone yielding poorer frequency response and linearity. You can tell if the driver has a real phase plug if it remains fixed while pressing on the cone.

Listening to jazz music on these speakers was a joyful experience for us. The 61-LSE's really brought out all the textures of Lee Ritenour's & Larry Carlton's guitars in the CD "Larry & Lee". The instruments retained excellent separation and placement within the deep soundstage the 61-LSE's presented.

However, there is a downside to the excellent merits of these speakers that endowed them with pristine imaging and transparency. Because these speakers have such a wide dispersion, thanks to the fabulous Scan Speak 9500 tweeter, they tended to sound bright in reflective rooms.

If your room has many parallel surfaces, vaulted ceilings, glass doors, windows, etc, you may surely not realize the full potential of these beauties.

Normally we recommend not toeing these speakers in, again because of their wide dispersions characteristics. However, in an untamed room, you may find that toeing them in, using a laser pointer aligned with the outer edge of each cabinet, so that when you position each cabinet, the light will shine at a common point near your sweet spot, or favorite listening position.

In addition, the 61-LSE's will sound equally as good or bad as the source you feed them. Listening to a well-recorded CD will provide a rewarding experience. However, listening to a poorly recorded CD such as those 1970's and 80's rock CD's remastered from their analog tapes may send shivers down your spine. The 61-LSE's are a loudspeaker system as true to the source as we have yet to come across. They are a unique speaker that provides a level of listening intimacy often hard to find in a cone type loudspeaker. We do caution potential buyers to be certain and match them with the best of electronics (a high current amplifier for example) or you may not be able to unlock all of the special qualities that they offer.