It was a pleasure spending more time with the RBH Sound TK-5C and Usher Audio S-520s speakers. I’d like to be able to declare a definitive winner as to which product was better, but to be honest, my original conclusions from our 2007 Bookshelf Face Off review remains the same. Both of these products have their own associated strengths and weaknesses. I often found my preferences between these two speaker systems changed depending on the source material I was listening too and at what volume levels. The RBHs clearly shined in dynamics and boldness, especially with kick drums and lead guitar solos, while the Usher’s shined during delicate acoustical music passages and female vocals while not being taxed to produce slamming bass at high SPL levels.

The RBH Sound TK-5Cs proved to be a top notch performer in the $499/pair bookshelf speaker category. Their ability to sound BIGGER than they looked without faltering at high SPL levels even when not bass managed was most impressive. Make no mistake however that, as most bookshelf speakers, these are not full range and should be mated with a subwoofer to extend the low end frequency response and better balance the entire sonic spectrum. While they didn’t score big points with me in the looks department (the Ushers were the clear winner here), they did so in the category that matters most to me – performance.

It seems RBH Sound has once again produced a solid offering with their new TK series of loudspeakers, from these little but bold bookshelf speakers to their $850/pair TK-5CT wonder towers that have literally turned the budget tower speaker market upside down. One thing is for certain, RBH Sound is serious about winning your business at any price point you are shopping at.

RBH Sound Loudspeakers

http://www.rbhsound.com
382 Marshall Way
Layton, Utah 84041
801-991-1308 phone
801-543-3300 fax

About RBH Sound

RBH Sound is one of the oldest speaker companies in the USA still run and operated by the original founder - Roger Hassing. In 1976 RBH Sound produced its first loudspeaker. RBH soon began to OEM for McIntosh, (back in the days of Gordon Gow), providing cabinets for their speakers. This set the stage for doing a superb job since McIntosh didn’t worry about how to cheapen the product, but to make it better and, at least at the time, lead the class in performance. Later on RBH Sound began producing loudspeakers for a retailer in Los Angeles called Northridge Audio. They didn’t advertise or market these products to avoid a conflict of interest with their other OEM customers (i.e. McIntosh, Parasound, Fosgate, etc). People nonetheless sought them out because of their high performance, which lead to a good success story and response for their products. Over the years RBH Sound was successful at helping other companies in achieving their goals. Based on their strong engineering background and sourcing ability, they took it upon themselves to enter the market under their own banner.