Klipsch THE-NINES-II-EBONY 8" Dolby Atmos Powered Speaker Pair - Ebony (2026)

Remember Roy Allison, who went from Acoustic Research to Allison to RDL ? Well my RDLs are done, and my excellent Hafler preamp has died just as I'm starting to transition to streaming with Tidal. The Nines II have exceeded expectations. Dirac Live has replaced my 10 band equalizer, and the results are satisfying excellent. It's so nice to have the included mike to perform the setup. This is a system designed from the ground up to optimize digital content. I'm ditching my external streamer as relying on The Nines II keeps the signal in the digital domain from the streaming service all the way through the DSP crossover to the final DAC stage — with zero intermediate analog conversions. Dirac corrects anomalies in real time, and from what I understand it performs best on an uncontaminated digital signal, not one that has been through an extra ADC round-trip from a streamer->preamp->Nines. The loud end is rich and full, the midtones are smooth, the high end sparkles w/out harshness. For me, the standout quality is the magical soundstage imaging. Apparently, coupling bi-amp active speakers with Dirac substantially improves phase accuracy. Congrats, Klipsch, these are very well engineered active speakers.