Summary
Klipsch Nashville review .. The Klipsch Nashville is a Bluetooth speaker that retails for $149 and is designed specifically for those who are always on the go and want to be able to carry a sturdy small speaker in their backpack or tote bag. It comes just in time for the summer months. A balanced and clear mono sound is delivered by the Nashville, which, although having a little deficiency in the bass area, can be manipulated into a sweet spot with some equalization. Additionally, the Nashville can be connected with other Klipsch Bluetooth speakers in order to increase the volume when used in conjunction with other speakers.
Klipsch Nashville review
Because it has a dust and waterproof classification of IP67, the Nashville can endure a dip in the lake (up to a meter deep for up to 30 minutes) or a picnic that is wet out just as well as it can manage a roll in the sand or mud at the campground. Although the accompanying Klipsch app is simple and does its functions well, the same can be said for the physical controls of the speaker. However, it would have been good to see a little bit more consideration put into both of these design elements.
Following a period of time spent both at home and on the road with the Klipsch Nashville, the following are my current opinions.
Klipsch Nashville: the design of the
Klipsch is a speaker brand that has earned a great deal of respect over the years due to the fact that the firm has been producing several high-quality audio products for many years. As part of the new Music City portable speaker series, the Nashville is located in the center of the spectrum that includes the smaller Klipsch Austin speaker (which costs $99) and the biggest Klipsch Detroit speaker (which costs $299).
The Nashville is constructed in the same manner as a miniature tank, and it does not have any exterior components like as a handle or strap that might attach to anything in your luggage. It would have been wonderful to have a strap for hanging it on objects, if that is something you would have wanted to do. A band of thick, gripping rubber is wrapped around the Nashville’s body, which measures 3.1 inches in height, 7 inches in width, and 3.2 inches in depth. The Nashville weighs 2.4 pounds and is covered in this band.
On top, there are buttons for essential functions like as power, Bluetooth, and volume that are incorporated in the rubber covering. A power indication LED, an LED that indicates whether or not Bluetooth connection is available, and a tiny microphone hole for making phone calls are also included. It would have been good to have buttons for playing, pausing, or skipping tunes, but you will have to rely on your phone for such functionalities. On the side of the Nashville, there is a rubber panel cover that is firmly sealed, which allows one can reach the USB-C connector for charging purposes.
Two 2.25-inch drivers, one of which is front-firing and the other of which is rear-firing, and two passive radiators, both of which are shooting front and back, are located behind the metal front and back grilles of the 20-watt Nashville amplification system. The frequency range of the Nashville is from 60Hz to 20kHz. Klipsch refers to the sound characteristic of the Nashville as its “360-degree Experience,” despite the fact that the speakers of the Nashville do not create stereo sound. Other speakers that are equivalent to this one, such as the Marshall Emberton II, which costs $170, are able to split the stereo channels between the front and rear speakers. However, given its size, the majority of people would not be able to detect the sound separation in a shape that is so tiny.
Nashville’s Klipsch company: features
Due to the fact that it is a Bluetooth 5.3 speaker, the Nashville unfortunately only supports the SBC codec. Although it is not as durable, the Sonos Roam is available for $179 and has support for AAC as well as Wi-Fi networking. The good news is that the battery life of the Nashville surpasses that of the Roam, which only lasts for ten hours. According to Klipsch, the Nashville’s battery life may last for up to twenty-four hours, and it only takes an hour and a half to completely recharge. In addition, the Nashville may be used as a power bank to charge other electronic devices, such as cellphones, and it comes with a connection that connects USB-C to USB-C technology.
In a manner that is consistent with a number of other Bluetooth speakers manufactured by rivals like as JBL and Soundcore, Klipsch’s “Broadcast Mode”-capable speakers may be connected together (up to ten) on the smartphone by simultaneously holding down the Bluetooth button and the up-volume button.
Despite the fact that this will undoubtedly make the sound at your campground more expansive, louder, and immersive, it will not be able to separate the left and right stereo channels. It is wonderful to know that it is possible to do so since the Nashville speakers are quite inexpensive, and it is always better to have two than one. However, in order to do this, you will need to couple two Nashville speakers together.
App for connecting with Klipsch Nashville
Even though it is somewhat more basic than the Nashville speaker, the Klipsch Connect app for iOS and Android is a fantastic addition to the Nashville speaker. It allows you to manage basic playback in conjunction with the music app that you are using (volume, play/pause, and previous/next track), and it also makes it easier to upgrade the firmware and do factory resets.
By far the most helpful feature of the Connect app is its equalization, which provides five presets (voice, bass, treble, and rock) as well as a custom equalizer for situations in which you choose to adjust the bass, mid, and treble sliders on your own. More information on this function can be found below. It is a delightful characteristic to possess. Nevertheless, as I will explain in the following paragraphs, the sound of the Nashville requires a bit more TLC (and not the group) than the app’s basic three-band equalization delivers. As a result, I ended up utilizing the more powerful equalization feature of the Spotify app instead.
As a last point of interest, the Klipsch Connect app is especially useful since it enables you to disable the function noises of your device. If you want to prevent alerts from ringing off in the midst of your pool party, this is an excellent way to silence them.
When it comes to sound and performance, Klipsch Nashville
As a matter of public service, I would like to take the bass-heads aside and release them from their responsibility at this very moment. In the event that you are looking for a bottom end that is rich and pounding, you are looking in the incorrect tree with the Nashville.
During the beginning of my evaluation of the Klipsch Nashville speaker, I set its equalization to flat on the Klipsch app as well as on any other apps that include equalization, such as Spotify. The Nashville has a very nice sound quality when played at reasonably loud decibels (about six or seven of its total of sixteen).
In my modest home office, I was able to hear a surprise feeling of height while listening to live records such as Elton John’s Benny and the Jets. This is because there is a strong separation between the singers and the instruments, which is a remarkable feature for a mono speaker. At this volume level, the bass is satisfactory, as are the mids for vocalists and instruments such as piano and horns. The trebles, although having a sparkly quality that I find a touch too much to my taste, are well-balanced in comparison to the other ranges.
However, if you spend a few minutes to apply some equalization to the mix, either using the three-band equalizer that is included in the Klipsch Connect app or, as I did, through Spotify, where you have even more freedom, then you will be able to significantly enhance the sound of the Nashville. With only a few adjustments, the shimmering highs were brought under control, and the entire sound was given more depth. The bass end was also increased, which was greatly needed.
I went through a wide range of songs and musical styles, beginning with more subdued music like Belle and Sebastian and Beyonce’s outstanding rendition of The Beatles’ Blackbird. I then moved on to more daring music like Olivia Rodrigo’s pop-rock with a ’90s influence, Travis Scott’s auto-tune extravaganza, and even Nirvana’s screamer, Territorial Pissings. To summarize, I am able to state that the Nashville is a Bluetooth speaker that has a good sound quality.
If, on the other hand, you are interested in sub-bass frequencies, you shouldn’t have high expectations for the Nashville. Even going all the way down the low end of the equalization slider didn’t make much of a difference on songs like “Angel” by Massive Attack, “Mango Drive” by Rhythm & Sound, and “Xanny” by Billie Eilish, where it simply sounded a little bit off-key.
The tighter bottom tones on songs like New Order’s Blue Monday do, in fact, remain taut and controlled, even filling out beautifully when the bass guitar comes in. This demonstrates that the Nashville bass may be particularly effective for certain styles of music.
Nevertheless, when you dial up the level, things become much more difficult to deal with. As soon as you approach the 11 and 12 area (about 70%), everything begins to break up and become harsh in the highs. This is particularly true when listening to more aggressive guitar things like Nirvana. The bass is not the only thing that begins to break up. To be honest, if you are looking for a powerful Bluetooth speaker, then you should spend a little bit more money on something like the Detroit, which is the larger sister of the Nashville, or the great Marshall Middleton, which costs $237.
The bottom line for Klipsch Nashville-based
A tiny tank of a Bluetooth speaker, the Klipsch Nashville is a speaker that sounds amazing at regular levels, can withstand being beaten up in the sand or surf throughout the summer, and won’t put too much of a strain on your pocketbook.
You know it is going to last a long time because of the illustrious lineage of Klipsch, and even if it does require a little bit of tweaking of the equalization to boost the low end and get it to sound exactly how you want it to, one could argue that you might have to do that anyway with other Bluetooth speakers if your preferences are more specific, and many of them do not even give you the option to do so.
The Marshall Emberton II, the Sonos Roam, and even the much smaller and more affordable Soundcore Motion 300 ($80) are some of the alternatives that are a bit more appealing. However, the bare-bones software, rudimentary physical controls, and bare-minimum codec compatibility make these other choices a little more appealing.
PROS
- Rich low-end response with bright highs
- Waterproof and dustproof
- Adjustable in-app EQ
- Clear speakerphone
CONS
- Mono sound
- Supports just the SBC codec
- Limited onboard controls
KLIPSCH NASHVILLE SPECS
Bluetooth yes
Built-In Voice Assistant None
Channels Mono
Physical Connections USB-C