Klipsch is an industry leader when it comes to power at a great value, and their outdoor speakers are no exception. The AW-650 is their top-tier outdoor box speaker, still in production despite being nearly 15 years and and still one of the best sellers in the outdoor niche.
Specs
nominal power handling: 85 watts
peak power handling: 340 watts
impedance: 8 ohms
sensitivity: 95 dB/W/m
frequency response range: 70 – 20,000 Hz (+/- 3dB)
unit weight: 9 lbs
unit dimensions: 11 x 9.5 x 15 inches (depth x width x height)
warranty: 5 years
Review and Discussion
The AW-650s have outstanding power handling and sensitivity metrics, and, as far as we’ve seen, are the most powerful outdoor speaker available for under $500. Once you go higher you’ve crossed in to the pro/commercial realm. Unless you have an exceedingly large backyard, these speakers will be plenty to fill just about any outdoor space.
These and other Klipsch outdoor wall/mount speakers have a pretty traditional box design that comes in either black or white. There are slicker looking speakers out there, sure, but these look plenty decent enough.
They run on the larger and heavier size, so they might be a bit of a hassle to set up, but, these are the kind of speakers that are meant to last for several years, or maybe even more. Klipsch even had lifetime warranties on their outdoor speakers at one point, however as of 2017 that seems to have changed to 5 years. But that’s still industry leading, and they even might replace a defective speaker with a newer and higher quality model if they deem it appropriate.
These (and other) Klipsch outdoor speakers have a UV resistant ABS enclosure, and a paintable rustproof grill – they’re fully intended to reside permanently outdoors.
How Does The AW-650 Compare vs Popular Competitors?
The Definitive Technology 6500s (reviewed here) aren’t quite as loud, but they do have a lower response floor and thus slightly superior bass. Between these two? We’d say hard to go wrong with either, and the best choice will pretty much depend on what’s going for the best deal at the time.
The Polk Atrium 6s (reviewed here) look slicker and also have a superior response floor (not as good as the DT 6500s though), but aren’t as powerful. We’d say the AW-650s are better.
The Bose 251s (reviewed here) also look a little nicer, but also have inferior specs. We’d say the AW-650s are better.
Our Take
The AW-650s remain one of our favorite outdoor speakers because of their maximal power-to-price value ratio. If you’re looking for HiFi quality speakers that are intended to last for several years or more, and you don’t mind them looking somewhat plain and bulkish these speakers may very well be the best choice.
We will say that some people might not need so much power, and there are certainly some lesser options that are cheaper and still sound great. Check out the links below for more information on that.
