If I was to ask you to name off a couple high-end mainstream speaker manufacturers, some of you would come up with companies such as Martin Logan, Theil, and KEF. If you are not up to date with the current manufacturers of today's high-end audio, perhaps you would think of PSB, Energy, Cerwin-Vega or Polk audio. Whatever the case maybe, do yourself a favor and locate an RBH dealer. Know what's out there before you make your purchase!
As an audiophile at heart, I am on the constant quest for audio bliss. Unfortunately, we live in the real world and systems capable of delivering heart pounding, spine tingling performances usually cost as much as, and often more then your house. Purchasing a set of speakers can be a daunting task. Worried that you will suffer from buyer's remorse is a sobering reality. When auditioning any speakers, make sure you bring your own listening material. I myself have a very unique pallet when it comes to music. From the graceful voice of Norah Jones, to the crisp, open and airy guitar of Michael Hedges, your speakers should be able to produce a large soundstage with pure accuracy. On occasion, the 1266-SE/R's are punished with the most demanding material such as NIN, Rammstein or one of my personal favorites Ministry. The 1266-SE/R's demonstrate incredible versatility by accurately reproducing demanding material at extreme sound levels.
If your speakers can recreate the subtle lush harmonics of Michael Hedges guitar to the hum of the amplifiers from the opening few seconds of Walking on the Moon, performed by The Police. Then odds are your system has some detail. Now, listen for a few hours and see if you get listening fatigue. Listening fatigue is caused by speakers that are often to bright (shrill) and most people will develop a slight headache. Not a good trait for speakers to have and 9 times out of 10, it's their biggest problem. Most, if not all big box-chain speakers are manufactured to be bright. This allows the customer to hear the speakers detail over and above the background noise in the store. Sadly, a few hours with your new speakers at home and its Advil time!
What about the lower frequency response? Most of us can hear between 20 Hz to 20 KHz; 20 Hz being bass (low frequency) and 20 KHz being treble (high frequency). The 1266-SE/R is equipped with a 12" (305mm) Aluminum Cone Subwoofer which allows the speaker to accurately produce bass down to 27Hz; and it does so with sheer authority! Given the right amplification, the 1266-SE/R produces tight, clean, clear bass which allows the listener to distinguish each octave being produced.
How does all this tie into home theater? Simple! The truth is a pair of big box-chain store speakers can play very loud; in turn they produce the illusion of an alright home theater experience. The problem is, most salespeople fail to explain the benefits of a realistic sound stage and precision imaging or they just don't know themselves. Furthermore, they will be hard pressed to inform you about listening fatigue. To take it one step further, it's rare that one will own a dedicated home theater system and a two channel audio system. RBH in my opioion is the cream of the crop. They produce speakers that can handle any material while doing so with amazing high-end characteristics. Their laser-like imaging, almost life-like soundstage and incredible dynamics are the sole reason RBH speakers are in our reference system.