Klipsch’s powered speaker range, side by side. Here is The Sevens II between the compact The Fives II and the larger The Nines II, showing what your money buys at each step.

The Sevens II sits in the middle of Klipsch’s powered range, and for many rooms it is the sweet spot: bigger and more capable than the Fives II, but without the scale and cost of the flagship Nines II. Like the rest of the range it is a complete system in a pair of speakers, amplification, streaming, HDMI switching and a phono stage all built in, but the Sevens II adds the thing the Fives II does without: Dirac Live room correction, with a licence and calibration microphone in the box. That, plus a larger 6.5-inch woofer, makes it a genuine step up in both scale and refinement, and the natural choice for a medium-sized room.

Brief product overview

A pair of active bookshelf speakers, each with a 1-inch titanium LTS vented tweeter on a Tractrix horn and a 6.5-inch Jet Cerametallic woofer, the same driver recipe as Klipsch’s Reference Premiere line, in a bass-reflex cabinet with a rigid one-piece BMC baffle. All the electronics are built in, developed with Onkyo: amplification for both speakers, Wi-Fi and Ethernet streaming covering AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect and Qobuz Connect, Bluetooth 5.4, Dolby Atmos playback with virtual height channels, and, new over the Fives II, Dirac Live room correction with a standard licence and microphone included. Connectivity is extensive: HDMI 2.1 eARC with CEC and 8K passthrough, an MM phono input with a built-in stage, RCA analogue, optical and coaxial digital, USB-C audio, USB-A and a subwoofer output. It supports 24-bit/96kHz over a wired inter-speaker link, or an optional wireless L/R link at 48kHz. Frequency response runs from 39Hz to 25kHz, maximum SPL is 106dB, and finishes are genuine wood veneer.

How it sounds

The Sevens II delivers noticeably greater scale and bass authority than the Fives II, the larger 6.5-inch woofer reaching a genuine 39Hz and filling a medium room with the dynamic, effortless, horn-loaded sound Klipsch is known for. The Tractrix horn gives it clarity and projection, and the dedicated amplification per driver, with the crossover handled in the electronics, keeps the integration seamless. The real differentiator is Dirac Live: rather than a simple tone control, it measures the room with the included microphone and corrects both frequency and timing errors, which tightens the bass and sharpens imaging in a way that makes the speaker far less fussy about placement than a passive design. It is a lively, forward presentation in the Klipsch tradition, now with the tools to tame a difficult room.

What we’d partner it with

The Sevens II is a complete system, so the streaming setup needs nothing added: the speakers stream over your network, take a television over HDMI eARC, and are controlled and calibrated from the Klipsch Connect app, including the Dirac Live setup. The matching Klipsch stands are an option if you would rather not shelf or place them on furniture, setting the tweeters at ear level.

To add vinyl, the built-in MM phono stage means a turntable connects directly, and the Sevens II’s amplification and dynamic sound make it a strong turntable partner. The Pro-Ject Debut Reference 10 is a serious deck to pair with it, the flagship of the Debut line with a carbon-aluminium tonearm and the moving-magnet Pick it PRO Balanced cartridge, which plugs straight into the phono input.

For more bass, the subwoofer output, crossed at around 65Hz, takes a powered subwoofer. On cabling, the speakers connect to each other with the supplied cable or the optional wireless link; for a turntable, only a phono interconnect is needed. AudioQuest and Chord are the cable brands we stock.

Who shouldn’t buy it

If your room is small or your budget tighter, the Fives II covers the same ground with a 5.25-inch woofer, though without Dirac Live. If your room is large and you want the fullest scale, the Nines II uses a bigger woofer still. And if you want to choose and upgrade your own electronics over time, an active all-in-one fixes those decisions inside the speaker; a passive Klipsch with separates gives you that freedom.

Each Sevens II needs a mains supply, and the two speakers connect by the supplied cable or the optional wireless link, so plan a power outlet near each. Set them up through the Klipsch Connect app, and run Dirac Live with the included microphone once the speakers are positioned, as it is the feature that most sets the Sevens II apart and makes a real difference to the sound. Connect a television to the HDMI eARC input for one-cable TV sound with Dolby Atmos. For vinyl, connect the Debut Reference 10 to the RCA phono input, which has its own MM phono stage, and connect the earth lead. The matching stands set the speakers at ear level if you would rather not shelf them, and the subwoofer output adds a sub later. The horn is directional, so toe the speakers towards the listening seat.