RBH Revamps Impression Series Speakers with Audiophile Options

The first Impression line of speakers were unveiled almost nine years ago from EMP Tek, a manufacturer-direct counterpart to the speaker manufacturer RBH Sound. The Impression speakers were released to a very favorable reception by audio reviewers and consumers alike as an extraordinarily good value, and they had a good run in the speaker market. Sadly, they were discontinued not long ago, but the good news is RBH now has an improved successor series of Impression speakers. While the new series is a bit more expensive, the enhancements made over the original Impression speakers looks to be a worthwhile upgrade. 

One of the reasons for the discontinuation of the original Impression series was product consistency.

While the series proved to be highly successful for EMP and, eventually, for RBH, the consistency of quality was always a concern for RBH. To maintain a delicate balance between quality and price, RBH relied on a different production process that, while initially successful, became troublesome and less efficient for the company as time went on. Moving production of the new Impression Series to a familiar process proven by the success of RBH’s former MC Series was the solution. One characteristic of the new Impression Series that users will take solace in is the consistent quality of the series.

- Daren Egan, Marketing Director of RBH

RBH Sound Impression Series Overview & First Listen YouTube Discussion

The new Impression series consists of two tiers of performance with drivers being the main distinction between the tiers. The Impression Standard series uses a Poly-Mica woofer and fabric-dome tweeter, while the Impression Elite series uses Aluminium woofers (featuring trickle-down technology from RBH’s Status Acoustics and Signature Series) and a nano-silk dome tweeter (nano-silk is an extremely strong microfiber). The Elite series also uses a modified crossover for better driver integration. Both tiers use the same driver topologies and cabinets which can be had in two finishes: a matte black that can disappear in the room or a more luxurious (and expensive) gloss black that doesn’t need to hide. Both tiers of the Impression speakers offer a bookshelf speaker using a 5.25” woofer and 1” dome tweeter, an LCR using two 5.25” woofers and a 1” dome tweeter, and a tower speaker using three 6.5” bass drivers, two 5.25” woofers, and a 1” dome tweeter.

The design choices of these speakers look sensible from a glance at the specs: a second-order crossover transitioning a 5.25” woofer to 1” dome tweeter at 3 kHz. That is a formula for good sound if the drivers are game, and RBH knows how to make a good driver as we at Audioholics have consistently seen in our reviews. Further inspiring confidence in the driver quality is this picture which compares the components from the original Impression R5Bi bookshelf speaker with the new R5 Impression bookshelf speaker (original components on the left, new parts on the right).  The new drivers have substantially larger motor structures and the woofers also have a vented pole piece for increased power handling and lower distortion.

For more information on driver design mechanics, see: Loudspeaker Drivers: Identifying Legitimately High Fidelity Parts

Note the beefier driver motors and more elements on the crossover in the newer Impression speaker (right).

One design choice that is appreciated by those of us who like a nice, wide dynamic range is the inclusion of two mid-range drivers in the LCR and tower speakers. It’s also nice to see a manufacturer produce a LCR speaker, since it’s such a useful design yet not a very commonly seen. 

Customize Your Performance, Aesthetics or Both!

The idea of this Impression series is more like a platform where the customer has the choice between good drivers and high-end drivers, and also an ordinary finish versus a beautiful finish. The series gives you a choice between a bookshelf speaker, LCR, and tower speaker with some customizability. That's a smart move on RBH’s behalf since they don’t have to manufacture as many different parts to have a nice variety of speakers available in this product line. It’s a strategy that allows the consumer to have a prioritized upgrade beyond the ‘base’ model: make the speaker prettier or make it higher-performing, or both. Of course, the fully upgraded model is considerably more costly, nearly doubling the ‘base’ model’s MSRP, but if you want both beauty and brawn, that's always going to be a much more significant investment. Prices range from a modest $300/pair for the standard bookshelf speakers to $2k/pair for the Elite tower speakers with a gloss finish.

The RBH Impression speakers are available directly from RBH or any of their authorized dealers and distributors throughout the world. Buyers get a 30-day in-home trial period and can get a full refund (minus return shipping costs) if they want to return the Impression speakers for any reason. Buyers also get a 5-year warranty with an option to extend the warranty for an additional fee. From what we can see, the new Impression line appears to be a well-engineered speaker series and is therefore a low-risk investment for anyone looking for speakers at these price points. A full review will be underway soon of some of the Impression speakers, so stay tuned to Audioholics for a detailed look at what RBH has done to revamp this popular speaker line.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.