KLH Audio’s new KLH Model Four loudspeaker is meant for the person who wants serious stereo sound but doesn’t have a room that exists solely to flatter speakers. Debuting at High End Vienna 2026, the Model Four is a slim, three-way acoustic suspension speaker that slots between the Model Three and Model Five in KLH’s Model Collection. At $999.99 each, or $1,999.98 per pair, it aims to bring a more placement-friendly version of the company’s sealed-box sound into apartments, condos, living rooms, and other spaces where audio gear has to behave around furniture, pets, and life.
A New Spot in the Model Collection
The Model Four arrives as KLH continues to build out its revived Model Collection, a lineup that leans heavily on the brand’s mid-century audio roots without pretending everyone still has a dedicated listening room and an Eames chair pointed precisely at the sweet spot.
The company brought back the Model Five in 2021, positioning it as a modern take on the classic American loudspeaker. The Model Three followed with a smaller bookshelf-friendly format, while the larger Model Seven went the other direction with a narrow, wall-friendly cabinet and a 13″ acoustically suspended woofer.
The KLH Model Four is designed to sit neatly between those ideas. It uses the 8″ woofer introduced in the Model Three, while borrowing the midrange driver, tweeter, and crossover architecture from the Model Five. That matters because a three-way speaker divides the audio signal among three dedicated drivers: one for bass, one for midrange sounds such as vocals and guitars, and one for higher frequencies such as cymbals, strings, and fine detail. Done well, that division can make music sound more open and less strained, especially when the volume comes up.
Why Acoustic Suspension Still Matters
The KLH Model Four uses an acoustic suspension design, meaning its woofer sits inside a sealed cabinet rather than one with a port or vent. A ported speaker can use that opening to boost bass output, but it can also be more sensitive to its placement. Put the wrong ported speaker too close to a wall or into a corner, and the bass can get thick, boomy, or vague. That’s fun for about three songs, then your living room starts sounding like a rental car trunk.
A sealed acoustic suspension speaker tends to trade some outright efficiency for tighter bass control and more predictable placement. The air trapped inside the cabinet helps control the woofer’s movement, almost like a spring. For people who can’t pull speakers several feet into the room, that can be the difference between “this sounds balanced” and “why does every bass note have the same zip code?”
KLH is clearly leaning into that real-room advantage here. The Model Four has a 13″ wide front baffle and a cabinet depth of just 8.25″ without its riser base. With the included 6-degree slanted riser installed, the speaker measures 32.2″ high by 13″ wide by 10.9″ deep. The angled riser is there to aim the tweeter and midrange drivers more directly toward the listener, which can help with clarity and imaging when you’re seated.
That shallow profile is the point. Many floorstanding speakers need breathing room behind them, which is easy enough in a showroom and less charming when your sofa, media console, and traffic path have already claimed the room. The Model Four is intended to sit closer to a wall without immediately turning into an acoustic negotiation.
Small Footprint, Three-Way Hardware
Inside the reinforced MDF enclosure, the KLH Model Four combines an 8″ pulp-paper cone woofer with reverse roll rubber suspension, a 4″ pulp-paper cone midrange driver, and a 1″ aluminum dome tweeter with soft rubber suspension. MDF, or medium-density fiberboard, is commonly used in speaker cabinets because it’s dense and consistent, helping reduce unwanted vibration from the enclosure itself.
The frequency response is rated at 46Hz to 20,000Hz, plus or minus 3dB. That means the speaker is designed to cover most of the audible musical range with a reasonably even output. Its low-frequency extension is listed at 35Hz at -10dB, so it should reach low enough to give music some weight, though movie fans chasing couch-rumbling explosions may still want a subwoofer. Physics remains rude that way.
Sensitivity is rated at 88dB at 2.83V and 1 meter, with an in-room maximum sound pressure level of 108dB. Sound pressure level (SPL) is essentially a measure of loudness, and 108dB suggests the Model Four should have enough output for most living rooms when paired with a capable amplifier. Power handling is rated at 150 watts continuous and 600 watts peak.
The impedance is 6 ohms, dipping to a minimum of 3.5 ohms at 120Hz. That’s worth noting because impedance describes how demanding a speaker can be for an amplifier. Many modern amps should be fine, but this isn’t a detail to ignore if you’re pairing the KLH Model Four with older, entry-level, or very low-powered gear. The crossover points are 380Hz for the midrange and 2,500Hz for the tweeter, using a second-order electro-acoustic design.
KLH also includes its three-position Acoustic Balance Control switch, a feature with roots in the company’s 1960s speakers. It lets you adjust the midrange and treble character to better suit your room. That isn’t a substitute for careful placement, but it’s useful when real rooms insist on having windows, rugs, bookshelves, tile floors, or one highly reflective coffee table that refuses to mind its business.
Designed to Look Like It Belongs
The KLH Model Four is also meant to look like part of a living space rather than a pair of black monoliths waiting for the opening scene of a sci-fi film. It will be offered in English Walnut with a Stonewash Knit grille, Black Ash with a Grey Knit grille, and White Oak with a Black Knit grille. Each speaker includes a matte black 6-degree riser base and a magnetic grille.
That design-conscious approach matters more than some audio purists might admit. A speaker can measure beautifully and still lose the argument if it dominates the room, blocks a walkway, or makes everyone else in the household question your life choices. The Model Four’s proportions suggest KLH is trying to make a proper stereo speaker that can live in a shared space without making the space feel shared under protest.
Five-way gold-plated binding posts are included for speaker-wire connections, and the Model Four carries KLH Audio’s standard 10-year warranty. That long warranty is reassuring, especially at this price, since passive loudspeakers are the kind of purchase people often keep through multiple TVs, receivers, apartments, and furniture eras.
Pricing and Availability
The KLH Model Four will be available beginning in September 2026 in the United States and select international markets through premium audio dealers and directly from KLH Audio. Pricing is $999.99 each in the U.S., or $1,999.98 per pair. European pricing is €999.00 each, while UK pricing is £899.00 each.
For anyone who has wanted a serious pair of floorstanding speakers but doesn’t have the space, patience, or domestic political capital for large cabinets pulled deep into the room, the Model Four looks like a sensible addition to KLH’s lineup. It’s still a $2,000 pair of speakers, so nobody should pretend this is casual spending. But if the acoustic suspension design delivers the placement flexibility KLH is promising, the Model Four could be a compelling fit for music-first rooms where sound quality matters, and so does having somewhere to walk.
It’s probably because I just haven’t been paying attention, but I don’t see a lot of news about stereo sound for audio, as opposed to multi-channel sound for home theater.
Beautiful design and impressive specs – hopefully I can add a pair like these to my living room someday!