Description
Klipsch The One II: a tabletop stereo with a phono input built in
The Klipsch Heritage Wireless The One II is a single cabinet tabletop stereo finished in walnut, styled after mid century modern furniture and drawing on the design language associated with Paul W. Klipsch. It is a 2.0 system in one enclosure, mains powered, listed for indoor use, and weighing 8.4 pounds. The listing describes it as turntable ready, with a phono and line input on the back.
That phono input is the most consequential feature and it deserves more attention than the styling. Most Bluetooth speakers accept a line level signal only, which means a turntable without a built in preamplifier cannot be connected without buying one separately. A speaker with a phono stage inside it removes that extra box entirely, and it turns a one purchase system into something a record collection can actually plug into. Anyone pairing a deck that lacks its own preamplifier, or wanting more control over that stage, should still compare a dedicated unit such as the ART DJPRE II, since a fixed internal stage offers no adjustment.
What one cabinet can and cannot do
A tabletop stereo puts the left and right drivers a few inches apart in the same box. That produces a wide and pleasant sound for a room, but it cannot produce the stereo separation of two speakers placed several feet apart, and no processing changes the physics of driver spacing. Buyers who want a real stereo image should look at systems with separate enclosures, whether that means a shelf system such as the Sharp XL-BH250 or a pair of speakers driven by an amplifier.
What the single cabinet does deliver is convenience and appearance. It occupies one shelf, needs one outlet, and looks like furniture rather than like equipment. That combination is why this category exists and why it competes directly with designs such as the Marshall Acton III, which takes the same one box approach with entirely different styling.
Klipsch also supplies physical controls on the cabinet rather than relying on an app, which suits a product designed to sit within reach on a shelf or sideboard.
Construction and finish
The walnut finish is real to the design rather than incidental. In this category, appearance is a substantial part of what a buyer pays for, since the speaker will be visible in a living room rather than hidden in a rack. The 8.4 pound weight suggests a solidly built cabinet, which matters acoustically as well as visually, because a light enclosure resonates along with the drivers.
The listing records a limited warranty, a 4.4 star average across more than 1,200 ratings, and a first availability date of April 2019. That is a substantial feedback base for a product in this part of the market.
Controls on the cabinet rather than in an app also change how the speaker gets used. A physical volume control invites someone walking past to turn the music up, where an app requires unlocking a phone and finding the right screen. That sounds trivial and it is not: in practice the speakers people use most are the ones that respond to a hand rather than a device. It also means the speaker keeps working exactly the same way years later, regardless of whether an application is still maintained for a current phone operating system, which is a real consideration for a product expected to sit on a shelf for a decade.
Highlights
- Tabletop stereo in a single walnut cabinet with 2.0 channel configuration.
- Phono and line input, so a turntable can connect without a separate preamplifier.
- Bluetooth streaming from phones and tablets.
- Physical controls on the cabinet rather than app only operation.
- Mid century modern styling in real wood finish.
- Solid 8.4 pound build with a limited warranty.
- 4.4 star average across more than 1,200 ratings.
Things To Consider
This product is filed under portable Bluetooth speakers, and it is not portable. The listing gives the power source as AC, marks it for indoor use only, and states it is not waterproof. There is no battery, no carry handle and no weather resistance. The category placement is a filing artifact, and buyers looking for something to take outside are in the wrong listing.
Confusing that further, the specification table states that two AA batteries are required, on a mains powered speaker. Nothing in the description mentions batteries and the power source field contradicts it directly. Treat the battery entry as an import error.
The physical dimensions in the listing also cannot be right. Product Dimensions read 5 inches deep by 5 inches wide by 6 inches high, which describes a cube far too small to hold a stereo pair of drivers and weigh 8.4 pounds. Anyone measuring shelf space from that figure would be misled, and the actual footprint should be confirmed before ordering. Speaker Size is separately given as 5 inches, which may describe a driver but cannot be verified against the rest of the data.
Finally, there is no published amplifier power, frequency response or driver count. The description mentions concert level sound, which is marketing language rather than a specification, and there is no measured figure anywhere in the listing to compare against a competing product. Buyers who make decisions on numbers will have to look elsewhere for them.
Who it suits
The One II suits a listener who wants one attractive object on a shelf that covers both streaming from a phone and playing records, someone furnishing a living room where equipment should look like furniture, and anyone whose turntable lacks its own preamplifier. It is a genuinely convenient way to build a small record system without a rack of components.
It is the wrong purchase for outdoor use, for a buyer who wants proper stereo separation, and for anyone building a system they intend to upgrade in pieces. Those buyers should compare the alternatives in the portable Bluetooth speakers category for something that genuinely travels, or start from the turntables category and build outward, since a deck such as the Denon DP-29F already includes its own phono equalizer and can therefore feed almost any line input.
