Taking the title back....Klipsch Heresy II find

[thekid]

After seeing fellow vintage collector Dakatabg scoring find after find this past week I felt the need to go out and defend my title as Master of the Thrift Shop Score.........

Well these were not found at a thrift store but the price was as if they were.....

Sound is awesome and the bass is deeper than I would have believed based on their reputation. Overall condition of them is very good with all drivers original-the seller was the original owner. I am going to have to move things around again but these are worth the effort!!!

[poppachubby]

Damnit!! Those look beautiful. I would love some Heresy but will have to settle for KG3. Will these be bumping out your EV's? I am on the hunt for speakers...

The Heresy is a classic. You are now part of a club. Also all the nonsense regarding no bass and too bright is just that, nonsense. With the right gear those things will sing.

[thekid]

Damnit!! Those look beautiful. I would love some Heresy but will have to settle for KG3. Will these be bumping out your EV's? I am on the hunt for speakers...

The Heresy is a classic. You are now part of a club. Also all the nonsense regarding no bass and too bright is just that, nonsense. With the right gear those things will sing.

I don't know yet how I am going to do this. I was in the process of setting up the EV's with my SX-850/Denon 1800 combo in my son's old bedroom. Right now the Klipsch are temporarily set up with one of the Kenwood rigs but I may try them with a varety of gear to see what is the best match. Mr. P suggests the Sansui AU-505/TU-555. I really love that piece with the Time Windows but it probably would be great with the Klipsch as well because they are so efficient. I am on the road next week so really don't have time to do much with them except give them a good work out today.

Talk the family into coming down to Va. Beach for a vacation.....I am sure you could leave with a pair speakers you'd be happy with.........

Here is a pic of the drivers.

[poppachubby]

I just may do that. They really do look wonderful. I want your full thoughts on how they sound.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

It is amazing to me these speakers were based on the same speaker I used to use for my surround array in my old screening room. I must admit though, the SR-70 sounds better than the Heresy II because of some major crossover upgrades, and much beefier drivers.

http://www.hps4000.com/pages/sr_70_.html

[poppachubby]

It is amazing to me these speakers were based on the same speaker I used to use for my surround array in my old screening room. I must admit though, the SR-70 sounds better than the Heresy II because of some major crossover upgrades, and much beefier drivers.

http://www.hps4000.com/pages/sr_70_.html

Terrence I can't say specifically, but I know Klipsch put out quite a few upgrades for their classic products. I am pretty sure that Heresy has tweeter upgrades and x-over too.

The Klipsch forum is also a great place for DIY and after market upgrades.

http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/p/77425/767558.aspx

[thekid]

It is amazing to me these speakers were based on the same speaker I used to use for my surround array in my old screening room. I must admit though, the SR-70 sounds better than the Heresy II because of some major crossover upgrades, and much beefier drivers.

http://www.hps4000.com/pages/sr_70_.html

Interesting link Sir T. It looks like some cloning has been going on though from what I can tell the Heresy line pre-dates the HPS speakers by a few years.

I am enjoying the Heresy II's as they are for the moment but I am sure there are upgrades/tweeks that are available but that is down the road. since my cost was 50%-70% less than what these usually go for I could probably upgrade them and still be ahead of the game. This site here comes highly recommended and who I will use get the Heresy I's up and running at some point.

[Mr Peabody]

Kid, they are your speakers but if it was me I'd leave the II's stock as they have never been tampered with and practice modifications on the first set you have which need to be repaired any way.

As I stated some where the Heresy III has decent usable bass but that bottom octave is glaringly missing. That's with my CJ and Krell so if some one is getting that bottom octave I'd like to know what with and if the speaker is still stock.

[dakatabg]

Congrats thekid

I am curious how those babies will sound with a tube amp or a Marantz 22 series.

Like Mr. Peabody said, I will keep them stock and not upgrade them!

I like your title I can't tell I am a collector but I like vintage systems and I get stuff once in a while.

Enjoy them and tell us how they sound

[thekid]

Daks- Thanks! Trust me- with the type and amount of gear you have accumulated you are a collector. The first step in the program is admtting you are a colector......

Mr. P- With only about 6 hours of listening to these speakers under my belt I have no intention of making any changes to them. A look over at the Crites site really only mentions upgrading the tweeter diaphragm to a titanium one which would extend the highs above 20khz. As for the bass I can't tell you much there. My ears are not so good that I can tell what octave I am listening to when music is playing. I just know that in comparison to other speakers I have that people say are "bass shy" it is not as obvious here based on my limited experience. I don't think I have played anthing yet that would challenge them down low so maybe a little Bach organ music would tell me something after I get back home.

Pops- See above. I don't think I have the expertise or enough time with these to do a thorough write up on their sound. I can tell you that yesterday as I listened to The Who "Who's Next" that these speakers brought out some details I had not heard before. Every instrument seemed well defined and their was more separation of the instruments than I can recall with my other speakers though I'd like to A/B them with a few on the same source to confirm this. I hope to to do some more critical listening in the future and will let you know.

[poppachubby]

How do you find them vs the EV's?

[thekid]

How do you find them vs the EV's?

I have not had a chance to A/B them on a single source. Klipsch used EV drivers in some of their speakers so that should tell you something right there. I am on the road for most of the next 2 weeks so there won't be much time to play with the new toys.....

I do think that I have reached the point of diminishing returns gear wise and am going to start narrowing down the field to only a couple of set-ups. When I am back I am going to break everything down and start do some serious comparisons to determine what stays and what goes. From whatever I make from selling gear off is going to go towards possible upgrades of current equipment or possibly a tube set-up for the Heresy's.

[poppachubby]

Please keep me in mind and let me know what makes the "go" list. I think I could be of some help with a tube set up for you. AK is obviously a great resource. Also consider the Tube and Vintage Asylum, there are some really great and helpful guys there with extraordinary knowledge.

All arguing and preference aside, tubes are great for day to day listening.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Terrence I can't say specifically, but I know Klipsch put out quite a few upgrades for their classic products. I am pretty sure that Heresy has tweeter upgrades and x-over too.

The Klipsch forum is also a great place for DIY and after market upgrades.

http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/p/77425/767558.aspx

The Heresy definitely has tweeter and crossover upgrades, but they do not have the crossover and drivers of the SR-70. These components are specially made for the SR-70 to time align, and to give the speaker much more power handling than the Heresy II is capable of. Remember, these speakers where designed to be part of an array in a theatrical sound system. The demands on the SR-70 far exceed what is required for the home.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Interesting link Sir T. It looks like some cloning has been going on though from what I can tell the Heresy line pre-dates the HPS speakers by a few years.

Klipsch builds the HPS-4000 speaker system for John Allen. The SR-70's design is based off the original Heresy, but with quite a few upgrades. John Allen worked with Paul Klipsch on the complete design of the entire HPS-4000 system.

I am enjoying the Heresy II's as they are for the moment but I am sure there are upgrades/tweeks that are available but that is down the road. since my cost was 50%-70% less than what these usually go for I could probably upgrade them and still be ahead of the game. This site here comes highly recommended and who I will use get the Heresy I's up and running at some point.

The Klipsch fan website is an excellent resource for ALL horn loaded speakers. I really like it over there as a lover of horn hybrids, and all horn loaded speakers. I have learned quite a bit there.

[thekid]

Decided on pairing them up with my Marantz 2245. Seemed a bit warmer and just an overall better fit than the Kenwood Basic combo. Would have liked to fit the EV Layton's in here as well but not enough room.

[poppachubby]

Looks great kid.