Is the Klipsch Horn better than the Pioneer

[motorstereo]

^^^^^Funny I felt the same way about a pair of 846B Val's that I brought home a few years ago. But they sold quickly and for decent money so I couldn't fault that. My khorns though are one of 3 pair of keeper speakers I own.
My limited experience with horns tells me the same thing.......... titties, beer and Klipsch

 

[twiiii]

Any speaker that use multiple drivers to cover the same bandwidth, be it midrange bass or tweeter can have serious issues unless well engineered. I come from the KISS school. Now Heresy have limited bass below 50 HZ and though I owned a pair of MK 1 the only place they made me happy was mounted against the ceiling in corners. After all bass is the foundation of music. There is only one model of the Heritage series I really like , Cornwall, . Now if I owned two Cornerhorns and a Belle in the right room I could be happy. But straight out of the box to be installed in a normal home you want Cornwalls.

 

[quiet]

I too had Heresy's. They were so lacking that I came to the conclusion that they were probably meant to be paired with other Klipsch speakers. Can't think of any other reason Paul would have made them. They certainly didn't cut it as a stand alone pair in the house for me.
I got 99a's right here in front of me. Same thing, not a stand alone speaker.
When I ran a roller rink we had spare La scalas in the 14x16 back lounge room. Used them from 4 to 7 between sessions. They weren't any good for that.
I myself think you're looking at the wrong speakers all together for home use.............
My HPM 150's work better, if that helps.

 

[avguytx]

Interesting how those bad sounding Valencias made their way into a thread about Pioneer vs Klipsch all by themselves. They must be horrid.

Sensitivity doesn't discriminate, it's expensive for any speaker design regardless of the name tag.

Haha. True. Forgot to mentioned I've also had various "kabuki" speakers through the years as well. I can say it was a learning experience for sure. I've had the Pioneer CS-99a's....wasn't impressed at all. They definitely played loud but there was just too much going on all over. Same goes with the others I've had like them.

 

[quiet]

They have their uses. Maybe they were made for a very limited variety of music that I don't listen to.

 

[motorstereo]

Interesting how those bad sounding Valencias made their way into a thread about Pioneer vs Klipsch all by themselves. They must be horrid.
Sneaky little devils; they must've snuck in unnoticed right behind the titties and beer

 

[Tom Brennan]

I too had Heresy's. They were so lacking that I came to the conclusion that they were probably meant to be paired with other Klipsch speakers. Can't think of any other reason Paul would have made them.

The original Heresy was meant as a center channel speaker but the intent was changed and the speaker was sold as a stand alone speaker to be used in stereo pairs. Here PWK fell afoul of his own dogma, a dogma that held efficiency was the paramount speaker virtue. Thus he built a 12” woofer small box speaker that was highly efficient and as a result lacked decent bass. He also ignored the 9khz resonant flare often present in his Atlas mid driver, which was run wide open. Max Potter, a friend of PWK who documented the Atlas flare told me PWK was unconcerned.

 

[quiet]

12 inch woofer in a small box. Does that mean it is what it is and there is no cure?
I don't want any bass reflex speakers, I want my boxes sealed. Like the Heresy. All Heresy speakers are sealed right?

 

[maxhifi]

I demoed Heresy IIIs a few years ago and was very impressed, so much so I went and got a used pair of La Scalas. Way more my cup of tea than the more conventional stuff for similar money.

I have some Sansui Kabuki speakers, and they do play really loud, and they're lots of fun, but the absolutely lack the detail the Klipsch speakers are capable of. That horn midrange in the Klipsch gives a presence and clarity which is hard to describe, and also hard to know if you will like it or not. It's especially great for movies, it makes dialogue so clear and easy to understand.

I think if you're considering klipsch heritage speakers, it's very important to just find some and try them.

 

[westend]

I'd suggest you skip the Klipsch experience and either upgrade to the Pioneers with the beryllium drivers or catch some JBL/Altec goodness. I had a pair of CS-88a's and gave them to a friend that really dug the cabinets. They did some duty as HT and gaming speakers while they were here.

 

[avguytx]

Just stay away from Valencia's.