Klipsch Heresy III

I am thinking about these for my tube system. I have an 8 watt SET pushing 6 OHM 90db Monitor Audio RX6 speakers and they sound pretty good. I am thinking I could extract a little more out of the amp if I put in pair of Heresy III speakers.

It's a small room and most of my listening is near field. I have read mixed reviews with some saying they can be harsh and others say they are a little flabby in the bass. I am looking for warm and a good mid range but tight bass.

Any good advice out there?

No information or love for these? I would think with the high efficiency someone running a tube system would know if they are any good

We have 83' model's since new and like em' a ton. Won't thump the floor but. All we have is tubes.

A Forte ll can be upgraded to all ti diaphragms and will serve you better than a H3 will. I have two sets of very modified H3 have also owned Forte, two sets of Forte ll, three sets of KLF20, one set of CF3 and assorted other bits and some RF speakers all very modified. The H3 can be made to perform quite well but it is a lot of work. Both sets of H3 I got were poorly made and all baffle joints were loose. Easier to go with a Forte ll or a Quartet as both go very much deeper and both have much better mid horns. I would not buy a new speaker with a K700/701 horn.

Have you considered Bob Crites's CS two way design it has better driver and better horns than the Klipsch by a wide margin is as compact as a H3 but I have my H3 up on stands and they have the exact same footprint as a Forte so you may as well go with the larger cabinet. Bob has two versions small like a Heresy and larger He will build you Baltic Birch Cabinets you don't get even close to that with the old Klipsch cabinets which use low grade ply and no all mdf. Make sure to raise the cabinets so the centre of the mid horn is at you seated ear level for the very best stage and image quality. Hope this helps. Best regards Moray James.

I had them for years and, to my ear, they are harsh and lack bass. I could never turn them up very much. That was when we were raising kids so I was not doing any serious listening but when I really got back into the sport, those where the first to go.

I wouldn't recommend them for use as near-field monitors at all. Klipsch shows them in ads with the risers for good reason. No bass! Placement on the floor, in close proximity to room corners fills in below 200 Hz real nicely, though.

I'm afraid you are asking for Cornwall performance in a small box, and Klipsch doesn't do that well. In fact no one does. 100 db sensitivity and a response from 32 to 20,000. You could build a ported 4 to 6 cu ft box and place an Altec 604 that Great Plains audio is current producing. That would give the sound and sensitivity you need. You might be able to find a pair of Tannoys using the smaller 12" coax with a small foot print in a tall cabinet.

Forte' sound a little nasal to me, but I guess a little experimentation with room placement might work. All the Heritage Klipsch have a little bright ness that the older generations didn't have, but that's what tone controls are for.

I owned a pair of MK II Hersey's for over 20 years that were first rear speakers on a Quad system and then Master bedroom speakers. They lived in corners when in the bedroom and were much happier. As rear speakers they did a fine job with Sansui's version of Quad. They now live in a rehersal choir room for a Big Baptist Church and perform very well.

The Heresys are fun loudspeakers but not something I'd care to live with. The Cornies (Cornwalls) are much better but are also harsh and utterly unforgiving of poor(er) quality recordings and electronics.

I lived with a pair of Cornies (1974 vintage) for a decade but ditched them quickly after acquiring a pair of Valencias. I far prefer the vintage Altec sound to the Klipsch Heritage sound... but of course tastes vary (and Klipsch is still around, while Altec, as such, is not).

But, to be absolutely clear: I cannot comment on the current production versions of the Heritage Klipsch models, as I haven't heard them. Go give 'em a good listen, with your amplifier & source if at all possible.

What's the actual size of the room? Where are the speakers going to be located? Maybe find some of the towers like mentioned...Quartets, Forte's, CF-1's or 2's, KLF-10's, etc.

I have a pair of first generation Heresys connected to an SET with 2A3 tubes. You don't get tight bass with Heresys- you get no bass. I use mine with a subwoofer which is a necessity. Paired with a good sub, they sound fantastic without taking up a lot of room.

If you want efficiency, tight bass and small space for nearfield listening, I would highly recommend the Dynaco A25XL. These are very easy to get on the used market for not a lot of money. The Dynacos have superb bass.

But the A25's aren't efficient in any way. That might be pedaling backwards with 8 watts a side.

I was thinking a Forte is a Hersey with a passive radiator, and a Chorus is a Cornwall with a passive radiator rather than a port. Both were discontinued in 96 according to Klipsch. I liked the Chorus, but felt the Cornwall was more open in the midrange, that could be a design choice. If the Cornwall you heard was edgy it was probably because of the later crossover design to protect the tweeter from being fried. It put a 6 db peak at or about 6300 Hz, which can put a real edge on things. And I will agree a lower crossover freq for the mid would help with clarity and lower distortion. The Altec has a smoother response, but only with the 802 or 902 and a 802 diaphragm will the top octave be as smooth as Klipsch speakers with the t-35 tweeter. If you have 807 drivers start looking for a pair of 802 with new diaphragms. You will be listening to an entirely new speaker system.

Dadbar said:

I have a pair of first generation Heresys connected to an SET with 2A3 tubes. You don't get tight bass with Heresys- you get no bass. I use mine with a subwoofer which is a necessity. Paired with a good sub, they sound fantastic without taking up a lot of room.

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I currently have two 8" subs [one on each side] and can make up for the lack of bass...so I am thinking they may work. I am not convince I need a change yet, considering my current speakers are pretty good in the mid range and work well with the 8 watts my SET delivers. Sitting 6 feet away I can get to just about 85db comfortably and then things start to fall apart above 90db, but this could simply be the amps fault. I think 300b amps may have that tendency?

Sitting near field I tend to lose bass vs moving to and adjacent area. I don't have much room to change placement but could play more with the angles and such...currently they are toed in.

Currently running early Heresys with two Dayton 1200 subs, no lack of deep bass what so ever, and the subs make for great speaker stands putting the midrange horns at ear level when seated.

Kingshead said:

Currently running early Heresys with two Dayton 1200 subs, no lack of deep bass what so ever, and the subs make for great speaker stands putting the midrange horns at ear level when seated.

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This is interesting...as I am also using Dayton Subs. This may be the solution after all. Need to give this some thought

How is a single 8" woofer to keep up with a 12" woofer. it can't If you crossed at 60 hz the single 8 inch sub would have to move 5 times as much air at 30 hz. If the Hersey is moving 1/3 of an inch at 60 hz the sub would have to move 1.5 inches. So I would be looking for a sub with 2 12's like M&K builds. After all what happens at 16 hz?

twiiii said:

How is a single 8" woofer to keep up with a 12" woofer. it can't If you crossed at 60 hz the single 8 inch sub would have to move 5 times as much air at 30 hz. If the Hersey is moving 1/3 of an inch at 60 hz the sub would have to move 1.5 inches. So I would be looking for a sub with 2 12's like M&K builds. After all what happens at 16 hz?

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Yes...its s little odd. I am thinking of 12" sub's now. Not a big loss. These Dayton sub's were pretty cheap and can be used elsewhere.

In any event I came upon a pair of vintage 80s Heresy's this morning for a very good price. In black as well so I snatched them up. My amp is in a happy place now as am I... Much wider, deeper and smoother soundstage. 9 db more makes a big difference. 300b heaven

I don't know. I have my 1980 Heresys up on 14 inch stands and they sound amazing. Just the right amount of bass and very balanced - not harsh at all. DSOTM - phenomenal bass. Stan Getz - perfect.

Mine are recapped and up on stands about 18 inches from the wall. I use them for near field listening and they fill the room with sound.

I think their sound has as much to do with what amp/receiver and turntable you're powering them with .....

peterfranks said:

I don't know. I have my 1980 Heresys up on 14 inch stands and they sound amazing. Just the right amount of bass and very balanced - not harsh at all. DSOTM - phenomenal bass. Stan Getz - perfect.

Mine are recapped and up on stands about 18 inches from the wall. I use them for near field listening and they fill the room with sound.

I think their sound has as much to do with what amp/receiver and turntable you're powering them with .....

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I am still debating whether or not to keep the subs in line or bypass them. Some more listening required but I am already loving what I hear. I do plan a re-cap soon. I need to identify which series I have [removable backs].