Klipsch Heresy I, II, or III looking for opinions

The series two for some reason weigh 20lbs apiece less than the series one, I wonder what cost cutting resulted in this difference.

They went from plywood to MDF, early ones had metal mid horns w/Atlas compression drivers, II's plastic horns, same with the tweeter. Crossovers on the I's were heavier as well. I don't know if that ads up to 20lbs but likely close to it.
 
They went from plywood to MDF, early ones had metal mid horns w/Atlas compression drivers, II's plastic horns, same with the tweeter. Crossovers on the I's were heavier as well. I don't know if that ads up to 20lbs but likely close to it.

The series 3 are only 11lbs lighter making the series 2 the lightest? And I'm having a hard time understanding why MDF would be lighter than plywood. The furniture I've moved made of alternative products such as particle board, pressed paper, etc are usually unusually heavy.

Actually I just looked this up and MDF is considerably heavier per SQ foot for the same thickness.

http://www.hooddistribution.com/product-weights/
 
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For those who keep saying the Heresy is bass shy, I just played a CD of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 - Myung-Whun Chung/Seoul Philharmonic on DG and the bass drum hits in the coda of the 3rd movement...wow!

I highly recommend this performance and recording. And it sounded great on my IIIs with a lowly NAD C326BEE.
 
For those who keep saying the Heresy is bass shy, I just played a CD of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 - Myung-Whun Chung/Seoul Philharmonic on DG and the bass drum hits in the coda of the 3rd movement...wow!

I highly recommend this performance and recording. And it sounded great on my IIIs with a lowly NAD C326BEE.

the reason why people keep saying that the Heresy is shy on bass (H3) is because it is down 4db at 58 Hz. Now that is not terrible but it is in no way a strong performer so far as bass extension goes. This is ok if you like acoustic bass but is not impressive if you listen to electronic bass or organ. I have the H3 though mine are heavily modified and they do better than this in the bass department but they are not deep players. If you think theses make great bass perhaps you have not listened to speakers which extend an octave and a half lower or more?
The problem is not that people keep saying the Heresy are bass shy the problem is people saying they are not bass shy because they are bass shy and the measured data supports this. The bass that they make is fine they just do not play very low/deep. We are discussing depth of extension not tonal quality. Add another octave of extension they become very respectable but still not impressive. Lets all get on the same page, a speaker that is more than -3db down at 60 Hz is not a stellar bass performer. Being happy with this is different but that does not change the facts. Comparing a Heresy's bass with a Cornwall which drops the bass by about 20Hz. lower (that's not even an octave) and the Heresy sound like a joke there is simply no contest.
 
the reason why people keep saying that the Heresy is shy on bass (H3) is because it is down 4db at 58 Hz. Now that is not terrible but it is in no way a strong performer so far as bass extension goes. This is ok if you like acoustic bass but is not impressive if you listen to electronic bass or organ. I have the H3 though mine are heavily modified and they do better than this in the bass department but they are not deep players. If you think theses make great bass perhaps you have not listened to speakers which extend an octave and a half lower or more?
The problem is not that people keep saying the Heresy are bass shy the problem is people saying they are not bass shy because they are bass shy and the measured data supports this. The bass that they make is fine they just do not play very low/deep. We are discussing depth of extension not tonal quality. Add another octave of extension they become very respectable but still not impressive. Lets all get on the same page, a speaker that is more than -3db down at 60 Hz is not a stellar bass performer. Being happy with this is different but that does not change the facts. Comparing a Heresy's bass with a Cornwall which drops the bass by about 20Hz. lower (that's not even an octave) and the Heresy sound like a joke there is simply no contest.

I do agree with you on all counts - 1) I listen to acoustic bass and not anything electronically synthesized, nor do I listen to pipe organs, and 2) True - I have not listened to speakers that have more bass extension, but I've sure heard plenty of booming boxes that folks consider as having "great bass". However, the comments have been parroted to the point where I feel they are scaring away folks thinking these are thin with NO bass, and especially believing the bass they do produce is of poor quality. Considering the design, tradeoffs, and limitations of the enclosure, sealed box, etc. it's a fine speaker. I've gotten comments from folks (non audiophiles) who've heard these in my house and commented on the tight bass, and are surprised when I say they're noted for their lack of bass.
 
I have owned Heresy and Heresy II. The latter were a real upgrade over the original, imo.

Never have heard the III, but would guess it to be a smaller difference than the I to II changes. Nor have I heard the II with Crites mods.

I find the bass the Heresy has to be alluringly taut, with low distortion, and good impact. Add a pair of sealed-box SVS (or similar) subwoofers right underneath them to get the lowest octave then sit back and enjoy. Laugh at those whining about the lack of bass while you immerse yourself in as much as you desire. It will be one helluva combo. Extended without mud.

The subs make the perfect stands for Heresies, as they also do for my Brystons, which are of a similar height though less blocky and with a smaller woofer (8", but a badass eight).

Again, imo.
 
As Hersey moved on with time, they became more efficient , handle more power, and the latest have the extended HF response new mid horn and the drivers have more sophisticated diaphragms. So if 3 to 4 db more efficiency , three times the power handling, extended HF response and lower distortion are important then you want the latest Hersey III. For the same price you might find a series II pre-owned Cornwall that can handle the same or more power and extend the bass down another octave and is 4 to 6 db more efficient. I'd rather have the older Cornwalls. Bass is the foundation of music and the extended dynamic range is also important. The new Hersey like the New Cornwall have better dispersion for a broader sweet spot. And subs limit the dynamic range of a Klipsch system unless you are willing to put restraints on your system or spend big big money.
 
I do agree with you on all counts - 1) I listen to acoustic bass and not anything electronically synthesized, nor do I listen to pipe organs, and 2) True - I have not listened to speakers that have more bass extension, but I've sure heard plenty of booming boxes that folks consider as having "great bass". However, the comments have been parroted to the point where I feel they are scaring away folks thinking these are thin with NO bass, and especially believing the bass they do produce is of poor quality. Considering the design, tradeoffs, and limitations of the enclosure, sealed box, etc. it's a fine speaker. I've gotten comments from folks (non audiophiles) who've heard these in my house and commented on the tight bass, and are surprised when I say they're noted for their lack of bass.

I used them with a sub from the beginning. Now my sub won't turn on without enough input from the amplifier, when it doesn't the bottom sounds empty (i.e. very low volume). Dialing in the sub to the point where the HII's give up takes time but results in a full, seamless sound.
 
I run mine with 1 sub on the hi level speaker inputs then output goes to heresys. The sound quality is amazing. But they certainly don't have to have a sub. Sub is set at about 65hz so it just picks up a little above where the Heresy falls off.
Truely enjoy them. I'm playing music now when I don't even want to just to hear them.
 
I have the Heresy III, they are a great speaker for the money. I agree with Musichal that the bass while not the deepest is taut and has great impact. Add a sub or two and enjoy the closest thing you will get to live sound than you have a right to for the cost of admission. I use a Velodyne SMS 1 to set a steep slope and a x over of 50 Hz to my REL with excellent results.
 
I should add that I picked up a mint pair of Heresy II for my brother. He just bought a house and has no audio with the exception of a Blutooth speaker. I also gave him a B&K amp and preamp . Speakers are circa 2002 and still sound excellent .
 
I don't believe the Heresy was ever meant to be a stand alone speaker.
If someone can show me an affordable speaker that does everything well, that would be fine.

The Heresy doesn't cover all the bases, but if you can find the speaker that covers what the Heresy doesn't, you can end up with a pretty good sounding speaker set up.
 
I don't believe the Heresy was ever meant to be a stand alone speaker.
If someone can show me an affordable speaker that does everything well, that would be fine.

The Heresy doesn't cover all the bases, but if you can find the speaker that covers what the Heresy doesn't, you can end up with a pretty good sounding speaker set up.

with virtually the exact same foot print a Forte makes excellent bass and is simply a Heresy in a taller box. You can buy a Heresy and build a new cabinet and have a Forte. For those who love jazz a Heresy does a very fine job of acoustic bass and also horns, excellent tone.
Heresy is designed to be placed up to the front wall or in corners to provide additional bass loading. With critical damping I have mine up on 22 inch high four post stands so that the centre of the mid horn is at my seated ear level against the front wall and the bass is very good.
 
Tell you what - you tell me your favorite speaker, and I'll tear it apart, how's that?
Don't expect a response from Clarence as he hasn't been on AK since 2010.
I own a Heresy II pair and they only get fatiguing when I listen to less than quality recordings. As one would say, garbage in, garbage out. They perform well with quality recordings and I've found the addition of a subwoofer helps with certain music. The Heresy sounds better to my ears than several other speakers I've listened to. In a shootout they were more than equal to the Martin Logan Vista pair my friend owns.
 
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Don't expect a response from Clarence as he hasn't been on AK since 2010.
I own a Heresy II pair and they only get fatiguing when I listen to less than quality recordings. As one would say, garbage in, garbage out. They perform well with quality recordings and I've found the addition of a subwoofer helps with certain music. The Heresy sounds better to my ears than several other speakers I've listened to. In a shootout they were more than equal to the Martin Logan Vista pair my friend owns.
Wow, didn't realize how old this thread is! Crazy!
 
Hope this helps those with or wondering about Heresys. I got mine 43 years ago and still love them. Read the Dope From Hope and the 8 Cardinal Rules paper. There are lots of things to know, but I will just mention probably the two biggest things that make the biggest difference:

There were no solid state amplifiers when the Heresys were originally modified from dedicated center speaker to pairs for stereo tube hifi, with which they work so well because of their impedance minimum at 10.2 ohms and rising impedance through the mid range and highs, which is perfect for tubes. Ever look at a graph plotting distortion against power for a solid state amp? Their lowest distortion is approaching rated power... they typically don't even continue the plot back below 1 watt because the distortion gets increasingly elevated into those low power levels. Highly sensitive speakers reveal just how nasty solid state amps are down there. Tubes are preferred.
Those who use high power solid state amps (>20watts) may be feeding considerable distortion to a Heresy playing at modest listening volume.

Of all the Klipsch Heritage (K-horn, Belle, La Scala, Cornwall, and Heresy) all but the Heresy are obviously floor standing speakers, but the Heresy is made to be a floor standing speaker as well - on the floor pushed back into the corners to reinforce the low end. Because the Heresy on the floor has a low elevation for the tweeter, the autoformer tap used for the tweeter in the Heresy is hotter than the rest of the Heritage to compensate. They are designed to sound right on the floor and in corners.
Those who put them out into the room up on stands will lose the low end and project too much high end.

Now imagine the poor soul who does not know this and sets their Heresys up on stands out into the room and then powers them with a high power solid state amp!
 
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