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Klipsch Heresy I Upgrade Recommendations?

LawArk

LawArk

Member
Hi all: My thoughtful girlfriend snagged a pair of 1975 Klipsch Heresy Is at a garage sale this past week for me. I've never had Heresys and these are the "Designer" model with no speaker grill, original raw birch that I assume the first owner stained. The finish is okay for 40+ years, but I'll give them a brisk sanding and refinish the cabinets.

My question is: while they sound better than I thought they would, are there any upgrades that you who have owned them would recommend? I upgraded the tweeter diaphragms on my Forte IIs but otherwise left them alone. I'm especially wondering about the Heresy crossover, it's pretty basic, and, well, 40+ years old. Should I be thinking about upgrading it? I've also seen online where some people installed super tweeters on their Heresys to give it more high end.

Thanks! Any thoughts/recommendations would be appreciated.
 
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SecondSpin said:
I was surprised to see there was no internal damping material in the set I picked up awhile back. That may be a start.

I don't think I'd want to go the way of adding super tweeters. Seems to be they lack lower frequency response if anything.
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I agree with regard to the super tweeters - truth is, I probably can't hear that high anyway. I'm okay with the lack of bass on these - it seems enough. For now . . :)
 
Do not ever drop them or your mid horn will likely snap off its mounting ears in front! The K55 driver (I think) has some weight, I would open the backside and take some pipe tape, wrap around he horn and secure it to the top inside of the cabinet. The large oil filled cap some swear are great do not replace, other say yes to replace. True enough they low end is anemic, but hey that was the way they were tuned originally. Their intended purpose was to be a center channel speaker for the corner horns!
DC
 
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Awesome girlfriend - too bad there wasn't something better at the garage sale. Your best upgrade would be to sell them to one of the many Heresy fanatics out there (there are many) and use the cash to buy some speakers that don't suck. If you don't like them now you never will. Trust me. Sounds like you got one of the older (and more sought after) versions. There's money to be made there.
 
Collectors love them and will pay good money if you can find them. With cabs finished, all original, with factory stands they sell quick and for good $$..........
DC
 
4everanalog said:
Awesome girlfriend - too bad there wasn't something better at the garage sale. Your best upgrade would be to sell them to one of the many Heresy fanatics out there (there are many) and use the cash to buy some speakers that don't suck. If you don't like them now you never will. Trust me. Sounds like you got one of the older (and more sought after) versions. There's money to be made there.
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Hmmm . . . I hadn't thought about selling them, since they were a birthday gift from her - but I should at least look into it. I don't mind the sound and was thinking about making them my rear speakers for my home theater. She snagged a couple early 60s JansZen speakers for herself a couple years ago and I've geeked her out enough about old audio that her radar is always on the lookout for audio deals at resale forums. When she's not looking for shoes, or tops, or whatever . . .:)
 
Thanks for all the good input - much appreciated. I checked the crossovers, "Type E" they say, with what looks like two transformers (one is an inductor maybe?), and two red cylindrical axial caps - and that's it. I'm thinking the only thing that should be replaced would be the caps. I don't know what type they are, but I know in my 70s Marantz gear the electrolytics are in need of replacement - does that apply with these as well? Would I notice any difference in sound? Looks like Bob Crites sells Sonicaps for his Heresy I crossover rebuild kits, so if it made sense to replace the caps I'd just buy from him. I'd post a photo of one of my crossovers but I'm not on AK that much and don't see how to upload a photo from my phone.
 
I had Crites rebuild the crossovers in my Heresy 1s and they were substantially improved.
 
The best "mod" you can do would be to add a high quality sub or two. Adding extended, low distortion bass to vintage speakers does something "magical" to the sound, and the perceived improvement is full range, not just in the bottom.
 
Congrats on the super cool girlfriend. Some Crites Ti tweet diaphragms, new caps, cab fill (if needed) and DIY grills...you're good to go.

Are you using the Fortes as mains for your HT system?
 
bumping an old thread. I considered the referenced thread regarding the crossover mod but kept the original E-2 crossover design when I recapped using Bob Crites "kit" which included Sonicaps. After listening to them for 18 months,this was a huge improvement, really woke up the tired sounding speakers. However, I remain convinced the "problem" with the brash sound is the K-77M tweeter which has a sharp roll-off at 12K. Perhaps because of age, my tweets sound sizzly, tired, a lot of sibilance maybe the diaphragm or something is worn out.
There is a huge hump of sound between approx 5K and 7K then it just annoys me.
The good news, Crites has options for tweeter replacement or rebuild, a magnet and diaphragm and CT120 and CT125 tweeter assemblies. Cost now is $160 or $225 per pair plus shipping. I have to get these right to give to my wife's son when he comes out of the Army as they carry a lot of sentimental value. I have a pair of KG4s I'm planning to rework at some point which are similar so I'll learn what works as I go. I will experiment with a bit of polyfill and Blackhole 5
HERE is the link to the CT120 tweeters
 
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