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Klipsch Heresy 's, No speaker grills, modified speaker cnnections, worth $200?

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Maybe worth that, but you're looking at a project to clean up the sloppy post installation and who knows what else.
 
If he says he would go to $200, he may go lower depending on the actual "7 out of 10" condition.

If it's close to you, worth taking a look and shooting the guy a fair price based on what you would pay for (as Conrad said) headaches created by the previous owner. If they're not worth $200 when you see them, and he won't come down to what you think is fair, then walk away with a handshake. No harm, no foul.

Mike
 
Klipsch used several different woofers over the years. Only way to know if it belongs there is a pic with the back off (which I would recommend anyway as the guy seemed to have been sloppy with the paint/stain and you'll want to know that they aren't painted shut.

I wouldn't go a penny over $150.
 
Thank you for your input. I offered $125 off the bat. He said he was only willing to go down $25. I figured I could get him down to $175.

Heresy first gens seem to go for $350 give or take on Ebay. Given the modifications, and lack of speaker grills, I figured the resale value drops a lot. I have figured that a lot of the people that are in the market for these speakers place a lot of value on looks and condition, as well as performance, which is why anyone would be looking at these speakers in the first place.

I'm a "go" before "show" kind of guy, and am thinking that I could get some decent sound for a good price given the condition.

On the other hand I have a general rule when buying from craigslist, and that is that I should be able to sell anything that I buy for at least 2x what I paid for it, or +$100.

Can I get better sound for $175-$200? Should capitalize on my go before show demeanor and not worry about resale value, but the value of the sound produced?
 
No matter what you pay, these will still be heresy speakers at the end of the day. It's like buying the one "mistake" that vintage Klipsch made. If you can't fit Cornwalls in your house, at least consider adding a powered sub to these. And, yes... $200 is too high for a pair with 7/10 cabs and missing grills. I'd say $150 is more accurate.
 
janikphoto said:
No matter what you pay, these will still be heresy speakers at the end of the day. It's like buying the one "mistake" that vintage Klipsch made. If you can't fit Cornwalls in your house, at least consider adding a powered sub to these. And, yes... $200 is too high for a pair with 7/10 cabs and missing grills. I'd say $150 is more accurate.
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Have to disagree on the mistake part, Sir. The Heresy's were originally designed to go into a three speaker array setup, the main speakers being the Klipschorn's. I have used just one Heresy as a center for Cornies, and thoroughly enjoyed the setup. You might say it filled a little gap in the projection of the music.
 
I heard a pair of those when buying some SDA-2's for $260. He said he was going to get more for those but neither of us knew why. They really compared terribly.
 
ZebraBlvd said:
Have to disagree on the mistake part, Sir. The Heresy's were originally designed to go into a three speaker array setup, the main speakers being the Klipschorn's. I have used just one Heresy as a center for Cornies, and thoroughly enjoyed the setup. You might say it filled a little gap in the projection of the music.
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I didn't mean mistake in the most common sense of the term... I meant it was a mistake in that so many people use it to represent the "Klipsch sound", when in reality, a pair of Heresy speakers sounds anemic and harsh - far from what you can expect from all the other vintage models.

I understand that it was originally intended to be the middle speaker in vintage three cabinet systems. I can see it providing exactly what its supposed to in that scenario. But, as a pair of speakers hooked up to a 70's era two channel receiver? Nope, it's just not representative of what Klipsch is about. It's a mistake in that sense.

I think a Crites treatment and a powered woofer solves their shortcomings just fine, and that will take up a lot less space than a pair of the bigger Klipsch models will. If size is a big concern, I would go that route.
 
Size isn't a factor, mostly price.

Should I be looking for a different set of speakers? What is all the hype behind a pair of Heresy's if they aren't even being used in the correct configuration?
 
I have a feeling that "mistake" can be traced back to vintage 70s hifi dealers, who saw an opportunity to make a quick buck by selling Heresys in pairs and convincing unsuspecting customers that they were just the cornwalls sound in a smaller package
 
What do you have to lose?

Looking at your local CL - there appear to be a LOT of offerings.
but for $200 - you really can't go wrong.. get them - try them out for a while.
look into the Crites mods if you want, but in the end, if you don't like them, you can get $200 back out of them easy enough.
 
These are worth $200 every day of the week if working right. Sometimes people get so caught up in score pricing that they forget a pair of grilles does not drop the value by $150.
 
A pair of grills, a hacked up connector and some awful paint that will likely need removed. How much is 6 or 8 hours of your time worth. It is about more than "score pricing".
 
Tucson Mon said:
Size isn't a factor, mostly price.

Should I be looking for a different set of speakers? What is all the hype behind a pair of Heresy's if they aren't even being used in the correct configuration?
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The heresy uses the same type of horn mid and high as the bigger, better models, but the woofer is stuffed into a cabinet that's too small for it. It makes them sound thin and harsh. But, the hype is the fact that you get those fancy horns with ultra-high db efficiency. Some people mod the Heresy cabinets to help add cubic inches, some people build custom cabinets, some add a powered woofer, and some just listen to them as-is.



sb001 said:
I have a feeling that "mistake" can be traced back to vintage 70s hifi dealers, who saw an opportunity to make a quick buck by selling Heresys in pairs and convincing unsuspecting customers that they were just the cornwalls sound in a smaller package
Click to expand...

And, they are tiny Cornwalls, in a very general sense - the same way my boys are tiny versions of me, in a very general way. But, yeah... the Cornwall is the right way to go!
 
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