postjob62

Interestingly, I have just experiencd this firsthand. I live in the greater Atlanta area, which is pretty cosmopolitan these days by any standard. Given prices some of the nicer Heresy's are going for on ebay, I recently decided on trying to shop new. Do you know that of all the Klipsh dealers in Atlanta, there was not one Heritage dealer???!!! Nearest one was 100 miles away in a smaller town, so I called them. Well, they had no Heritage products in stock, and couldn't even quote me a simple Heresy price without calling the factory and calling me back later! I would have had to special order the heresy's and wait. Although they were very nice, their price made it clear that they had no interest whatsoever in actually selling a pair. Does Klipsch actually think this kind of a strategy will sell any Heritage products? I think the answer is clear- this is not their primary profit base and they clearly aren't going to devote much energy to the line. And when you do buy one new, you'll pay dearly for the priviledge. I hate to see Klipsch follow in the footsteps of AR, which really exists today as a mass marketer of cheap products, trading on the name of the once-proud products which gave them the reputation to start with. Ed

I really appreciate everyone's response on this. It just kind of made sense to me, but I'm nonetheless surprised to find that my thinking is somewhat clear. I know the Hersesy vs. Heresy II thread has been beaten to death, and I have spent much time in the archives reading up on this subject. I guess the the bass advantage goes to the original, with subjective opinions varying. What has surprised me is that no one has found the ~17K upper reach of the original Heresy (shared with the"big boys" even currently) to be lacking. Is this due to not much musical information being recorded in this range, or does this FR strain human hearing? Ed

I'm still yet to buy my first Klipsch speakers, but I'm hot on the trail of a couple of pairs of Heresy's right now. I thought they would be a good jumping-in point for exposure to horns. I was temporarily sidetracked considering CW's or LaScala's, but I keep coing back to the Heresy as a "beginner's" Klipsch because of relative ease of shipping coupled with what I imagine is the classic horn sound. Having said that, here's a question that I suspect has been asked before: if I correctly assume that cabinet volume does not impact mid or HF horns, and further assume that the original Heresy has the same mid and HF drivers as the Khorn and LaScala, then wouldn't the only difference sonically between the three be the bass response relative to each other? Seems to me that if that is the case, one could effectively mimic a much larger KH or LS with the smaller Heresy, and then add a carefully chosen and adjusted sub if one found the bass to be lacking. I know opinions vary on this topic so I figure best bet is to try them first in my room, varying placement, and then decide on the sub for myself. I'm guessing that the spoiler to my theory may be that even though mid and HF drivers are the same, crossover networks may be different. If that is the case, to what extent would that keep an original Heresy from mimicing a KH or LS (excluding the bass of course)? Thanks, Ed

If you're able to give something unconventional an open-minded try, the Toshiba is a good suggestion. An even cheaper and equally outstanding player is the Toshiba 3960/3980 DVD player. 3980's are currently available at your local big box retailer for $59.00. I have three and am listening to one right now. You have to be pretty secure with yourself to try this- it won't impress your friends. But the sound is unbelievable. I'd love to see some folks squirm after a DBT between this and their favorite high bucks unit. Anyhow, if you don't like it, just pack it back up and return it, nothing lost. If you do try one, be sure to use three isolation blocks under it, and a couple of heavy books atop it for vibration damping. $1.00 skin pumice stones from your nearby QVC or Wal-Mart work well for the isolation blocks. Regards, Ed

Does anyone know if the grills are interchangeable between original Cornwalls from the early 80's and Cornwall II's? Also, is there any source for replacement grillcloth? Thanks, Ed

OK, fair warning: I'm such a newbie I don't even have Heresy's yet and have been asking for much advice myself. But I might have some advice about budget receivers. This is subjective of course, but I think the Marantz 2230 is maybe one best-kept (not so secretive) secrets out there. They are significantly more powerful than their 30wpc rating, are cap-coupled for a warm tubey sound, and even sport a good preamp when used in the preamp out mode. They're readily available in thr 100-150 dollar range on eBay, just be very careful and do your due diligence on the seller. Don't hurry, thry're plentiful. As well, if you wnat a little more power the Pioneer SX-750 is a great choice. Also very mellow and musical. I have an extra one I'm going to put up soon. Maybe a little more $, but still under 200. The slightly less powerful SX-650 is also a good choice. Good Luck, Ed

That's it, I'm going to try to snag a pair. I'll A-B them against some of my AR's and report back. Come to think of it, I have never seen a low freq number specified for my smallest AR's, the 4x. I'll bet it's not any lower than 50 or so Hz, but it sounds great to me even if not in the range of the 10"-12" woofer AR's. So I'll bet that the Heresy's will be fine in that area. Sounds like a funny way to decide something, but this many dedicated enthusiasts can't be wrong. When I draw a bead on some I may have more questions-I'm pretty cautious-meanwhile thanks to all for the excellent perspectives. Thanks again, Ed

A quick thanks to all who helped me with this, and a couple of quick followups: Is the cabinet construction the same between the original and II model? I've seen pics of a few II's where the backs had sort of a textured spray and didn't look so substantial. Back to this bass thing-many folks feel the II edges out the original in bass, but the Klipsch website shows the bottom on the original as 50Hz and the II at 63Hz. Is the effective difference so small as to be completely subjective? Thanks, Ed

Ron, That's exactly what I listen to, 60's-early 70's classic rock and blues. I'm not clear as to whether yours are currently on risers or not? Sounds like your bass is OK, so if you wouldn't mind sharing your setup... I don't mean to give the impression I'm looking for crazy exaggerated bass- I'm perfectly happy with my office setup which has the 8" woofer AR-4x's. And I really have never known what the bottom frequency response is, but they sound great to my ears. I'm just looking for decent, tight bass in a more efficient speaker without a lot of maintenance needs. Ed

Thanks for the advice, Parrot. So woofer surrounds aren't a problem. That's good news! Can they sit on the floor on thick carpet, or should they be on something to get them up a couple of inches? Ed

Hello all, I'll bet this thread has been around for a while, but here goes. I'm a newbie to Klipsch-first post. For more than 30 years I've had an addiction to another (vintage) brand. I grew up with that acoustic suspension sound, the tight, focused bass and the wide dispersion of these old AR speakers, and I've come to love it. But as I uh, mature, I grow increasing weary of replacing rotted woofer surrounds, and doing routine maintenance on pots and internals-not to mention that I'm trying to simplify my life with smaller (power) amps, and you know the relative inefficiency of these AR's. The Heresy looks like a good jumping in point and I'll bet it would be a good match with one of my Marantz 2230's. Problem is, which one do I try-so could I pose a few questions re: the Heresy's? 1. Which one to buy, the original or the II, and why? 2. Anything to look out for when buying a pair off eBay-I mean of course other than the normal eBay caveats? 3. Is there anything to the Heresy's purported lack of bass? I don't really want to fool with a sub, but if I need one is there one (not too expensive, preferably passive)that works with these? 4. Finally, is there any outstanding maintenance item to worry about, like woofer surrounds on the AR's? I apologize for the length but could really use some direction. Ed