RossVTaylor

Hmmm... I found that placing my Heresy II's on their sides gave the music a very laid back quality.... baddum, bah.

Or, try laying the Heresy's on their sides. Mine are at the moment, and I like it. I recently learned that some of the earlier Cornwalls had vertically oriented horns and that it's perfectly acceptable to do that with Heresy's. In fact, one of the old Heresy spec sheets mentions this when using the Heresy as a center. It's worth a try. Ross

Well... I'm "that guy." Nothing nosey about asking! I actually tried to clarify the "no factory sales policy" in a pre-mecca post, just so there weren't any rumors. I bought the speakers through Sound Towne in Texarkana and arranged to pick up at the factory. As Doug pointed out, I had to pay sales taxes which I could have avoided had I had the speakers shipped. In fact, Sound Towne very tactfully pointed out that it would be cheaper for me to pay shipping than tax... they must have thought I was crazy. I didn't save any money this way - it was the whole spirit of the thing. And I'd do it all over again! Ross BTW - I was LOL about the Bose comments!

Some people have reported problems with accessing the photos I posted. Well, that's just Yahoo... I guess I'm getting my money's worth. If you have troubles, just try back later. Best of luck, Ross

John, Thanks for finding the details for us! Paul's wife pointed out the seven sound waves eminating from the speaker in the PWK classic logo and said that they referred to the seven lean years and the seven full years in the Bible, but I didn't know where. Ross

While at the Klipsch home, we learned that PWK had spent three years in Chile maintaining electric locomotives. He also apparently took a year off speaker work to build model trains. The models he built that were on display in their home were truly works of art - incredibly detailed. It amazes me to think that he built them from scratch. Miss Valerie said that one of them was so detailed that there was a naked lady inside one of the cars! One thing that I found touching was that Miss Valerie was trusting enough to place PWK's original cardboard K-Horn models out for display. They were plain old card stock, but they fascinated me. Ross

Since I got an email asking about the picture location, I thought I'd better re-post the link. It's right here . Ross

I strongly echo the observations of Bill and Doug - this is a modern company with family-run roots and philosophies. I also have to address the quality control issue that some have beat to death in another thread... THERE IS NO QUALITY CONTROL PROBLEM! Sorry to yell, but I've never encountered such pride in a product. Like Doug pointed out, each and every Klipsch speaker is inspected and tested (actually played and compared to a standard) before it's boxed and shipped. Have there been some issues with a few product lines? Sure. But, (and this is the big but) they've readily acknowledged those problems and gone overboard to fix them. I'd rather deal with a company that says "yeah, we had a batch with a defective glue joint - if you've got one, please call our customer service number and speak to a real live person who'll make it right" than one that doesn't even acknowledge there's a problem or provide an actual customer service department. Will any company have QC issues? Yup... but how many big companies do you know of that still provide live tech support with people you can ask for by name? Some, but far too few these days. By way of example, let me tell this little story. I (being cheap) bought a pair of RS-3 speakers from my local dealer for $99. They were demo speakers that they had installed in their showroom theater, but to fit them into the covered column they had to trim the ends of one speaker cabinet. The speakers work perfectly, but the end is missing from one cabinet's lip. While at Klipsch, I saw a table with four RS-3 cabinets on it. From the screw holes in the face, it was clear that drivers had been installed in these and removed. When I asked about them, I found out that these cabinets didn't pass their quality inspection and were being destroyed. Since I'd already picked up and looked at these cabinets, and not seen anything, I had to ask... what was the problem? I was pointed to a small piece of masking tape on each cabinet - next to each piece of tape was the most minute little ding or nick. In none of those cases was the nick even through the finish! They were just surface specks that I'd have never even noticed - and I'm anal as hell! To their credit, Klipsch wouldn't even talk about selling or giving me one of those cabinets for my RS-3. They just didn't want anything less than first quality going out of their shop. That right there says a lot to me. It also explains why there's no "Klipsch Outlet Store"... darn!! Ross BTW - I did order a new cabinet for my RS-3.

I think I've posted most of my photos now. One of my favorites is on the last page. It's a brand new Heresy II in front of the Paul Klipsch School of Engineering at New Mexico State University. One of PWK's "boxes with holes" stopping for a quick visit...

Just re-read your post and realized (after all that effort) that this is new home construction you're talking about! Darn, and I sounded so good... Since it's a new home, see if you can run conduit inside the walls so you have the flexibility to change wires later. Ross

Erik, Many people suggest that the ideal location for the surround speakers is 110 degrees from your listening position (so if 90 degrees from the screen is directly to your sides, then 110 degrees would be slightly behind you). This placement can vary, however, depending on the surround speaker type (such as direct radiating or dipole). The Klipsch wide dispersion speakers are really very flexible in placement. Surrounds are frequently placed about 3 feet above your *seated* ear. If you need to place the surrounds higher on the wall for WAF or other reasons, then you can angle them downwards slightly. As far as running the wires to surrounds, that can be tough. Frequently, the easiest way (if you don't have attic access) is to remove the baseboard molding and run the wires behind that molding. You'll find that the drywall is (or should be) about 1/2 inch above the floor, so you have a 1/2 by 1/2 inch channel there. Run the wire in this channel to the stud bay underneath the speaker location. From here, you may need to slot the drywall to run the wire up over the sill plate, then you can run it up inside the wall (until you get to a firestop, of course). Re-attach the molding without nailing through the wire and you're all set. I've simplified the wire-in-the-stud-bay process for brevity. If you need more details, please let me know what kind of wall construction you've got. There are several ways to to this. Happy listening, Ross "Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana."

BobG, Dunno if I can help... depending on who stops you, mentioning my name might get you TWO tickets! I sent you a private message. Dinner's on us! Ross

Yeah, Phil, I tried to upload the picture to this site but the 20kb limit put a halt to that plan! I'll have it in the Yahoo album in a bit. What Phil referred to was the hotel stereo we had in Hope. I couldn't wait to try out my new speakers, so I opened up the bedside clock radio and ran the speaker wires to a Heresy. Although the cheapo clock radio didn't provide the cleanest source, it was surprisingly loud and full. There was an annoying sound that intermittently came and went, but I realized that was just country music... Anyway, we had a lot of fun! Ross

Jon, I just went through a similar decision in another thread. I did an A/B comparison of my Denon HDCD player, switching between the player's DACs and my receiver's DACs. I couldn't tell a difference, even on HDCDs. I've owned the VSX-27TX and the 29TX. Both did a great job, soundwise - at this price level, I wouldn't get hung up on the CD player's DACs. I'd use the Pioneer's digital input, myself. Ross

Keith, I'm with BobG on this one. I've got the brother of the 3801 - in Direct mode, you just have the left and right front speakers, plus the subwoofer if you choose to use it. To run any other speakers, you need to use some DSP setting like DTS:NEO, 5/7-channel stereo, or similar. Ross

Alrighty, now! A bit of rest after 1280 miles and I'm feeling a bit human again. I'm pleased to report that Doug Drake and his lovely wife are still speaking to me after that long in a van - that's a good sign! This trip took an impressive amount of effort on the part of the Klipsch people, both the corporation and the founder (an his delightful wife!). As I shared with the group in Hope, I felt almost embarrassed with the hospitality they showed us. I had expected that Klipsch, if they were tolerant if us visitors (invaders?), might humor us with a tour of the museum. I had no idea that they would extend themselves to the extent they did!! Instead of feeling like a customer who was being tolerated, I felt like a long-lost relative visiting family. It was that warm a reception! I was truly touched. I owe personal thank-you letters to Paul and Valerie Klipsch, Trey Cannon, Jim Hunter and Phil Hatch. Thanks also go to Joshua, Matt, Roy Delgado, and the rest of the Klipsch employees who welcomed us and took time out of their schedules for us. And I haven't forgotten that this trip wouldn't have been possible without the efforts of the exceptionally friendly and faithful members of this forum - the "Klipsch family." Thank you, all. Ross BTW - I've begun uploading photos into a public album on Yahoo. Please check back for photos, as it may be several days before they're all uploaded (with my narrowband connection... yuck!)

WOW! What a wonderful trip! I have so many thanks, stories and photos too post - but I am far to road-weary and tired to do so now, so it will have to wait. Smiling big, Ross

The update from the road... Rain, rain and more rain! 18 driving-hours so far and Doug Drake and I just caught a few hours of much-needed sleep in Dallas. Time to press onwards to Hope - four more hours to go! Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!!

I just saw a review of the RB-5s in a Canadian magazine at my local Border's Books. I think the mag was called Audio Visual Ideas, or something similar. Tucked away in the middle of the mag's speaker guide was a very positive review of the RB-5 speakers. In a nutshell, the mag said they were possibly the perfect speaker for tube amp lovers with smaller rooms. They said the RB-5 was a near-monitor quality speaker that out-performed its price. Performance without a sub was surprisingly good in the bass end, they said (but we already knew that, didn't we!). Ross

If everyone else is smart enough to fly, then I think Doug and I get the "longest drive" award! 1300 miles, according to Mapquest. Hmmmm... My original plans were to fly, but what the heck... it's a road trip. Besides, I need room to bring back those three new Heresy II's! (Before someone asks... No, no factory sales or killer deals - it just seems like a fun idea to buy them in Akansas) "On the road again, just can't wait..." (And no Doug, I won't sing in the van)

Craig, The answers will depend, in large part, on whether you are depending on the sub for music or HT. For HT, the KSW-15 rocks. I've got a KSW-12 and, for the money, it is an incredible value in a HT subwoofer. Lots of decent output for HT enjoyment! But for music, I find it to be a bit boomy or slow (I think those are the wine-equivalent terms). I'm thinking of retaining the KSW-12 for HT use only and getting an SVS (or building a sub) for music.

Hi Ray! Until today, I didn't have an HDCD disc. Well, today I tried out the "Time Out" HDCD by the Dabe Brubeck Quartet. I did as you suggested and found that I could tell absolutely no difference. I guess that answers my question there (at least on this one disc, anyway). Darn nice sounding CD, but not IMO worth spending extra bucks for an HDCD capable player. That's not why I bought this player/writer, but I do want it hooked up in the best-sounding manner. I guess I'll stick with the digital coax. Thanks Ray, Ross

Hi all, I posted this question on the Denon AVR-5800's unofficial site and, oddly, got absolutely no input. Maybe someone here has some experience with this? (said in a hopeful voice...) This question was in reference a combination of a Denon AVR-5800 receiver and a newly-purchased Denon CDR-W1500 HDCD player (with all Klipsch speakers, of course!): "There's another issue here, too. The use of the 1500's analog outputs instead of the digital outputs. Considering that the benefit of HDCD discs is "mild" (according to some posts I've read), does anyone have experience with a similar setup? Are the HDCD-capable DACs in the 1500 better than the non-HDCD DACs in my 5800? Which is better, in this circumstance - letting the 5800's DACs work with a digital input or decoding in the 1500 and using the analog signal?" If anyone has any thoughts on the matter, I'd appreciate reading them (in the form of a reply - I'm not psychic... ). Ross

Oh, never mind... I changed the wording in my search and found a post that told me the obvious. There's a price list for parts in the Home Audio section that I've never noticed. Thank you, Ross. Why, you're welcome, Ross. Anytime, Ross.

I just met a guy who has a pair of Heresy's sitting in a closet. I expressed my interest in buying them and he was going to pull them out and give me a call. He said he blew one of the drivers, but I'm not sure which one (woofer, mid, tweet?). Before I speak to him again to talk about price, I'd like to have some ballpark idea of replacement drivers costs. I did a search here, but found nada... Anybody know? Ross