I'll try provide as much relevant (some maybe not) as needed. You people here know way more than I do. I would not be offended by a Reply suggesting some other direction or approach.
ME: 59, not an audiophile. My first encounter with Klipsch was a party in the late 70's. There was a grill-less speaker in a chair playing rock music of the day. I couldn't believe the sound. I asked and was told the speaker was a Klipsch Heresy. I set out to get a pair and bought some the next week. Great! I could never get over and still remember how good they sounded. My receiver was a Yamaha CR-1020. Turntable was a Dual 704.
SINCE THEN: I moved in the early 80's and had no place for the HR's. Looking for some kind of stands at the place I bought the HR's, I noticed some birch slant mounts. Model is HSM-BR Industrial. Figured those could be mounted in the corners so I did a 90.00 exchange. Perfect I thought. Have to say I was never satisfied with the sound. I lived with it via tone controls & an bought an EQ. Sub's weren't popular at the time.
The 1020 died 3x over the following years. I recently traded it inoperative/even-trade at a local vintage audio place for a working Pioneer SX-626. Reading on the web (everything online is true, right?), some internal parts for the 1020 are NLA and sound of the brand in late 70's was 2D-ish (?). Bench service averages 200.00-300.00 so risky due to possible NLA part needed and might fail for good eventually anyway. I took the Pioneer.
TODAY: Different house. Still have the HSM's mounted, no EQ & using a Sound Dynamics THS-10 Sub to help them along. I've read here about new crossovers. What if the HSM size or shape of the box is doing it? Speaker rebuilds? Gut says move on. Speakers are in the corners on one of the long walls in our 18'L x 14'W x 8'H, 3 wall family room. There is no wall between the family room and the kitchen (short side). Speakers powered by the SX-626. Plenty loud enough when needed. Use a Sony CDP-C235 CD player occasionally. Dual hasn't been out of the box in years. I'm really thinking the HSM's and 626 need replacing. Klipsch says the sound of the H3's is very much like the original yet some say more defined.
FYI...like many people my age, hearing loss in both ears of about -10db @ 2000Hz pretty much straight-sloped down to -60db @8000Hz. High end BTE-RIC style digital hearing aides helped a lot with day to day hearing.
It is unlikely anyone will spend much long critical listening time in the family room. The system would be turned on & we'd go about our business. My wife would enjoy having her Sirius Elvis station on in the background. I would have the system on low with non vinyl sources most of the time and maybe crank some AC/DC, SRV or Allman Brothers when she's not home. The old HR's I had seemed to really fill the house with great sound without getting muddy. The HSM's do the same but not as 'easy' to listen to.
Nothing needs to happen now/fewer costly mistakes would be best. Really looking at the Heresy III's. Thinking I'd like to wall mount similar as a TV. Extendable, swivel & tilt. Crutchfield says H3's are not designed for the wall & nothing is made to support them. I could just make shelves myself. A TV type mount would be more versatile. The sub will probably still be used although lower Hz might be all that's needed with H3's. The Dual and vinyl would be fun to get out from time to time. The hardest and most confusing decision is a replacement receiver.
NEW RECEIVER FEATURES: So much has changed. To me, the word Receiver means the piece includes a Tuner...need that. Two features of my 1020 I found useful were the Variable Loudness and Variable Middle Tone Control. Would be nice but not essential. My wife subscribes to Sirius. I see some new units are compatible. I don't know much about the service but can figure it out. She doesn't care much about sound quality. She says I'm too fussy (imagine that!). I'm nowhere near needing vintage tube stuff but can appreciate those who enjoy a good valve. In today's world of streaming, bluetooth, zip drives etc, the more a piece has the ability to utilize most or all of these technologies, I'm thinking the better. We use PC speakers for the TV. Happy with that so no surround needed. I don't know that I'd hear the analog /digital difference since my hearing is already compromised and digitally enhanced to a point. Making a good and reasonable Receiver decision is way more important than cost.
If I'm wrong about something here and/or you'd like to point something out please do so. I'm hoping to end up with a decent system, leaning towards the Heresy III's for sound output.
Thanks Much,
Joe
