Peter P.

How about THESE in Hudson Valley? If you're willing to replace the tweeters, you'd be in business! Or THESE in Allentown, PA? Much more presentable, with a commensurately higher price.

Without a picture of the damage, I can only guess what it looks like. From your description, I would cut out a length of the damaged section long enough to splice in a new piece, with screws on either side so you can drive the front panel screw in without hitting the two screws. You probably need just a hacksaw blade and no fancy saw.

Were those speakers "you grew up with" in the same room those uninspiring speakers were placed? The listening room impacts the overall sound more than you can imagine. If you're running a subwoofer with those current speakers and you're disappointed, something else is going on.

From the photos it appears your Belles are resting on their sides. Flip them 90 degrees so they are resting on their bottoms and the sound will improve. No need for new crossovers. 😉

I was recently sent for 2 week's training in a large, metropolitan area. Figuring my weekends would be free, I thought it would be an opportunity to seek out a Klipsch dealer and check out the new Heresy IV, and hopefully a LaScala, which I'd never heard. Fortunately, there WAS a stereo shop about 5 miles from the hotel, and being an exercise junky as well, I walked the 5 miles to the shop on a Saturday, not even sure they carried either speaker. I lucked out, and they did have the Heresy IV, but not the LaScala ☹️. I own a pair of Heresy II's, which is my point of reference. The shop had a tablet device through which I could access virtually ANY music imaginable, in hi-res files. I listened for an hour. The verdict: The listening room affects the sound so much, that making accurate comparisons is virtually impossible. The listening room was unlike my living room; it had a carpeted, concrete floor, and chest-high carpeting along the wall behind the speakers. There were bass traps in the corners, and many sound diffusers and absorbers throughout the room. Both the wall behind the Heresy's and the opposite wall had numerous pairs of speakers, creating uneven surfaces to further scatter reflections. Never mind the dimensions- the Heresy's were placed about 2' away from the long wall of a roughly rectangular room, while mine are within a foot of the narrow wall. The result: There wasn't much in the bass department and the midrange wasn't as strong as my older version. But I couldn't knock the speakers as I felt all the differences were due to the environment vs. the speaker. When I was done with the Heresy's, I asked if I could listen to a pair of Klipschorns, which I hadn't heard in 35 years. I remember that first listen; NOBODY forgets their first exposure to Klipschorns. The Klipchorns were in another room which was somewhat similarly treated. I felt the same; the room was affecting the speakers and I didn't get the goosebumps like I did those 3 decades ago. I listened for an hour and while it was fun, it didn't impress me. I didn't feel the rooms were treated incorrectly, just that combined with the speakers, I didn't hear what I was familiar with (the Heresy's) or what I was expecting (the Klipschorns).

Honestly, I think those Klipschorns are too large for the space, physically and aesthetically. Unless you want to keep them for sentimental reasons, I would sell them in favor of something smaller.

I'm not in the market for LaScala's but they fascinate and tempt me, so I watch for them to show up for sale. I agree with Dave A-prices for used LaScala's are above $1k now. I'm not rich but personally, since they're a rare find and if they're good looking in person, I'd pay the asking price or maybe ask for $100-$200 off just to feel like I won the fight! As an example, there's a black pair selling locally for $1k and both tweeters are blown. In this case I wouldn't think they were worth $1k. The seller should repair them as that will increase their marketability, speed up their sale, and the seller could probably recover their repair costs.

The Tractrix port used in the Heresy IV looks suspiciously, EXACTLY like the ports on the latest Cornwall. It makes me wonder how critical port design is vs. cabinet size. Also, I know port length and width affect port response, but the Heresy IV doesn't seem to have any substantial change internally. My old B.I.C. Venturi speakers, with their vented slot at the bottom of the cabinet had a longer, labyrinth port path. Comments?

I wouldn't get the LaScala's. Your 4 year old may successfully crawl into the bass bin's folded horn, and your local fire department will have to cut the speaker apart to remove him. 😋

If I did my math correctly, 100W into an 8 ohm speaker is roughly a minuscule 3 1/2 amps. 16 or 18 gauge lamp cord is all you need. The only reason I'd use speaker wire instead is, the jacket and the wires are more supple, partly due to finer strands of wire. Another factor in favor of lampcord is, both conductors are copper. Many generic brands of speaker wire such as Southwire, sold in the big box hardware stores, uses a COPPER CLAD ALUMINUM for one of the conductors. Tricksters!

On second glance, I'm wrong. Those are NOT Heresy's on top. If those are kg 2.2's or 2.5's on the bottom, they're 19" long. A Heresy is 15.5" wide. Therefore, 2 Heresy's side-by-side should be much wider than the kg's they're stacked on top of. I just measured my Heresy's and kg 2.2's to make sure. Those top speakers are probably kg 1.2's.

Yeah; the top speakers are Heresy's. The bottom speakers look like kg 2.2's or 2.5's.

I agree. In my opinion, the room's acoustics are almost more important than the speakers when it comes to good sound. Also, I don't know how that peaked ceiling will affect the acoustics. A good stereo shop that deals with installations, or an acoustics consultant, may be able to assess your needs. It's a beautiful room, and any acoustic treatments should not detract from the room. An interior designer may be a reference, or could give you a referral.

I think they're ridiculously cool, and as long as they still sound like Klipschorns, I wouldn't mind 'em. I can appreciate all the labor that went in to that refurb, but I can't imagine they'll ever recover those costs and make a profit. It's a market for people with money to burn.

My opinion: The Forte's will be physically too large if placed against the 12' wall. To me, it's just an aesthetics thing. The speakers dominate the room. Even placing Forte's along the 20' wall is something you have to "walk around". I'd get the Heresy's, or even consider a smaller bookshelf Klipsch, placed on pedestals above the tabletop, with a subwoofer. I wouldn't sweat the Heresy's being below the tabletop; this isn't a room for pure entertainment so it's a compromise. Some people put their Heresy's on pedestals, and if the pedestals are large enough and tall enough, that might not be a bad option to get the speakers above the tabletop if you must. But I think it will reduce the bass output without the floor boundary, and I feel the Heresy's NEED the bass reinforcement of the room boundary. As for the amp; I'm not a believer in high end stuff. Get a Yamaha or NAD integrated amp and I challenge you to keep a grin from cracking your face once the music plays.

I don't know the answer to your question.

There could be some vibration from the speaker inducted to the duct, causing it to vibrate. That may be heard at the other registers. Crank up the volume on that one speaker if you can, then go listen at the other registers. If it's heard, you may not want occupants of the other rooms to hear the sound say, while they're sleeping. If you hear nothing, you're good. Also, if they're close enough and the speaker is playing loud, it may cause the duct to buzz or rattle. Crank it up to test. At the absolute worst, cut the hole oversized and drop the speaker 1" for better clearance. In the whole scheme of things, you'll never notice.

I saw EL&P in Springfield, MA around 1982 or so. The push to get into the venue when the doors opened was so strong, I lifted my feet off the ground and did NOT fall down. It's a wonder I didn't think it was a potentially life threatening situation.

Recapping is a lot of unnecessary drama. It's done so don't worry about it; you probably don't even know what the correct, factory capacitor value is, to verify they match the original so assume they are and let that pass. Old foam woofer surrounds were subject to rotting and refoaming is a necessity. Done correctly, the speaker won't buzz or rattle when driven. If they don't, you're fine. As for the pots; I suppose they could go bad but I expect it to be rare. Just put a voltmeter on them and verify the resistance changes as you turn the knob. Then you can reconnect the pots if you desire. Between the recapping and the pots, it sounds like a previous owner was a tweaker, fantasizing about improving the sound, and these AR's were his project. I'd look elsewhere for something that's not been intruded upon, unless you have the skills to correct the "mods" they made.

I was curious too, so I measured my Heresy II's. The width and depth are identical, but the IV is roughly 3" taller. Looking at the photos of the IV without the grill I can see extra space between the top of the tweeter and the top of the motor board, which reinforces my measurements. I wonder whether the extra height was necessary to accommodate the port, or for the extra cabinet volume to achieve the lower cutoff frequency, or both. From what little I know, with a sealed vs. a ported cabinet of the same internal volume, the ported cabinet WILL inherently play lower, but will have a steeper roll-off. That steep roll-off may work better with the steeper slope of the new crossover. Lastly, I wonder whether the tilted riser will affect the port's output. Typically, rear ports fire directly backward at the adjacent wall. How will an angled port affect the port's low end contribution? I can't wait to read real world reviews from owners.

Stick with it; you'll know what it's about! https://youtu.be/-bb7eCgLbLI P.S. Can we add youtube videos to posts?

You've got your "food chain" right. It's wise of you to consider the form factor of the speakers as they have to fit in the room, not just physically but aesthetically. And, you've got the Quartet/Forte/Chorus hierarchy right. Keep us updated if you try another model.

I think you'd have to start with the Heritage Series, if you're looking for that break point. That heart and soul will be found in the efficiency, and the horn loaded drivers, and the two go hand in hand. You mentioned you can't fit LaScalas; then you probably can't fit Cornwalls because they are even wider, albeit just about an inch. So stop dreaming about them! If you're willing to buy new, get the new Heresy IV. Rumor has it, it will be available at the end of the month. Otherwise, the Heresy III is insanely efficient and will beat the pants off any speaker similar in size. Similar size to the kg4's- find a pair of Quartets. Willing to go just slightly larger-if you want legendary, get a pair of Forte's, which are probably Klipsch's most popular, and affordable speaker.

I agree that used Quartet pricing should be lower than used Forte pricing, and typical used Forte pricing in my area is around $500. As has been mentioned, Quartets are a slightly smaller Forte so they're more convenient and more aesthetically acceptable in smaller environments. I bought mine with one slightly water damaged top, for $250. There's currently a pair for sale at a reasonable $500 near Worcester MA.

Be patient and get the Cornwalls. You've been smitten by LaScala's; Heresy's will fall short of reminding you of what the fully horn loaded LaScala's did to your heart and brain. The Cornwalls are closer.