Peter P.

I should clarify; I don't intend to use it with the Heresy's. I've got a pair of bookshelf speakers in the basement I intend to pair with the subwoofer. I currently have an El Cheapo Sony 10" subwoofer I bought on Craigslist for a mere $75, and it was less than a mile from me: win-win! But the "powered thing" doesn't appeal to me. Interestingly, the Klipsch kg brochure lists the kg sw as an "ideal complement" to the Heresy, which leads me to believe it WILL add something significant to any other speaker as well. That kg sw that dtr20 posted is the exact subwoofer that was already sold yet the ad was still on Craigslist. Sheesh. I'm not looking for "true" subwoofer operation i.e., I don't need 20Hz. The kg sw goes low enough for my needs and it's passive, which is what I'm looking for. And it's a Klipsch, so I"m inclined to have more faith in the design and construction than with other brands and models. I found another one on eBay but alas, it's in Alabama and it's listed for Local Pickup Only. As wvu80 noted, shipping costs usually factor in heavily with how used subwoofers are bought and sold. C'mon; doesn't anybody here own one?! Maybe heard one in the wild?!

Okay; I caught the Klipsch bug. I started participating in the forum a couple months ago when I wanted a pair of Heresy's; my first Klipsch speaker. Now I want a subwoofer; The KG SW to be exact. I already have an active subwoofer but I'm not crazy about leaving the thing on all the time; not for safety reasons. It's just that I'm cheap on electricity and the subwoofer is in the basement, where I don't play that often. Sniffing around, I discovered Klipsch made a passive subwoofer, the KG SW. That appeals to me. Then as luck would have it, someone posted a KG SW for sale on Craigslist for $80. (Alas, when I contacted the owner, it was already sold, but the owner hasn't taken the ad down. Why do people do that?!) Anyway, I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for a KG SW, but in the meantime I search this forum and see no mention of it. So can anyone give me their opinions and comments on it? I've got to believe SOMEONE on this forum owns one!

Bring some music of various genres. You can usually touch the woofer to verify it's moving. Place your ear next to the midrange and tweeter and verify you hear something. The tweeters cross over at 8kHz and when I place my ear up to my weeks old Heresy's, there's not much information coming out of them so I'd expect the same from yours. I suppose the older your ears are, the less you'll hear from the tweeters! Bring up the volume up and listen for any rattles or buzzes. If none, you're done. And you WILL get room shaking bass. Expect bass that may be different from subwoofer-style bass, but it'll rattle the floor joists.

Those water meter devices only transmit when interrogated by a passing vehicle from the water department. Otherwise, they sit dormant. You can actually call your water company and if they're nice enough, they'll even be able to tell you what frequency they operate on. I wouldn't be surprised if you could get that information from the FCC database. I use the following link to search for licensees: http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/searchAdvanced.jsp;JSESSIONID_ULSSEARCH=9KywYVkF5XtThW7mW46lJ0QPcVQ6XNnZ2fMhH6tyvhymRcC7Hdch!373353610!1548010679 I work in the RF industry, and have worked with municipal water departments. For instance, one local water department's interrogation system runs in the 452MHz range, as I just looked up their licenses. The power output is limited to 4W; basically the same as a police or fire department portable radio. Those devices run on a sealed battery that lasts so long many years that, once the battery dies, they toss the ENTIRE transmitter because by then technology has advanced so much in the interim. I have no idea what's going on with your deteriorating FM reception, but one way to test would be to have a friend bring over their receiver/tuner and hook it up to your antenna. That will at least confirm it's YOUR units and not your antenna that's the issue.

Geez; I gotta be the contrarian here. I recently bought a pair of Heresy II's for my condo and my speaker placement is virtually the same as the OP; one in a corner, one is not. Both are within a foot of the rear wall. The only difference is, mine are on the tilt risers. While the Heresy's are rated to 55Hz, the same as the 6.5" bookshelf speakers they replace, the bass from the Heresy's is outrageously beyond what the bookshelf speakers were capable of producing! I don't dare go any lower or louder without pissing off my neighbors. Since you've already checked polarity, I'd say either you're spoiled by your old speakers or it's the environment/placing of the speakers. Maybe there's a real difference between the Heresy I.5's and II's but I'd think it's only in terms of efficiency and not low end roll off. I'm of the school that pretty much any receiver or amp can drive the Heresy's, so I don't think the Heresy's are the problem. I'd lover to read what you find as a solution, outside of adding a subwoofer.

Interesting you should mention stands. While going through the process of deciding whether to buy the Heresy's, I tried removing my 6.5" speakers from their 24" stands and placing them on the floor. I'd never considered the boundary gain to be a real factor; I just assumed since my speakers were on sand-filled steel stands with spiked feet that they were coupled well and the bass would transfer solidly. But even placing those small speakers on the floor enhanced their output significantly, without making them sound boomy. My stands don't have a platform anywhere near large enough to accommodate the Heresy's. Where did you get yours?

Update-I did the deed and bought a pair of Heresy's! After scouring Craigslist and eBay, I found a pair listed on both sites. It was obvious the seller was intelligent and an audiophile; I could tell this would be a trusted sale. He was the second owner, having bought them from his doctor, who upgraded to Klipschorns! In my search, I saw quite a few Heresy I's and, while the prices were a bit more tempting than any Heresy II's for sale, I was put off by the drivers mounted behind the baffle, and in most cases, the condition of the cabinets. I'm beginning to think those Heresy I's would have impressed me nonetheless, and it wouldn't have taken much work to spruce up some of the cabinetry. Also, many of the Heresy's of both models for sale lacked the risers which I didn't realize were an option. The pair I purchased have risers. Clearly the Heresy's are popular speakers. My seller had 23 people watching his auction and over 500 views. And despite listing the speakers for Local Pick Up Only, he still had people trying to convince him to ship them from NJ to CO, offering to pay a paltry $50 a pair shipping! I paid $650 for the pair and drove just over an hour to retrieve them. I actually saw a pair a 3-hour drive away for $450! Tempting, but I hate driving. My impressions: Physically, the speakers are perfectly sized for my room; they don't dominate the living room or look out of place. The honey oak veneer was in excellent shape. The serial number tags on the back are missing so I suppose to purists these might have lesser value. The sound-these things are brutes, just real bulldogs! By the spec sheet, the Heresy's are supposed to have the same low end cutoff of 55Hz as the 6.5" woofer speakers they're replacing. Well, these Heresy's redefine 55Hz! I live in a condo with a basement and neighbors on either side. The Heresy's excite the floor joints in ways I never expected. In some respects the speakers are TOO strong, and I wonder whether I should have stayed with a 6.5" or maybe an 8" woofer tops. Thank goodness I didn't buy the Forte's! But the fact is, this all started with me playing subwoofer territory frequencies that damaged my existing speakers; the Heresy's are likely so bulletproof I'll never have to worry about unglued baffles again, so they're worth it despite their ahem, floor shaking quirks... I would like to thank all those who offered advice to me while I pondered my dilemma (see the original post) and helped push me toward my lifelong desire to own a pair of Heritage Series Klipsch's!

Thanks to those that pointed out the Forte dual binding posts were "not factory". You were right; it makes you wonder as to the quality of the work and whatever else might have been modified. I'm definitely leaning toward Heresy's versus anything larger (with lower bass). I can't imagine what a Forte would do to my condo neighbors. I've been "hooked", prowling Craigslist and eBay daily. Are the Heresy I's any good, considering the drivers were mounted on the backside of the baffle? How does that impact the sound? Is the Heresy II really that much of an improvement? I also found a pair of Heresy II's for $450 but it's a 3 hour drive one way to fetch. Then there's a pair of Heresy I's with some staining of the cabinet top, going for $400. Makes me wonder if the stains could be sanded out... Thanks for reading!

Since this is my first post, I owe you an introduction and a little background. As a teenager in the 70's, I read the stereo magazines at the library. I saw the Klipsch ads and became a fan without even hearing them. Then in the Air Force in the late 70's, I bought my first stereo. I walked into the shop, saw the Klipschorns in the corners and asked the salesman to play something. He spun a direct-to-disc of Steely Dan's "Reelin' In The Years" from Can't Buy A Thrill. The only way I could describe the sound is "effortless". Needless to say, at that point I became a lifetime fan even though I didn't have the wallet to back it up. When a long lost friend and I connected several years ago, I learned her husband had a pair of Forte's he bought used for $500, I think. Going for my first visit to their house across the country, I brought some CD's so I could hear them. I'd read a glowing review of the Forte II in the former Stereo Review many years prior and the comments and conclusions stuck in my memory. Upon hearing the Version I's, it was merely confirmation of the Klipsch legend. Fast forward to a couple weeks ago. I was playing a CD from the Boston Rally Bass Collection; a series of discs with musical tracks designed to test various bass parameters. I was listening to Disc 1 in my condo; Disc 1 focused on cuts which would tease the lowest octave or two. My current speakers are Mission 700 Leading Edge bookshelf-ers on 24" stands utilizing 6.5" woofers and a 55Hz lower limit. I really wasn't playing them that loud, and the amp wasn't clipping when I started to hear a buzz. Uh oh; I think I blew a woofer! Now, this could be a good thing because my speakers are 28 years old and I wouldn't mind replacing them. I started crawling all over eBay and Craigslist for Klipsch speakers. But I'm cheap. So I decided to see if I could determine what's wrong and perhaps repair them. I swapped woofers in the cabinets but the buzz stayed with the cabinet. I couldn't imagine the crossover being the culprit but I inspected them anyway; no burning smells or cracked components. Hmmm. Then I got the bright idea to play them again using the same disc but at a lower volume; NO BUZZ. That told me something might be cracked. Both speakers had a fine, imperfect line running down the longest open span of the baffle. Looked like a crack to me, so I got the bright idea to drill a 1/8" hole mid-span of the "crack" and insert a wood screw. That might act like a wedge and shore up the baffle. It didn't work. I then rapped on the baffle with my knuckles and found it; the super low bass had loosened the adhesive holding the baffle onto the cabinet face! My solution was to flow some Gorilla Glue into the edge where the baffle meets the cabinet. I cleaned up the excess, and it worked! Now I had two good, working speakers and no reason to buy a pair of Klipsch's. But the seed was planted. I have found a pair of Heresy II's on Craigslist for $700. From the description, they're definitely audiophile-owned and well cared for. Also on Craigslist, I found a pawn shop that had a pair of BOTH Forte's AND Forte II's, for $500 and $550 respectively. Well, obviously I didn't act on them quick enough so the Forte II's are gone. But the Forte's are still available and calling my name. Now to the questions: Of course you think "pawn shop" and you think "junk" but the ad says they're in excellent shape. Photos show the bridging straps between the binding posts are missing. Are they available or would I have to cobble something together? I'm an electronic tech so I could solder a pair of jumpers in my sleep, but the real deal appeals to me. Also, is there a way to test the speakers without playing them to ensure the drivers are in working order? Is a resistance test with an ohmmeter reasonably reliable? Assuming the pawn shop doesn't have the means to audition these, and assuming they have a no return policy, can you still get replacement drivers or crossover parts? If I perform a resistance test on-site, what are good numbers I should see for the woofer and for the combined horn drivers? I'm inclined to think the Heresy's would be a better match for my condo-living. They have the same lower end cutoff as my Mission 700's but somehow I expect the bass will exceed my existing speakers in all aspects, without breaking a baffle! The only problems are they are selling for $200 more than the Forte's and it's perhaps an extra hour's drive to pick them up. Thanks for reading-I hope you found it interesting, and I'm open to advice and suggestions.