Manual Garcia

I prefer the IIIs to the IVs, and posted why elsewhere. Suffice to say I tried to like the IVs but the new horn design let me down...*sigh*...as a gift to my IIIs which I thought might be sad that I doubted them, I found my original "Capitol Records 75th Anniversary Edition" grill cloths (I ordered some black ones when the originals displayed a sagging issue) and put 'em on...took them off shortly after but made my point and the IIIs seemed happy. Note that the finish on these things is some edition specific "ebony" that is about a micron thick and scratches easily...certain furniture polish-repair stuff helps but now I simply accept it as a "vintage" factor.

I've owned a pair of Heresy III "Capitol Records 75th Anniversary" edition (gee) for a few years and after the piles of great reviews of the IVs I bought a pair as, hey, they're "improved." I'm a long time musician, pro sound engineer, audio geek, jazz fan, and certified old person with Golden Ears, or actually flesh colored but experienced earballs. Or at least I know what I like. In any case the IVs are built better than the IIIs, new designs for the mids and ported, etc., and I was more or less happy with all that and hopeful during a 2 month break-in period. The issue became a pronounced upper mid, ear disturbing "blat" that I hoped would go away....most noticeable when a piano reached certain upper range notes that suddenly would jump out and harsh my mellow. My IIIs don't do that...they're pretty much flat and clean all the way up, and the IIIs have a much more complicated horn loading "phase plug" design far different than the poly driver bolted directly to the horn on the IVs. A VERY different mid driver design with the IIIs that simply works. Plus the IIIs are titanium mid diaphragms...also making 'em different. I use a couple of REL subs so the extra bass (not that much really) from the ported IVs was irrelevant although sounded similar to the excellent bass of the IIIs. Suffice to say the IVs went off to a new home...I did wonder if the annoying tone issue was specific to that particular pair, but the whole experience just made me happier with the IIIs which sound fabulous.

Schiit Freya (original version) using NOS GE 6SN7GTBs, and a Dennis Had Firebottle with a NOS Amperex 6SN7GTB, Shuguang (vetted by thetubestore.com) 274b rectifier, and new version Gold Lion KT77s...sublime sound that just won't quit...no hum, no problemo. Lots of tube rolling fun resulting in lots of spare tubes, and with the Had amp there's only 4 of 'em to mess with. Had amps are a world class hand wired bargain when available on Ebay, and one of the best sounding amps I've encountered over many decades...efficient speakers a must and my Heresy IIIs with 2 REL subs sound astonishingly good in this setup.

I already owned 2 REL subs when I bought the Heresy IIIs late last year. One is a front-firing 10" Q150e (150 watts) and the other a down-firing 8" Q108 MKII (100 watts), both were found on Ebay in great shape for around $200 each…I admit that's a great price, but I've seen these at close to that price recently so hey…worth a look! The thing I discovered about good, adjustable subs is the "room charging" subtle qualities that put more than simply musical bass notes into the mix, but add a natural dimension to the feel of of the sound…this is what the real world sounds like. In any case in my listening room the Heresy IIIs seem to sound better on the floor, with the subs nearby in mono to help each other cancel unwanted standing waves or pesky room nodes, and both are using the REL "high level" power amp derived signal. They kick in at just above 58hz, with proper phase and easily accessible level as all recordings differ somewhat. They mostly get left alone…but although the Heresy IIIs have very even and accurate bass within their limits, the subs just make 'em sing somehow…note that both subs are relatively small (I used the 150e alone for a couple of years…sounded fine…2 subs are finer) so I can't imagine they wouldn't fit in just about any room…but man…utterly worth it.

I recently got a good deal on a pair of "new open box" Heresy IIIs (Ebay alleged authorized dealer, and they're simply from a lot of unopened "damaged" boxes, and yes, one box had a smashed corner…the speaker survived and is fine) that were supposed to be black, and they turned out to be the Capitol Edition "ebony" version which is sort of a dark purple (seriously, I've owned a lot of ebony necked guitars and they're not purple) with grills that resemble a nice sweater from 1958. They're not consecutive serial numbers (they are signed by the same assembly dude though, so that's comforting), and with this finish you could never tell if they're "book matched." Love 'em.

The Loki is a very cool gizmo, although you will lose about 37% or your credibility in the audio geek community if you use one (simply don't tell anybody). I've had mine for a couple of months and am sort of amazed at how quiet it is…I do live sound mixing mostly for "boutique" (smallish venue) shows and have become too familiar with all sorts of EQ items over that last 5 decades or something (musician also, seemingly forever) and when I run into a thing like this it makes me feel the world is working properly somewhere. I have the typical "purist" hifi rig…not even a balance control anywhere, and my only tone control is the level on 2 subs, but the Loki is absolutely transparent and has well thought out band positioning…the "mini" designation has me assuming they're gonna make a larger version and hey…I might have to get my "Knob Turner" on for that one too. Well done Schiitheads! I also own a new Freya and it works well also.