ironman

The cardboard boxes that my Heresy III's were shipped in may meet the minimum requirement. The internal packing absolutely does not. And in any case, it's beside the point, which is that it would cost Klipsch next to nothing to add four long angled styrofoam pieces to protect the edges of their speakers. That alone would eliminate the overwhelming majority of damage incidences. One would think that Klipsch would have an interest in adequately protecting the speakers they take so much pride in manufacturing.

THIS is primarily why I am sending my new Heresy III speakers back. The damage is minor and mostly not visible when the speakers are against the wall, and part of me would rather just avoid the hassle and live with it. But accepting this damage is giving Klipsch the green light to continue their current bush league packaging practices. If enough of their beautiful speakers are returned, ruined by unnecessary shipping damage, maybe the message will get back to Klipsch from their authorized dealers.

In my case, I am certain the damage occurred during shipment, not at the factory. I can see that the edges of the boxes have at some point been impacted and pushed in along the same areas as where the speakers are damaged. And in those areas there was nothing between the corner of the box and the corner of the speaker inside except for an inch and a half of empty space. Replace that empty space with a few cents worth of dense styrofoam and.... damage averted!

There is no need for such expensive overpacking. Simply adding four thick styrofoam pieces that run the length of the four edges would prevent the vast majority of shipping damage, while adding very little to the cost. It makes absolutely no sense that Klipsch doesn't do that.

Thanks Sam. I just got my prepaid return label and will be shipping them back to Electronics Expo. I got a bit of a discount on them, which makes me wonder if they already knew the speakers were damaged. I am going to order another pair from B&H and they tell me they will be shipped directly from Klipsch, hopefully with better luck. I wish I lived closer to Hope so I could drive there and pick them up myself... and also talk to someone in person about their ridiculously poor packaging.

It really is so stupid. They have these nice thick styrofoam caps protecting the tops and bottoms, with nothing protecting the edges. All they have to do to avoid 99% of these damage headaches is to add four long pieces of styrofoam to wrap the edges. How hard can that be?

I'll tell you what's up... the people at the Klipsch factory in Arkansas think it makes sense to ship their delicately finished speakers in thin cardboard boxes with nice styrofoam caps but with nothing to protect the cabinet edges.

Yeah, I think I will have to do that. I am also going to contact Klipsch about their packaging practices, not that it will do any good.

Like Sam S., I also received damaged Klipsch speakers. I bought a pair of brand new Heresy III's from Electronics Expo (authorized Klipsch dealer) and took delivery of them this morning. The boxes showed typical minor wear from shipping, but nothing that immediately stood out to me. As soon as I unboxed and inspected them, I found edge damage on both speakers. On the rear right edge of one speaker there is a small spot that is crushed in (photos 1 and 2). On the other speaker, the front left edge has a small spot that is slightly indented and discolored (photos 3 and 4) and the rear right edge has a small spot that is crushed in even worse (photos 5 and 6). Upon closer inspection of the boxes the speakers came in, I see that the edges corresponding to the damaged areas have indeed been crushed in. And since there was no styrofoam packing along the edges (only top and bottom caps), that damage was transferred directly to the speaker edges. Now I'm not sure what to do. On the one hand, the damage is minor and only one of the three spots is visible when the speakers are set against the wall, and I'm not crazy about the idea of sending them back only to find similar or even worse damage on the speakers they send me next. On the other hand, I paid for brand new speakers and I shouldn't have to accept and live with any kind of damage. I also don't like the idea of allowing Klipsch to get away with the incredibly asinine practice of shipping their speakers without any styrofoam or cardboard packing along the vulnerable edges. What would you guys do?

Thanks, good to hear. And that's my thinking exactly... the $700 I will save by going with the 80 wpc C368 is not chump change to me. And with the C368's pre-outs, I can always expand to a more powerful amp or a tube amp sometime in the future (budget willing).

The truth is that is likely WAY beyond what I can spend right now. But I can afford the C368 now, and maybe later I can get a tube amp and use the C368 as my DAC/pre-amp.

I would, except that I really want the ability to play music from iTunes, and the C368 has optical inputs, built in Bluetooth and the ability to add wifi connectivity. Maybe at some point I can use the preouts on the C368 to add a tube amp to drive my Heresy's.

I think I will save the $700 and go with the C368. Thanks to everyone for all your advice!

What amp (and power) do you use to drive your Heresy 2's?

I guess that is a definite plus, considering that I also keep reading that the Heresy III's are light on bass. But since the C388 costs $700 more than the C368, I have to decide if that better sound is worth that much.

So do you think the C388 would sound better than the C368, at the same volume?

Would connecting an additional amp via the preouts add to the C368's 80 watts, or would it replace them?

Yesterday I finally pulled the trigger on a pair of Heresy III's, and now I am in search of a good stereo amp to drive them. I think I have it narrowed down to the NAD C368 and its big brother the NAD C388... NAD C368: 80 Watts RMS per channel Total Harmonic Distortion 0.03% NAD C388: 150 Watts RMS per channel Total Harmonic Distortion 0.009% In all other respects (other than physical size and price), the two amps are identical. I live in a small condominium, and have no need (or desire) to play music at high volumes. I am interested in sound quality at low to moderate volumes. Which amp is the better choice?

Agree totally about cables. There is no doubt that the use of higher quality cables results in improved speaker performance, but for real-world purposes the point of diminishing returns is heavily skewed toward the cheaper end. A $100 cable may be worth the money. A $1000 cable most certainly is not. But to my original topic, I believe that bi-wiring speakers that are driven by a single amp is 100% snake oil.

Which has nothing whatsoever to do with the topic of this thread, which is whether or not bi-amping and bi-wiring make a discernible, significant difference in speaker output. Concluding that they don't does not equate to believing that anything but the cheapest (insert whatever) is overkill. I stated in my opening post that "I would like some more opinions" on whether or not bi-wiring a Heresy III results in discernibly improved sound. Pretty clear, don't you think?

You are suggesting that because amps and CD players are not all equal, it follows that bi-amping and bi-wiring speakers results in improvement of output. You sure you want to stick with that?

I'm no expert, but intuitively I agree that using a bi-wire cable should make no significant difference, especially when it runs from a single amplifier (two leads) to a bi-amped speaker (four leads). Maybe when using two separate amplifiers and two separate cables to feed the bi-amped speaker, it would make more of a difference, IDK.

There was a short thread on this a few years ago, but I would like some more opinions... For those who have the Heresy III's, do you have them hooked up bi-wired or just with regular wire/cable keeping the jumpers in place? Does it make any discernible difference?

Thanks for the input guys, very helpful. One more thing..... a seller on eBay is currently offering the Heresy III's for $1250 in unfinished ash veneer. They are new, and according to the seller are from a special batch that were originally intended for commercial use in Chipotle restaurants. They have no grills and no risers. I can easily improvise or make my own risers, but do you think I will have trouble finding a set of grills?

Thanks. Also, what is your opinion on the Heresy III's in a relatively small condo space (open living room/kitchen, about 16' x 20')? Do you think they would be overkill? I would rarely be cranking them up, listening mostly at moderate to lower volumes. I am more interested in hearing detail than high volume, and am also considering a pair of The Sixes as an alternative.