Klipsch H-700 Speakers...Help

[Appleskinner]

I have an opportunity to purchase a pair of early 70s H-700 speakers. I've done some searches and there doesn't seem to be much information on them other than the fact they are made of 1/2" plywood versus 3/4" plywood used in the newer Heresys. Are the H-700s a desirable model or would I be better off with a pair of Heresy IIs? Do they contain the exact same drivers? Lastly, what is a fair price for a pair of H-700s in excellent condition?

~Gary

[Bill H.]

Here is some info I found:

'H700 is simply an early Heresy. The "H" stands for Heresy. The "700"
appears to stand for the crossover frequency between the woofer and
tweeter. They have Type C crossover network and 16 ohm woofer, just
like the ones labeled Heresy manufactured during the early 70s. All the
H700s I have seen, should have ElectroVoice
SP12B woofers.



H700 tweeter is K77. Squawker driver is K55-V. These are the same as
used through the 70s and into the 80s with the exception of the very
last year Heresys that had K-52-H or K-53-K squawker drivers and a
slightly different sound. The older models had PWK in a chevron for a
logo. The bar didn't show up until the later years.'

[Appleskinner]

Thank you, Bill. So, the H700 is a 16-ohm speaker? Based on what I've found, these don't appear to be anything special in comparison to the later Heresy. The thinner plywood seems to make them somewhat less desirable, but I could be wrong. These do have the PWK chevron logo.

[colterphoto1]

just the front and back panels are 1/2" The rest should be 3/4stock.

[Appleskinner]

From what I've found, these were originally designed as a center speaker -- not as stereo pairs. As a result, they have even less bass than the Heresy. Does anyone have the specs? Should I expect to pay Heresy I prices? I cannot find much historical data on these on Ebay, etc.

[Groomlakearea51]

The H-700 is, in substance, the Heresy. The model was H-700, but was still a "Heresy". As Bill indicated, the changes were minor throught the production of the Heresy-I's (of which the H-700 was the first of them to arrive on the scene). Dependent on the price, a vintage Heresy/H-700 would be a nice speaker. The H-700's are really no different than any other Heresy-I in the bass arena. The key is to make sure the rear panel is properly sealed, etc. The cabinet should have no "leaks" which is what causes the often observed "bass issue". Also, the later type E crossover compensated for some of the frequency response issues and was better matched to the K-22 woofer/ k-55 mid and K77 tweeter.

Take a ;ook at this thread http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/p/103886/1048788.aspx#1048788 for details on the Heresy and it's history, drivers, etc.

[Batmans Robin]

This is not making my task of ranking the speakers any easier boys!!!

[Appleskinner]

Thank you for the info, Marshall. I ended up purchasing the speakers this afternoon. They were in great condition and were being sold by the original owner. They sound good and look identical, but the SNs are significantly different (2HXXX & 3JXXX). Although the SNs give the impression these speakers are 2 years apart, the seller bought them new as a pair and they appear to be a perfect match.

Since the "C" crossover is not desirable, Would it be more beneficial to purchase some "E" crossovers to get some bass into these cabinets?

[Groomlakearea51]

Other than "sealing" which I think I discussed in http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/109693.aspx , check with Bob Crites and get the "D" crossovers either re-capped, or "upgraded" to E. (Not E2's). If you have the money, consider getting the parts from Bob for a pair of E's and do your own. Reason? The D's are the originals and somewhat rare now and I'd leave them alone and wrapped up in case you sell the Heresy's at a later date. When you talk to Bob, get the test numbers for the the drivers and at some point pull them out, inspect them and test them. There are a number of things other than capacitors that can deteriorate over time, i.e. diaphragms; and that may also be something to do later as well.

Have fun, enjoy them and keep us posted as to how they sound as you do different tweaks, mods and "upgrades".

[JohnA]

I'll try to check mine, but I think my H700 is 3/4" plywood except for the rear panel, as are all Heresies, except the HIPs.

The Type C crossover is likely the best for the drivers in an H-700. I have remade my Type Es into something similar to Type Cs, but did it before I saw a Type C. I highly recommend NOT changing that Type C, other than to replace the certainly out of spec capacitors.

[HudsonValleyNoah]

John,

What's so special about these type C crossovers?

[Bill W.]

From what I've found, these were originally designed as a center speaker -- not as stereo pairs. As a result, they have even less bass than the Heresy. Does anyone have the specs? Should I expect to pay Heresy I prices? I cannot find much historical data on these on Ebay, etc.

Early H-700's used a shelving network which did not attenuate the treble, allowing the bass response to droop relative to the hf. Over the years, there was a growing demand for these speakers as stereo pairs which lead to a redesign of the crossover using the autotransformer to attenuate the treble by 6db above the 700hz crossover point. This provided for uniform response. I don't recall what year that change took place.

[Bill W.]

Thank you for the info, Marshall. I ended up purchasing the speakers this afternoon. They were in great condition and were being sold by the original owner. They sound good and look identical, but the SNs are significantly different (2HXXX & 3JXXX). Although the SNs give the impression these speakers are 2 years apart, the seller bought them new as a pair and they appear to be a perfect match.

Since the "C" crossover is not desirable, Would it be more beneficial to purchase some "E" crossovers to get some bass into these cabinets?

If your speakers have the EV woofers, then the type "C" crossover is correct. The type "D" network raised the treble output by 3db to match improved bass output with the later K-22 woofer. Using a type "D" or "E" network in your existing speakers will result in LESS apparent bass as the treble will be too bright.

[Appleskinner]

I cracked the backs on both speakers for the first time in 38 years and they've both got the "C" crossover with K-77 tweets, K-55V mids and K-22 woofer with red surrounds. My guess is these are not EV woofers.

Based on what you see in the photos, does this mean the "E" crossover would create a noticable improvement in sound? Like I said before, they sound pretty good as is, but I would like to get them sounding their best.

[Appleskinner]

Double post...

[HudsonValleyNoah]

Appleskinner,

I will send you a pair of Type E Xovers so you can try them out and see.

PM me your address and I'll ship them out to you,

Noah

[HudsonValleyNoah]

Wait, I only have one Type E left (I think Bliss got the other,)

But it still would be cool as you could replace one and sort of A/B them...

I do have a pair of Heresy Type D xovers, but I have no knowledge about the difference between the type E and Type D...

But like I said, PM me with your addy and tell me what you want me to send over...

Noah

[Evolvo]

So would it be ok to turn a type C into a type E crossover or would the 16ohm SP12B cause a problem with the type e. I have a pair of type C's and from reading the info, type E's are better because of a better frequency response. Bob said that the inductor was the same on both the type E and C so it seem it should not cause a problem, but he wasn't totally sure cause he never had a type C crossover and done the mod before. It seems as though some people think you would need the 8ohm eminence K-22 to work with the TYpe E.

thanks.

[Mr. Slate]

Hi All, newb here...

I have a pair of '73 Heresy's and they too have the Type C crossovers w/K-22-E Woofers. I'm considering this upgrade as well and would really like to see this thread answered. It's funny, I have searched and searched and have not been able to come up with a schematic for the Type C crossover; I guess I'm going to have to make one...

BTW, I A/B'd the Heresy's against my '79 Cornwall's and there is no comparison between the two; the CW's have a much fuller sound to the point where it sounds like the H's are not working correctly... I'd love to test those caps in the H's with an LCR meeter.

[Malcolm]

Don't know if the modification is an upgrade...

There may be a difference in sensitivity between the alnico K-22-E used with the Type C Network and the ferrite K-22-E used with the Type E network.

The difference between the two networks is a change from 1uF to 2uF for the capacitor feeding the autotransformer, and a change in the transformer taps used for the squawker and tweeter.