MistaChy Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 What's so good about the haritage speakers. They are big ofcorse, but what makes them so great or preferable. If im looking at specs, in my understanding, they arent all that powerful, yet they are so big. And... they take up a lot of space as opposed to something like the RF-83... im just curious, can someone put me out of my misery? what am i missing here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 My suggestion would be go listen to a pair at a rare stereo shop that may happen to have them on the showroom floor or at someone's home that is willing to demo them for you. If you aren't smitten after a demo I would be surprised. A definate step up from the Reference line IMHO. They are not for everyone though which is why I strongly suggest a demo. I like them all from the Heresy to the Klipschorn's. I would suggest some Cornwalls or Klipschorn's or Belle's/La Scala's reinforced with a subwoofer. Long detailed explanations will not be necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MistaChy Posted June 22, 2009 Author Share Posted June 22, 2009 thanks. ill give em a listen if i can find em Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 i'm sure you can find a forum member in your city for a demo. just ask. someone would be glad to help you. i have at least one of each take a line from seinfeld their real and their spectacular Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturn5 Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 I'm afriad to listen to Heritage speakers, because I just finished most of my Reference 7 surround system and I don't want to have to start all over again buying new speakers. [] Maybe as an additional 2 channel setup? See, that's how it starts. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunburnwilly Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 What's so good about the haritage speakers. They are big ofcorse, but what makes them so great or preferable. If im looking at specs, in my understanding, they arent all that powerful, yet they are so big. And... they take up a lot of space as opposed to something like the RF-83...My cat could knock over an 83 or 2 []. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MistaChy Posted June 22, 2009 Author Share Posted June 22, 2009 What's a good price on a pair of em Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 Although challenged by an equal number of problems as conventional speakers, such as coloration, big ole horns provide ridiculously low distortion, amazing efficiency and incredible dynamics. Coupled to the most powerful pattern recognizing super-computer on the planet, your brain, these qualities never wear out your ears. The larger Klipsch Heritage series speakers are beloved by many musicians. Acoustic instruments sound quite real on big old horns. The full range and dynamics of the piano, for example, is better and easier reproduced, for less money, than many other high-end systems. The far right-hand notes have ping, the far left-hand ones growl and rumble. Drums have thump and snap, horns have blat and blare, and vocals are crisp and clear. Cymbals clang and sizzle like few other systems. As the bow strokes the taut strings of the cello, the Khorn cabinet vibrates like a hummingbird in flight. No other speaker makes pianos, drums, horns and cymbals sound so real. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunburnwilly Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 What's a good price on a pair of emWell my cat was $500. 10 years ago so with inflation your probably looking at $1,200. + . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Colin really described it. The realistic dynamics of big horns are hard to duplicate with direct-firing speakers, unless you spend a lot of money and get very expensive and powerful amps as well. If you want big sound, you need big speakers. It's almost that simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 The sound quality I preferred between my Forte IIs and the RF-7s I had prior to them is the midrange clarity. The Forte IIs had much more midrange detail and dynamic sound due to the midrange horn. Some Heritage speakers may not seem powerful as you've stated, but if you notice the sensitivity rating of them they are generally 100dB sensitive or higher. So, even though Klipschorns are only rated for something like 150 watts max input, they're already outputting well over 100dB with just a single watt going into them. Heritage speakers don't need nearly as much amplifier power to drive them to high decibel levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted June 23, 2009 Moderators Share Posted June 23, 2009 Colin really described it. The realistic dynamics of big horns are hard to duplicate with direct-firing speakers, unless you spend a lot of money and get very expensive and powerful amps as well.If you want big sound, you need big speakers. It's almost that simple. Yes I agree. Can a little cube compare to an RF-83, I doubt it, same thing but the Rf's are the little cubes, compared to some. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 The key difference between Reference and Heritage is the midrange crossover point. Heritage midrange crossover point is 400 to 700 hz. Reference speakers crossover point is around 2000-2200 hz. What this means in listening is that on Reference, there is a good portion of midrange material, most noticably the human voice, being reproduced by your woofers. When it is reproduced on a sqwaker horn, like a Heritage or Paladium, the sound is much cleaner. JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White_Hawk Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I've only heard rf-83's from the reference line, and Heresy I's and II's from the heritage line. So the "highest" of reference and the "lowest" of heritage. I have to say, after listening to the Heresy's I was wondering just how well spent my money was on the 83s. The bass is considerably tighter on the 83's, but the midrange is SO SWEET on the Heresy's! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted June 24, 2009 Moderators Share Posted June 24, 2009 Maybe as an additional 2 channel setup? See, that's how it starts It really is no joke......just say NO !.....or you will end up with giant plywood boxes all over the house. Or just go the largest made and get it over ! [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyrc Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Whenever you move from one well designed speaker to another well designed speaker, you gain something and lose something, IMO. Klipschorns (probably the best of the Heritage line for most music) excel in dynamics, and certain kinds of clarity. As J. Gordon Holt once said, "they trigger the musical Gestalt" for many listeners who are musicians. As to "power," with the most conservative ratings, it would take an 800 watt amplifier into a typical speaker (90 dB at 2.83 volts at 1 meter) to equal the output from Khorns with an 120 wt amp........ with ratings based on the Khorn pushed all the way back in a room corner or an artificial corner (where they must be) a typical speaker would need over 3,000 watts to produce sound as loud as a Khorn with a 120 watt amp (these are figures I just happened to have -- in practice, you wouldn't want to put a steady signal of either 800 watts or 3,000 watts into a typical speaker, nor would you want to put a steady 120 watts into a Khorn). What Khorns can't do is cover up (mush over) a bad recording. Some other speakers obscure some details (like a singer's rattling necklace that I heard on Klipschorns but missed on all other speakers I tried), and may contribute some harmonically pleasant distortion that will make a bad recording sound "richer." Khorns (and many other horns) are not very "forgiving" but have relatively low frequency modulation distortion, and low intermodulation distortion. I once knew a musician who had one set of speakers (all paper cones) to listen to most recordings and FM radio with because they were "forgiving," and a set of horn loaded speakers to listen to recordings of his own acoustical guitar work, because the forgiving speakers could not reproduce the immediacy and "thereness," as he put it, of his guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winchester21 Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Colin nailed it as to the whole picture. I listened to every Ref speaker arould the top of the line and there is a lot to be said for the 83s and 63s. The RC 64 center is particulary excellent. The reference is more forgiving to compressed material and bad recording. So- I like both for different reasons. In a head to head comparison this not a fair contest. A heritage HT system- particulary using K horns as fronts and a lascala for a center- will massacre just aouut anything on the market- inculding some of your local movie theatres. But you have to consider that a used 1600 set of k horns or a 750.00 set of used Lascalas is really a $8000 and a $6000 pair of speakers. Therein lies the slam dunk no brainer aspect of going this route. I scrapped my reference setup-sold the stuff and for about 5300-used- including electronics- not including TV- put together a HT sound system that murders stuff costing many times that amount. I am amazed at the fact that so few people choose to do this. The downside is space issues. The Heritage stuff ain't small. The old lady will freak out. I would advise you to first see if you can shoehorn all of this stuff into your listening area. Otherwise- do not.. repeat .. do not even listen to the Heritage stuff cause you will not get it out of your head until you buy it. One more thing- 2 channel listening will benefit greatly from a separate and sometimes very expensive group of components as these speakers are very unforgiving to less than perfect components(all HT receivers) and bad recordings. I use my front k horns for both and switch back and forth between systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturn5 Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Well said. Even when building my Reference 7 system, I noticed how they showed weaknesses in other areas of my system or poor quality recordings that I didn't notice before. It's forced me to up the quality across the board, but the reward in acoustic bliss has been well worth it. Moving from Reference to Heritage really is a huge jump. When you consider I have RF-7, RC-7 and RS-62 speakers, and all of them combined,plus my Outlaw 970 pre/pro and Outlaw 7500 amp cost less than one pair of new Klipschhorns, you begin to realize how big of a jump it is. I'm sure if/WHEN I get some Heritage speakers, it will be the same thing all over again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winchester21 Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 If you ever wanted Heritage speakers- Now is the Time. I have seen k horns drop like a lead submarine down to the 1600 range and sometimes even lower. lascalas in the 500-700 range. I really think that they have hit bottom. Compare these numbers to what else you can get for these pityiful sums of speaker money and it is an absolute joke. Anyone who buys a set of used Heritage speakers at todays joke of a price should LTAO all the way home with their purchase as well as everytime they go into a stereo shop. I drolled over and longed for a set of k horns most of my adult life and considered them just too expensive until I started hanging out here and saw what you easy and cheap it was to get a used pair. My 1984 examples sound unbelievable. The same scenario with my 2 pairs of lascalas and my Cornwalls.Reference speakers are still bringing good money so the transition is fairly painless considering what you get. The biggest PITA is the driving to get them and the wife's reaction. I have about 4000 miles invested in my HT and 2 channel setups. I will most likely build a 2nd reference system in another room. Lots of things to like about the product line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Combat_SAMBO_Guy Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 For sure, I just got a pair of Heresy II's for $250..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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