H700 Heresy

[Editor B]

I don't know a whole bunch about high-fidelity audio, but I inherited a pair of speakers last year when a friend passed away unexpectedly. From the label on the back I gather that they are Klipsch Model H700 Heresy speakers.

I plugged them in to my stereo and wow! I was blown away by the quality of the sound.

Heresy — what a cool and intriguing name. There must be a story behind it. Some internet searching led me to this forum, where I'm hoping someone more knowledgable can enlighten me.

Here's the label on the back of the speaker. Sorry it's such a bad photo — it was taken with my phone.

I'm hoping to learn a little bit more about these. What kind of speakers are they? When were they made? Are they hand made? It doesn't look mass-manufactuered to me, but I've never seen or heard anything like this before.

They look kind of old, and they are covered with some burlap-like upholstery that has seen better days. I'm afraid one of our cats treated it like a scratching post. I'm wondering what's under the upholstery but I'm a little leery of prying up the staples.

I'm sad to have lost my friend, but the sound of these speakers fills me with joy. My friend's last name was Speake, so they will always be Speake(rs) to me.

[nola]

Welcome Editor B

There were intended to be a center channel speaker for K Horns. Klipsch user in NOLA as well here. I think your stuff is from 1971. Upload some pics - esp. of the innerds. There are about 8 screws holding the rear wooden board in place. Unlikely to be sealed any further. Also, they likely need recaps badly. I work at Tulane. Give me a holler.......

NOLA

[Malcolm]

Well, you receive a nice set of speakers...

The name Heresy came about because this was PWK's first major product that did not have a horn-loaded woofer. IIRC the story is in one of the threads on this site.

The H700 name means that the crossover point between the woofer and squawker is 700 Hz. The earlier version, which indeed was designed as a center speaker for Klipschorns, crossed at 1000 Hz.

It has the same tweeter and squawker driver as the Klipschorn, and sounds very much like one, except at lower frequencies.

It is mass-produced. The burlap is not original. Go ahead and remove it if you wish.

IIRC HDR means Heresy Decorator (no grill) Raw (no finish)

[seti]

How about a pic of the rest of the speaker???

Before the Heresy there was a short run of the Model H. I took this pic at the Hope factory museum. There were only 18 made and sold.

[Editor B]

Thanks everybody for the info. I will try to post a better photo when I can get ahold of a better camera — shouldn't take too long, I've got one at the office.

BTW NOLA I work at XULA. Small world innit!

[nola]

Xavier is cool; great Pharmacy School. Nice to know that our country thought so much of us, that Qatar is spending $100M to rebuild the Pharm School.

But I digress. Give me a buzz, maybe meet over a beer/wine/beignets/etc. You can send me an email directly through the system without having to post your private info on the forum too.

[Groomlakearea51]

Editor: Look at http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/103886.aspx

Yours are "decorators" which had no grill cloth and the motor boards were "flush" to the cabinet sides and tops. Very nice find.

H = Heresy

D="Decorator" or "Designer"

R=raw birch (what the cabinets were made from)

12=12 inch woofer

Serial indicates "J" or made in 1971.

[JohnA]

I have an H700 with an "E" date code (1966). It has an E-V cast frame woofer (SP-12B?) and a Type C network. It had not been used in a long time, so the capacitors had to be replaced. I like it better than the Heresies I have, the bass sounds better and it is not as bright. It serves as rear center, right now.

Open yours up and see what is inside.