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Which Heresy version is the best?


zam

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Hello All,

I'm new here to the group. I am in the market to aquire some Heresy speakers... I am willing to upgrade with the kits offered in order to make them sound better... If you all could have any version, which would you choose?[:D]

Thank you,

Zam

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Easy to work on, restore, great "entry level" on a limited budget, etc - H-I

Good value and can be upgraded to H-III with parts kit from Klipsch - H-II

Best value, bang for the buck, new, warranty, etc. H-III

Cool

Amen! I have recommended new Heresy III to many people. They are a bargain in the hi-fi world.

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Also, note the upgrade kit offered by Klipsch will bring your H IIs to the same hardware spec as H IIIs; but this kit is NOT compatible with H Is.

FYI.

Good Luck.

Some notes on the "conversion"....

Very important point by Ironsave regarding the H-I.

You can do it, but the really big challenge is you will have to replace the motorboard with an H-II board, and the H-II board is NOT the same dimensions as the H-I as the H-II is by design fitted inside a routed cut slot on the H-II cabinet panels. That one little "issue" requires you have a precision table saw, a really good router, etc. It's not difficult, it's just very time consuming, and if you make any mistakes on measurements, etc..... Oh well.....

You also have to modify the the lower and upper horizontal brace to allow the woofer driver frame to clear and the tweeter magnet to pass through. That modification requires a router with at least a 1.5" depth, a spare or blank H-II motor board, and removal of the factory 19/32" staples in the center of the existing braces.

And..... you will also have to replace the rear panel with a new one from 1/2" birch, or at least cut out a 4"x6" crossover hole.

The biggest "mechanical" problem is removing the old motorboard. You have to be really careful as it's glued and stapled. Having "destroyed" a bazillion old H-I cabinets to do complete restorations for folks, it's not an issue for me as I always replace the old board, braces, and as often as not, the cabinet panels themselves. But for the "normal" H-I owner, while knocking the board out can often tear out parts of the bracing because of the glue. You have to do it very carefully, be prepared to use a heat gun or hair dryer to try to get the glue soft enough to pull away. Sometimes it works.... sometimes it does not.... When I replace motorboards, I always screw them tight from the rear, with a gasket, through the bracing so they can be easily removed for driver replacement, etc. later.

I've done it to an experimental pair of H-I's with H-II components for my daughter's college apartment, and worked out the "how to's" etc. Works very well, and....!!! I can change the motorboard back to H-I anytime I need.

I will be doing an H-I to H-III in this fashion in the next month, with pictures, etc. My estimate is that provided you have the motor board, the rear panel, and the tools, it will take about a full day.

Unfortunately, by the time someone gets finished (unless they have the tools and resources to do it), it would probably not be worth it unless the H-I cabinets are in really good condition. The pair I will be doing are an old badly damaged pair from Colterphoto or a pair of totally wrecked "BB's" that basically need everything re-done just to be resurrected.

The H-III upgrade kit is available from Klipsch Parts. It includes all the drivers, gaskets, mid-horn, crossovers. They are about $290 each. You will likely have to "relieve" the tweeter magnet cutout hole and brace behind it to get the new tweeter in as the magnet is larger than the old K-76. Can be done with a file, a grinder, or a router. Does not take long, but you still have to do it.

Again, the only suggestion I really offer is: Look at the cabinets. Look really hard. Are they worth the ~$600 you will spend to get the H-III? If you are going to spend that much, maybe you should also consider having them refinished, new veneer, new grills, etc. That's easily going to be another ~$300 if it's done right. If you know what you are doing and have the tools, it'll still cost about $150 to make them all "prettified".

Most likely it's going to a better idea to just save up the remaining amount and get the H-III's themselves.

Just some thoughts and observations

[H]

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