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too much power for heresy ?


dougie834

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Hi this is my first post so go easy on me :) I have just bought a pair of heresy III which I like a lot,with them having 99db sens is there such thing as using an amp with too much power ? the power amp I have is audio research vs110 which is 100 watt per side, is this too much ? i know at low volume there will be just a few watts or so being used so is the extra power a waste ?,i only play music at a lowish volume I notice a lot of heresy owners use SET amps with them are these low power amps as good as they say...

oracle delphi mk4

morche up4

audio technica oc9

DNM 3c/twin

audio research vs110

klipcsh heresy 3 (on steel stands)

thanks

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Welcome, you picked some cool speakers.

Like Budman said that amp will be fine, your ears will give up before you toast the speakers.

Can't comment on the SET amps, never tried them myself.

Edited by dtel
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i know at low volume there will be just a few watts or so being used so is the extra power a waste ?
Not a waste per say, but can pose a problem in roundabout way. Depending upon the noise floor of your gear, too much gain at the power amp stage can bring about hiss or other noise.
with them having 99db sens is there such thing as using an amp with too much power ?
....i only play music at a lowish volume

See here to get you into the ball-park.

https://community.klipsch.com/dope/Dope_770100_v16n1.pdf

Data for the Heresy I are on page 2, upper right corner. Heresey III numbers would be very similar.

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The AR is a fine amp, even if you don't use it to full capacity.

Low power SETs have rather habit forming sonic personalities but may be limited when you want to crank the true long-hair music like Wagner or Beethoven and such. I actually prefer more linear amps (boring ol' ss) and SETs over the PP types I've tried, none of which were at the level of your AR.

Forum member Justin Weber is making some reasonably priced tube amps, and he does offer a single ended model. You should seek him out via PM or visit ampsandsound.com and take one for a test drive.

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Your ears would bleed in a normal size room before you blew them. I cranked my rb5's to ear splitting levels and thats just an 8" driver, the heresy is a larger speaker and very capable, i used to own a pair but didnt like them for their lack of low end but from their low end up, they had a fantastic sound.

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You will be listening at a few watts average power but the extra power will come in handy for reproducing louder passages in the music. If you are listening at 1 watt average and a 13 dB peak arrives you will need 20 watts to properly reproduce the peak. With your amp you will easily be able to do that without clipping or distortion. In fact you will be able play at a 5 watt average and have undistorted reproduction.

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welcome to the forum. congrats on the Heresy 3's. black - walnut or cherry. we won't believe you until you post some pictures. we want pictures. as far as the amp, you'll be fine

will post some pics soon as I get my camera ,there black thanks

thanks for the reply's lads

Edited by dougie834
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  • 2 weeks later...

No, as long as you pay attention to the volume and use some common sense, having lots of power available to a speaker is not a bad thing. I temporarily hooked up a 500 watt per channel amp to a pair of Heresy IIs, with excellent results.

It's a high-end amp, and the detail, clarity, and bass authority it produced with those speakers impressed me. Some high-powered/high-gain amps may produce some hiss that will be apparent with high-sensitivity speakers, but that's about the only drawback.

As was pointed out by another commenter, the speakers will be using just a few watts most of the time, but having the extra power available for musical peaks is helpful and won't normally damage the speakers at normal listening levels.

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  • 6 years later...

Just blew my new Heresy lll speaker powered by McIntosch MA352. Had both only about a month. Play it between volume of 40 to 75 on high end depending on where I’m sitting and what type music. In a 30’x40’ room. I love the speakers but I guess couldn’t handle the power. If I have them repaired and play at lower volume will they always sound sub par? Should I go to speakers that can handle more power? Salesman at high end store recommended the combination. Are they compatible or too much power? Any comments appreciated. Got the system to listen to vinyl mainly and been listening couple hours per day and really enjoying. Makes me sick it blew. Thanks

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On 1/17/2021 at 8:28 AM, Steve Brunson said:

Just blew my new Heresy lll speaker powered by McIntosch MA352. Had both only about a month. Play it between volume of 40 to 75 on high end depending on where I’m sitting and what type music. In a 30’x40’ room. I love the speakers but I guess couldn’t handle the power. If I have them repaired and play at lower volume will they always sound sub par? Should I go to speakers that can handle more power? Salesman at high end store recommended the combination. Are they compatible or too much power? Any comments appreciated. Got the system to listen to vinyl mainly and been listening couple hours per day and really enjoying. Makes me sick it blew. Thanks

Can you elaborate on what "blew"? To me, "volume of 40 to 75" doesn't indicate much - what were the watt meters registering? It's a quality 200w integrated amp, and as what was said above, your ears should have blown way before the speakers.

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On 2/9/2014 at 7:27 PM, Islander said:

No, as long as you pay attention to the volume and use some common sense, having lots of power available to a speaker is not a bad thing. I temporarily hooked up a 500 watt per channel amp to a pair of Heresy IIs, with excellent results.

It's a high-end amp, and the detail, clarity, and bass authority it produced with those speakers impressed me. Some high-powered/high-gain amps may produce some hiss that will be apparent with high-sensitivity speakers, but that's about the only drawback.

As was pointed out by another commenter, the speakers will be using just a few watts most of the time, but having the extra power available for musical peaks is helpful and won't normally damage the speakers at normal listening levels.

 

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Those speakers are easily repairable and will sound good as new, however, it won't solve your problem of a 30 x 40 room. 

 

If you post photos of your room, or simple diagram you will get lot of great answers on how to fill that room with awesome Klipsch sound. If you have 2 corners,  yea, Khorns or Jubilees with a Heresy to play with for 3 Ch. Stereo. If no corners, then Cornwalls or LaScala's (with a sub).

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That’s a pretty big room, and it will take big speakers to jiggle all that air.  How high is your ceiling?  That matters too.  Your room encloses many cubic feet of air.  Trying to make small speakers do the job is asking too much from them.  As other members suggested, a pair of bigger speakers like La Scalas, Klipschorns, or Cornwalls, are what you need.  If you get subwoofers, get at least 12” models, and 15” models would not be too much.

 

If you have the budget for a system like that, you could have some really big/realistic sound, sound that’s hard to produce in a smaller room.  Good luck!

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On 1/20/2021 at 7:37 AM, Islander said:

That’s a pretty big room, and it will take big speakers to jiggle all that air.  How high is your ceiling?  That matters too.  Your room encloses many cubic feet of air.  Trying to make small speakers do the job is asking too much from them.  As other members suggested, a pair of bigger speakers like La Scalas, Klipschorns, or Cornwalls, are what you need.  If you get subwoofers, get at least 12” models, and 15” models would not be too much.

 

If you have the budget for a system like that, you could have some really big/realistic sound, sound that’s hard to produce in a smaller room.  Good luck!

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  This.  Exactly this.  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   @Steve Brunson

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On 1/17/2021 at 11:28 AM, Steve Brunson said:

Just blew my new Heresy lll speaker powered by McIntosch MA352. Had both only about a month. Makes me sick it blew. Thanks

you need at least 2 pairs minimum  ------buy another pair of Heresy speakers -that will help  -30x 40  is 1200 feet square-Heresy is ok for  1/4 the room size  -----------do yourself a favor buy bigger speakers

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