Subwoofers? We don't need no stinking subwoofers.

[Kevin S]

When I purchased my Heresy III's a short time ago, I refreshed my memory on the tenants of PWK regarding the placement of his speaker designs for proper stereo reproduction and maximum performance. Although unable to have corner placement, I spaced them wide apart, on the floor, against the wall and at a 45 degree toe in. Long story short: bass to 40hz, using the Pure Audio setting on the AVR, no subwoofers or Audyssey involved, the sound on music is just great. I have owned all of the Heritage series speakers off and on over the past 35 years or so. IMO, if you cannot place Heritage speakers as above, or in corners, as PWK recommended, you are seriously compromising their performance. Anybody that finds Heresy's bass shy needs to start from scratch on their placement. If corner placement makes them too bass heavy, do the un-audiophile thing and use your bass control to turn it down a notch or two. I had Heresy II's and got rid of them after doing all of the audiophile approved tricks that I now know were wrong. So happy to be back on the right track with these Heresy III's.

Edited October 10, 2015 by Kevin S

[willland]

Kevin,

 

I tend to agree with you.

 

With Heresy I's, II's, and III's, it is all about placement and room size.  Maybe a little twist of the bass tone control knob to help things out a bit.

 

I have never thought either my HI's or HII's were bass shy in their prospective rooms.  On the contrary, I think they are very punchy, fast and "accurate".  I would not be surprised if both pairs are hitting close to 40Hz with some boundary gain.

 

Enjoy your HIII's.

 

Bill

[Wolfbane]

When I purchased my Heresy III's a short time ago, I refreshed my memory on the tenants of PWK regarding the placement of his speaker designs for proper stereo reproduction and maximum performance. Although unable to have corner placement, I spaced them wide apart, on the floor, against the wall and at a 45 degree toe in. Long story short: bass to 40hz, using the Pure Audio setting on the AVR, no subwoofers or Audyssey involved, the sound on music is just great. I have owned all of the Heritage series speakers off and on over the past 35 years or so. IMO, if you cannot place Heritage speakers as above, or in corners, as PWK recommended, you are seriously compromising their performance. Anybody that finds Heresy's bass shy needs to start from scratch on their placement. If corner placement makes them too bass heavy, do the un-audiophile thing and use your bass control to turn it down a notch or two. I had Heresy II's and got rid of them after doing all of the audiophile approved tricks that I now know were wrong. So happy to be back on the right track with these Heresy III's.

 

It also helps to choose the right music. For example Big Bad Barry White.  

[rebuy]

I have to agree with you on Klipsch speakers and I don't own your model.

I have entry level Synergy series that are rated to 38 hertz and these speakers deliver.

For most music and sound in movies I don't really need to run a sub woofer.

When I do I cross it at 40Hz because I happen to enjoy the low tones the Klipsch Speakers

reproduce rather that the sub.  I know I'm gonna catch hell for saying that but I personally

think that people who use their subs up to 80Hz are not getting the best sound from their

speakers that they should.

 

My bass without the sub--sounds very natural and not inflated.  Of course many people like that

sound--they have it in the car and they prefer it in the home. 

 

I'm not putting people down who use subs--they have their place but I think they short change

themselves by not using their speakers for a more natural bass.  I know about reducing load to the amplifier

and all those arguments too. There are many pros and cons.

 

But when I use a sub--I use it for just that-Sub Frequencies--below the "Normal Bass"

my speakers are capable of because my speakers make a Very Good Sounding Bass.

 

With todays AVR's--quality ones--you have a much larger choice for setting control of input into the

speakers to get the best sound out.  My AVR doesn't offer a microphonic equalization and I don't feel

the need to have it with my Harman Kardon.  The Yamaha that's sitting in it's box--that I replaced

does have this feature but the H-K seems to have a lot more headroom and really brings the sound

to life in my Klipsch system.  Most of the time I run the sound "flat" and the receiver does the rest.

The combo of the H-K and Klipsch is so Dynamic--I don't feel the need for tone controls.

 

The only way I modify the sound is with the speaker levels. I don't run them all at zero.

They might sound better at -2 or +2 depending on the gear and the speaker.  There are almost

an infinite way to set today's modern AVR for the speaker that one chooses.

 

That's just my .02 cents

Edited October 10, 2015 by rebuy

[derrickdj1]

For two channel, good speaker placement can take the place of auto-EQ and a sub may not be necessary.  Kevin, it is nice to hear about how good the H III's sound.  I like subs and when integrated correctly, they can sound great in the right system.  When integrated right, the bass from a sub/s is just as natural as the bass from a speaker.  I don't use a sub with my Forte's which has great low end.

[jjptkd]

Yes, happy you have found bliss with the H III's. Subwoofers can be a lot of work and if done incorrectly can take away from a nice system, kind of a double edged sword I guess.

[Kevin S]

I have subs and have used them with great success for music in the past and use them for 5.2 sound. My real point was that when placed as their designer intended, my Heresy's are not bass shy and do not "need" a sub for music. This flies in the face of an overwhelming number of Heresy posts that I have seen, most of which seem to be made by folks using the typical speaker placement strategies of today.

Edited October 11, 2015 by Kevin S