Agolfman Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 (edited) Just picked up a "new to me" pair of 1975 Heresy's (model year "N"), from a nice gentleman on CL that had them unused, taking up space in his house. Not entirely sure of the finish, but in reasonably good shape. Just one torn dust cap and a spot where the veneer has been pulled away. Felt like priced at $175, these couldn't be turned down! They sound fantastic (I'm a Forte and Quartet owner already), but I'm planning on a "full Crites", with bracing, dampening, etc. Perhaps a binding post upgrade as well. This is going to be a joint project with my son, who is exclusively an earbud listener, and something he'll hopefully have as a foundation for his own listening for many years to come. Originally, I was thinking re-veneer, but now I'm not so sure. I suppose that I'll make the call on that after the first sanding. I had previously converted my quartets from a worn out black paint to a red birch veneer, and those came out great. But with the age of these, and my intent to pass them along to my son, I'm thinking maybe just restoring them to originals and seeing if they really clean up well. Thoughts on older speaker preservation vs refurb are all welcome! Pics to follow. Edited June 2, 2016 by Agolfman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agolfman Posted June 2, 2016 Author Share Posted June 2, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agolfman Posted June 2, 2016 Author Share Posted June 2, 2016 Damaged dust cap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agolfman Posted June 2, 2016 Author Share Posted June 2, 2016 The only substantial chip in the veneer. Might be a tough match but that's the fun of it right....? And next to my refinished Quartet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agolfman Posted June 2, 2016 Author Share Posted June 2, 2016 I should note that while these are consecutively sequenced serial numbers, the stickers are no help on the finish. One has been mostly torn off and the other is too faded to be of any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 The finish looks like Walnut Oil to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 (edited) i'm gonna go with cherry lacquer, sorry charles, i know you have some in cherry Edited June 3, 2016 by Budman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamaMike Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 You got a pretty sweet deal! Those look good enough to touch up rather than re-veneer. I bought some Heresy 1's (1978) for $200 a couple months back and they were ROUGH to say the least. I just finished veneering them in red birch with a Cherry stain (Watco Danish Oil)... came out fantastic. Crites recap and risers. I'm in love with them. I'm a newb here but I'll be posting pics soon. Good luck with your new (to you) speakers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 Welcome, Mike! Yes, please post pics when you are able. We always like pics! Bruce 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricktate Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 I think if you heat up that edge banding it will come off then just get mew banding from wood workers supply. But need to see labels to be sure of finish. Back then they could be any type of veneer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agolfman Posted June 3, 2016 Author Share Posted June 3, 2016 I think if you heat up that edge banding it will come off then just get mew banding from wood workers supply. But need to see labels to be sure of finish. Back then they could be any type of veneer. That's what I was thinking, to iron it right off. Feeling like its walnut, so il can at least do a test this weekend and see if I can match the finish. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fromnowon Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 Hello! Well, I recently got a lot of help on this forum for some Heresy I crossover improvements, and I thought I'd share the link just in case you are thinking about some options for your project. https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/45977-heresy-speaker-balance-question/ I think this is an awesome father-and-son project! I learned a lot from "refurbishing" my Heresy's. Like a lot of people I guess, I found that my Heresy's, which are the same as yours, sounded overly bright and I tried really hard to adjust to them, but finally decided to make some changes which helped a lot. There are many Heresy mod threads out there. Besides the crossovers I made a few other improvements which were fun to experiment with and hear the impact. For example, I was surprised that there was no gasket material of any kind between the drivers and the baffle, or to seal the back. I found some inexpensive narrow adhesive weatherstripping that worked great so I included those pictures here too. I also made alternate backs from plywood and added ports . . . to see if it would improve the low end and kept the originals so I can go back to sealed boxes easily. Heresy's are fun to experiment with. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtr20 Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 (edited) I also made alternate backs from plywood and added ports . . . to see if it would improve the low end and kept the originals so I can go back to sealed boxes easily.Please let us know how the ports go, I have thought about doing this, others said it would not help, the bass would become muddy, but I'm still really curious. Edited June 5, 2016 by dtr20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fromnowon Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 Sure - but I have to confess that in addition to the ports and improved sealing, I followed John Albright's crossover mods. (I also dropped in some new woofers and damped the aluminum horns.) So I am commenting on a set of changes actually. Maybe I'm not in the best position to comment on the effect of just ports because I changed other things too. Anyway, I'll paste pics of the ports that I picked and the new backs. They are 3" ports from Parts Express, with a flare on the outside. I had to think about where to put them because as you know Heresy cabinets are really packed full of drivers but I squeezed them in - just couldn't go as low as I'd have liked. I got advice from Matt at Parts Express relative to the diameter and length of the port tubes. I am really enjoying the new sound! It's very full - much more than before - and I love how the mid and highs come through so clear and seem to sparkle. Vocals seem astonishingly clear, real sounding and warmer than before the mods. At the moment I'm using a vintage amp (Realistic STA-90) and I can leave the bass and treble controls at neutral and there is plenty of clean bass that "thumps" and sounds very solid and sometimes "growly". I can hear individual bass notes cleanly. In rock music I can hear what the bass player is playing - the riffs etc. are clear. I don't know if it's "muddy" or not, honestly, but I think it's fun to hear these speakers in a new way that's for sure. I can listen for long periods of time now without any fatigue. Amazing but the changes made the horns sound better somehow. Great imaging. The vocals really ride in a nice place now and I can hear individual instruments better. So clear it's truly amazing! I think that's what I notice the most. The plywood was $5 at Menards and the ports were cheap and easily reversible in 10 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamaMike Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 Welcome, Mike! Yes, please post pics when you are able. We always like pics! Bruce POSTED! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mancave Man Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 Good luck on your joint project. I'm always happy to see our hobby being passed on to new generations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricktate Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 I have added another layer of wood on the back board on the inside to keep it more solid. I also put a seal on the back board . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agolfman Posted June 6, 2016 Author Share Posted June 6, 2016 Spent the past weekend not working on these and listening instead! These are still stock and sound very, very good. I find it a little surprising to read so much about lack of bass as I think they're very musical. Could see adding a sub but for now I think my son could be very happy without much upgrading. We'll see what we get when I get the backs opened up.... I had a chance to A/B against my fully upgraded Quartets and they hang right with them. Both were run by my Pioneer SA 7700 and I think I'm simply finding myself lucky to have a synergistic combination. Anyway, will get started on the refurb this week and keep the thread updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 These are still stock and sound very, very good. I find it a little surprising to read so much about lack of bass as I think they're very musical. Adding a sub to Heresy and LaScala speakers is the first thing people try to get you to do. Just enjoy them for a while. Plus, you are correct about the synergy between components. Some things work and some... not so well. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fromnowon Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 Just for fun, in case you haven't seen it, I'll attach a brochure that I found on the Heresy I. I think this is a very cool document! It makes the point that Heresy's were not designed for low bass response (only 50 Hz) and gives a really good description of the design. I've really enjoyed having these speakers. Heresy I Flyer.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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