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heresy 3 and cheap receiver


lotech

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Hi,  I'm new to the forum and relatively new to Klipsch.  Less than a year ago I purchased a pair of Heresy 3's after being very impressed with a pair of rf 62's that I had in another room.  The Heresys are in a small 10 by10 room that has all walls covered with six foot bookcases.  The speakers are 7 feet apart and I sit equidistant from both at six feet back.  I power them with an entry level Sony STR DH130 2 channel receiver.  They are only used to listen to CDs and FM radio.  I think they sound fantastic.  The clarity, separation and soundstage seem wonderful to me.  After browsing this forum for some months now, I'm wondering if a receiver upgrade would really make much of a difference in such a small listening area.   Since I'm 70 years old with no technical expertise or DIY knowledge any speaker modifications are not to be considered.  If my situation isn't too basic to be addressed, I'd welcome any comments.  By the way, I must say that I think the rf 62's are also really great...not as refined as the Heresys but not that far behind them.

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Sounds like you have a perfect little setup there.  You can incrementally improve the sound by going with a higher quality receiver with more oomph.  Check out crutchfield.com 2-channel receiver page - lots of options.  Or, there are lots of folks on this forum that have experience with restored receivers from the golden age '70s and '80s.

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Lotech,

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Before my present Integra DTM-40.4 receiver, I used a legendary Luxman R-117 receiver to drive my Heresy II's.  The combination was the best I have ever heard in my house. 

With that said, in that specific listening area, near field 4ft x 4ft by 6ft triangle, the DTM-40.4/Heresy II's combo performance is about 95% of the R-117/HII's combo.  

 

With that said, maybe look at one of these if you want to possibly step up the performance a bit.

 

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/onktx8160/onkyo-tx-8160-2-x-80-watts-networking-stereo-receiver/1.html

 

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/yamrs700bl/yamaha-r-s700-2-ch-x-100-watts-natural-sound-stereo-receiver-bose-901-comp/1.html

 

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/yamrn602bl/yamaha-r-n602-2-ch-x-80-watts-networking-stereo-receiver/1.html

 

Bill

 

 

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Bill,  thanks for the recommendations.  Do you think these items would provide better sound than what I have currently or would they provide options that, quite honestly, I'll never use?  My system is for classical CDs and FM radio exclusively.  It's not connected to a computer, a TV, a subwoofer or a turntable.

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You will not hear any difference with a different receiver driving your speakers. As long as the receiver is not being driven beyond its rating (you'll know it when you hear it), you're good. Sounds like you're not listening to rap, trance, or other high bass demand music, at live levels. You're good as is.

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13 minutes ago, lotech said:

Do you think these items would provide better sound than what I have currently or would they provide options that, quite honestly, I'll never use?  My system is for classical CDs and FM radio exclusively.  It's not connected to a computer, a TV, a subwoofer or a turntable.

Actually that Yamaha R-S700 looks pretty good.  Mostly analog connections without too many modern frills.

 

4 minutes ago, Peter P. said:

You will not hear any difference with a different receiver driving your speakers.

I am not so sure that you will not hear a difference but if you enjoy the sound you are currently experiencing, then why "upgrade" if you don't have to.

 

Bill

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You could make small improvements in the sound of your system, but you might have to listen closely to hear them.  The Luxman receiver noted above, or a 70s/80s era Yamaha, Marantz, or Sansui receiver that has been cleaned and the capacitors replaced, would do it. 

 

I'm in your boat.  I have a desire for a simple, sweet sounding two channel receiver for a simple system to be used in a remote cabin.  So far, I haven't found what I want. 

 

Seventy is not that old, anymore!!!!

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John,  in the 70's I had both Marantz and Sansui receivers.  Back then I had Advent speakers and I remember the sound fondly.  You're right (I hope)...70 isn't that old anymore but I doubt that my hearing is as good as it was 40 years ago so I think I'll just continue to enjoy what I have and leave the  high tech innovations to the newer generations.

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BUT if you do run across a good working receiver from the 70-80 do yourself a favor and try it out. As far as the older receivers go my favorite is Harmon Kardon 930,630 or 430 all twin powered, or Sansui, they sound amazing to me. You could always sell it if you don't like it, but I doubt that would happen. Power and quality are two different things, you don't need the power.

 

No your hearing is probably not as good as it was 40 years ago, but I bet you can still remember "that" sound when you hear it.

 

Welcome

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The biggest improvement would be the addition of a subwoofer. There are many affordable models available. You can upgrade your receiver but until you get up in price quite a bit the consumer grade receivers sound very similar. 

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On 4/3/2017 at 2:36 PM, lotech said:

I think they sound fantastic. 

 

I agree with Russ.  Nevertheless, although a subwoofer would be an improvement, you probably should leave well enough alone.  If you think they sound "fantastic"  just enjoy the music.

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Diz and Russ,  thanks for the advice.  My financial situation would prevent me from leaving the consumer grade and it doesn't sound like switching to a marginally more expensive brand would make enough of a difference to make it worthwhile.  I appreciate so many knowledgeable people taking the trouble to advise a neophyte.

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Where are you located?  Some nearby member would probably jump at a chance to bring by an arguably more hi-fi receiver or integrated amp to let you hear how your speakers sound with a different source.  You might then realize that what you're using is fine, or, you might descend down that slippery slope of never being satisfied.  I still think you should just enjoy what you have.

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I'm in Klipsch headquarters - Indianapolis.  And I am enjoying what I have.  Unless I were to stumble across some fabulous deal that just couldn't be passed up, I'll keep what I've got.  I'm already at the limit of what I can afford in speakers (and I couldn't be more pleased with my Heresys) and I really can't justify spending much more than I did for the Sony on amplification.  After rent and utilities are covered every month there's not much left of that social security check.

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For that size room and Heresys I would recommend finding an old H/K 430 twin-powered receiver in good working condition.  It was the largest selling receiver in the world while it was in manufacture for a reason.  Its twin power supplies and ultra-wide-band frequency response (4-140,000 hz) belie is RATED power output of 25 WPC both channels driven...those twin power supplies mean that complex musical passages will not be starving one channel to feed a second channel...this means that those watts used sound like MUCH MORE than a relatively diminutive 25 WPC rating...and for your music types and source material it would be ideal.  It also has a great tuner section.

 

These receivers are OLD, having been made in the early to mid-1970's.  Even the one you find may need re-capping, it is not so "busy under the hood" that it will take much labor cost to have that done, and all the parts are still available.

 

These receivers have gained in popularity over the last decade or so, and the asking price has gone up, but you can still find them in great condition for under 150 bucks!...often WAY UNDER 150 bucks!

 

The only down-side is that you will not have remote control capability for the receiver, itself.

 

If you desire pre-amp-out/amp-in connectivity to use the unit for its amp-only with external pre-amp with tuner, you should opt for the 630, 730 or 930 model, instead, because those models have that capability.  The 930 has the BEST TUNER of all of them. Each of those also has more power output, but in that room 25 WPC is more than enough for Heresys.  Of course, the 930 is the top of the line for that series and will be priced accordingly.

 

 

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On 4/3/2017 at 4:24 PM, Peter P. said:

You will not hear any difference with a different receiver driving your speakers. As long as the receiver is not being driven beyond its rating (you'll know it when you hear it), you're good. Sounds like you're not listening to rap, trance, or other high bass demand music, at live levels. You're good as is.

 

if you actually believe this you may have to realize that you are more tonally unaware or tone deaf than many of us on this board

 

there is an ENORMOUS difference between the sound of sony, pioneer, marantz, denon, yamaha

 

imo marantz and integra are the only two receivers i would consider. they use a better output stage, beefier power supplies. modern pioneer is so dark and undefined. it's like the top end just plays one sound. yamaha can't figure out how to reproduce a midrange to save their life. even marantz may or may not sound good with audyssey enabled. i've heard it sound great and also terrible. depends on the speakers and the room. it also has a drawback of functioning kind of like a loudness button. improves low and moderate volume but chokes when you crank it

 

ponder this. if there was no sound difference between amplification why would someone pay 10x the price for the same wattage in krell vs adcom and adcom is even a solid entry level amplifier 

 

to the OP world wide stereo on ebay has newer integra receivers at a great deal for refurbs. marantz is a bit harder to buy cheap. do you need 4k and hdmi 2.2? if you can get by with a 1080p receiver deals are everywhere. i picked up a marantz sr5007 for 240 the other day and will be using it in a system i'm doing for a friend

 

if you're doing just music some of the older receivers like harman kardon are wonderful sounding. a lot of their stuff pre year 2000 is really decent. the one mentioned in this thread is a jewel if you can live with lower power AND it's been recapped, gone through etc. some of these amps are getting oid enough that the caps have went beyond their useful life, especially on the PSU and output stage. they may work but they don't work optimally 

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6 hours ago, jimjimbo said:

Andy, wondering how many 430/730's you have stacked up in your basement.....?

I only have two...but no basement...also 2 H/K 730, one HK 930, one HK 900+, 2 HK 800+,  1 HK 50+, 1 HK 100+, 1 HK 150+, A 70's era Kenwood integrated amp.  WHen my best buddy left Klipsch R&D he bought a new pair of Cornwalls, but had no stereo system to power them...so I gave him one H/K 430 and a Yamaha integrated amp from around 1983 (which I picked up when the PX system was selling all of their discounted discontinued items from the warehouse in early 1986 while I was at FT Benning, GA.!)  It was still sealed in its original packaging when I bought it, and only used whenever my H/K 900+ was in for service a couple of times between 1986 and 1998, otherwise it was a brand-new condition 100 WPC Yamaha integrated stored in its original packing when I gave it to my buddy.  My buddy has it to power all the Klipsch built-in speakers he put into his house ceiling and into the ceiling under the front and rear porch on the house when he built it, completing the house a few years before leaving Klipsch...and he uses the H/K 430 for his Cornwalls...most often using the FM tuner section of the HK 430 through them than anything.  He has only one upstream item hooked up, a DVD player he uses for CD playback....but he seldom plays CDs.  He really likes his 430 with his Cornwalls!

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