Really impressed with the Heresy III

[rjp]

I just received a pair of new Heresy III. FedEx delivered them yesterday. I just wanted to say I am very impressed with the sound. Over the past few months I have been auditioning several speakers to pair with my VTA70 amp and I believe these are the best so far. In addition to Focal, Monitor Audio, B&W, SVS, and KEF, I also tried the Klipsch RP-260F and 160M.

 

The Heresy's surprised me. They are bright and clear like the Reference Premier line but somehow without the harshness, or at least much less of it. I don't now how Klipsch did this as the horn material is still hard plastic rather than the soft silicone used in the RP. I guess the purpose of my post is to tell anyone one the fence between the RP line and the Heritage line that, yes, there really is a substantial difference in sound quality and to my ears a softening of the high end. I should point out that I also liked the RP260 the first few days as well before the extra brightness got to me, so perhaps it is too early to say these are keepers, but I am  feeling optimistic at this point. These are so beautiful to look at too! The package I bought included a Klipsh SW-311 sub for just 100 more so I got that as well. Haven't tried it yet.

 

fwiw, the second best speaker (and the only competition the Heresys have to my ears) are the Monitor Audio Silver 100 stand mounters. Also an amazing speaker paired with this amp. The MA's 8 inch woofer and big box produce a great natural tone. I really hope the H3's don't wear on me. I want to keep these beauty's.

 

 

[Schu]

7 minutes ago, rjp said:

. The 12 inch woofer and big box produce a great natural tone. 

 

 

Fixed...

Welcome to the gateway to the Heritage line. It's only the beginning.

[jimjimbo]

10 minutes ago, rjp said:

I just received a pair of new Heresy III. FedEx delivered them yesterday. I just wanted to say I am very impressed with the sound. Over the past few months I have been auditioning several speakers to pair with my VTA70 amp and I believe these are the best so far. In addition to Focal, Monitor Audio, B&W, SVS, and KEF, I also tried the Klipsch RP-260F and 160M.

 

The Heresy's surprised me. They are bright and clear like the Reference Premier line but somehow without the harshness, or at least much less of it. I don't now how Klipsch did this as the horn material is still hard plastic rather than the soft silicone used in the RP. I guess the purpose of my post is to tell anyone one the fence between the RP line and the Heritage line that, yes, there really is a substantial difference in sound quality and to my ears a softening of the high end. I should point out that I also liked the RP260 the first few days as well before the extra brightness got to me, so perhaps it is too early to say these are keepers, but I am  feeling optimistic at this point. These are so beautiful to look at too! The package I bought included a Klipsh SW-311 sub for just 100 more so I got that as well. Haven't tried it yet.

 

fwiw, the second best speaker (and the only competition the Heresys have to my ears) are the Monitor Audio Silver 100 stand mounters. Also an amazing speaker paired with this amp. The 8 inch woofer and big box produce a great natural tone. I really hope the H3's don't wear on me. I want to keep these beauty's.

 

 

Listened to the entire Heritage line in Hope, and to me, the Heresy III was the second best speaker in the group other than the La Scala II.  I was very impressed with it.

[MEH Synergy]

I own them and second that.  I am amazed at the sound that comes out of these boxes for the price.  I get the sense that a careful sub choice is in order if needed without smearing the quick snappy bass of the heresys.   The dynamics on these are unreal for their size.  The treble in my application is slightly soft up top in a good way.  Mids aren't honky 😃.   I absolutely want to hear the LA scala II in person.   Enjoy your purchase man, it was a solid choice without jumping into the deep end. 

[rjp]

1 hour ago, Schu said:

Fixed...

Welcome to the gateway to the Heritage line. It's only the beginning.

Actually I was referring to the Monitor Audio Silver 100 which has an 8 inch woofer and a relatively big box for a stand mounter.  I edited the last line to make that clearer. Of course the Heresy has an even bigger woofer in an even bigger box. Maybe that is something I am liking about both these speakers.

[rjp]

I am playing around with the sub today. It sounds great. What are you guys using for sub setup? What is a good starting point for crossover frequency and slope? I am going for an integration that sounds like there is no sub, just 2 speakers with great bass response. This sub comes with built in DSP room EQ and a mic. Very cool. During the setup sweeps I have learned that everything in my living room vibrates at different frequencies

 

[MEH Synergy]

Velodyne dd10 crossed at 65 hz, 24 dB slope , phase at 0 for me yielded best results on output and synchrony.  If it doesn't integrate well.   Pull slightly from back wall and side wall 6 inches at a time until it smooths out and or lower cover frequency a touch. 

[rjp]

Thanks. I will give that a try.

[Steve.]

I love mine, and yes the key is proper sub integration.   I use a Velodyne SMS 1 with a REL r305  to apply a steep x-over around 50 Hz and its awesome.

[MEH Synergy]

The bass on the heresys is actually quite quick and punchy given the sealed cabinet. I have had a couple of my buddies comment on that in particular.   They know I'm a junky and like to try out quite a bit of gear.  To each his or her own, but these speakers have not only impressed myself, but several others that have heard them as well.  

[Steve.]

Thats the great part , you can run them full range and they still have really good bass.... tight and fast....great for night listening actually without a sub.  But even better is they drop off like a rock so if you experiment with the slope and x-over freq you can really dial it in.   In my room they eliminate the problem I had with most floorstanders by rolling off higher than the room mode.  

[parlophone1]

I have been listening the Monitor Audio silver 100 several times. On paper, the bas on these goes lower than the Heresies. It is bas-reflex, which I do not particularly like, but it is well integrated.

Out of all standmounters that are similarly priced, they sounded best to my ears. If I have to buy speakers on a price/value ratio, I would pick them up.

 

Great to read about your satisfaction with Heresies III. But unless heavily discounted, they are much pricier than Monitor Audio.

[teashea]

I have three pairs of Heresy III's.  They are terrific speakers.  On most material the lack of deep bass is not an issue since relatively few sources have any significant sound recorded below 60 hz.  The build quality is excellent.  Beautiful cabinets - Klipsch is very consistent in that regard.  I have a pair of Forte III's also.  The sound of the Forte III's and Heresy III's is very similar.  The new midrange horn on the Forte III is very impressive but does leave the H3 horn in the dust.  Each can stand on its own.  

[rjp]

On 7/4/2018 at 2:38 AM, parlophone1 said:

I have been listening the Monitor Audio silver 100 several times. On paper, the bas on these goes lower than the Heresies. It is bas-reflex, which I do not particularly like, but it is well integrated.

Out of all standmounters that are similarly priced, they sounded best to my ears. If I have to buy speakers on a price/value ratio, I would pick them up.

 

Great to read about your satisfaction with Heresies III. But unless heavily discounted, they are much pricier than Monitor Audio.

Correct. The Klipsch are roughly twice the price. The MA Silver 100 are 1050/pair and the Heresy III are 1998/pair (or 2098 including a Klipsch SW-311 subwooffer). It was the SW-311 for 100 additional that made me pull the trigger. I figured I could always return them and I had to hear them to decide. So I have both of these setup with my VTA70 right now and have been listening to them every day.

 

EDIT: The MA are not just better than other standmounters that are similarly priced, (to my ears and in my room with my amp) they are also better than KEF R300 (1300), and B&W 706 (1800), so I've got to hand it to MA. Well done. I am looking for the best speakers under 2K and the H3 and MA 100 are the last contenders in the showdown so far. I am leaning Klipsch because of the dynamics and clarity so far.

 

[rjp]

On 7/3/2018 at 8:24 PM, Steve. said:

Thats the great part , you can run them full range and they still have really good bass.... tight and fast....great for night listening actually without a sub.  But even better is they drop off like a rock so if you experiment with the slope and x-over freq you can really dial it in.   In my room they eliminate the problem I had with most floorstanders by rolling off higher than the room mode.  

I agree. They are nice in a special way without the sub. In fact, this is the first sub I've ever tried with my 2 channel setup so it is a whole new dimension to explore for me. At this point I still want it to sound like a 2.0 system so I want the sub to integrate so well it disappears. I have been running it at 60Hz 24dB/Oct lately and seems good.

 

All the auditioning of speakers I have done so far has been without a sub because I didn't think I wanted/needed one. It seems nice overall to have it available when I want a bit more bottom.

[Emile]

For what it's worth   Got three Heresy's (OK; the cheap model I's) about a month ago and yes; really impressed. Using them as center/L/R with my Onkyo RZ810.  Did not think these "little" boxes would be as good as they are   Yes; do have a 15" sub with a 1000W amp - but rarely use it.  If I need "bigger" sound I use my Marantz 2252B on KPT-904's and a Yamaha CR620 on "rear" Cornwall's.

 

Awesome boxes ... glad I got them; but may have to get the series III ones  

 

Cheers, Emile 

[rjp]

The size of the that little Heresy box was based on significant research. Apparently it was the largest box where 2 complete units could be made out of a single 4x8' sheet of plywood  

 

Hey, there's that efficiency thing again. No wasted wood.

[moray james]

Yes that is a fact! If you want more, the same researcher (PWK) also discovered that the largest single cabinet that could be built from a single 4'x8' sheet of 3/4" plywood was the Cornwall. That's real practical American logic at work for you. Thanks to Paul for having a sharp mind.

[rjp]

Unfortunately the Heressy are starting to sound a little hard on my ears now after a week. Sometimes they are so great, but then sometimes I just want them to mellow out a bit. They seem to really excel with uncomplicated recordings, stuff featuring a single instrument like guitar or brass or drums or vocals. So I am left with just the Monitor Audio Silver 100s and the H3s now and I can’t decide which is better: extreme clarity and dynamic with harshness, or nice safe muddy smoothness. Sorry, I am being a little negative. They are both wonderful in different ways. Wish I could blend them:)

 

Any advise appreciated. Thanks.

[ODS123]

How much listening have you been doing and at what volumes??  I ask this b/c it's not unusual when someone auditions or buys new speakers to binge-listen, then - after hours of non-stop loud listening - express disappointment that they're suffering from of listening-fatigue.    ..So it may not be the speakers fault.

 

Contrary to what some audiophiles believe, accurate high-end audio speaker WILL cause listener fatigue when played for too long and too loud, even w/ perfectly recorded music featuring excellent musician.   This is true of live music, so why shouldn't it be true w/ an accurate hifi system?  Trumpets, violins, flutes, even guitars - just to name a few - will begin to grate if listened to for too long.

 

IMHO, If your system NEVER causes fatigue then it's too rolled-off to ever faithfully reproduce live music.  

 

Added: ..Years ago I bought Vandersteen 3A Sigs and chose them over many other speakers b/c the NEVER seemed to grate on me no matter how long I listened and no matter how loud.  ...The problem with them was that I found I listened to music a lot less b/c they NEVER really excited me.  My Cornwalls are FAR more exciting; so much so that I listen to them all the time.  ..And yes, occasionally, I have to either turn them a bit down or give my treble control a 1/4 turn to the left.  ..Still, I'd chose them over EVERY speaker I've owned - some costing twice as much.   .