My 1984 Klipsch Heresy I

[PerchPerkins]

Greetings friends! I have recently befallen a pair of 1984 Klipsch Heresy MK i, for only $280. Unfortunately the sound is....heresy! They sound very dry and it does not have enough sparkle in the top end and quite frankly, they are fatiguing to listen to. I listened to them with a 5 WPC tube amp my buddy lent me, and also my Yamaha solid state that has 100 watts per channel.

 

Has anyone else complained about the Heresy MK i sound?

What upgrades would you guys recommend? They have an electrolytic capacitor in the circuit which rent exactly known for their pleasing sonic characteristics. 

Any suggestions?

[twk123]

One of the issues with old capacitors is they dry out and drift out of spec which might be causing some of your issues. Bob Crites is known as the 'Go To' guy for Klipsch Heritage crossover replacement and repair. I would contact him to see what your best option is. Typically, you can send in your crossovers for him to replace the caps or he sells kits for you to do yourself if you are decent with a soldering iron. His website is:

 

https://critesspeakers.com/

 

Also, what is your source material, is it digital or analog? Compressed digital or digital running through a cheap DAC are known to sound especially bad with Klipsch high sensitivity speakers.

[jimjimbo]

Also be sure that all of the drivers are working.  Open the backs, then loosen and re-tighten all of the screws on the crossover barrier strips.  Check the connectors to the drivers themselves.  If you do end up ordering from Crites, you should also order a couple of the mid driver rubber o'rings that go in between the driver and the horn.

We like photos too....

[muel]

There are nice low watt amps and really mediocre ones... which was your loaner?   I've had multiple nice vintage Yamaha's (CA-2010, CR-2020, CR-2040) on Heresy I's with very nice results.  Klipsch heritage speakers really need decent amplification or they can sound like you describe.   I hear that diaphragms can dry out and sound harsh with age but I have never seen that problem with any of mine so I'm thinking it might not be that common.  Original caps from 30+ years ago have often sounded some combination of recessed, muffled or harsh to me.  For fun, do a search on "capacitors" here on the forum.   I love my old Heresy's... I'm betting you can get these to sound good to you.

[Oicu812]

Give this thread a glance.  There's some great info.

 

 

[HDBRbuilder]

FIRST THINGS FIRST!

 

WHILE YOU HAVE THE BACK PANEL OFF of those Heresy speakers, BE SURE to remove the wire connections from the crossover network to the terminal on that back panel, clean them, and then re-assemble in reverse.  AND be sure to TIGHTEN the machine screws holding the terminal to the rear panel!!  This is HIGHLY LIKELY your problem to begin with....because the wood of the rear panel shrinks over time, which means that the rear panel THICKNESS also shrinks, which in-turn causes the screws holding both the wires to the rear panel from the crossover network AND the rear terminal to become more LOOSE than it should be...which reduces the signal the crossover network can get.

 

I have seen this happen hundreds of times since I joined this forum...and the vast majority of the members here are all about replacing this and that when just a little bit of cleaning and tightening is really all that is necessary...in MOST cases.  The Heresy speaker has a relatively air-tight cabinet design, and its crossover components are far less apt to need replacing than most forum members want to admit...simply because those components are FAR LESS SUSCEPTIBLE to any kind of corrosion, or leaking can caps, due to the air-tightness of the cabinet design wherein sits the crossover network.

 

I am more of a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" kinda guy, myself!

[muel]

True... I'd forgotten how loose I found some of those screws!  Good to start with the easy stuff

[Tony Whitlow]

Greetings friends! I have recently befallen a pair of 1984 Klipsch Heresy MK i, for only $280. Unfortunately the sound is....heresy! They sound very dry and it does not have enough sparkle in the top end and quite frankly, they are fatiguing to listen to. I listened to them with a 5 WPC tube amp my buddy lent me, and also my Yamaha solid state that has 100 watts per channel.
 
Has anyone else complained about the Heresy MK i sound?
What upgrades would you guys recommend? They have an electrolytic capacitor in the circuit which rent exactly known for their pleasing sonic characteristics. 
Any suggestions?

Never heard of a Heresy MK1.
Are they on stands? What is the speaker placement? Are all the drivers working? Never heard a lack of sparkle in a Heresy.


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[JohnA]

On 7/3/2018 at 10:10 AM, PerchPerkins said:

..........

Has anyone else complained about the Heresy MK i sound?

What upgrades would you guys recommend? They have an electrolytic capacitor in the circuit which rent exactly known for their pleasing sonic characteristics. 

Any suggestions?

 

Mk 1 belies your Illinois location!  😉

 

We informally call those Heresy 1.5s, aka Mk 1.5 because of the changes that were eventually used in the Heresy II. 

 

Only when they are 40 years old.  *IF* all of your connections are tight (I haven't found any loose ones in mine), then I would replace the capacitors.  I described my '67 H700 similarly and a cap replacement cured it.  You must have a Type E2 crossover.  While the electrolytic cap is not directly in the signal path, *I* would not use one in a crossover.  Use good film and foil capacitors like Musicaps, Audiocaps, or similar.  There are Russian made oil-filled motor run caps available (on ebay apparently) that many here like.  They are very similar to what Klipsch used for years.  The 33 uF electrolytic could be replaced with a Solen metalized film cap if the price of the others shocks you.