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Does anyone prefer the original Heresy versus Heresy II??


wuzzzer

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As was mentioned in another thread, the other day I picked up forum member Shaun K's 1983 Heresy Is.  They sounded nice when I briefly demoed them at his house.  I bought them to replace my RS-7s as surrounds and to complement my Heresy II and Academy front stage.

 

Well, I got them all set up Thursday and was listening to The Eagles Farewell I Blu-ray.  I kept hearing things in the surrounds that I didn't remember hearing with the RS-7s.  The RS-7s sat on the same stands that the newly acquired Heresy sit on.  Because of that the Heresy certainly tower over the RS-7s.  I thought maybe the difference in height was enough of a change to make the difference in sound.  Long story short my wife came home after I set them up and absolutely hated how they looked in the surround position.  We're living in an apartment and there isn't a ton of space beside the couch and while the RS-7s discreetly sat in the surround position, the Heresy definitely stand out quite a bit.

 

So, since I had already promised the RS-7s to the somewhat local gentleman who rebuilt the crossovers in my Heresy II and Academy, I was trying to figure out the best solution.  I kept listening over the past few days and just kept hearing some wonderful sounds from those Heresy in the surround position.

 

Today I told my wife that what I'd do is still sell the RS-7s, then move the Heresy I to the front main position.  The Heresy IIs will be put in storage until we get a bigger apartment or house.

 

I'm now listening to those Heresy as mains and I absolutely cannot believe how incredible they sound.  This is compared to my Heresy II which have titanium midrange and tweeters and rebuilt crossovers.  These Heresy I are completely stock with the exception of all the components were moved into new cabinets by Shaun.  It's nice because they are Finished Black cabinets which match my black Academy and black subs much better than the raw birch Heresy II did.

 

Is it the dual phase plug K-55-V midrange that's making this magical sound??  There's so much more detail, naturalness, everything that the midrange and tweeter is reproducing sounds many times more realistic.  The snap of drums, the clapping of hands, voices, trumpets, absolutely everything sounds better.  I'm not even listening very loudly since it's "quiet time" in our complex between 10pm and 7am.  Maybe I should sell the Heresy II and look for another pair of originals for surrounds??

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I have thought the mids were too hot on thr original compared to the HII. This could certainly expleain the sense of more detail. I have stock HIIs and think they are smoother sounding and more balanced.

 

Bruce

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I've had both Heresy 1 and Heresy 2. I would have to agree with Marvel. The II's were smoother and less fatiguing. Seemed to also have a better bass output. I tried both tubes and solid state on both. To me the Heresy 1s sound like a minitiaturized LaScala..which I do not like the sound of except with certain single ended tubes known for a full bottom end (300b, 2a3). I just think the II's are more forgiving about what they are fed. I've had great success with NAD, Citation, Onkyo Integra..etc with the IIs...as well as most..if not all my tube gear working well with them. I've experienced how a bad recording sounds on Heresy 1s and have to honestly say that speaker can be downright unlistenable at times. With any electronics. Certainly not as composed as the 2's anyway. Just my experience and opinion though.

Edited by hatrack1971
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I too have had both Heresy 1's and Heresy 2's. Both all stock. The 1's were 79's and the 2's were first year 84's (?).

 

I did not miss the 1's when I sold them.

 

I missed the 2's so much that I did not hesitate to snag another pair that came up for the right price. I do not anticipate letting this pair go, maybe an H3 conversion, but they are impressive as is.

 

Like mentioned above, more bass, smoother, and better highs was my perception. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I believe that the H2 came into production in late 1985 I had a pair of H that were built in 1985 toward the end of the year they still had the K77 tweeter but they were very much similar to first H2 which switched to the K79 as used in the Forte(s) and the Chorus(s) (and later the CWll) to name a few. H were voiced for tube amps and H2 were voiced for SS amps.

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I believe you are correct, maybe they were ‘85’s or even ‘86’s... they had K-76 tweeters and K-53 mids with a round banana plug terminal cup. My second pair of H2’s has the square terminal cup, they’re ‘87’s.

 

I remember hearing things in Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon I had never heard before.

 

Only sold the first pair once I got Forte 2’s, only sold the Forte 2’s after Cornwalls crossed my doorstep...lol

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I like them pretty much the same, in my rooms.  My Heresy 1s were recapped about 8 or so years ago and were also installed with CT-125s.  My Heresy 2s are bone stock as far as I know.  Tried each pair in same and opposite rooms with same and different front ends and just love them both.  So far nothing I have noticed has made me lean in either direction.  Hope to have a pair of Heresy 3s in the future so I can do the same with them.

 

Bill

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I've had Heresys (Is) since almost as long as I've been on this Forum and I prefer them to the sound of my brother's HIIs...I prefer the HIIIs to them all...during the time I've owned my Heresys I have updated the crossovers with Bob Crites crossovers and have changed the tweeter to the CT125 and have used them as the front three in my Home Theater (I did have 5 Heresys at one time in the Home Theater)...

 

I believe one of the running changes to the Heresy at one time (early 1970s perhaps) did something to tame the midrange a touch...anyway, mine are 1978s so...

 

Good luck with your choice

 

Bill

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10 hours ago, geoff. said:

I believe you are correct, maybe they were ‘85’s or even ‘86’s... they had K-76 tweeters and K-53 mids with a round banana plug terminal cup. My second pair of H2’s has the square terminal cup, they’re ‘87’s.

 

I remember hearing things in Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon I had never heard before.

 

Only sold the first pair once I got Forte 2’s, only sold the Forte 2’s after Cornwalls crossed my doorstep...lol

 a K79 is the tweeter in a Forte and Forte ll a Chorus a Chorus ll a CW ll a KLF20 or KLF30 the Tangent speakers and on and on. Numbers change between models but the part is the same diaphragms may vary most were phenolic a few were poly now they are Titanium.

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Here’s another vote for the Heresy III.  I was using a Heresy II as a centre speaker between a pair of La Scalas (before the JubScala upgrades), and decided to check out the factory H3 upgrade kit for that one speaker.  It was a great idea!  The upgrade to H3 spec meant more clarity and detail, more and deeper bass, and higher sensitivity, from 97 dB/W/m to 99.  The higher sensitivity made it a better match for the 104 dB La Scalas’ output.

 

So the H-II to H-III conversion was a win-win-win!  As well, since Heresy IIs are likely pretty old and maybe in need of new capacitors (and maybe tweeters), the H-III upgrade is an even better value, since those components are replaced with new and better parts.

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wuzzer...your thread made me go to the basement and listen to a CD on the Home theater but with the player set to Stereo, the HT Receiver set to Stereo Bypass and using analog connections...after listening to this awhile (sounded very nice to me) I went upstairs and listened to the same song on my Tube set up with analog tube Heart CD player set to analog naturally and my Quartets...

 

Although I prefer the Quartets possibly due to their greater bass both speakers sound very nice to me (it has been too long since I tried the Hereysys with Tube gear however)...

 

Placement of the heresy should be a bit easier than a rear passive speaker like the Quartet but you were asking about the Heresy 1s and the Heresy 2s...I prefer the Heresy 1 to the 2 and the 3 to the 1...

 

Good luck with your choice,

 

Bill

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I have 1980 H1s all original except a completely rebuilt E crossover.  i need to do the interior cabinet work, and dampen that K700 horn, etc.  But I do like the sound in a heavily carpeted medium size room.  I have 1984 V1.5 which I turned into Super Heresy which are, the best.  But the H1s still sound amazing for a 1980 speaker pretty much all original.  I'll keep those original and just have fun with the 1984 version.  The two sets are in different cities but some day, I'll get them together for some listening and that will be enjoyable.

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I prefer stock Heresy (I) over the Heresy II....but the Heresy III has them both beat, IMHO!  I have been running H/K ultra-wide-band frequency response SS stuff from the same era ever since before I got my first Heresy speakers...either a H/K 900+ receiver or a H/K 430 receiver (both actually made in the same year!)...so the upstream equipment has nothing to do with my opinion of the two models.  When I first got my Heresy II speakers, I noticed that I liked the old 1977 Heresys better...same placement same upstream equipment...same music.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've been seriously considering unloading the Heresy and Heresy II pairs for a pair of new Heresy III.  Depending on how my Academy sounds as a center I may sell that as well.  Anyone think I'd regret getting rid of the two pairs of Heresy I currently have??  They'd be the first brand new Klipsch I've ever bought, which would be a plus in my book.

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