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Working Man's Heresy


Bonzo

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There I was, minding my own business, when somehow I was looking at Craigslist? There they were, a pair of box stock BR Heresy's from 1978! His asking price was WAYYY too high but I thought I would call and try to get him to step away from the crack pipe. After a brief conversation, we came to a reasonable price provided I could inspect and listen to them. 

 

Turns out he is the original owner. He bought them at Pacific Stereo in San Jose CA, circa 1979. Still has the raw birch finish, no funky a** stain on these. Grills are nice and they have those way cool "Laser badges." The labels are both in great condition, clearly "S" code HBR's with consecutive serial numbers. Oh, they came with the coolest clear acrylic stands. Nothing screams 70's like acrylic! Bonus, they work and sound great! 

 

I don't have the heart to do anything to them, they are just too vintage cool, warts and all! It is true, a little Heresy is good for the soul!

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Heresy, 2.jpg

Heresy Stands.jpg

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Heresy, 8.jpg

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42 minutes ago, Bonzo said:

There I was, minding my own business, when somehow I was looking at Craigslist? There they were...

 

"It was a dark and stormy night..."  :lol:

 

Great story, and nice pickup.  :emotion-21:  B)

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I felt very bad for the seller. I know he really didn't want to sell them but, I got the feeling he needed the money more than the speakers. I'm sure a lot of us can relate. 

 

They do look like they are floating on those stands and without mirrors. 

 

I'm going to open the backs tomorrow. I think in 78 they were still using the Alnico magnet K-77's? I guess I will find out. More pics..................

Heresy, 3.jpg

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Very good deal.....I would put a seal on back panel...put in new caps.....I re-enforced the access panel on the inside by adding a layer of ply I could feel it move before not now though. Its even better since Andy built them is there an A on the edge on the back I think thats his mark.

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Opened them up for the first time ever according to the seller. Yep, stock 70's Heresy's with Alnico (round) magnets on the tweeters. Checked them with my meter, 6.7 and 6.8 ohms DCR respectively. That was in circuit but that should be about right. I did rotate both woofers as much as the length of cables would allow. 

 

Just don't think I'm going to drink the upgrade/crossover Kool-Aid anytime soon. They are just NOT broke!

 

My new Hersey III's are supposed to be delivered Monday. It will be very interesting doing an A/B between the two. Now I may have to find some II's to complete the trilogy? Actually my very first pair of Klipsch speakers were Heresy II's. One woofer was bad and some of the crossover components had come unglued from the terminal cup. Not a stellar start to my Klipsch journey but I got over it. That must have been around thirty years ago , wow!

 

Here's a couple shots of the innards..........

Heresy, 9.jpg

Heresy, 10.jpg

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I have been told that sometimes gravity can have an ill effect over time on keeping voice coils aligned in the magnet structure. I guess it’s especially true if older speakers have not been used for some time. That is not been the case with these speakers but I thought it couldn’t hurt. Unfortunately, the cables were not long enough to do a full 180. I really didn’t want to put in longer cables at this time. This would have required dragging out the old soldering iron. Maybe one day I will re-cable them?

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Also suggested to add some additional screws ... yours, like my 1980's, likely came with just 4 screws in the woofer, so good idea to add 4 more.  Also, while you said you weren't going to take the upgrade Kool Aid yet ... some "cheap" updates; 1) as noted above brace the back panel, 2) add a layer of insulation (I used neoprene) on the back panel ledge to seal it better, 3) you can replace the "oil can" capacitors pretty cheaply (you don't have to mortgage the house on capacitors), 4) replace the internal wiring (any length you want), again you don't have to break the bank, 5) caulk the seams, 6) tighten (carefully) all the contacts/terminal screws, 7) replace the back panel terminal posts with 5 way binding posts (ease of use, including if you still want to use bare metal).  Simple changes, low cost and you will notice a difference.  Of course, you can just enjoy them as is!

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Well, let me say this about that. If the planets align, I will have a brand spankin’ shiny new pair of Heresy III’s in walnut tomorrow. I figure the new Heresy’s will eliminate any want or need to “upgrade” the box stock Heresy I’s that the previous/original owner enjoyed, as is, for 40 years! Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate the suggestions and feedback, I do. But, why can’t I just leave them alone and enjoy the way they sound now? If I didn’t like the way they sound currently, I doubt anything I throw at them would change that much. I do like the way they sound and will be leaving them alone, at least for now. 

 

 

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