JMChris Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 New to the forum and new to Klipsch. I was in a vintage Hi-Fi shop over the holidays and listened to a pair of Forte IIs hooked up to a classic Marantz 2270 receiver... WOW! So I started to search for a pair. Ran across a "mint" pair of Heresy I in HOL finish. Original owner, non-smoking home. They are mint (no scratches or dings). And they are all original, with no upgrades. He was asking $800, but agreed to take $500. I told him I would let him know by tomorrow. Thoughts?? Price good, or a bit steep? Candidly, I'm more of a JBL guy. I own a pair of beautiful JBL L100s, but something about the Klipsch speakers and the history, I figured it was time to expand my horizons and take the plunge into owing a pair to see/hear what all the fuss is about! Any insight is appreciated! THANKS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 If truly mint condition that's fair. What year are they? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 @JMChris, Welcome to the forum. 3 hours ago, JMChris said: Ran across a "mint" pair of Heresy I in HOL finish. Original owner, non-smoking home. They are mint (no scratches or dings). And they are all original, with no upgrades. He was asking $800, but agreed to take $500. I told him I would let him know by tomorrow. Thoughts?? Price good, or a bit steep? 2 hours ago, wuzzzer said: If truly mint condition that's fair. What year are they? Totally agree. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrestonTom Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 A typical asking price in New England would be about $500-800 on craigslist. What the actual take away price is ..... who knows? So the $500 offer is not unreasonable. Did you get a chance to listen the them? Did you like them? God luck, -Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockhound Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 50 minutes ago, PrestonTom said: A typical asking price in New England would be about $500-800 on craigslist. What the actual take away price is ..... who knows? So the $500 offer is not unreasonable. Did you get a chance to listen the them? Did you like them? God luck, -Tom What Tom said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMChris Posted January 8, 2020 Author Share Posted January 8, 2020 6 hours ago, wuzzzer said: If truly mint condition that's fair. What year are they? I’m not sure if the year, but the serial numbers are consecutive. 695960 & 695961 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMChris Posted January 8, 2020 Author Share Posted January 8, 2020 3 hours ago, PrestonTom said: A typical asking price in New England would be about $500-800 on craigslist. What the actual take away price is ..... who knows? So the $500 offer is not unreasonable. Did you get a chance to listen the them? Did you like them? God luck, -Tom Yes! I did listen to them and they sound very nice. Now, do they sound as good as they did when they were new? Not sure. But I’ll cross that bridge if and when I need to. For now, they seem awesome. So I’ll probably pick them up tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMChris Posted January 8, 2020 Author Share Posted January 8, 2020 2 hours ago, rockhound said: What Tom said. I’m going to buy them! I don’t think I can go wrong. Given the condition, and the price, it’s not much of a risk. I’ll post pics once I grab them. thanks for all the responses! 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emile Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 9 minutes ago, JMChris said: I’m going to buy them! Congrats ... you'll like them Then, after a while, you will get Forte's, followed by Cornwall's/Khorns. Then Pro speakers. Let the journey begin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 1 hour ago, JMChris said: I’m not sure if the year, but the serial numbers are consecutive. 695960 & 695961 The 5 is an S. If you Google Klipsch serial number decoder there's several pages that will show what year an S series Heresy was made. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMChris Posted January 9, 2020 Author Share Posted January 9, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, Emile said: Congrats ... you'll like them Then, after a while, you will get Forte's, followed by Cornwall's/Khorns. Then Pro speakers. Let the journey begin 36 minutes ago, wuzzzer said: The 5 is an S. If you Google Klipsch serial number decoder there's several pages that will show what year an S series Heresy was made. They appear to be from 1978 based on the "S" serial number. Ironically, I had a chance to buy another pair of MINT Forte II for $900. I thought they were brand new, but the guy told me they were Forte II speakers (in light oiled wood, not sure what type, maybe oak??). They were absolutely flawless. I would have rated them 100 out of 100. Anyway, I was going to pay $900 for the Forte IIs but he changed his mind and decided to keep them. I told him if he ever decides to sell them to give me a call. I'm on the top of his list. Lastly, another guy posted a pair of new Cornwalls online locally for $2500. He just purchased them new in September. I didn't want to go that big, so I hesitated. When I finally got around to calling him on Monday, he said he just sold them. I don't know much about the Cornwalls other than what I've read. But $2500 seemed to be a steal. For now I'll be happy with the Heresy speakers. Oh, and for those of you looking, there is a guy in Milwaukee who has a pair of Heresy IIIs, with original boxes and paper work, listed for $1000. The cabinets look a little rough for Heresy IIIs, but the price is attractive. Check Facebook Marketplace... Edited January 9, 2020 by JMChris 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 The average price for Heresy I's in Good condition is $395. You can find them for $400 all day long. The key word here is "average." I have a few sales of $500. I have one confirmed price of $665 with $200 shipping, Ebay, Oregon, May 1, 2019. I track Heritage prices in a spreadsheet. The above numbers are solid. The advice from everybody directly upstream ^^^ is solid. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 2 minutes ago, JMChris said: Ironically, I had a chance to buy another pair of MINT Forte II for $900. They average $538. Here's a copy of the spreadsheet. Feel free to download, it's free to all Klipshites. It's a good research tool. Klipsch Heritage used prices ver 2019-12.xlsx 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMChris Posted January 9, 2020 Author Share Posted January 9, 2020 Just now, wvu80 said: The average price for Heresy I's in Good condition is $395. You can find them for $400 all day long. The key word here is "average." I have a few sales of $500. I have one confirmed price of $665 with $200 shipping, Ebay, Oregon, May 1, 2019. I track Heritage prices in a spreadsheet. The above numbers are solid. The advice from everybody directly upstream ^^^ is solid. Thanks! I'm going to pick them up tomorrow afternoon. I'll post pics as soon as I get them home. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMChris Posted January 9, 2020 Author Share Posted January 9, 2020 2 minutes ago, wvu80 said: They average $538. Here's a copy of the spreadsheet. Feel free to download, it's free to all Klipshites. It's a good research tool. Klipsch Heritage used prices ver 2019-12.xlsx 339.59 kB · 22 downloads Incredible data! Thank you. $500 may be a little high, but I'm not sure how often another nice pair will come up, so I'm not too concerned about $50-$100 more. As long as I'm happy with them. My first pair of Klipsch! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 4 minutes ago, JMChris said: Incredible data! Thank you. $500 may be a little high, but I'm not sure how often another nice pair will come up, Absolutely spot on reasoning. And remember that $500 is at the top of the selling range but that's exactly the point. When you find a nice pair of speakers they usually are for sale on the top end of the scale, not the middle. I think you did good with your buy. I'm looking forward to your pics. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiFi Heaven Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Thanks wvu80 for your Heritage used price spreadsheet! Very valuable contribution to the knowledge base, fun to use! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oicu812 Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 20 hours ago, JMChris said: Incredible data! Thank you. $500 may be a little high, but I'm not sure how often another nice pair will come up, so I'm not too concerned about $50-$100 more. As long as I'm happy with them. My first pair of Klipsch! I always ask myself "If I have $500 in one hand, and the Heresies in the other, which would I rather keep?". That makes it simple for my decision making process... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMChris Posted January 10, 2020 Author Share Posted January 10, 2020 (edited) Didn't pan out... When I went back to get them, I took a closer look and they were not as "Mint" as I/he thought. A few nicks and scratches here and there, front corner issue with one of the speakers, and half of the top of one speaker having discoloration (sun fading mark). I would have rated the condition of the cabinets a 90 out of 100. More importantly, the owner did say without a doubt that they need the "caps" replaced. Apparently he is an audiophile with a lot of Klipsch friends (started naming off all of the Klipsch classics that he and his friends own), perhaps some are members of the KAC. He was adamant that they needed "Crites upgrades" (I think I read up on that somewhere). I ended up offering him $400, explaining that with the condition and needing upgrades it seemed like a reasonable offer, but he would not budge. He said he needed to get $500 for them. I respectfully asked him to meet me in the middle at $450, which I thought was generous of me, but he declined. Now, did I have buyers remorse before the purchase? I think not, but when you're standing in a million dollar home overlooking an equally beautiful lakefront view and the guy wants top dollar and won't budge, the street-wise kid in me kicks in and I can get stubborn too. Frankly, I think he will sit on them. They have been up for sale since November, so I don't think I'm the first to make him an offer. In his mind he was originally asking $800, then dropped the price to $500. Thus the search continues... Thanks again for the information, it was a big help. Edited January 10, 2020 by JMChris 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yamahaSHO Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 There are plenty out there. I picked up a set of 1982 Heresy's with excellent drivers, replaced caps, and cabinet condition that is in great condition to be refinished... For $375 (asking price was $425, IIRC). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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