Heresy II vs Heresy IV Part II

[angelaudio]

This first video are just some brief comments on the reasons for doing a part II of this comparison. There were some comments by several others in these forums as well as Steve Huff who are far more experienced, so I wanted to go back and do this again. My friend Mirko is also a far more experienced and better listener than I am because he understands it better than I do and my biggest problem is that I lack experience. The first comparison thread and video are linked below as well. I'd like to reiterate my reasons are for doing this. A few commented that I was only using a 2.5 watt Decware and that it wouldn't be enough to drive the bass of the I'V's and I understand the concern there. My issue was that this is one of the amps I still listen to for easy listening at night like Bill Evans and Chet Baker for example. That being the case, one may not hear much difference in the bass between the IV's and II's at those lower listening volumes right off the batt. I decided to take the Heresy II's over to my friend Mirko who owns the IV's and compare them using the Primaluna EVO400 integrated amp and McIntosh MHA100. We also compared the Klipsch KLF20's and took well over a dozen comparison videos. I realize videos will never convey the incredible sound when hearing it for real BUT they do help display the "relative" differences of the bass and even the highs and mids. I'm still going to be uploading many videos today so bear with me. 

 

Another criticism I got was that the walls in my previous video are slanted corners and that the bass of the IV would not resonate, so I believe we got that nailed down better in the newer videos. Another matter was the the break-in period. I have no idea if the decibel levels increase with break-in but for some strange reason, the IV's unquestionably sound as efficient as the II's which was not the case in my first video several months prior. Mirko has put tons of hours on the IV's to break them in so perhaps this is a result of break-in? Not really sure. All I can say is that their volume levels sound the same now. This is why I think it's important to go back and listen to speakers again.

 

These comments are merely what's being heard. I really believe room size and acoustics have a huge influence on the results one hears with speakers. My own room where the first comparison of the II's and IV's took place dampens extremely fast! If you clap your hands in that room, there is no audible echo at all! In Mirko's room which is bigger and more wide open, there's a bit of brief echo but I also like his room because it's as if all the speakers have more breathing space. It's probably a placebo effect on my part but I like it nonetheless. I will just say that I really love Klipsch and their story. It's not about high class fidelity like you get in these ultra expensive and ultra refined speakers sold on the market for tens of thousands of dollars. The Klipsch Heritage series just have have this crude but absolutely beautiful sound that just seems so realistic, dynamic and right at you. Sometimes it brings so much emotion to me. Realistic sound doesn't always sound refined IMO. That realism is why I love these little Herey's so much. 

 

Others may not have this same experience, but the II's I have which are completely bone stock, definitely exhibit more treble and the voices seem to shout a little bit more than the IV's. Mirko didn't refer to it as treble but he did express a similar impression of the sound in the highs and I think this will easily be audible in the videos if one is wearing a pair of earbuds or headsets. I have to be completely honest about the bass in all three speakers. The KLF20's almost seem to have quite a bit more bass than I would actually need (at least for my tastes) while the Heresy II's sound as if they are lacking some bass, but the Heresy IV's OMG! They are just so damn perfect and I get the idea that it's just such a complete speaker. I was blown away by the IV's. The bass of the IV's is very audible in Mirko's room. It's controlled, tight and very palpable and overall, I actually liked the Heresy IV's even more so than the KLF20's because the bass rocks the room but it doesn't overwhelm the music. It's just so damn perfect! 

 

I think the reason my Heresy II's seem to work so well in my room is basically because the dampening and deading are so well controlled that it helps dampen the highs in the Heresy II's and I imagine it deaden's the bass. I'm also using one and often two REL T5i's because they are super fast and match so well with the Heresy, it's really incredible. If you have never experienced this sub, it's one of the most amazing experiences. I invited Mirko to another room where I connected just one REL T5i to my pair of Heresy II's using a modified Dynakit Stereo 120 solid state I got from Kenny Russell and an Erhard Audio Aretha tube preamp. We played Tom Sawyer by Rush using a high fidelity Vinyl recording. At one point we were a little over 107 decibels and he said it was the best example of the song he had ever heard which was pretty awesome. Normally he plays music at 80 decibels because he says that you don't wanna play too loudly for sustained periods and hurt your ears but it was just a fun time. 

 

In all, the Heresy IV's were king during this experience and the top end sounded a bit smoother and rolled off compared to my Heresy II's. I really love both these speakers, I really do. If you're playing stuff like Albert King, Stevie Ray and voices, all these speakers will rock. Sooooo much fun!!!!

 

 

 

 

[Fasthenk65]

keep them coming!!! and try the MHA100... curious

[Mirko]

I grew up with the HIIs and Own the H4s.  The Heresy IV vs a Heresy II is no comparison.  You have nearly a full range speaker vs non full range speaker.  The top end is smoother and less harsh too.  The bottom is more extended (even more so than what is specified imO) and punchy, and controlled.  H4 all the way.  Hours of listening with no screech or shouty mids and zero fatigue.  Do I want more bottom end? Maybe sometimes.  Even At night I listen to these with no subs.  Also, the H4s throw a wide sound stage that isn’t as sensitive to listening position like the H2s.  They are just awesome.  My two cents. 

[grindstone]

Maybe it's because it's ported right into a Lascala, but I'd be interested in your guys' impressions of this H4 video vs. your own experiences. 

 

[angelaudio]

I think some matters really need to be put into proper context which is why Mirko and I debate all the time. Our audiophile group argues endlessly with each other over things. I just feel that youtubers who review the Heresy IV's don't explain enough with regard to the context of the listening environment, music genre and volume levels.  I would assume that the port being next to the La Scalas would merely have some minor influence on the bass, but probably nothing to do with the midrange or highs as long as the bass wasn;t overwhelming which with regard to this video didn't seem to be the case. The issue I took with the Forte IV was the lack of coherency of the voices which were lacking compared to the Heresy IV IMO. This is why I prefer the Forte 1. It has deeper bass and a sweeter top end IMO than the Forte IV. I think the HIV is an overall improvement over my HII's. Smoother top end and deeper bass. My reason for preferring my II's was merely in relevance to my listening room. My room is far more dampened than Mirko's main listening room. His room sounds real fun like a live band is playing because there's more reflection in his room. I know this may seem bad but it's not to my ears. His room sounds fun to me. When has listening to a live performance ever sounded like really high fidelity with acoustics? To me, it's more about the soul and excitement that's generated and Mirko's IV definitely deliver better than my HII's at his place.

[Marvel]

I have a pair of HIIs, love them very much. I also trust Roy's work on the HIV, even though I've not yet heard them. My HIIs are in a rather large room, Had LS and MWMs in there and they were superb... just pulled you in to the music. It's all good when the music is playing.