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Would you want a revived 'original' Klipsch Heritage line?


MeloManiac

Would you want a revived 'original' Klipsch Heritage line?  

34 members have voted

  1. 1. In the previous century, the BBC wrote out a specs sheet and allowed 11 or twelf UK speaker companies to build these studio monitors to the highest specs. In the 21st century, one company (Rogers) decided to revive these speaker according to their original specs: the Rogers LS3/5A revived vintage speakers. They are made in the UK and cost around €3,300 https://www.rogers-hifi.uk/rogers-ls35a-classic-speakers https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LS3/5A POLL QUESTION: Would you appreciate Klipsch doing the same? eg build the original Heresy (or Klipschorn) according to its original specs?

    • Yes
      8
    • No
      26
  2. 2. What model would you prefer 'revived' to original specs?

    • Heresy
      1
    • Klipschorn
      0
    • Forte
      2
    • Cornwall
      4
    • La Scala
      6
    • None of the above
      21


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Wow, this will be a tough one, i guess... I know my original Heresys lack bass, the 4s have it, but then again, one could argue that it´s a whole new speaker. Honestly, i couldn´t decide – yet. I´ll wait for further coments from the heavy-weights.

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1 hour ago, Marvel said:

If you wanted one built to original specs, just but an original and don't immediately start replacing parts. 🙄

 

Some prefer a speaker without the 'patina', flowerpot rings, scratches and beer rings.... 

Second, some original parts are no longer available, so that's the whole idea: making the old parts again and available... 

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7 hours ago, Marvel said:

don't immediately start replacing parts.

I'm very fortunate to own a pair of 44 year old Heresies that are all stock, all original and look like this. They sound just as good as they look. I am not messing with  them. I don't need a revival, mine never died. 😉

IMG_0223.jpg

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9 minutes ago, wetowne said:

I'm very fortunate to own a pair of 42 year old Heresies that are all stock, all original and look like this. They sound just as good as they look. I am not messing with  them. I don't need a revival, mine never died. 😉

IMG_0223.jpg

 

Nice! My 1972 Heresy set, age 49, look like this. They do have some scratches, and I recapped them, but kept the original caps as well. 

PSX_20210410_173901.jpg

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13 minutes ago, ChrisK said:

I have 1975 Cornwalls. Other than refinishing, new woofer cones and 5 way binding posts, they're completely original.

 

cornwall.jpg.0e970d8d0f83e4f7e289cf525939d280.jpg

 

 

these look like 1977  given the laser badge  -what is that red finish ?  on these CW Decorators----is that a stain , or a veneer ,

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3 hours ago, MeloManiac said:

 

Some prefer a speaker without the 'patina', flowerpot rings, scratches and beer rings.... 

Second, some original parts are no longer available, so that's the whole idea: making the old parts again and available... 

 

It's the "UPGRADES", the "I've improved them" part. A new finish, repair the grills, fix some dings. I have no problem with that. Folks can do what they want with them, they aren't mine. Cap replacement when they age... sure thing. Binding posts instead of the screw terminal strips, yup.

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Seems Klipsch is in the speaker business primarily and not a parts house.

A good reason to vote I voted for a revival of the original series 1, since all of the Heritage line is still intact and going well if the forum is any indication.

Like the sentiment but later revisions have overtaken the History. Besides, what would the price retail be?

The Heritage line is still original.

Klipsch may do it but, would have serious doubts about.

Thanks!

Maybe

 

Edited by billybob
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I upgraded one of my Heresy IIs with the Klipsch Heresy III upgrade kit to use as a centre speaker, and it sounded better in every way.  As well, I have a pair of original La Scalas (1974) and a pair of La Scala IIs (2007), and the newer speakers sound better in every way, just like the newer Heresys.  They also look much better.

 

According to all reports, the new Heresy IVs and La Scala AL5s are much improved over the earlier models.  What would be the point of resurrecting the original speakers, since in nearly every case, the newer speakers sound better?  This is not a question of a new flavour of sound making the old flavour of sound obsolete and nostalgic; the new speakers sound measurably better, allowing listeners to have a better sense of hearing the entertainers playing live in front of them, which is the goal, right?  The sound is usually more clear and realistic, and in the case of the Heresys, the new ones are also more sensitive, so you get more volume from the same amplifier.  Win-win!

 

If Klipsch were to cut and assemble new cabinets, and then somehow find the old drivers and transformers and capacitors, the new “old” speakers would be as expensive as the new “new” speakers, so they’d be no bargains.  Also, Klipsch would likely have to set up a separate build line for the new originals, and train the workers to build them, because the assembly methods would be a bit different, and the factory would want to get them right, right from the first pair.

 

Klipsch speakers, like most speakers, are listened to every day.  In car terms, they’re “daily drivers”.  This means that you don’t just listen to them on rare occasions, like you might with a fully restored or very low mileage vintage car.  When you drive a like-new old car, you soon realize that the engineers back then just didn’t know as much.  The old cars don’t handle as well, stop as well, or accelerate as well as modern cars.  However, it’s fun to take them out sometimes, and remember how they made you feel in your younger days.

 

With speakers it’s different.  You power up your system, and listen to your new “old” or fully-restored old speakers, and soon notice the areas where their sound falls short of the sound of your new speakers, especially when you play your favourite tunes on both vintages of speakers.  You may look at them and remember how they seemed so great when you were much younger, and the good times you had when you listened to them.  Great, but you probably can’t just roll them back into the garage until the next time you feel nostalgic, and roll out your late-model speakers that you listen to every day.  Okay, some people don’t mind shifting big Heresy Series speakers in and out of their systems, or have the money and space to have a separate system for the old or “new-old” speakers, but that’s probably a small number of Klipsch owners.

 

For the rest of us, we choose a pair (or more) of speakers to install and connect to our system, and that’s it.  That’s the system we’ll be listening to every day, with all its wonders and annoyances.  So does a new pair of vintage speakers, at new-today prices, still sound like a good idea, for either Klipsch, or for a significant numbers of buyers?

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19 minutes ago, Chief bonehead said:

Why?

The only reason I can think of is to compare them to the newest models to show how far y'all have come...It sort of reminds me when the RF-7IIs came out and folks were claiming "I went to a store that had both the original RF-7s and the RF-7IIs where you could audition them together and the latter blew the former away." I actually trolled people making that claim because I didn't think showrooms were doing that (especially given the RF-83 series came in between and I didn't think they had the inventory). {Edit Note: I absolutely believe the Heritage line benefited from decades of production innovations but not the RF-7s in that 10 year period.} 

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34 minutes ago, Chief bonehead said:

Why?

Klipsch has always gradual, slow, continuous improvement of their products and still goes on today! I agree with the Chief's sentiments here. I would say find some used old ones, they will be worth the price, or buy new for the best sound.

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