Klipsch raising Heritage prices AGAIN on September 1st - this time 15%

[Steve.]

I'm glad I bought my Forte IV in February... ...   were they worth 3k plus my trade?  Absolutely.   $4500 isn't chump change,  but its not unrealistic for a good speaker.    I love them but not sure if they are worth $5748...... they are great but now the Forte is priced similarly to Volti Razz ,  a better speaker by many accounts.  

 

I think Klipsch will lose a lot of potential Heresy, Forte , and Cornwall customers .   Those three speakers were within reach for many folks,   now not so much.   There will always be buyers for LaScala and K Horn, I doubt sales will suffer for those two.    I like the Heresy IV but am not convinced its worth $3700 and I'm sure many will agree.   

 

 

[Shakeydeal]

Well I’m glad I bought my Cornwalls last year. Even so, I think they are still contenders at 7300.00. They would still get my recommendation at the new price.

 

Shakey

[Marvel]

52 minutes ago, Steve. said:

I like the Heresy IV but am not convinced its worth $3700 and I'm sure many will agree.   

 

I'm pretty sure they are worth it. My '72 JBLs, 4311 studio monitors, were $329 when I bought them new. They would be right around $4k now. I would pick the Heresy IV now. More dynamic, still great looks.

 

I'm about speakered out, though... I wish them well with all their  products.

[Steve.]

$329..... Hard to imagine, but that was probably three weeks pay for a lot of people or more.

[Steve.]

I really like the Heresy, in fact I would have loved to keep my III but it wasn't practical.   The IV are a great speaker no doubt, sticker shock i guess.  Price on those almost doubled in four years.   

[Shakeydeal]

I have owned Crites Cornscalas and now own CW IVs. Since it’s been a few years since the cornscalas of course I didn’t compare side by side. But even with upgraded xovers and damped cabinet and horns, the CS isn’t a match for a CW IV. The lack of cabinet resonance, new midrange driver and horn, make the Cornwall IV the superior speaker at resolution, midrange clarity and bass definition. The new Cornwall even images better than any horn speaker I have heard.

 

Just my .02

 

Shakey

[joessportster]

17 hours ago, dwilawyer said:

This is all in their quarterly report.

 

How much is plywood up? 

They dont use Plywood.......................MDF has remained at a constant price locally for the last couple years. It is still 33.00 a 4X8 sheet for 3/4" and thats at Lowes who happily goes up anytime they feel they can get away with it. 

[veloceleste]

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[MEH Synergy]

36 minutes ago, veloceleste said:

Maybe veneer is up in cost….😜Maybe they can offer a vinyl version or other less expensive option…Heresy to suggest, I know…..

Honestly, I think that's a great idea. 

[MEH Synergy]

I'm telling ya, JBL 4722 still a bargain and they sound fantastic. I can only imagine how much better they would sound active. I may voyage into that route with them at some time. They are keepers.  I welcome those local to come hear them.  Priced better than heresy IV.... 

[Marvel]

8 hours ago, Steve. said:

$329..... Hard to imagine, but that was probably three weeks pay for a lot of people or more.

 

And I meant to say $329 each...

[jdmccall]

I was surprised at the second price increase.  Maybe it's needed to stay in the black, maybe it's price gouging; I don't know.

 

I bought CW IV's last summer and sold them this Spring.  I paid $4800 for them as B-stock.  I guess I shoulda held on to them a little longer!  No wonder I'm poor.

 

I've owned all the original Heritage models over the years.  It's very doubtful I'll ever own any more.  Too rich for my retired blood.

[babadono]

6 hours ago, joessportster said:

They dont use Plywood

whaddayatalkinbout

[joessportster]

7 hours ago, babadono said:

whaddayatalkinbout

They use MDF, Plywood has alternating layers of real wood that builds up rigidity, MDF (which is what Klipsch uses now) is medium density fiberboard IOW... Glue and sawdust pressed into a mold to make the boards. Locally Plywood has sky rocketed while MDF has stayed more or less the same price for a few years now

[The Dude]

On 8/21/2021 at 12:50 PM, Westcoastdrums said:

2500 to 8k in one year? 

That's not apples to apples and you know it.  You are comparing b stock 3s to a stock 4s with updates and you stated 2 years ago.  Lets be real and provide facts.  I purchased B stock 4s this year  for not much more than your 3s.  

[avguytx]

On 8/22/2021 at 6:03 PM, Westcoastdrums said:

I'm telling ya, JBL 4722 still a bargain and they sound fantastic. I can only imagine how much better they would sound active. I may voyage into that route with them at some time. They are keepers.  I welcome those local to come hear them.  Priced better than heresy IV.... 

 

Are 4722's still current production or would they have to be found on the used market?  I'm pondering selling my Belle clones either as a whole or parted out and doing something similar to the 4722's and other comparable Klipsch & EV "theater style" speakers.  I'm pretty darn sure I'd enjoy the impact of four 15" woofers....being the old school car audio guy that I am.  ha

[wuzzzer]

I think that if you can afford to spend $6,000 on speakers (which is in no way any sort of need), you can afford to spend $7,500 on them.  If you can't afford that extra $1,500 you probably shouldn't be buying them at the lower price, either. 

[Travis In Austin]

On 8/23/2021 at 7:08 AM, joessportster said:

They use MDF, Plywood has alternating layers of real wood that builds up rigidity, MDF (which is what Klipsch uses now) is medium density fiberboard IOW... Glue and sawdust pressed into a mold to make the boards. Locally Plywood has sky rocketed while MDF has stayed more or less the same price for a few years now

Well buy every sheet of MDF you can locally because you can make at least 30% on your money overnight.

 

What you said was true until January of this year. It was very stable pricing from 2015 to 2019. And then BAM.

 

As of July, 2021. Next report is 9/10, and that will be even higher.

 

US Producer Price Index: Reconstituted Wood Product Manufacturing: Medium Density Fiberboard, Made From Mdf Produced at the Same Location is at a current level of 240.10, up from 221.60 last month and up from 184.40 one year ago. This is a change of 8.35% from last month and 30.21% from one year ago.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WPU09220131

[Travis In Austin]

On 8/22/2021 at 4:17 PM, joessportster said:

They dont use Plywood.......................MDF has remained at a constant price locally for the last couple years. It is still 33.00 a 4X8 sheet for 3/4" and thats at Lowes who happily goes up anytime they feel they can get away with it. 

Well buy every sheet of MDF you can locally because you can make at least 30% on your money overnight.

 

What you said was true until January of this year. It was very stable pricing from 2015 to 2019. And then BAM.

 

As of July, 2021. Next report is 9/10, and that will be even higher:

 

US Producer Price Index: Reconstituted Wood Product Manufacturing: Medium Density Fiberboard, Made From Mdf Produced at the Same Location is at a current level of 240.10, up from 221.60 last month and up from 184.40 one year ago. This is a change of 8.35% from last month and 30.21% from one year ago.

[Schwa]

6 hours ago, wuzzzer said:

I think that if you can afford to spend $6,000 on speakers (which is in no way any sort of need), you can afford to spend $7,500 on them.  If you can't afford that extra $1,500 you probably shouldn't be buying them at the lower price, either. 

True, but that doesn't mean we should be happy about it.

 

Besides, I have a feeling Klipsch was a little more deliberate when they weighed the pros and cons of raising prices 25% within a three-month timeframe.  I sure hope they didn't justify the decision by saying, "Well, if they can afford $6K, they can afford $7.5K."