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Found out my second-hand speaker system (a DIY project) is an older Klipsch Heresy. Looking to maximize my good fortune.


DarrylB

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I inherited a set of speaker from a university dance & theater department when they vacated the space. When I moved in, the speakers were attached (hanging) to the wall and I took them home and later bough some vintage stereo gear (Yamaha M-50 amp, Yamaha C-65 Control Amp) and a new turntable (AT-LP240-USB). I thought the system sounded good, but never really had anything to compare it with.

Fast forward to today (after a couple of years of not having a working system) I opened the speakers up and found the crossover board labeled E-2 (and Klipsch). Boy was I surprised and happy, but now to the problem. I have the Yamaha amp in the shop and the turntable is outfitted with a new stylus (LPGear VL), but connected to a RCA receiver in the interim. After I got the new stylus, I listened to a lot of my old vinyl and found the sound quality "muddy" and "muffled" (sorry, I don't know how else to describe the quality). I though perhaps the speakers were pretty old and perhaps needed a tune-up. A friend says to wait until I get the good amp back in play, and I'm guessing that probably is the way to proceed, BUT if I were to get the speakers to perform as designed, what might be a pathway? I fear the answers will simply further whet my appetite for more and more quality, but my retirement budget insists on financial caution.

From the pictures I took it appears the woofer is K-22, Mid-range K-50 (it's smeared), and the tweeter is K-77. The speaker box is NOT from Klipsch, but crafted by someone in the academic unit. I'm assuming that one could/can but Klipsch components and make your own speaker system. (?)

Thanks for any opinion, advice, or strategies... after reading a few posts here, I know I'm out of my depth, but it's never too late to learn.
Darryl

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22 hours ago, DarrylB said:

I inherited a set of speaker from a university dance & theater department when they vacated the space. When I moved in, the speakers were attached (hanging) to the wall and I took them home and later bough some vintage stereo gear (Yamaha M-50 amp, Yamaha C-65 Control Amp) and a new turntable (AT-LP240-USB). I thought the system sounded good, but never really had anything to compare it with.

Fast forward to today (after a couple of years of not having a working system) I opened the speakers up and found the crossover board labeled E-2 (and Klipsch). Boy was I surprised and happy, but now to the problem. I have the Yamaha amp in the shop and the turntable is outfitted with a new stylus (LPGear VL), but connected to a RCA receiver in the interim. After I got the new stylus, I listened to a lot of my old vinyl and found the sound quality "muddy" and "muffled" (sorry, I don't know how else to describe the quality). I though perhaps the speakers were pretty old and perhaps needed a tune-up. A friend says to wait until I get the good amp back in play, and I'm guessing that probably is the way to proceed, BUT if I were to get the speakers to perform as designed, what might be a pathway? I fear the answers will simply further whet my appetite for more and more quality, but my retirement budget insists on financial caution.

From the pictures I took it appears the woofer is K-22, Mid-range K-50 (it's smeared), and the tweeter is K-77. The speaker box is NOT from Klipsch, but crafted by someone in the academic unit. I'm assuming that one could/can but Klipsch components and make your own speaker system. (?)

Thanks for any opinion, advice, or strategies... after reading a few posts here, I know I'm out of my depth, but it's never too late to learn.
Darryl


When I bought my 1972 Klipsch Heresy set in 2018, they sounded 'muddy' too. I replaced the capacitors of the crossovers, which age with time. This is easy to do. I myself had no soldering experience at all.

Take note of the desscriptions on the old caps and order new caps with identical specs. 

Now they sound pretty amazing. 

The cost: a few dollars. In my case, the postage cost more than the caps themselves. I needed 4 caps in total... Your crossovers may be different.

If they still sound muddy after recapping, you will probably have to replace the diaphragms. 

 

IMG_20211222_181234.thumb.jpg.e982c28a38e2f013f6e2ad5eca07929a.jpg

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I agree with Racer X; wait until your repaired amp is returned and see if there is a change of sound. It could be the phono section of each amp, and not a speaker issue.

 

Try running some CD's through the RCA receiver and see if the sound is any different. You can even buy adapters to stream from your smartphone, iPod; whatever if you want to test via that route. Just connect through a receiver input other than the phono input, which is not designed for the signal level of your smart device.

 

Report back.

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Thanks all. Great advice, especially about the caps. The cabinets look to have painted a dull brown, or it's a DIY project... I can't tell. But the inside is well constructed and laid out. There are small risers attached to the bottoms. No grill covers.
I assume the cylindrical bits are the caps (?). One woofer has some damage, does this warrant a repair?

I played some CDs and felt the sound was better, so it's probably the receiver. I have a vinyl album and a CD of the same musician (Stanley Turrentine), so I'll give that a listen too. Should be interesting. Four weeks and counting till I hear from the repair shop... gonna be a long time. ;)

 

 

20220120_105236.jpg.2f1dc9ed8417f27c5f066e8b754cb0a4.jpg 20220120_104841.jpg.a5cdfa331757bf52f0138add3f96ceb6.jpg 20220120_104639.jpg.10a54f18a37563cfb600290f72244a63.jpg 20220118_144302.jpg.be3d1f332978298c5e8e205bdffdeb76.jpg

 

20220118_144352.jpg.67726edc524aacfa25d0cfa0c7abda9f.jpg 20220118_144332.jpg.5833336dc3dd0ff7588ed453bf745bbb.jpg 20220120_105423.jpg.66f8c483965153dec283977dadf74bba.jpg

 

 

 

 

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5 hours ago, DarrylB said:

Thanks all. Great advice, especially about the caps. The cabinets look to have painted a dull brown, or it's a DIY project... I can't tell. But the inside is well constructed and laid out. There are small risers attached to the bottoms. No grill covers.;)

 

that's the way the speakers were made in Hope Arkansas  from what looks to be 1984 or 1985   these are not DIY speakers , these are  klipsch Heresy 1  , the reason the woofer was damaged , is because the grilles are missing and these speakers seem to have quite a bit of a life story , Survivors  , if the damaged woofer  is playing fine , it can be repaired  ,  try to take a closer up picture so we can tell you how to fix it -

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12 hours ago, DarrylB said:

Thanks all. Great advice, especially about the caps. The cabinets look to have painted a dull brown, or it's a DIY project... I can't tell. But the inside is well constructed and laid out. There are small risers attached to the bottoms. No grill covers.
I assume the cylindrical bits are the caps (?). One woofer has some damage, does this warrant a repair?

I played some CDs and felt the sound was better, so it's probably the receiver. I have a vinyl album and a CD of the same musician (Stanley Turrentine), so I'll give that a listen too. Should be interesting. Four weeks and counting till I hear from the repair shop... gonna be a long time. ;)

 

 

20220120_105236.jpg.2f1dc9ed8417f27c5f066e8b754cb0a4.jpg 20220120_104841.jpg.a5cdfa331757bf52f0138add3f96ceb6.jpg 20220120_104639.jpg.10a54f18a37563cfb600290f72244a63.jpg 20220118_144302.jpg.be3d1f332978298c5e8e205bdffdeb76.jpg

 

20220118_144352.jpg.67726edc524aacfa25d0cfa0c7abda9f.jpg 20220118_144332.jpg.5833336dc3dd0ff7588ed453bf745bbb.jpg 20220120_105423.jpg.66f8c483965153dec283977dadf74bba.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

Looking at those pictures, I think, actually I am pretty sure your speakers have already been recapped!

So I definitely wait with any work until your amp is back home and enjoy for a while as they are...

 

You did a great find, my friend, here in Europe, those speakers are easily worth $800, if not more!

 

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They appear to be what we have termed Heresy 1.5s.  That is, Heresy 1 woofer and tweeter and Heresy II squawker.  The caps are original Klipsch.  wait until you get your quality electronics back before final judgement, and check each driver to be sure all are working with matching output before replacing the caps.  However, they are likely to be the problem.  Use high quality film and foil caps for replacement.  They will be expensive, but you don't have to spend $200 each.  Audiocap PPT The gas at Parts Express ought to do.  Go with better if you can.  Avoid metalized caps as they sound a little brittle and edgy and Heresies don't need that. 

 

Look on the back edge plies for letters and numbers.  They will be the serial number and/or the builders stamps. 

 

A quick repair for the hole in the woofer is a small piece of cigarette paper on each side of the cone glued with Somers.  Smooth the edges of the hole first.  you can get a replacement or that one reconed later.  I'd just leave the dust cover alone, but there are some tricks with duct tape and vacuums to pull it out. 

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