Heresy II

[Wayne100]

Picked up a set and hooked them up to my Bottlehead 2A3 amp. Plays plenty loud enough but the mids are pushed forward and very little bass. Thought about doing the crossovers but it sounds like that will just make them brighter. I hooked them up to my ss rig, Bryston pre and amp, 50wpc and bam, bass is there , but upper mids are a little harsh. Any ideas how to get more midbass out of them with a 2a3?

 

[billybob]

@Wayne100 welcome!

Not certain about the harshness yet, if you go with the stock crossovers, may help.

Others will reply... thanks!

 

 

[the real Duke Spinner]

4 hours ago, Wayne100 said:

 very little bass. 

 

My least favorite  K  speaker ...mine exited rather quickly

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tigerwoodKhorns]

4 hours ago, Wayne100 said:

Picked up a set and hooked them up to my Bottlehead 2A3 amp. Plays plenty loud enough but the mids are pushed forward and very little bass. Thought about doing the crossovers but it sounds like that will just make them brighter. I hooked them up to my ss rig, Bryston pre and amp, 50wpc and bam, bass is there , but upper mids are a little harsh. Any ideas how to get more midbass out of them with a 2a3?

 

Put them on the floor. 

[OO1]

4 hours ago, Wayne100 said:

  how to get more midbass out of them with a 2a3?

 

an Equalizer  

[JohnJ]

19 minutes ago, tigerwoodKhorns said:

Put them on the floor. 

& in the corners, play with their positioning some and put on Jeff Beck's "There & Back"

My IIs could make some decent bass, had wool on the floor and heavy curtains. In the big room the walls were 1/2" wood all around.

Once used a 3" decoupler made of plywood covered with foam, that was in an apartment.

 

Before changing the speakers always think of the environment they are in! 

 

*Mine loved my old 125 wpc YAH RX-1100

Edited December 16, 2022 by JohnJ
*

[CWOReilly]

Despite the sensitivity I’ve found that 15+ watts have sounded better, but some amps just don’t sound good. I have a pair that I use when renting cabins or small events and have been through lots of amps to settle on a 100 wpc class D. Got a third amp you can try?

[ricktate]

I have ha 3 pairs of Heresy's and never lacked bass. Not sure if its your amp but I have used HK 430   630  dynaco st70   Carver power amps   sony 7045. I would check amp to see if it is in good working orde.

[JohnA]

On the floor and close to one, or more walls.  Distance to taste.  Most Heresies before the IV are a touch bright.  I think they need a subwoofer because the response below 70 Hz is weak.  I had 7 at one time.  Four helped me buy H IVs. 

[Marvel]

My HIIs worked/sounded fine when I powered them with 2A3 amps (in a couple different room settings). My 2A3s had magnequest output iron, which always made for good bass on whatever speakers I had connected.

 

I'm currently using a Crown D-45 which is about 25wpc and they also make a great pairing.

 

I hate to use the word, but synergy keeps coming out. Some gear just doesn't play well together. I've never heard Bottlehead equipment, so I can't speak directly about it.

 

I never thought my HIIs sounded bright, but definitely more balanced than the original (haven't heard the last two in the series yet (III, IV).

[the real Duke Spinner]

On 12/15/2022 at 4:37 PM, Wayne100 said:

Picked up a set and hooked them up to my Bottlehead 2A3 amp. Plays plenty loud enough but the mids are pushed forward and very little bass. Thought about doing the crossovers but it sounds like that will just make them brighter. I hooked them up to my ss rig, Bryston pre and amp, 50wpc and bam, bass is there , but upper mids are a little harsh. Any ideas how to get more midbass out of them with a 2a3?

 

That was my experience

[Marvel]

I would almost guarantee it's the transformers on the Bottleheads that are holding back what you are looking for.

[Idontknow]

On 12/15/2022 at 1:37 PM, Wayne100 said:

Picked up a set and hooked them up to my Bottlehead 2A3 amp. Plays plenty loud enough but the mids are pushed forward and very little bass. Thought about doing the crossovers but it sounds like that will just make them brighter. I hooked them up to my ss rig, Bryston pre and amp, 50wpc and bam, bass is there , but upper mids are a little harsh. Any ideas how to get more midbass out of them with a 2a3?

 

 

Sounds like a synergy issue. I've used my Heresy II's for several years and I think they are wonderful speakers even now. I've not tried the Bottlehead model you are referring yet but I've compared many others. Your Bottlehead appears to be an absolutely beautiful integrated amp. I would suggest not giving up on the H2's too quickly. If you want warmer top end with good bass, one of my favorite amps is the newer generation solid state Dynaco ST120's that Kenny Russell does. I'm not referring to the older model people nag about. You can get them for about $600 and they're amazing in my opinion and I've compared them to many great amps. They have a slightly thicker sound with a warmer top end, so they're a really good match with Heresy II's and open baffle speakers.

 

The other thing is you could consider adding a tube preamp that utilizes tone control which are coming back to the market more these days and rightly so. I have three different models I use. You can add your own bit of bass or reduce the top end just a bit. I realize tampering with the tones seems like blasphemy but I use them all the time. Blasphemy to me is assuming a recording is going to do the right thing. It doesn't make them perfect, but it's better than the alternative. Another option you could consider is to cut a small 1/4 thick piece of light weight foam and place it behind the grill cloth in front of the main tweeter. 

 

I've experimented with my Heresy II's using REL T5i subs both single and dual, so there's almost no experiment I haven't conducted with the H2's using various tube amps, passive preamps, solid state amps etc. 

[the real Duke Spinner]

On 12/15/2022 at 4:37 PM, Wayne100 said:

Picked up a set and hooked them up to my Bottlehead 2A3 amp. Plays plenty loud enough but the mids are pushed forward and very little bass. Thought about doing the crossovers but it sounds like that will just make them brighter. I hooked them up to my ss rig, Bryston pre and amp, 50wpc and bam, bass is there , but upper mids are a little harsh. Any ideas how to get more midbass out of them with a 2a3?

 

Totally my experience. 🙄

[DeanG Crossovers]

Zero feedback design? The amp’s frequency response is tracking the impedance of the loudspeaker.