The Great Organizer Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 Fellow Klipsch Owners, I need a recommendation on a center speaker. I have an old pair of Heresy's (type H00, serial numbers 8420817 and 18) which I bought in new the early 80's and am using to build a home theater system with a KSW-12 subwoofer and Yamaha RX-V620 receiver. Other users on this forum suggest a matched Heresy or an Academy. My question: Would a new RC3-II be a reasonable match, or should I hold out and spead my evenings searching E-Bay for a Heresy or Academy? Thanks in advance for the advice, The Great Organizer (I got this moniker from my days in high school and college organizing ski club trips, which is where I first experienced the Klipsch sound - a pair of K-horns!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 Another heresy of the same vintage ( crossovers, drivers, etc ) would be the best match for your left and right speakers. Another possibility if you are a do-it yourselfer, is to search the forum for the recent thread " center heresy constuction ". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 The thread in question is entitled " center heresy nods " and is located in the "updating older speakers" section. Author is hwatkins. You may wish to contact him for more info, if this interests you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hwatkins Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 "Nods" should be "Mods" (can't even spell acronyms correctly - sorry). If you have the space for an additional Heresy as center, it is by far a less expensive alternative than my modifications. The best results I got from a single Heresy as center was inverted (woofer above the horns) for a near seamless integration in HT. However, if you have the space limits I wanted to solve, you can get some outstanding results making your own box. The most difficult aspect is matching timbre on the woofer with smaller cone surfaces, and, as physics dictates, it is hard to go as low as the K22 woofer in my configuration. The plus side of my box - lower profile for set top install, an interestingly larger image (seems to come from screen and less directed to a single sweet spot) than single Heresy, specific timbre match above 700hz and a surpisingly good transition from woofers to squawker (unable to tell the difference from the Heresy). A good performing sub makes my configuration work (however, for my ears that is also necessary for the Heresy). Fianlly, we all work within the compromises of room and asthetics that make individual solutions differ - so enjoy the journey. Feel free to write. In between meetings today I will finish box touch ups and work on fashioning a grille. Pics should come by the end of the week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 You've got to get another '84 Heresy. I used a KLF-C7 with La Scalas for 3 or 4 years. I just substituted a Heresy and the difference is pretty large. you won't match the timbre (sound) of the Heresies with anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 Org I must reverberate what the above posters are saying. For best results use the same speaker you are using for your mains. If it is not possible - match the midrange. JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 Yep, get another '84 or '85 Heresy. They are the only ones that will give a proper timbre match. For that matter, buy two and sell the other at a premium to someone else who needs a center. The front speakers absolutely have to match for HT. You won't be happy if they don't. Sound pans around the front speakers quite a bit. If the speakers aren't match, you'll hear it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip marr Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 Question for anyone...I have a pair of Hereseys from 1980 - raw birch. Can I not purchase new Heresey's to match (3 additional for a 5.1)? Or do you think Klipsch has tinkered too much with the sound to make a match? Would I be better off with the vintage, or trade for the new? Thanks for anyone's play on the situation. Also, any advise for a new A?V unit to go with them? I am looking at HK, Marantz, JVC, Rotel, and Arcam. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Organizer Posted February 5, 2003 Author Share Posted February 5, 2003 Thanks to everyone for the replies to date. I'm learning a lot. Several alternatives come to mind, including building a center speaker with matched components, but I struggle with the mental picture of a Heresy sitting on top of the TV (or is it that my wife will struggle with it ...?). One person suggested the most important component was the midrange horn and crossovers (presumably the frequency is the big issue) which made a lot of sense). Some people in this forum have suggested the Academy as a good center channel match with Heresy's - can I take this to mean that the midrange horn is similar or the same as my 84 Heresy's? Well, I guess it's time to cruise E-Bay for a 84 or 85 Heresy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted February 6, 2003 Share Posted February 6, 2003 The Academy would be similar, but not exactly the same either as it actually uses the same components as the Hersey II... and finding one of those is like finding gold as I believe it was the only centre speaker made in the heritage line. Splitting a pair of herseys would be more accurate, but dont forget that it isnt a shielded unit, and may cause some distortion (to the tv image) if placed next to the a CRT TV screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Organizer Posted February 6, 2003 Author Share Posted February 6, 2003 Well, that begs a question to the forum. I presume that "shielded" means a metal box around the inside of the speaker box. Otherwise known as a ground plane or Faraday cage. So if I buy an old Heresy, unscrew the back, line the inside with metal foil, and connect that foil to ground with a wire - would that prevent interference with the CRT? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hwatkins Posted February 6, 2003 Share Posted February 6, 2003 Two items - 1. Yes to the midrange matching. So very much of the center dialog is in the midrange that not matching timbre there it is most clearly noticable. To use as a music fill I think you need to have the tweeter as well - this is the strength of the speakers you are matching. 2. You shielding concept seems to be right, but I was only taking cursory looks at that since I built a box for an RPTV and did not need it. The DIY section of Home Theater Forum has some really good folks looking in that may answer your question on shielding. The only 'gotcha' there is resonance and that should be a minor thing to resolve. If you want to weed through some interesting folks to get your answer the full range driver forum and madisounds discussion forum are also useful. If you have the space, I suggest angling the Heresy toward your primary listening position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted February 6, 2003 Share Posted February 6, 2003 I think the Faraday shield as described is not going to work. The theory is that the sources of the field be totally enclosed with a conductive surface. It is not possible to do this with a speaker box because it is impractable to cover the woofer front with metal. For reasons which I don't understand, speaker drivers made with Alnico magnets do not create very strong fringe fields. Perhaps it has to do with the magnetic conductive structures which direct the field to the "gap" in which the voice coil sits. These are the pole pieces. Older Heresy use Alnico magnets. Therefore, you may not have quite the problem anticipated. One technique for shielding smaller magnets, or shielding things from smaller magnets, is the use of a metal cup around the back of the driver. This is somewhat like a Faraday shield in that the cup prevents fringing of the field. Professional ones are made of specially formulated mu metal which is very permeable to magnetic fields. I've read some people have had sucess with food cans. I can't confirm that. Another technique is the use of a bucking magnet. This is roughly the same size and configuration as the magnet causing the problem. It is positioned behind the main magnet in a configuration where they are repelling each other (hence, perhaps the term "bucking"). Evidently the fringing from each magnet cancel. One first thought is that a bucking magnet would neutalize the field in the gap too. Appartently that is not so. I have not gotten my speakers close enough to a CRT to have a problem. Therefore I've not experimented myself. Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pretzelb Posted May 5, 2003 Share Posted May 5, 2003 I have an RC3 with my Heresy's and it's not a bad setup. I think an RC7 would be better but I didn't want to spend the extra cash. It all depends on how particular you are. I'm not as picky as most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipschfoot Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 I have a Heresy center, tilted slightly up, under my 27-incher. No picture disturbance at all from the speaker. The Heresy makes a great center, IMO. I am curious, though, about whether it is a BETTER center than the coveted Academy. Larger woofer with more cabinet resonance, bigger metal mid horn (I dampened mine with polyfil). I have even heard that the Academy can be too much center! and hard to tame with common HT receivers. Besides, with the center speaker under the set, not on top, there is no "LOOK AT MY BIG CENTER SPEAKER" statement to visitors. But I am still looking for an Academy to try out in my system, just to be sure. Also, the Heresy center is kind of a revivalist statement of the old three-way stereo setup. Yes, look at some old Fisher tube receivers with a center mono out which blended the L&R channels to a separate amp of your choosing. I guess the argument was then that you had to have a center AMP that matched your L&R output! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyclonecj Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 ---------------- On 5/6/2003 11:02:56 PM Klipschfoot wrote: I am curious, though, about whether it is a BETTER center than the coveted Academy. ---------------- It's not that its better, just different. If you are using heritage mains & rears, the Academy is not a perfect match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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