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Proper placement for Heresy's?


tubenube

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I finally picked up a pair of '80 vintage Heresy's for my 2 ch system. I've been fiddling with placement and while they sound great now, I'm wondering if I could make them sound even better if I knew what they 'like'..

My room is 12X20 (8' ceiling). One end is dedicated to digital 5.1 home 'couch potato' theater. Turn around and the other end is dedicated to 2 channel (analog) audio (Wingback chair listening position).

Notwithstanding the tweeking needed due to room acoustic variables, where would be a good 'standard' starting point for Heresy speaker placement? e.g. X feet apart, Y feet from rear wall, Z feet from room corners, N feet from listening position, so many degrees toe in, etc.

System:

Oracle Alexandria Turntable

Ah Tjoeb CD

Conrad Johnson PV4 preamp

Decware SE84C-S SET amp

(w/ appropriate interconnects)

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Tube,

I have the exact same size room, but the 20' wall I have my wall unit on has two openings on each side. I have my Heresys on each side of the wall unit. They are approximately 10' apart and sound wonderful, with full imaging.............

------------------------- Window ---------------------

--------- arch way --X----------Wall unit------------------------X

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tubnube,

Not that I have any particular expertise, but... there are various theories on speaker placement. The Fibonacci theory is good entertainment regardless of whether you're talking audio or rabbits. It really does make a differenceprobably the most significant improvement you'll be able to get without component swapping. Height also affects the sound and it's rarely mentioned in the articles. I like my Heresy II's about a foot off the floor. I made some diy stands that, to my ears, improved the tightness of the bass and high end detail noticably. Here are some links for your late night reading.

John

WASP

George Cardas

The Golden Mean/Fibonacci

The Oval Theory

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Interesting. Obviously one could do whatever they want but I was under the impression Heresys were intended to be on the floor, slightly tilted (hence the riser bases). And I also thought I'd read (here?) some measurements Klipsch recommended as far as distance from speaker to rear wall, etc.

Not so?

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TubeNube,

Nice to see another Zen owner in the house !!

I recently purchased a set of Cornwall IIs and am running a pair of SE-84C-Ss

I am very happy with the combo !!

I have the Cornwalls about 18" from side/rear walls. 6' apart. 8' to the listening position. I have them toed-in just a "hair".

I found toeing them in too much blurred the soundstage a bit, and took away from the holographic image this combo is capable of. Experiment a bit, you'll find what is best in your room.

When it is right. It is SO right.

Happy listening

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I have my heresy's set up on boxes about 18" high that put the squawker about even with my ears when i'm slumped out on my couch with a glass of scotch listening to some tunes.

Basically my speakers and I form an equilateral triangle with myself being about six or seven feet from the heresy's and the speakers themselves being about six feet apart.

I find the sound to be fine with wide yet well defined imaging, there have been a number of times when I think music is playing through my center channel when in fact it is not.

Peace, Josh

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Marvel,

John Albright says the local Chuck E. Cheese has some heresy's as the sound system, maybe you could go hang out there and listen to klipsch while eating pizza3.gif J/K

Perhaps I should bring mine home next week, that way we could try out the tubes on them and you would get to hear how it all sounded.

Peace, Josh

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Roblikestubes: I've often considered building a 2nd Zen. Then I think 'well if I want two Zen monoblocks I might as well do it right and get the signature SV83M Monoblocks'. Then I remember I can't afford them ;)

Besides, I really enjoyed building my SE84C Select. Probably not truly necessary but I think if I wanted the two (bridged) mono selects I'd want to build them simultaneously/concurrently in order to ensure all construction was totally 'matched'.

Even though I'm sure I've not optimized the 'perfect' placement of the Heresy's yet (So far I've basically hooked them up about 1.5' out from the wall, 6' apart and 6' away and just can't quit just listening) I can already tell it will ultimately be as you say: "When it is right. It is SO right."

There's already been a couple tracks that have given me goosebumps ;)

Since it doesn't seem to be (pardon the pun)... heresy... to put them on taller stands I'll experiment with that as well.

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The further the speaker is from the end or side wall the better the soundstage will be. The other side of this, the worse the bass will sound. This is a trade off. Start with 18" and move in two inch increments away from the wall. If it sounds better to you, keep on going. If it sounds worse, go towards the wall. Then you need to move in 1/2 inch increments, until it sounds 'just right'.

This needs to be done with the distance from the back and side of the wall.

It does change the sound rather dramatically. Your ears will be the best judge of what is right, too much bass, too bright, etc...

Good luck.

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I have mine on two milk boxs each and the speakers laying on their side with the tweeters towards the center and the speakers cocked in to the center of the room where my recliner is ( sweet spot). For some reason this setup being pushed by a vintage tube amp sounds the best to me and is heaven to me.12.gif

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  • 17 years later...

Hey,

I've got H1s (all original near mint) in my living room and wonder about placement as well. The room is 18x18 with 18 foot cathedral ceilings, and is adjacent to the kitchen and breakfast areas (open floor plan). I'm supplementing bass with a 10 inch klipsch sub. I've got the H1s 8 feet apart, 2 feet from the back wall (a wall of windows with thick blackout curtains), and sit approximately 12 feet away. Though I'm wondering if that is too far away, and perhaps I should adjust the sofa position, speaker position, etc. Should they be pointing at me, out just in front of me for best spacial arrangement? Thoughts anyone?

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