sfleming Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 Hi all! This looks like the obvious place to ask: I've seen plenty of Klipsch Heritage line speakers on ebay and in local (SF Bay area) ads. What would go best with my little 3.5 watt SET 2a3s? Belle, Klipschorn, LaScala, etc too big for my space and WAF comfort .. For under <$1000 I've seen Heresy II, Chorus, Forte and while their sensitivity ratings look fine (nay: great!), I'm concerned about impedence dips. Should be holding out for the Heresy I ? thanks ! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 Klipschorns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 depends somewhat on your listening habits. while the heresie is listed among heritage line it really is a quite different animal than say a k-horn or belle. can you tell us a little about what you listen to, in what space and with what other components? that would help. regards, tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 I'll chime in here ... I have Wright WPA 3.5 SETs and a house full of Heritage. Even though you speak of available space and WAF, my wife's favorite speaker in the house is the Klipschorn. Yes, it's huge out in the middle of the floor, but they fit into corners and intrude less into the room than a Cornwall, Belle or LaScala. So, if you are one of the few lucky souls that has two good corners in a room (adjacent or opposing even), I'd go with the Klipschorn. There simply is no comparison in their dynamics, and they mate very well (as 104db/w/m) with the tiny SET. Klipschorns can be had for less than two grand if you shop. I paid $1100 for mine and $100 worth of material for rehab. If you can't, for one reason or another, go the Klipschorn route, I think the Cornwall is the next best thing. They are large speakers, though, and they loom large in any but the larger rooms. The older Cornwall II's with the vertical mid and tweeter horns are (IMHO) the best. I've owned both the olders II's and the I (1985 vintage). Both are great sounding though. After the Cornwall, I'd go Belle or LaScala (with possibly a sub to augment bass). Both a lovely speakers and are very similar with minor differences. The LaScala is deeper size-wise than the Belle, but the Belle is wider. It just depends on your corners and your room in general. If you have a small room and no place for a sizeable footprint, the Forte or Chorus are great choices. There are many many fans on these speakers on this board. You might want to do a search on these here. There are zillions of posts (literally). All in all, you can't lose with Klipsch and SET unless you listen to music and exceedingly high volumes like a few here (Jeff C, Tony and Craig come lovingly to mind); if that's the case, a nice push-pull comes to mind. Tony just got a lovely and rare 2A3 PP built by Jean-Francois Lessard up in Quebec City. Sweetness according to Tony. My definitive answer is the Klipschorn, space permitting. Your wife will love them once in situ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnalOg Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 I own the Paramours & can only speak for RF3II speakers coupled with them. Its a nice match, if you don't pump up the volume to high, and like vocals, jazz, not to complex type music, the reference line will fill the boot as far as astetics, value and sound. You could lug your gear to your HiFi dealer and give it a test drive. Thats more than can be said for some of the Heritage line. JMHO! Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfleming Posted May 16, 2003 Author Share Posted May 16, 2003 I already have a sub (Adire Rava), so the bass I've pretty much got covered. The room is less than ideal. It's a big "L", and my speakers are setup currently about in the middle of the long side of the "L" a few feet off the wall. Usual suspects in the CDP are vocals, jazz and acoustics, but sometimes I get a wild hair and bring out my old Zeppelin, Who, Stones. Apartment building, so rarely get a chance to crank it up. Just would rather not have my amps breathing hard. There are no corners in the room that would make obvious sense for placing 2 speakers. Those K-horns do look cool though ..... of course, I don't need to tell y'all that. steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 we have similar listening tastes (though I soccum to my bad boy zep mode more often that my wife would like at "I own the house" volumes! lol). Cornwalls may do the trick for ya. though I cannot vouch for their "SET friendliness" someone else will need to chime in on that issue. Belles are darn nice if a little big and La Scalas too (though I find them a little industrial looking for my taste). size and budget will dictate which way to go. have you heard heritage klipsch speakers before? they have a distinctive sound that should be heard before investing. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edster00 Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 I have been driving my '73 Cornwalls with my 3.5 watt SET amps...a match made in Heaven IMHO. You can also do a search of the 2 channel forum for other reviews of Cornwalls and SET amps, most notably reviews by Kelly aka "mobile homeless". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfleming Posted May 16, 2003 Author Share Posted May 16, 2003 thanks for the advice on the expanded search engine. I was previously doing searches here just using the search field in the upper right corner, and not getting alot of hits. Doh! off to the archives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 Ditto on the big old horns, my wife does not complain about the Khorns at all, they fit nicely into the corners of the room, where all other loudspeakers are out from the walls 3 to 4 feet, plus with flea-powered amplifiers, like the 2A3 tube, you want the most sensitive speakers possible, as for bass, I love the deep bass and have two subwoofers, but the truth is, with the Khorns, but in-room frequency response is fairly flat down to 30Hz, so I get realistic and accurate bass, but not a lot of punch (for that a cheap sub works great), I say defiantly go for the biggest horns you can! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tubenube Posted May 17, 2003 Share Posted May 17, 2003 Since no one has mentioned how Heresy's might work I thought I'd chime in. Sounds like we listen to the same type of music. I do have a Decware SE84C-S (Zen Select) driving my 80 vintage Heresys and they sound just fine. They are a tad weak on the low, low bass (under 50-60 hz) but make up for it in spades elsewhere. Don't get me wrong, a doghouse bass sounds mighty fine on the Heresy but I'm thinking a sub might be a nice addition to fill in the 'longwave' gap (down to 10-20 hz). Make no mistake, Vocals, Jazz and acoustics sound *incredible* on the Heresy. And they rock when you want em to as well. As far as the sensitivity is concerned, no problem. Even 2 watts (@ 8 ohms) gives me more volume available than my condo neighbors would probably like me to have If you can't afford the bigger horns or are are cramped for space like I am then I'm sure the Heresys would be a great choice. 2 channel analog system: Oracle Alexandria, Prelude arm, Denon 103 Cart Audio Solutions MX-10 MC pre-preamp Conrad Johnson PV-4 preamp Ah Tjoeb '99 CDP Decware SE84C-S Select Klipsch Heresy HT system Harmon Kardon AVR500 RCA ultimateTV Sony DVP-S3000 Sony 37" Trinitron JBL L-100 Mains JBL TLX Center 2 JBL 3 way in-wall rears Dahlquist PDQ1200 Subwoofer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted May 17, 2003 Share Posted May 17, 2003 I would add the Chorus-II to the list. It is a classic 3-way approach that uses a reasonably fast passive radiator bass to get around the size problem associated with pure horn bass. I like my Fortes, but wish they were Chorus-II. I just don't have space for horn bass. Also, with 3.5 Watts, the added efficiency of the Chorus-II is important. I think the impedance characteristics of the Chorus are not an issue. BTW, Don't the Paramours use parafeed output? If so, I'm familiar with it because I've modified my Moondogs with parafeed out. leok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfleming Posted May 18, 2003 Author Share Posted May 18, 2003 the Paramours are parafeed. Eventually I'll drop in some better output iron than the stock ones, but that's a ways down the upgrade path. Thanks for all the feedback. Is Chorus II a significant upgrade to Chorus I ? I'll see what I can find. Looking for ease and openness. My Omega (Fostex) monitors sound good, but at times ..... "congested" I suppose is the word. steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted May 18, 2003 Share Posted May 18, 2003 Chorus bass uses a port. Chorus-II uses a passive radiator. I prefer the speed and more damped sound of my Forte-II bass to the ported RF-7 bass. If Klipsch makes ar RF-9 with passive radiator bass I might have to get a pair. Also, the mid horn of the Chorus-II is Tractrix which is more neutral than the exponential type used on the Chorus. leok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.