rspeerx Posted November 2, 2001 Share Posted November 2, 2001 I have a 5.1 rf-3 setup but just stole my moms 1973 heresy's in which i love the mids and highs. going to put these babies in the living room. while there in perfect condition they do have a couple of water-rings on the top. just wondering if these are veneer or solid wood so i can refinish, or should i just leave em in classic condition and deal w/it. thanks HOW CAN I FIND OUT WHAT YEAR THESE WERE MADE THEY HAVE THE PK LOGOS IN TOP CORNERS, . ALSO I KNOW THE HERESY II'S ARE ON RISERS SO THEIR ANGLED UPWARDS A BIT. ARE THERE SPIKES OR FEET TO RAISE THE I'S? IS THERE A BENEFIT TO THIS? This message has been edited by rspeerx on 11-02-2001 at 03:51 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted November 2, 2001 Share Posted November 2, 2001 rspeerx, the serial numbers will tell you what you have ... If it's: HWO, you have a walnut oil finish (veneer) HBR, it's birch raw unfinished HOO, it's oiled oak finish Only the HBR is unfinished and you basically see the top layer of the baltic birch plywood. All the others are veneered, and very thin at that. If you try to sand the ring out, you run the risk of going through the veneer, at which point your SOL. There are a lot of refinishing threads on this BBS if you search for them, but if you have a dark oil finish (like walnut), maybe the best thing to do is to mix 1/3 cup of Minmax walnut stain with 2/3 cup of tung oil. Lightly rub the mix in with 0000 steel or bronze wool (with the grain) and let sit for 30 seconds or so, and towel off. I do this once a year with my Cornwalls and Belle, and they look fabulous. It will also make your rings less pronounced. If you have a lighter finish like oak, you may not get the results you seek unless you darken it up considerably. As always, test an area that is out of the way first and see how you like it. And wait a few days for more knowledgeable people on this board to throw in their recommendations ------------------ If you don't like what is coming out, you wouldn't like what is going in." -PWK- --------------------- Klipsch 1968 ALK Cornwall "II"s (LF/RF) ALK Belle Klipsch (Center) Klipsch Heresy (RR/LR) Klipsch KSW-12 sub Sonic Frontiers Anthem AMP1 (driving Cornwalls) Sonic Frontiers Anthem AMP1 (driving Heresy's) Denon AVR-4800 Toshiba SD-3109 DVD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted November 3, 2001 Share Posted November 3, 2001 http://doityourself.com/woodfinish/index.htm Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted November 3, 2001 Share Posted November 3, 2001 They are all plywood. The face veneer is somewhere in the range of .020"-.040" thick. Very easy to sand through. How you can deal with the rings depends on the finish. Heresys were produced with oil, lacquer and painted finishes, as well as raw. A lot of the raw ones were finished by their owners in just about every conceivable finish. So, first thing is to identify the finish. Then, you might want to look at: http://www.stainfree.com/stainfree/base.cfm?Page=furniture%20%28wood%29#rings If you try Chris's suggestion, I suggest you use bronze wool and not steel. Some of the wool will embed in the wood. Bronze is pretty much inert. Steel will rust over time, possibly affecting the finish. Actual refinishing of an oiled finish on veneer is problematic. The finish polymerizes and pretty much becomes one with the veener. You cannot just strip it off like most other finishes. You have to sand down to a sound substrate before applying the new finish. You risk sanding through the veneer. Sometimes its better to let things be. Lacquer and most other finishes can just be stripped off chemically. If you are really industrious, you could always reveneer the speakers. Not too difficult to do on Heresys and could actually increase their resale value. The serial number tells the story about when your speakers were made. Its on the label on the back of the speaker as shipped. If the label is gone, it should be stamped into the back edge of one of the panels on 70s speakers. How to decode the serial number has been posted recently. Just search the archives on "serial number" or "date" or something similar. Heresys benefit from the risers exactly the same as the Heresy IIs. IMHO they don't do much. Better to get them farther off the floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rspeerx Posted November 6, 2001 Author Share Posted November 6, 2001 Thanks for the input. I might try Chris's suggestion using the bronze wool. I checked the type and they are 1973 HWO's. I connected my ksw-12 and that filled out the bottom end. The subs barely turned up a quarter. this works nicely. I think i like the heresy's for lower volumes and pure musicallity (if thats a word) The rf-3's are more dynamic and better for home theatre. the rf's seem to go louder with less watts although I thought the HWO's were more sensitive, interesting. The Heresy's have better midrange, I listen to the same cd's that I used w the rf-3's for two years and hear some midrange that was totally absent with the rf's. I have not been able to do any a/b testing since my rf's are in storage but am looking forward to it in a few months. Both are good speakers but the rf's are more for ht and loud rock while the hwo's are more high end sounding. I am using a dennon 2801 high current amp on both. This message has been edited by rspeerx on 11-06-2001 at 07:56 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted November 7, 2001 Share Posted November 7, 2001 The RF-3's have a sensitivity of 98db @ 1 watt/1 meter whereas the Heresy's are rated at 96db @ 1 watt/1 meter. Therefore, they should be a little louder at the same volume level... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H. Posted November 7, 2001 Share Posted November 7, 2001 I've had a lot of enjoyment using Formbys furniture refinisher. Also Formbys furniture cleaner is another great product, that for me, has worked taking out blemishes in wood products without alot of work. ------------------ Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted November 8, 2001 Share Posted November 8, 2001 I'm using the Formsby Dark Walnut stain and Formsby Poly finish on mine at the moment. There is some veneer that is missing at the bottom of one of the speakers that I couldn't do anything about. I ended up just staining over it and it's not as noticeable now... Mike ------------------ My Music Systems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rspeerx Posted November 8, 2001 Author Share Posted November 8, 2001 Mike, What procedure are you using the Forsmsby for your speakers. Did you totally sand or bronze wool? What were your results? Which speakers are you refinishing? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted November 8, 2001 Share Posted November 8, 2001 I'm refinishing a pair of '76 Heresy's that I just picked up at a garage sale ($175). They were pretty beat up but I wanted to use them in my bedroom so I thought I would experiment with them, having never worked with wood before. I rubbed the veneer down with steel wool before I started just to smooth it out. I then applied 3 coats of Dark Walnut using a terry cloth applicator pad. You have to wait 48 hours in between each coat. They were in such bad shape that I had to almost cover all the wood grain with the stain. I am now applying 4 coats of Poly and you have to wait 24 hrs in between each coat. After rubbing in a coat using your applicator pad, wait 24 hours then sand it down lightly using the Formsby steel wool (Home Depot) and apply another coat. They are probably only about a 7 out of 10 but they were a 1 or a 2 when I got them. I'm still waiting on Klipsch to send me the Cloth samples as I will be redoing the grills as well. While I was waiting for the stain to dry last week, I went ahead and rope caulked the horns. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend this mod... Mike ------------------ My Music Systems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tertius Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 In your above msg. you stated: "Heresys benefit from the risers exactly the same as the Heresy IIs. IMHO they don't do much. Better to get them farther off the floor." Would you tell me how much higher? Thanks, Tertius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 Many would put the tweeter up at ear level, but you will lose more of the bass. If you are using a sub it won't matter. I have mine up on some Rubbermaid step stools (see pic), which are about 9 inches high. Not very classy, but they are in our bedroom right now. They are also not resonant, so they don't seem to add any odd freq. harmonic content. btw, the Heresys will rock your socks at louder volumes. You might even notice that it 'seems' to help the bass out quite a bit. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunburnwilly Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 In your above msg. you stated: "Heresys benefit from the risers exactly the same as the Heresy IIs. IMHO they don't do much. Better to get them farther off the floor." Would you tell me how much higher? Thanks, Tertius In my experience , at least for the rears , 21 inches is perfect . From my sitting position when I looked over to the rear surrounds I was staring right at the squaker . Another pair of Heresys are the perfect height for Heresy stands . Allthough I now have Belles in the rear . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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