Why no love for the Klipsch Heresy on UK forums?

avole

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They've been around for 60 years, which is longer than most HiFi speakers, they're legendary in the US and in some European countries, they can be driven from a 2w amp upwards, they're amazing vfm, yet in the UK they seem sadly neglected.

They look a little old fashioned, which is what you expect for a speaker that first met the light of day in 1957, but they're still hand made in the US. They're also infinite baffle three way speakers, so what's not to like?

http://www.klipsch.com/products/heresy-iii-floorstanding-speaker - price around 1650€ or £1610, which is a bit of a bargain :)
 
avole said:
They've been around for 60 years, which is longer than most HiFi speakers, they're legendary in the US and in some European countries, they can be driven from a 2w amp upwards, they're amazing vfm, yet in the UK they seem sadly neglected.

They look a little old fashioned, which is what you expect for a speaker that first met the light of day in 1957, but they're still hand made in the US. They're also infinite baffle three way speakers, so what's not to like?

http://www.klipsch.com/products/heresy-iii-floorstanding-speaker - price around 1650€ or £1610, which is a bit of a bargain :)

Good though they may be they are hard to audition in the UK because they are American. Their looks divide opinion and how they would fit into most people's rooms I don't know.

P.S. I think you'll find the price quoted is for one speaker, so not really a bargain.
 

avole

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daveh75 said:
Because they're hideous tat, that anyone with sense, or taste will have skipped 60 years ago?

Lindsayt probably rates them...
No, they're neither ugly nor big enough for him ! He doesn't like them, anyway.

The look is coming back in, and, besides, most speakers are either uninspiring shoe boxes or gargantuan testaments to bad taste :)
 

avole

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https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=klipsch+heresy&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=155841135104&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6599299613620251363&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=2826&hvlocphy=9040887&hvtargid=kwd-74622941&ref=pd_sl_42xsbohxzh_b

Just under £1600 for a pair on Amazon.
 

tino

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daveh75 said:
Because they're hideous tat, that anyone with sense, or taste will of skipped 40 years ago?
Hardly ...

Klipsch-DAT_1000_enl.jpg
 
Completely biased view is that I'd imagine they'd be quite coloured and *****, but they look nice as a bit if furniture if you have enough space. In fact, that form factor might be quite domestically acceptable to those who dislike stands.

99dB efficiency so will be deafening even with a weedy valve amp!
 

Benedict_Arnold

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davidf said:
I'd sell them. As long as they sound good :)

They go with that rack really well...
They're something of a "Marmite" speaker even here in the US. They're very well made but still come in MDF cabinets. Not real wood, or even plywood any more. Downside is most people reckon you need to partner them with a sub, as the design was originally conceived in the gramophone era, and they don't go particularly low - 58 Hz. Oh yeah, and they're bloody huge. 23.8 inches high x 15.5 inches wide x 13.25 inches deep. Of course, you could go for some of the other classic Klipsch speakers, which a London estate agent would try and sell you as "compact and bijou" flats!
 

Benedict_Arnold

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As it happens, I've always had a hankering to get hold of a pair of old Wharfedales (real Wharfedales, made in Yorkshire by men in flat caps with soldering irons and Woodbines hanging from their lips) from the 70s with the sand-filled cabinets and put some modern drivers and crossovers in them.

I wonder what they'd sound like?
 
Benedict_Arnold said:
davidf said:
I'd sell them. As long as they sound good :)

They go with that rack really well...
They're something of a "Marmite" speaker even here in the US. They're very well made but still come in MDF cabinets. Not real wood, or even plywood any more. Downside is most people reckon you need to partner them with a sub, as the design was originally conceived in the gramophone era, and they don't go particularly low - 58 Hz. Oh yeah, and they're bloody huge. 23.8 inches high x 15.5 inches wide x 13.25 inches deep. Of course, you could go for some of the other classic Klipsch speakers, which a London estate agent would try and sell you as "compact and bijou" flats!

That I can understand. Despite their looks and size their specifications are really inline with the date of their first conception and therefore slightly lacking in today's environment / standard UK room size.

As for the photo having them plunked on a nice hardwood floor I am sure makes them sound their best.
 

lindsayt

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nopiano said:
Completely biased view is that I'd imagine they'd be quite coloured and *****, but they look nice as a bit if furniture if you have enough space. In fact, that form factor might be quite domestically acceptable to those who dislike stands.

99dB efficiency so will be deafening even with a weedy valve amp!

They don't sound how you imagine them.

When I've heard them, with a good SET amp and world class vinyl source, I thought that they had a glorious midrange and treble. Detailed, with wide open, unfettered dynamics. In the position and room I heard them in, they were far too lean and uninvolving in the bass for me.

But then again, there are plenty of speakers that are too lean and uninvolving in the bass for me. A fault that can be rectified by using one or two subs.
 

lindsayt

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daveh75 said:
Because they're hideous tat, that anyone with sense, or taste will of skipped 40 years ago?

Lindsayt probably rates them...
Please do not put words into my mouth. That's rude in the context of forum participation.

Can you remind me, what speakers do you use?

Chances are, your speakers are the sort that I wouldn't keep for more than 5 minutes. But I'm not going to go about that. A lot.
 
lindsayt said:
nopiano said:
Completely biased view is that I'd imagine they'd be quite coloured and *****, but they look nice as a bit if furniture if you have enough space. In fact, that form factor might be quite domestically acceptable to those who dislike stands.

99dB efficiency so will be deafening even with a weedy valve amp!

They don't sound how you imagine them.

When I've heard them, with a good SET amp and world class vinyl source, I thought that they had a glorious midrange and treble. Detailed, with wide open, unfettered dynamics. In the position and room I heard them in, they were far too lean and uninvolving in the bass for me.

But then again, there are plenty of speakers that are too lean and uninvolving in the bass for me. A fault that can be rectified by using one or two subs.
Thanks for the insight. I had a hunch you'd know them.
 

tino

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They are no more offensive/inoffensive than any other box shaped speaker. The fact that they can be placed right against a wall works in their favour in a domestic setting, and they are no taller than your typical Ikea Besta furniture cabinet.
 

Benedict_Arnold

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lindsayt said:
nopiano said:
Completely biased view is that I'd imagine they'd be quite coloured and *****, but they look nice as a bit if furniture if you have enough space. In fact, that form factor might be quite domestically acceptable to those who dislike stands.

99dB efficiency so will be deafening even with a weedy valve amp!

They don't sound how you imagine them.

When I've heard them, with a good SET amp and world class vinyl source, I thought that they had a glorious midrange and treble. Detailed, with wide open, unfettered dynamics. In the position and room I heard them in, they were far too lean and uninvolving in the bass for me.

But then again, there are plenty of speakers that are too lean and uninvolving in the bass for me. A fault that can be rectified by using one or two subs.
That's what I'd heard about them too. I was thinking about a pair for my rumpus room, because they're kind of "squat" and would sit under a projector screen (which I haven't got yet - just thinking ahead). But when I was told they're very lean on the bass I decided against them. That and that they're flipping expensive compared to other choices. I'm still looking for an unfashionably short and squat pair of floorstanders or stand-on-low-plinths type speakers though, suggestions welcome.
 

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