I'm giving an unreserved 5 stars to my particular setup which is simply mind-erasing. A single set of Heresy's do lack range. The answer here is to stack three per side and create a wall of sound where the coupling effect extends bass far below specs. Choose an amp which can handle a 2 ohm load such the Carver I use which triples up its rated output at that impedance and with nearly 1,000 watts/ch on tap, this system is clean and linear with an unbeatable vertical soundscape and capable of extreme punishment (to your ears and from law enforcement). This beats a k-horn setup at lesser expense. Adcom switchgear helps it all work, lots of cabling...

I purchased 1980 heresy hwo on ebay for 300.00 theycame out of house in N.J. hanging on the cieling.
The sound and responce is fabulous I run it with 1978 Sansui 9090db.its hard to find anything digital that competes. I'm convinced tha analog is the true sound.

This review is for the Klipsch Heresy II model. Mine is probably a mid-80's set with the 4-ohm impedance. I have previously owned other Klipsch products including La Scala, Heresy 1, and Cornwall models. Because of the need for a smaller "speaker foot print" in my living room, I bought these Heresys via e-Bay. In addition to other Klipsch products, I have also owned Dahlquist DQ-10, AR, Magnepan, Kef, and JBL models.

I find the Heresy II to be a better balanced speaker (frequency response) than the other Klipsch models that I've owned. Of course, no Heresy goes very deeply in the bass. The Heresy 1 models were good down to about 50 Hz, the Heresy II to about 60, and the new Heresy III is supposed to be good only to 70 Hz. Of course, the intent is that the Heresy's (newer models, particularly) be used with a subwoofer.

To add the missing bass, I've hooked my Heresies up to a VERY good sounding Yamaha AV receiver and a M&K MX-350 subwoofer. With this combo, I get subsonics whenever they're desired (and with some classical organ music, I **do** desire them). Fortunately, my Yamaha AVR has a "low impedance" switch on the back that allows the circuitry to get the best out of the 4-ohm Heresies.

The Heresy II, despite the smoother frequency response, still has the "live" dynamics for which Klipsches are revered. Fortunately, the Heresy IIs lack the "nasal" or "honky" sound that some complain about. The built-in floor risers effectively tilt the speakers back perfectly for good imaging and smooth response. Having the bass handled by the subwoofer removes the room loading factor from the Heresies. My receiver crosses over to the subwoofer at 90 Hz. Works perfectly in my room!

With the high sensitivity of the Heresy II models, very little power is needed from the amplifiers. This seems to improve the sound even more. Even at movie levels, there is no distortion. The clean sound almost begs to be turned up even more.

Cosmetics are not the best. My speakers came in "stained birch" or something like that, and even with some tung-oil finish, they aren't very handsome. Next time, I'll buy in walnut or some better finish.

Heresy II speakers are IDEAL for most setups because they've a much smaller footprint than the other Klipsch heritage models, because they are able to work with just about ANY audio-video receiver, and because they work so VERY well with a good subwoofer. For music, the Heresy + subwoofer setup works its magic as well. Just don't go too heavy on the subwoofer levels!

For the price, there's absolutely no better value in audio, IMHO. If you've never heard the Heresy speakers, you're missing out.

Finally, the Klipsch products are made to LAST. If you don't abuse the speakers (blow diaphragms with excessive distortion, etc.), the speakers will last a lifetime. I plan to leave mine to my daughter.

I bought my Kilpsch Heresy's IIs new in 1989 along with set of metal stands with spikes ( a concept new to me at that time ) for years they were the main speakers in my system. However the wife always complained about the size. Bought some Spendors they were great too. The Heresy's became the 2nd system speakers at our summer place, later bought a pair of Dynaudio Focus 220's wow, so the Spendors became the new 2nd system speakers and the Heresy's just sat around. The other day I dusted them off and hooked them up but before going any farther let me say that I had never owned a amp with more than a 100wpc I keep reading the complaint about the lack of bass in these speakers, and I would agree...until now. I have a Musical Fidelity A5 ( 250wpc into 8ohm & a wopping 400 into 4ohm) oh boy did the bass get stronger, tighter and more in balance with those lovely horns. Now the only problem is which speakers will become the 3rd system speakers!

Great live music, articulate and fun speakers to enjoy music. Big sound, little money. Keepers for the long haul.

Fairly big, need to be off ground or tipped forward and positioned. They will reveal crappy system components and crappy recording. You will have to hear every background club noise or comment on that jazz-club live recording because they reveal everything.

I have the Heresy II speakers. I used to own the original Heresy model for many years. I sold them a few years ago to "upgrade". I found myself missing them so I eventually got the present pair on ebay. These are the Heresy II model. I am using much better electronics on these-both solid state and tube amps/preamps and some mixing between tube preamp/transister amp, etc. If you set these up the right way you will love them on live music of any sort-I'm partial to acoustic jazz and live Grateful Dead-with wide dynamic range-you can crank them up and they stay clean with great detail and shimmering highs, terrific midrandge and adequate bass that is not real low, however-but low enough for me w/o subs. These speakers are forward-they arre not BBC style monitors, but to me they are not bright-just real immediate and in your face. Other Klipsch (Epic cf 1-3) are more laid back than these. If you use lousy electronics they will sound somewhat rough. You don't need alot of power, but I think you need 40 watts or more to really get the best out of them, although you can run a 2A3 tube for adequate sound level for near field.

Similar Products Used:

Sansui SP-3000, Alon Lotus, Klipsch cf-3, Soliloquy, Vienna Acoustics, Spendor

Realistic presents of the music expereince at all ranges. Great cabinet and sound driver quality. Great sound delivery for size.

A bit weak in the robust bass that many people talk about with this model

For years I had a friend who owned Klipsch speakers. One of the models he owned were an older pair of Heresy's. I did'nt like the sound of his system connected to them at the time (he owned a bunch of yamaha stero gear) So I never really hear their sound potenital while he owned them. When I was shopping for speakers, years later I was trying to match speakers for my tube Dynaco and Macintosh ampliers. After reseaching the forums I picked up a set of KG4's to match up my Dynaco with and I also bought a set of Heresy's months later for my MC-30's. They both match up well. My favorite is the Heresy. It sounds great on acoustic guitar sound ranges. One would think the musican was in the room with you as you listen to the music. I've read the other reviews about the weaker low end sound reproduction and I have to agree it is not their strong suit. If your looking for high quality low end that's what my KG4's reproduce very well.

Similar Products Used:

ESS AMT's

Dynamics, size, durability, an sensitivity

Sound Staging, proper placement is needed but its worth the time to get it right.

I have used Klipsch speakers before and always loved their sensitivity but hated that distinct sound that horns can make. I agree with another review that proper setup is needed for these speakers. Once placed properly and eq'd that nasal sound just goes away. One of the most dynamic speakers that I have heard...period! Bass on the series 1 is IMHO better than that of the series 3. Speakers can be fatiugiing if you listen to the at loud levels end on end (but you will damage your hearing then also). Keeping this speakerr at a comfortable level (unless bombastic special affects are needed) is the key to getting rid of fatuige.

I have heard may speakers that I like more than the Heresy, but nothing as fun as this speaker. And what it does - it does it very well!!! I was shocked that it could even image (soundstage can be veiled in the upper midrange). Overall a great speaker at buy I couldn't beat with a stick

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch Tanget 50, Klipsch KG 2, Klipsch La Scalas,
Non-Klipsch Speakers, Polk, VMPS, Velodyne, Totem, Martin Logan, Snell, Infinity, Paradigm

I made an error on my first review about the price of my Klipsch Heresy's which should have been $800.00 instead of $1600.00. I have two sets of them

the klipsch heresy speaker produces a very accurate, clean, powerfu, and detailed sound effortlessly ! They also produce a solid flat frequency response with out colorization if you will. Which adds to the speakers ability to accurately reproduce sounds from 20 - 20,000 hz with ease and when listening to jazz, rythem and blues, classical these babys really perform ! As well as when listening to other stles of music.
I also love that the Klipsch Heresy speakers are not ported, but rather completely sealed which again does not color the sound the way a port can sometimes do.

In my opinion there are none compared to other speaker sysytems that iv'e listened to. Im in no way saying this just to say it. That's my opinion and im sticking to it!

I did the due diligence of researching many brands and types of speaker systems long and hard before making my decision and the Klipsch Heresy's stood out repeatedly as the brand / model to select. I compared them to Dalquist, Martin Logan, Bose, Focal, Definitve Technologies, B & W just to name a few and I must say that they are all very good choices, however for me it is Klipsch all the way.

Customer Service

After a brief waiting period on the phone, I was able to speak with one of the Klipsch parts personnel and found them to be very helpful with my requests for assistance in aquiring parts ,which just added that much more confidence to me in the Klipsch brand

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Klipsch kg-4 speakers

Incredible clarity, relatively sensitive (94 decibles), sturdy build quility. Good bass response when positioned close to the floor, sufficient for music though perhaps not quite deep enough for home theater.

Ugly as a bulldog.

I had read quite a bit about these speakers, so I roled the dice on Ebay, despite my doubts about buying speakers manufactured at the height of the disco era. After all, they had to best the Boston Accoustics VR-M60s I was already using. When they arrived, my doubts ended immediately. These are quite simply the best speakers I've ever owned. They are astonishing!

Yes they have that horn sound, which some people find too harsh or "nasally." However, unlike the Klipsch towers I auditioned at Magnolias last week, which sounded pretty bad, these hug the floor and sound far more sweet and balanced. Postioning them properly makes a difference. I had them on stands at first, and that was a mistake; the nasally quality was exacerbated. Once I placed them on the floor and tipped them back about 5 degrees, the mid bass opened up and formed a broad, coherent sound stage. The high end detail was still there, but the nasally quality was gone. Some say horns don't produce a coherent sound stage, but that is not my experience. I am able to locate individual instruments better than I could with the Bostons. And now I can hear the musicians sweat.

Similar Products Used:

Mission 761Is, Boston Accoustics VR-M60s, Accoustic Research 428PS, Paradigm Phantoms, custom shelf speakers by Kevin Blair, Pioneer SA-9100 amp, Adcom GTP-500II preamp, Adcom GCD-700 CD player.