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Klipsch Heresy IV Speaker Review

Please I repeat, ive never said that people who dislike klipsch heresy IV sound are liars.
I said that people who Say its a bad speaker are liars. Try them against kef ls50 in the same room, you will see. Its not night and day.
I was very surprised.
Honestly I though I will be punched in the head by the kef meta after their reviews.

When you compare the Klipsch speakers against the KEF LS50 meta, did you make an effort to level match first? Did you also make an effort to make the comparison fair by employing a highpass filter to negate the obvious bass advantage the Klipsches have?

That's how a proper comparison would be done.
 
When you compare the Klipsch speakers against the KEF LS50 meta, did you make an effort to level match first? Did you also make an effort to make the comparison fair by employing a highpass filter to negate the obvious bass advantage the Klipsches have?

That's how a proper comparison would be done.
When did we start employing a high pass filter to compare speakers? I'm all for the old fashioned way of ABing them blind.
 
Lorsque vous comparez les enceintes Klipsch aux KEF LS50 Meta, avez-vous fait un effort pour égaliser d'abord ? Avez-vous également fait un effort pour rendre la comparaison équitable en utilisant un filtre passe-haut pour annuler l'avantage évident des basses des Klipsch ?

C'est ainsi qu'une comparaison appropriée serait effectuée.
No and heresy have more bass and are more efficient... But thats a good question cause I sold m'y subwoofer...
 
Bass extension plays a huge role in preference ratings. If you don't account for that, a speaker with deeper extension can be preferred over an otherwise better speaker.
 
Bass extension plays a huge role in preference ratings. If you don't account for that, a speaker with deeper extension can be preferred over an otherwise better speaker.
A deeper extension should be heard so the entire speaker can be tested and not just part of it's frequency response.
 
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Does the current Heresy actually have more bass than... anything?
The early-generation Heresys were noted for their lack of LF. A sensitive 12" woofer with an accordion surround jammed into in a small infinite baffle enclosure (now there's a concept!) wasn't capable of much extension. High sensitivity, small enclosure... well, y'all know Anton Hofmann's Iron Law. :)

The one thing I will say for the Cornies (ahem, Cornwalls). With a 15" woofer in a large ported box, they do produce some nontrivial bass output.
 
Does the current Heresy actually have more bass than... anything?
The early-generation Heresys were noted for their lack of LF. A 12" woofer in a small infinite baffle (now there's a concept!) wasn't capable of much extension. High sensitivity, small enclosure... well, y'all know Anton Hofmann's Iron Law. :)

The one thing I will say for the Cornies (ahem, Cornwalls). With a 15" woofer in a large ported box, they do produce some nontrivial bass output.
I was test driving Cornwalls in a store that I worked at. I was using a carver m1.5 amp and a carver pre and a old 80s Pantera turntable. I dropped the needle at a loud volume and all hell broke loose. The feedback was immense and the speakers where doing what they do best which is be efficient and crank out the dBs. I had the life scared out of me for a few seconds before I finally got to the volume control and turned it off. LoL. Cornwalls can crank and they take abuse very well!
 
Does the current Heresy actually have more bass than... anything?
The early-generation Heresys were noted for their lack of LF. A sensitive 12" woofer with an accordion surround jammed into in a small infinite baffle enclosure (now there's a concept!) wasn't capable of much extension. High sensitivity, small enclosure... well, y'all know Anton Hofmann's Iron Law. :)

The one thing I will say for the Cornies (ahem, Cornwalls). With a 15" woofer in a large ported box, they do produce some nontrivial bass output.

Good point. I assumed it had greater bass extension simply because of the size of the cabinet and woofer. But looking at Erin's measurements, its bass extension is quite poor.

On the other hand, its sensitivity is about 11-12 db higher than the KEF LS50. That's a HUGE difference.
 
Good point. I assumed it had greater bass extension simply because of the size of the cabinet and woofer. But looking at Erin's measurements, its bass extension is quite poor.

On the other hand, its sensitivity is about 11-12 db higher than the KEF LS50. That's a HUGE difference.
Yup. The Heresy was/is noted for both of those traits - dating back to the second half of the 1950s. :)

1721179601077.png
 
A deeper extension should be heard so the entire speaker can be tested and not just part of it's frequency response.

I'm having 'deja vu all over again' because we've had this discussion before.
 
The real thing is these kef speakers cost 1200€ and I bought my heresy 3500€.
But the subwoofer is more important with kef ls50 meta, that include placement issues.
And you need more power to feed the kef speakers.
But definitely, both are great speakers in my opinion.
 
Does the current Heresy actually have more bass than... anything?
The early-generation Heresys were noted for their lack of LF. A sensitive 12" woofer with an accordion surround jammed into in a small infinite baffle enclosure (now there's a concept!) wasn't capable of much extension. High sensitivity, small enclosure... well, y'all know Anton Hofmann's Iron Law. :)

The one thing I will say for the Cornies (ahem, Cornwalls). With a 15" woofer in a large ported box, they do produce some nontrivial bass output.
IIRC the original Heresy was meant to serve as the center speaker in a three-channel system, something Paul Klipsch advocated. The L/R speakers were Klipschorns, hard to put in a center position ;) , and he did not feel the center needed deep bass as the main L/R speakers provided that.

Edit: Yup! Whew! https://www.klipsch.com/products/heresy-iv-floorstanding-speaker

"First introduced in 1957, the Heresy, a three-way design, started out as a compact center channel speaker to accompany the Klipschorn® in three-speaker stereo arrays. The Heresy IV offers unparalleled sound quality from a relatively small speaker."
 
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IIRC the original Heresy was meant to serve as the center speaker in a three-channel system, something Paul Klipsch advocated. The L/R speakers were Klipschorns, hard to put in a center position ;) , and he did not feel the center needed deep bass as the main L/R speakers provided that.

Edit: Yup! Whew! https://www.klipsch.com/products/heresy-iv-floorstanding-speaker

"First introduced in 1957, the Heresy, a three-way design, started out as a compact center channel speaker to accompany the Klipschorn® in three-speaker stereo arrays. The Heresy IV offers unparalleled sound quality from a relatively small speaker."
Absolutely true -- but it is also true that The Colonel dubbed them Heresy because the notion of a full-range, EDIT: non-corner [horn], high-sensitivity loudspeaker (which he, eventually, pronounced them to be) was heretical. i :cool:


1721240291483.png


EDIT: Here's the intro from v.2 no. 5, referenced above. :)

1721240642376.png

 
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The Col. really wanted the faithful to have two K-horns in the corners and a Cornie (ahem, Cornwall :cool:) in the middle, as shown on the cover image of the brochure below.
Having owned a pair of Cornwalls, I can confirm that the Cornie shown below looks small only in comparison to a pair of K-horns! ;)


Klipsch brochure, ca. 1975





Amusingly (and only slightly off topic), my current "Frankenaltec" corner loudspeakers generate a perfectly glorious phantom center channel all by themselves. :)
 
You have to know how to be honest, they don't necessarily have finesse in the treble register. Yet they amaze me every time I hear them. They highlight instruments in different ways depending on the recordings. I never get bored with them. And the main criticism made of Klipsch is the piercing treble, and with this model it is not appropriate. Unless you put a non-neutral element upstream.
It is also wrong to say that they are realistic. They are sometimes more realistic than other speakers on certain instruments but always with a certain imbalance. But are the recordings faithful to the live music, nothing is less certain. Mastering above all ensures that the music is pleasant. In this sense, they are both not worthy of high fidelity and are rather cheats. The strings, wind instruments and percussion literally come out of the speakers.
I mainly listen to rock so I have a blast. But a piece of pan flute on the heresy is magical.
I repeat, I am not questioning the measurements, but it would be stupid not to audition these speakers if you like rock.
I'll let the harsh critics say that these are cheating PA speakers. Just compare them to Kef LS50 Meta or other modern hifi columns and if you give them enough perspective, it won't be night and day. There are resonances in the bass undoubtedly. But before I saw Erin's video I hadn't noticed them.
It is undoubtedly a question of the demands placed on certain aspects of music.
 
First of all, congratulations on the magnificent review work. Sorry for my English, I'm from Spain. I've been in the hobby for over 40 years and many speakers have passed through my house.

Spendor
Bowers d3
Wilson audio
Kef
tannoy westminster etc etc etc etc


all with top-level electronics

Pass labas
Accuphase
Luxman
Mon etc etc


In the end, the best thing I've ever heard in my life is the Klipsch Cornwall III with the old 2A3 PP Full Tango tube amp. The music sounds like music, the room is filled with life. That's my opinion. Greetings to the community.
 
First of all, congratulations on the magnificent review work. Sorry for my English, I'm from Spain. I've been in the hobby for over 40 years and many speakers have passed through my house.

Spendor
Bowers d3
Wilson audio
Kef
tannoy westminster etc etc etc etc


all with top-level electronics

Pass labas
Accuphase
Luxman
Mon etc etc


In the end, the best thing I've ever heard in my life is the Klipsch Cornwall III with the old 2A3 PP Full Tango tube amp. The music sounds like music, the room is filled with life. That's my opinion. Greetings to the community.
Just a question : what's your favorite music style ?
 
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