Klipsch Heresy IV Speaker Review

[gino1961]

Hi i see a fs for the woofer of about 70 Hz ?

if we apply the 2xfs rule this means that the woofer is fine from 140 Hz Is not a little high ?
i understand that high sensibility and low fs is difficult to achieve Maybe impossible
But when the very low Hz are a little missing the body of music is missing
I would like to listen a Toccata e Fuga for pipe organ on these speakers
maybe they would need a sub

 

[Nwickliff]

Hi i see a fs for the woofer of about 70 Hz ?

View attachment 398304
if we apply the 2xfs rule this means that the woofer is fine from 140 Hz Is not a little high ?
i understand that high sensibility and low fs is difficult to achieve Maybe impossible
But when the very low Hz are a little missing the body of music is missing
I would like to listen a Toccata e Fuga for pipe organ on these speakers
maybe they would need a sub

They most definitely need a sub. Crossed at 80hz these speakers will play LOUD without any sense of strain.

 

[gino1961]

They most definitely need a sub. Crossed at 80hz these speakers will play LOUD without any sense of strain.

Hi I have the same feeling
I am a little fixed on the fs thing
Difficult to have extension and efficiency
Maybe it's impossible

 

[mhardy6647]

Hi I have the same feeling
I am a little fixed on the fs thing
Difficult to have extension and efficiency
Maybe it's impossible

As long as we're talkin' passive loudspeakers (and not playing dangerous games with equalizers and extreme LF boost), yes, it is impossible -- except in a big box. Even then, the high sensitivity drivers of renown (e.g., Altec 515B) have high Fs relative to current fashion.

Internet/YouTube experts

I have taken the position of calling our approach, not scientific, given the common argument that what is done around here "is not science". Not that I believe that, but maybe trying a different tack will shake people a bit. I don't call it "scientific".... I call it "realistic"! :D Not only to...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Sal1950]

Maybe it's impossible

Not impossible but acceptable size plays into the WAF

 

[Henry53]

Hi all,
This conversation is totally crazy. I've had the Klipsch Heresy for at least 3 years.
I love them. The biggest liar here is the one who says here that these are bad speakers.
They have their real and measured faults, which for some are also their qualities to my ears.
Following Erin's measurements which I respect, I confronted them in the same room with qacoustics at 6000 euros and especially with the famous kef ls 50 meta well rated here.
I will never exchange my heresy for these kef or qacoustics.
Of course we have the right to hate them, and that they are not faithful. In reality, speakers are no longer loud as soon as you put them in an untreated living room. certainly bose and klipsch do not make audio monitors, but even here we can see that there are very popular audio monitors with unfortunate measurements. There are always productions that I find mediocre yet produced on very high-end equipment. Bose equips your air force and Klipsch is present in Formula 1. You should instead be proud of your know-how.

I guess beauty is in the eye, or ear, of the beholder. Over 40 years ago an engineering design professor at university introduced me to this bewildering world go hifi. He loved Klipsch speakers, I have listened to them incessantly for decades trying to agree with him, unfortunately I'm still sure they make my ears bleed. They sound painfully bright and completely unnatural to me. Obviously not to everyone. Still I tend to compare everything to my ProAc's , in my view never bettered.

 

[gino1961]

Some people listen more with their eyes than their ears
Like it's just not possible that a speaker so nice looking sounds this shit
It's not possible
What's looks good must be good

 

[mhardy6647]

Some people listen more with their eyes than their ears
Like it's just not possible that a speaker so nice looking sounds this shit
It's not possible
What's looks good must be good

How about the converse?
I do own some of the worst looking loudspeakers imaginable -- most of 'em sound pretty good, else even I would get rid of 'em.

 

[gino1961]

How about the converse?
I do own some of the worst looking loudspeakers imaginable -- most of 'em sound pretty good, else even I would get rid of 'em.

i think that your approach is the right one
but in our times the look sells More than the actual sound quality

today i am focusing more speakers and let amplification aside
i have a pro qsc no fan that drives decently many loads
i usually prefer black speaker finish because is less visible
i do not want to see the system and i like when it disappears switching off lights

 

[Sal1950]

OH look, is he wearing a white lab coat?
He must be a scientist or doctor right? LOL

As to the video, nothing new to be learned there unless you're a believer in audiophool BS.
It's what we've been telling folks for a long long time, properly designed audio electronics with a digital front end has
been a solved problem for decades, they all sound alike.
Are there some that can sound different, sure. Because they've been purposely designed to sound different, particularly tube
electronics which most all exhibit measurable linearity and distortion issues. They could be designed to be transparent, but they aren't.
No one buys tubes to get something that sounds the same as good SS.

 

[gino1961]

Hi very true
Still electronics are very fascinating
In the end speakers are wooden boxes
Instead amps have all those circuits
And tubes can be very nice looking
Some amps are art pieces indeed

 

[mhardy6647]

In the end speakers are wooden boxes

Not all wood(en) -- all sorts of materials, for better or worse, are used for loudspeaker enclosures.

 

[gino1961]

Not all wood(en) -- all sorts of materials, for better or worse, are used for loudspeaker enclosures.

True ! i like not common materials
Back on topic i wonder why at Klipsch they use for the Heresy a woofer that looks more appropriate for a PA system
Fwiu there is always a compromise More sentivity implies higher fs and vice versa
I would have trade some dB of sensitivity for a lower fs like in other hifi speakers and more lower bass
Maybe they are very fine with tubes
But owners of big powerful high current solid state amps can make a door sound They can even burn it to ashes
Therefore a 95dB woofer is not needed
I would replace the woofers and revise the xover if i had the cash to get a more full range speaker with around 88 dB of efficiency
The bass below 50Hz can be very important with some instruments
and in the Heresy there is almost none

and i understand that someone uses a sub

 

[Henry53]

Yes all amplifiers sound exactly the same, in the box, they all measure the same, in a lab. They all perform the same, until they deal with the variables of actual speakers, the environment and the music. Go listen to amps in a well designed environment, if yo cannot hear a difference, choose a deferent hobby.

 

[gino1961]

For sure a real speaker is a much more complex and challenging load than a resistor (even if a 4 ohm load is quite demanding)
In the past a very famous test included the Apogee Scintilla as a load
Some amplifiers had caught fire
So they are not all the same clearly

 

[Sal1950]

Yes all amplifiers sound exactly the same

Who said that?

they all measure the same

Where the hell did you read that ???

They all perform the same

How many times are you going to repeat this nonsense?

The facts are that amplifier design has been a solved problem for a number of decades now.
And when properly designed modern amps are listened to under controlled blind conditions they can't be told apart.
Go back to the above video and listen from 8:20 to 8:50, that about rounds up the facts on power amp design.

 

[Ludovic]

I guess beauty is in the eye, or ear, of the beholder. Over 40 years ago an engineering design professor at university introduced me to this bewildering world go hifi. He loved Klipsch speakers, I have listened to them incessantly for decades trying to agree with him, unfortunately I'm still sure they make my ears bleed. They sound painfully bright and completely unnatural to me. Obviously not to everyone. Still I tend to compare everything to my ProAc's , in my view never bettered.

Erin Said "A standard AVR would not be recommended for powering these speakers. A separate amplifier is recommended to drive this speaker to typical playback volumes."

Sorry but I usually use a marantz nr1504 since 5 years. No problem.

 

[gino1961]

When a speaker

sounds painfully bright and completely unnatural

it could be that some kind of distortion kicks in Maybe expecially in the range where the ear is more sensitive ?
it would be interesting to understand from where this distortion comes ... recording amp xover drivers
Let me exclude cables

 

[Ludovic]

Your theory on speaker aesthetics is interesting. I'm not going to lie, I find these craft-looking blocks much more charming than lacquered columns. This certainly plays into my perception. Speaking of which, I did a real blind test to one of my friends. And one who usually produces sound on Yamaha NS7s in the studio, pianist that he is. Here are his impressions: it's very focused on mediums, I don't like it. They removed all the frequencies that serve no musical purpose. I put him on pop to start, he didn't like anything, including electro.
He started asking me if I really liked it. I put acdc on him and he liked it. Then he was blown away by the guitar riffs of the Australian band Texas. He left telling me they weren't fancy enough for him.
But I have two other interesting theories regarding audio, the first is our brain's resilience to very average sound. My second theory is that we may not all give the same priority to the things measured. I love the dynamic that happens with heresys, and other qualities I've already explained.

 

[gino1961]

I believe that one of the most desired goals for a speaker system is their sonic disappearance in the sense of the perception of a sound completely disconnected from the speakers. And the speakers seem like disconnected from the amp.
The more the speakers are visually apparent, the more disturbing the sensation when they disappear sonically is.
i mean i see them but i cannot ear them. I do not like this
for this reason i hate coloured cabinets Only black is fine to me
I don't want to be able to locate a pair of speakers either with hearing or sight. In fact, audio systems should be listened to in the dark.
I could tolerate tube amps in the winter because they look like a fireplace.