Klipsch Heresy IV Speaker Review

[hardisj]

Is the port just raw and unterminated inside?

Yep. I'll discuss the innards when I make the video review.

One question: you measured on the tweeter axis-actually at 1 meter?

Yes. At 2-meters the result was the same, obviously just different SPL. (I checked first to make sure all drivers summed properly at 1m).

P.S. Great and incredibly thorough review!

Thanks!

 

[terasankka]

Great review. As a Heresy IV owner, I have to agree on this review. They definitely need a subwoofer if you listen to electronic music with low bass. Rock music with "real instruments" is OK(ish) without a sub but definitely benefit from one. The graphs explain why I enjoy these speakers when I use them for everyday background music in our living room at about 70db volume levels. The 1Khz spike starts to grow when you play these loud and 90db level as the measurements show. I have mixed feelings on these as they sound really good on some music (Classic Rock, Jazz + Reggae (with Sub)) and annoying on other music (Many Modern Electronic Music with Sub Bass and badly mastered songs). They look really nice in the living room though. The funny thing is that I prefer to listen these Heresys more than my Genelec Near Field monitors with the Genelec sub.

Maybe I try Harbeth HL5plus speakers next. Have you measured them?

 

[levimax]

Nice review, thank you! My buddy has a pair of an older version (although it doesn't look like much has changed) paired with a Dynaco ST-70 / PAS 3. As has been mentioned here with the correct mood (chemically altered seems best) and older rock music they can sound great.... other times not. Tone controls can help out a lot. The price for new ones is silly but you can buy older used ones for a small fraction of that and have some fun.

 

[Helicopter]

Nice review, thank you! My buddy has a pair of an older version (although it doesn't look like much has changed) paired with a Dynaco ST-70 / PAS 3. As has been mentioned here with the correct mood (chemically altered seems best) and older rock music they can sound great.... other times not. Tone controls can help out a lot. The price for new ones is silly but you can buy older used ones for a small fraction of that and have some fun.

Pre-1975 Marantz 22xx, or better yet, 42xx for real style, is a good pairing because of the tone controls. I'm sure that goes for lots of other gear with tone controls. For a long time when I was primarily focused on vintage gear, I thought the ultimate combination was Klipsch speakers (anything made of 3/4 plywood), receiver as described above, Technics SL-1200 mk II or similar, Stanton/Pickering blob cartridge, fancy stylus, and then the optional Nakamichi cassette deck, Akai reel-to-reel, or Schiit Modi. Vintage speakers seem like a better bet since they might appreciate. If I were going to get new US made horn speakers, I would be much more interested in Crites. Model B or D. I would probably build my own Walnut cabinets with extra bracing.

 

[MZKM]

Maybe I try Harbeth HL5plus speakers next.

Or Wharfedale Linton:
https://www.stereophile.com/content/wharfedale-linton-heritage-loudspeaker-measurements

Higher sensitivity and better measuring than the Harbeth:
https://www.stereophile.com/content/harbeth-super-hl5plus-loudspeaker-measurements

And I like the looks a lot more (lots like a modern version of a vintage speaker, rather than truly looking vintage).

 

[peanuts]

If I were going to get new US made horn speakers, I would be much more interested in Crites. Model B or D. I would probably build my own Walnut cabinets with extra bracing.

i own a pair of cornscala a`s. they sound ok but dont think they will measure very good though, and the midrange keep breaking on me because of the soft slope 1st order crossover.. 2 caps and 1 coil on a 3way horn speaker is insane.

 

[Helicopter]

I might get Wharefdale over JBL based on Price. Not really fair to compare these directly to Klipsch though. Klipsch are made of Plywood in Arkansas.

i own a pair of cornscala a`s. they sound ok but dont think they will measure very good though, and the midrange keep breaking on me because of the soft slope 1st order crossover.. 2 caps and 1 coil on a 3way horn speaker is insane.

Noted. I hadn't looked at the actual crossover implementation. I don't like the idea of anything less than 2nd order/3rd order. I might avoid the Crites crossovers if I decide to go forward with this project. I guess I just assumed his crossover designs were good because of his reputation on the subjective fora. I will probably try to do a 2-way if I do it too, since I am interested in some of the really good horn drivers coming out now. I like the Faital epillitrac horns... hmm. probably best to keep reading for a couple more years first.

 

[MZKM]

@hardisj, what say you on this Reddit comment:

I see a 12" driver that spends a lot of time in the 5 ohm-ish region... meaning the amplifier had better have some serious current, and, a high damping factor to control all that driver surface area. The Adcom he used maybe sufficed, but there's no way his Crown xls has a high enough damping factor to make those speakers sound like they should.

I know Amir has stated the NFS takes into account the amplifier used, but does your setup?

 

[Helicopter]

@hardisj, what say you on this Reddit comment:


I know Amir has stated the NFS takes into account the amplifier used, but does your setup?

Not sure if you are being ironic. This speaker dips to around 5 ohms in 3 places, and is above that the rest of the time. It should be relatively amp friendly, especially considering the high sensitivity. I know my Heresys are very easy to drive with any amp I own except maybe the old Panasonics that are only rated for 16 ohm speakers, which I haven't tried.

 

[MZKM]

Not sure if you are being ironic. This speaker dips to around 5 ohms in 3 places, and is above that the rest of the time. It should be relatively amp friendly, especially considering the high sensitivity. I know my Heresys are very easy to drive with any amp I own except maybe the old Panasonics that are only rated for 16 ohm speakers, which I haven't tried.

It's not so much this speaker, but asking in general, as Amir states the NFS takes the amp into consideration (I think a second pair of cables get sent from the amp to the NFS, and compensates for any frequency where it is not flat when powering the speaker), and am wondeing if the Klippel setup Erin is using does the same.

 

[hardisj]

It has no effect at all on the measurements. The signal loops back through the Klippel. Both the KA3 (Amir’s) and the DA2 (mine).

https://www.klippel.de/products/rd-system/analyzer-hardware/da2-klippel-distortion-analyzer.html

 

[anmpr1]

I don't know about these little ones. But I admit to liking the big fully horn-loaded Klipsch sound. No accounting for perverse taste, I guess.

No bass and ragged profile? It's like that Annie Hall joke: "The food here is terrible, and the portions are so small!"

 

[hardisj]

Uploaded to my site if you want to read it in full there:
https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/loudspeakers/klipsch_heresy_iv/

 

[Panelhead]

I might get Wharefdale over JBL based on Price. Not really fair to compare these directly to Klipsch though. Klipsch are made of Plywood in Arkansas.



Noted. I hadn't looked at the actual crossover implementation. I don't like the idea of anything less than 2nd order/3rd order. I might avoid the Crites crossovers if I decide to go forward with this project. I guess I just assumed his crossover designs were good because of his reputation on the subjective fora. I will probably try to do a 2-way if I do it too, since I am interested in some of the really good horn drivers coming out now. I like the Faital epillitrac horns... hmm. probably best to keep reading for a couple more years first.

Only the Heritage models are made in Hope. And do not think any are plywood. They changed to MDF a long time ago. Same with crossovers, no more three way with a few resistors, two caps, and a choke.
This is a picture of a modern Klipsch crossover. Assume the Heresy IV looks similar.

 

[Frank Dernie]

I was quite shocked when I looked up the price of them in the UK, £3,500.00. Judging by the fit and finish I was expecting them to be less than half that.

They used to be pretty cheap, I think the importer is banking on the hifi buying public to equate price with quality, as they are encouraged to do by the dealers and press

 

[terasankka]

Here is the Heresy IV Crossover (Source: https://blog.son-video.com/en/2020/03/klipsch-heresy-iv-compact-speaker-review/ ):

 

[hardisj]

Here is the Heresy IV Crossover (Source: https://blog.son-video.com/en/2020/03/klipsch-heresy-iv-compact-speaker-review/ ):

"...the Klipsch Heresy IV delivered an incredibly rich sound. We were able to hear a plethora of details that we hadn’t before noticed with this album, even though we had listened to it many times. The various notes played on the acoustic guitar were delivered in a very natural manner and with great clarity."

 

[Helicopter]

I didn't mean to imply the cheap Klipsch speakers are made in Arkansas. I know they are made in the PRC. That Klipsch crossover looks about how I expected; the Crites is short of my expectations, but still makes sense. I know some horn guys have some religiosity about 1st order crossovers because of harmonics or something. I thought the Heritage were mostly plywood, with maybe some MDF in the LaScala or something like that... maybe I haven't paid a ton of attention. DIY speakers and vintage speakers seem like better options to me for something like this, or get someone to make you some DIY speakers if you don't have tools and skills. The performance isn't special and a vintage speaker won't depreciate instantaneously if you shop smart.

 

[Chris A]

Extra Measurements:

Step-Response.

View attachment 95856

One of the reasons why I requested the phase and group delay plots (which I'm sure that you've got with your saved measurements) is to see the sources of this step response behavior. The phase and group delay plots (particularly excess group delay) will show you the places where you can use a DSP crossover to bypass the passive network, and take out the time delays of the midrange horn vs. the woofer and tweeter.

I'll still offering to contribute to your cause if you include these two plots in your measurements of loudspeakers.

Chris

 

[hardisj]

One of the reasons why I requested the phase and group delay plots (which I'm sure that you've got with your saved measurements) is to see the sources of this step response behavior. The phase and group delay plots (particularly excess group delay) will show you the places where you can use a DSP crossover to bypass the passive network, and take out the time delays of the midrange horn vs. the woofer and tweeter.

I'll still offering to contribute to your cause if you include these two plots in your measurements of loudspeakers.

Chris

See attached. I saw your previous request. Just hadn't gotten a chance to boot my laptop back up to pull the data over.

The only hesitation I had initially was simply due to the fact that my measurements are a two-step process for each angle; ground plane reference and 4-pi quasi-anechoic. Klippel's ISC module allows me to use the former as a "room correction" (of sorts) to then use the 4-pi to get anechoic. Therefore, I don't know how perfectly my data will align with *true* anechoic. But, I would presume them to be the same, or practically the same.

Hopefully this is adequate.

- Erin