Klipsch Heresy 1 Compatibility question with Class D Amp

If the amps are well designed as I assume these are, they should work fine as long as your preamp isn’t sending a signal that’s too hot...you can buy little pads to alleviate that, but if you can get a comfortable volume range from the preamp level I bet they’ll work fine. Heresy 1s are 96DB efficient so you’re going to likely only be using a few watts of your amps...let’s hope those watts sound great!

Should be a good match.

The thing I would wonder about is if teh high power (though efficient) amps are overkill for the high efficiency Heresy?

That combo should be capable of very high SPL and dynamics. If it were me I’d avoid over driving the Heresys just in case but that’s about it. If the Heresys go as loud as needed with out any sign of stress or breakup, you should be fine.

There was no such thing as home amps delivering 100s of watts of power back when teh Heresy was conceived. In fact it was concieved mainly for use with much lower power tube amps of the day.

I might try a similar combo sometime in the near future with 500 w/ch Bel Canto CLass Ds but probably with brand spanking new Heresy IIIs that I expect are designed to hold up for sure with a plethora of modern tube or SS amps.

Mostly though I would target the HEresy for use with my much more modest power Bel Canto c5i digital Class D integrated amp (60 w/ch) in my family room system. But I would have to try them in my bigger badder main rig also where the Bel Canto ref1000m amps reside.

A contrasting opinion here.  IME with the Heresy I, solid state amps were just not that much fun.  They are hyper-efficient and move a lot of air.  I tried several solid state set-ups from Sansui, Akai, Tandberg, B&O, Carver, Crown and others.  Was never satisfied; the sound was just harsh and fatiguing to my ears.  Too efficient for them, I believe.  Maybe just too much IMD?  Could be - that was a concern back then.

Heard them several times at dealers and friends places with Dynaco, McIntosh, Conrad Johnson, Fisher and other tube gear.  They just seemed to come alive.  Class D wasn't around at the time, so can't speak to it.  I did audition a Class D (not sure of the brand) with some Martin Logan Montis a while ago.  Same sort of harsh sound.  Brash is the buzzword that floats up from the past that seems to fit.

Compatibility is a different issue.  The amps will drive the speakers, no problem:  Fairly stable impedance across the frequency range.  You do want to be careful how hard you push them though.  Heresy was only designed for 100 watts or so and the T35 style tweeters have voice coils that are easily toasted with too much juice or distortion.  As a general rule of thumb, your ears will cry "uncle" before you hit that point, but be aware.

Give the rig an audition and tell us your impressions.  What we think isn't what you'll hear, and that's all that matters.  Good luck & happy listening!

 

Dampen the mid horns of the Heresys. I speak about it a lot on other threads. It will remove some of the edge and smooth things out. But, smaller and simpler amps sound best ( less output transistors, class A, or tubes ).Enjoy ! MrD.

Thank you everyone for your input.
This Class D amp is in between tube and solid state sound.
I enjoy listening to jazz quartets, horns and piano.
My pre amp is audio research LS7 and the volume is about 9 oclock.
they sound very nice....they have detail and presence. I was concerned if these amps at 500 watts into 8 ohms would be a problem.
They don't sound that harsh. They have control and stable sound. the base is tight and quick.

If you love it what could be wrong !!!!enjoy the music

Hello rocky1313,

      The Klipsch Heresy original 1s were the first speakers I bought new, unfinished in birch to save some money, around 1980 when I was in college.  I had a turntable and a 40 watt/ch Yamaha receiver.  That system sounded good to me at the time but it would play much (and I do mean tons) louder than I'd ever want to listen;even drunk and getting into the music on a weekend. 
      I think 40 watts is overkill and would also suggest a flea powered tube set amp or some other low powered tube amp may be the best match. 
       However, I think you liking the sound with the Wyred 4 Sound class D amps is the most important thing.  I agree with others that cautioned about turning the volume too high with your 500 watt amps capable of doing some damage. 
      The good news is that it's usually not an amp's volume but its clipping and resulting distortion that will fry a speaker.  Good class D amps have very low distortion levels and often clipping sensing circuits that auto shut the amp down when clipping.
     I also now use high powered class D monos (1,200 watts/ch but on inefficient 4 ohm Magnepan panels) and would expect your amps to sound good on even highly efficient Heresys.  Good class D amps are known for extremely low distortion, dead quiet background noise levels and excellent bass response. 
     You'll always be able to tell when someone hasn't listened to any good, recent model class D amps when they describe them as bright, brash, harsh or fatiguing. 
     As many have long known, and you're just discovering,  the newer good class D amps also typically have very smooth but still very detailed and dynamic mid-range/treble responses without any traces of brightness or brashness.
     I'm glad you're enjoying the sound of your combo class D and Heresy system but I'd still suggest trying out a few tube amps just to confirm which you like best.

Timi

@noble100 FWIW, the Class D I auditioned in November last year and owned by a fellow AgoN member.  So, recent and up-to-date.  I didn't care for it at all.  Probably why I can't remember the brand.  I've heard a few others, mostly in ADAM's active professional studio monitors.  They were better, but still not tubes or really good SS to my ears.

Rocky1313,
One thing has been settled,  you’ve listen to the Herseys with your class D amplifier and enjoy what you hear, that’s good. These speakers are quite efficient and you’re probably using less than 1 watt of power 99%of the time. Headroom is no issue for you 😀.

Not everyone wants to be bothered with a tube power amplifier. However one day if you get the urge/curiosity, try a low power (but good quality) tube amplifier such as the one Wolf Garcia uses. Compare the sound quality and see which appeals to you more. These speaker were meant for this type of amplifier but aren’t "limited" to just them.
Charles

rocky1313,

    I agree with everything charles1dad stated in his last post and think it sums up your situation/options very well.

Tim