Klipsch Heresy IV

I really like my Heresy III. , one thing that I like about them is they are not ported and can be placed close to the rear wall.....  I would love to hear from a current H3 owner who demo'd the III and IV side by side.   

Yes-given the same woofer-one that had a EDP that lends it’s self to sealed and ported boxes-the ported box will always be LARGER.
Amazing how many assume just the opposite.
I would certainly recommend any audiophile to get and read a copy of Dickason’s Speaker Cookbook.
Also Weems-designing and building speakers.
It keeps you away from the huge misinformation on speaker design, and implementation.
I prefer sealed myself-overhauled my ESS AMT3’s with woofers, and sealed the boxes (trial and error-even with woofers that had the correct Theil Parameters to work in the box-some integrated poorly with the supporting drivers).
But frankly, making a correctly ported box, without expensive testing equipment to get the tuning spot on, is darn near impossible. Damping a sealed box, by ear, with aid of a simple damping tester is much easier.
I assume Klipsch certainly tuned these with the proper equipment-no doubt in my mind. The Heresy is their best selling Heritage model, has been for years, and help keep them afloat during the rough years.
Good competition for the reissued JBL’s.
IMHO the biggest news is the new midrange, updated tweeter horn, better, and more even dispersion and updated crossover. As Klipsch mentions-smoother, less peaky response, and better driver integration.
All issues that reduce it’s marketability.
I haven’t hear one yet-but remember the III’s very well-should be interesting.
Just guessing from my memory-but these changes clearly address the issues I had with the Heresy III’s. The bass frankly wasn’t one of them-but I never played bass heavy material @ high volumes either. I would rather have tight bass-over extended boomy bass. But there is still away to get tight bass with a port-not sealed but close.
Each design decision had tradeoffs, particularly with bass.

I certainly agree with the draw backs of rear porting, the bass extension over the III will mainly come from the port. But there are creative ways of reducing rear port interference.
However, as I recall with the III’s they needed at least 2-3 feet away from the walls to sound their best.
Usually that’s sufficient for rear ports. If not, some creative damping can help as mentioned.
I once made a small l shaped holder for a 2" thick piece of fiberglass wrapped in a tick, it held it about 3" from the port, and nulled the rear wall interference.  Much also depends on your wall and floor construction/type.

jacques19602 posts01-24-2020 7:19am"I had the opportunity to listen to both the Heresy IV and Forte III yesterday, putting both through their respective paces with a playlist of Al DiMeola, Rob Wasserman, Alison Krauss, aria from La Wally, Japanese Drums, Don Shirley, Ron Carter, Brad Mehldau and Sade; short of teeing up Zeppelin, it was a diverse playlist. Frankly, I was disappointed by the Fortes in comparison - the Forte midrange was not as supportive of vocals as that of the Heresy".


This does not surprise me. The Heresy was more of a specialized midrange speaker anyway, so why vocals would be expected to sound more coherent in a Forte wouldn't make much sense IMO. 

I own the Heresy IV, reviewed them on my website and on YouTube. These speakers are a huge improvement over the III (I owned the III and enjoyed them). The IV are way more transparent, more wide open, have a huge soundstage, image amazingly well, and the bass sounds about 10hz deeper. Still sounds like a sealed design and bass is tighter and more plentiful than ever. Makes the Heresy a much more balanced sounding speaker but the start of the show is the Midrange. Like velvet with actual texture to the human voice. 

They are crazy good. Can play soft or loud as thunder and do both equally well. They are much more refined and sound like a true Hugh end speaker. I sold my Dynaudios after getting the HIV as they were just so much better doing the "live sound" thing. These are not forward nor do they sound like old for speakers. Build wise they are gorgeous and have the updated metal speaker binding posts. The high end is more extended and has more snap than the III's as well. 

I adore these and have been listening more than ever. I attribute that to these speakers. They really do breath life into the music. I suspect these will end up being very popular once people start to hear them.