Rock and Roll System

Pick up two sets of Klipsch Heresy's and stack them ala Dunlavy SC series, tweeter to tweeter. Some simple modifications are easy to do and will take this set-up to the next level. This will give you appr 98 - 100 db's @ 1 watt, have plenty of punch in the mid-bass, GREAT "snap" to kick drums and bite for guitars and will set you back well under $1000 for everything. Use of two subs would help the extreme bottom end, but not necessary to start off with. Sean
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Oh, i almost forgot. Sell all of your electronics and buy "mid-fi". Rock and roll NEEDS "grundge" to sound its best. This is why multiple systems are mandatory if you want to listen to a LOT of different types of music. Sean
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Milo, did you have the original Heresy's or the Heresy II's ? You can tell the difference as the II's had plastic horn bodies rather than metal.

Something else that you need to check into on these is how the mids are wired. Some of the earlier versions had the midrange aka "squawker" wired out of phase. For best results, it should be wired in phase i.e. following normal polarity. This made a VERY noticeable difference right off the bat if you had this problem. Mids INSTANTLY become more cohesive and liquid.

I will agree that the bottom end is somewhat light on the Heresy's. They will do an honest 50 - 60 Hz in stock form and that is it. That is why i recommended "stacking" a pair, as it not only increases the output capacity, you also double the surface area of the bass drivers and increase baffle size. For those that don't know this, baffle size IS directly proportional to bass capacity. In stock form, the bass that they do produce is very "quick" and clean with good snap. As you know from the above post, i still recommend subs to help fill in the extreme bottom end.

As to being "forward" in the mids, the complete spectral balance of the speaker changes once you damp the horn bodies and perform some basic mods. One of the regulars at AA performed the very basic stuff that i recommend on the older Klipsch "Classic" series to his Heresy's. He thought that the lower bass was almost TOO strong and that the speaker was now "too warm" sounding. Before this, he too had complained about the typical "horn sound" of these i.e. being too forward, somewhat hard and bright, etc...

Obviously, going from (and being used to) something that was lean and bright / forward to something that was much smoother with increased bottom end might seem like TOO much of a big change. This is an easy thing to correct though, as all of the basic mods that i recommend are done in a manner that are easily reversible, step by step. As such, you can do them in stages to find out what you like / don't like and progress accordingly. Due to the differences in room acoustics, tonal balance of the system, personal preference, it is not that hard to achieve a good blend of"smoothness" and "bite" with the horns and "warmth" and "speed" from the bottom end driver. One HAS to be willing to experiment to achieve this though, so that lets a lot of "non participating" type audiophiles out of the picture. Sean
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I based my comments on the fact that most live rock has an EXTREMELY high distortion factor along with being reproduced by a speaker system that is primarily horn based. Duplicating that scenario as close as possible will give you the most "realistic" reproduction of that type of event. Keep in mind that i'm speaking from two different points of view. I have worked / still do work as a professional sound engineer. I also enjoy "jamming" to some of these same bands at home.

Since most "mid fi" amps tend to compress and smear when pushed hard, this produces similar sonics to the Crown, Carver, Carvin, Crest, Peavey, BGW, Yamaha, etc... amps that are used at these events. The horn section / large woofer used as a mid will break up and distort in a similar manner to what you hear when bands are "jamming" at a concert. This also helps to recreate the "grunge" that accompanies the normally "cleaned up" but still highly compressed recording. The fact that the Heresy runs a 12" for the upper bass / midrange just like MOST front loaded PA cabinets also helps to duplicate that same type of presentation.

As to volume, concert level for hard rock / metal requires a MINIMUM of 108+ db's AVERAGE at the LISTENING POSITION. If you're not getting "chest compression" on kick drums, it is NOT loud enough or your system doesn't go low enough at volume. I experienced this watching the primarily "acoustic" band "Days Of The New" at a distance of appr 60' from the stage. As many of you know, this band is not "heavy" at all.

If you listen to your speakers at one meter, use the figures presented by the manufacturer. Otherwise, you'll have to measure for yourself in your room at your listening position to see what you think is "loud enough".

For the record, Klipsch La Scala's are rated to produce 128 db's at one meter. I know for a fact that they can do at least 118 db's average at a 10' listening distance. They do not sound as good as Heresy's in unmodified form, but will play louder and sound less strained doing it. For rock and roll, more power is better and too much is not enough : ) Sean
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PS... WHAT ????? Did you say something ??? : )

There are more than a few speakers out there that will play louder than K-Horns. The problem with the Klipsch's is that they WILL go into compression when you start throttling them. This is much less noticeable than with most other speakers simply because they have far greater dynamic range to begin with. If they used better drivers, this would not occur.

If you want to hear some good "pre-built" horns that use VERY high quality drivers ( TAD ), check out the CAR's ( Classic Audio Reproductions ). These will sound much better than even the most highly modified Klipsch and play even louder. The vocals are also better, as they use front loaded drivers, no "cavern" to deal with in terms of a folded box. Sean
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Duke, where ya been ??? Is business THAT good that you don't have time to play on the puter anymore ??? : ) Sean
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