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Disappointed w/ Klipsch Heresy III. Now what?

I'd be very grateful for some help with a quandary.

I recently replaced my Ohm Walsh 1000 speakers with Heresy III speakers, running two-channel from a Rega Brio. I was pretty excited about the Heresy IIIs based on reviews — they were efficient, so my 35-watt amp would get the job done; they were supposed to have real punch in the low mid-range, so I could hear the upright bass clearly; they reportedly had excellent imaging; and best of all, they were supposed to sound great at low volumes. They are also indisputably beautiful, which was an important factor for my wife. (The Ohms are elegant, but you have to be an audio lover to see their beauty.)

I set them up, and . . . not so bad, pretty good. Especially loud. In fact the louder the better. Crank them up and they sing. But loud is not really an option with a new baby. So how do they sound quiet? They sound like the band is trapped in shoe box. Really in two shoe boxes because the L and R don't merge that well. The sound stage is tiny. All the detail is gone, the joy is gone. They are no fun at all. Music just seems like a bunch of noise.

But I want to believe! I want to make these speakers work. So I am faced with a quandary. I could:

1. Buy stands, a subwoofer and a tube amp, all of which people in various forums have recommended to improve the various failings I hear now.

2. Replace the Rega with something much more powerful and pull the Ohms out of the closet. (Suboptimal because it will make my wife sad because of the aforementioned perceived ugliness.)

3. Just start all over again. Different amp, different speakers.

I'd kind of prefer number 1. But I don't want to end up with a bunch of stuff designed to solve a problem and then not have that problem solved! (And I'd also just as soon avoid getting a subwoofer.)

Final note. Positioning is an intractable nightmare. It is the one thing that I can't really change, because of how our living room is layed out. It is obviously a big problem though. The living room is a big rectangle, 18 x 40 feet, and the speakers are near the corners of the 18-foot ends, on either side of a couch. I can move them around — closer or further from the couch, closer or further from the wall. But I can't raise them above the height of the couch or move them out in front or over to another wall. That discussion went nowhere!

What should I do?

 



brooklynluke
trelja
3,223 posts
 
@mapman "Have heard Zu Essence I believe several times at shows and never quite floated my boat so far. Might try again."

I doubt a company does worse at showing their speakers off than Zu.  At shows, they often come off as horrific, and leave so many wondering how they sell any product.  And yet with that, the folks from the company exceed most any other.

In the effort to understand what drove all the fuss about the actual product, I've visited several people who had them in their homes.  In a good setup, they can really shine.  If I wanted to move on a pair, the Essence, Presence, and Definition most attract me.

Compared to the Zu, Heresy have a very different presentation.  Yin and yang goes a bit too far, but few should have trouble deciding which they prefer.  The differences are easy enough to understand.  If at all possible, seek out what it requires to listen to each in your rig.  I don't think you can go wrong either way, and both deliver excellent value
oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
3,481 posts
 
Mike Sanders is super helpful...  I saw a flash and no output on one of my Mid Monos , not wanting to turn it on before talking to Quicksilver, I called them  and Mike answered.   Turned out to be a bad phase splitter tube that took out a fuse,  no other damage.   Same thing happened with an output tube.  Again, no damage to amp or speakers.    His amps are tough and reliable, and support is top notch.   Would buy another Quicksilver in a heartbeat.
cb5300
42 posts
 
Brother, I  know exactly what you're going thru. I had a pair of Klips (Rf-7II) in my family room system for about 5 months. Da*n things gave me a headache every time I listened to them for more than a couple of hours (jazz, easy rock). I replaced them with a set of Legacy Audio Focus SE's and problem solved. The Focus is a speaker that sounds just as good at low volume as it does cranked up. Also, the wood work is beautiful, like high grade furniture, so the wife won't complain.

Check them out at www.legacyaudio.com  
helomech
1,525 posts
 
^ you might bother to read through the thread next time.
oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
3,481 posts
 
It's worth noting the Heresy is very revealing of changes in the system.   Change the amp' s input tube or power tubes and the difference is not subtle.   They really sing when driven with 40 watts of EL34 power...    KT66 was good,  KT88 was better but the Klipsch with EL34 had the best tone.  
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