What would be involved in updating Hersey II’s to Hersey IV’s?

There's a bit of hyperbole in both of the previous quoted statements.  Klipsch speakers are abundant and there are a number of sources for upgrade parts.  My KLF-30 speakers were a lot easier to listen to after I replaced the original tweeters with aftermarket parts.  I'm not sure if the crossover upgrades made a lot of difference, but they were 30 years old and it seemed like a good idea and was pretty reasonable.  A bead of Titebond III around the back panel kept them from rattling at high volumes.  An inexpensive and worthwhile upgrade/repair.

My Heresy I speakers sounded really good when I bought them.  I replaced the woofers mainly because I had some spares that I had used in the KLF-30s.  The Bob Crites tweeter upgrade seemed to give them a little more detail, and applying Dynamat to the outside of the mid and tweeter horns seemed to make them more cohesive in the mids and highs.  I replaced the crossovers because the ones from 1976 were definitely showing their age.

Were any of these upgrades game-changers or take them to a level way above their price point?  I don't think so.  Was it a waste of money?  I think I put maybe $500 into both pairs of speakers and they definitely sounded better after the work I did to them.  To me, it was easily worth it.  A lot cheaper than some fancy cables or power conditioners or many other things people do in their quest for improved sound quality and probably more impactful than most other upgrades would be for that amount of money.

You either like and appreciate the Klipsch sound (especially at their price points), or you don't.  If you don't, then the "lipstick on pig" analogy makes sense.  Why try to fix something you don't care for in the first place?  If you do and want to get the most out of them, upgrades are worthwhile and inexpensive.  Perhaps others have experienced more dramatic improvements than I have with their upgrades, but my advice would be to have realistic expectations in regards to the results.  The Klipsch forums have a wealth of information about upgrades.

To answer a few questions or address a few responses to my posts.

Sorry but I guess you have to be a Klipsch fan to comment on any Kilpsch related post.  So funny that some would take criticism so seriously. True, I probably can come up with things to complain about with any design but Klipsch gives me the most ammunition as this relates to qualities that are most important to me.

Of course the lipstick comment was made as a indication that I think modifying a Heresy is somewhat of a waste as I think that this design has numerous flaws. If you are going to go Horn, by virtue of the drivers, you need to go big.

I cant think of another brand of speaker which almost requires modification to bring it to a palatable level. At the very least, even modestly priced modifications can make a big difference on Klipsch. What does this say about the speaker as they leave the factory floor?

What strikes me as strange is that Klipsch would increase the size of the Heresy cabinet after introducing a port. Seems to go against logic. I strongly prefer sealed designs over ported and to a lesser degree transmission lines.

From my perspective, I have never heard a Klipsch speaker that I even disliked without mods. Dont get all bunged guys, I am not insulting your children and this is just an opinion of a person that really doesnt care for horns overall.

Increasing the size of a previously sealed cabinet is clearly based on the design and tuning of the port relative to the woofer...I’m sure they wouldn’t bother otherwise. Also, Heresy IIIs (and other "heritage" models) simply sound excellent "leaving the factory floor" without ANY mods, and modifying an older model to bring it up to newer model standards isn’t the same thing...obviously...you clearly don’t need to "go big" for horns to sound great, as proved by the Heresy III...you simply need to listen big and stop worrying about porcine makeup. Klipsch manages to make horns that sound like music and provide astonishing levels of efficiency that the "woofers and a tweeter in a box" just can’t do (the efficiency part anyway), and having been able to compare Heresy IIIs to a couple of pairs of excellent albeit more conventional non horn "tower" speakers, over months with my own stuff, the similarities were more profound than the differences...other than efficiency, the fact that all great speakers convey what you give them is undeniable, and well thought out modern horn designs can simply do that more efficiently. My other non horn speakers were sold.

Usually a sealed cabinet requires a larger cabinet. Obviously I dont agree and think that the Heresy and to a slightly lesser degree the Fortes dont sound like real music. I will give you the efficiency part, but all other aspects fall short of others designs in my experience. I have been listening to Klipsch for over 30 years and they just arent my cup of tea. The one thing I have found is that feeding Klipsch with as much tube power as is possible helps the speakers. This comment is more about the behavior of lower powered amps than the speakers. I would be interested in what other speakers you have compared with the Heresy in your home. 

One thing i like about the Heresy is that they are sealed... they have really tight bass and no port noise.   I'm curious to hear what a ported Heresy sounds like , it's heresy to port the Heresy in my opinion.