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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
macnut5
10 posts
 
Helomech, so your staetment is based on what? Do you own Heresy 3s? Have you ever made any measurements? If so, let's see them. 
I do own them and have used my Velodyne software to plot both un-corrected bass and corrected bass.
gdnrbob
4,444 posts
 
@brooklynluke 
I concur with posts recommending additional break-in. Many speakers require 600 hours to settle down.
I bought a pair of Zu Bookshelf speakers last year and suddenly, after many hours of playing, they sounded better than I remembered.
I don't know why this happens, but, in my case, it did.
I would also get one of Atma-sphere's amps. They are one of the finest amps I have ever heard. PM Ralph and see if he has one.
Bob
helomech
1,669 posts
 
@macnut5,

Yes, I do own Heresy IIIs. My pair is about 4 months old. I have them only 8" from the forward wall and their bass is deep enough for most types of music. 

58 Hz is the -4db roll off point according to Klipsch, and based on my listening I'd have to concur. I'm not saying the Heresys don't benefit from a sub, but in my average sized living room, they certainly don't roll off anywhere near 120 Hz. If you have your speakers placed something like 30" from a wall (a typical bass kill zone) then I wouldn't be surprised if you're missing a lot below 100 Hz.

douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 
If you can, keep them both, at least for a while. Learn to appreciate what each technology brings. Both have advantages and serious shortcomings, imo. A simple switch from omni to HE box is not an easy transition. 

Stay loose, you'll need to. :) 
russ69's avatar
russ69
3,496 posts
 
Sorry OP but I don't think the Heresys are your cup of tea. I have a pair of H3s and I have run them with a number of amps including Quicksilver mini-monos. The Heresys do not image all that well and need a little juice to get bouncing. A sub does help but they are not a reference level system. I would not spend a lot of time or money trying to change the way they sound. You might like the sound of the reference series a lot better. Hope this helps.
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