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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
3,224 posts
 
@oddiofyl , "KT66 was good, KT88 was better but the Klipsch with EL34 had the best tone"

You could say that about many a system...

By the way, fellow Quicksilver owner here, their original (and some say best sounding) 8417 amplifier, converted to EL34 / KT88 operation
wolf_garcia
6,727 posts
 
The new Forte III supposedly has a groovy new midrange driver/horn that people seem to like, but they're just too damn big for my tastes and I have 2 subs so the extra bass energy isn't necessary from the main speakers. One reason I wanted to try Heresys is the esthetics involved…they're smallish and less obtrusive than "tower" speakers and still toss a nice soundstage in front of me.

mrdecibel
3,065 posts
 
I have been a Klipsch fan / owner for many years, and have modified many sets of, mostly Heritage models, for me, and others. JBL, Altec, and others as well. Obviously, I am biased. My question though, if I missed it in this thread, is : why the change from the Ohms to the Heresy ? As mapman pointed out, they are as different as two might be. The Ohms provided very good background music. Based on the " set up " of the Ohms, I would have felt they spread the sound around the couch / listening area better. I would have tried a better amp, ( and, this is from a Klipsch guy ). I am glad brooklynluke is happy.
ps
763 posts
 
OP:
OHM speakers are pretty much set ’em and forget ’em, as you already likely know. They are not fussy nor do they require "exotic" wires and/or special electronics to sound good.  Most recently I had a pair of Micros which sounded pretty good with a basic Onkyo receiver but spectacular with my excellent tube gear.

With regard to cosmetics, I think their smaller models are some of the the most visually unobtrusive speakers out there. Perhaps you can point this out to your spouse.  :)

I don’t think there are many speakers which will sound their best when placed on either side of a sofa. I could be wrong.

One speaker which has intrigued me is the Larsens, which are designed to be placed up against the front wall. They are cosmetically appealing and unobtrusive as well. Not inexpensive, however, and like most speakers will benefit from better electronics. Good luck!

Food for thought?


boband212's avatar
boband212
62 posts
 
very different from my experience with these speakers. maybe try the rp260f if you want more bass. a tube amp will not give you more bass. solid state amps do bass better than tubes. I listen to these speakers at low volumes all the time. use good copper speaker wire- 14 guage is good. i use these often with a 30wpc amp, a 20wpc amp, and a 45 wpc amp- solid state, tube, and hybrid amps. the rp260f will give more bass if that is what you must have.
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