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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
oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
4,189 posts
 
I placed mine a little further apart than my last speakers and the Heresys have a huge soundstage and surprisingly good imaging. 

I feel part of the reason they work well in this room is because they don't produce much bass below 60hz which helps avoid room modes which are centered around 40Hz.    But the bass they do produce is excellent with great pitch definition ,   no speaker I've owned reproduces an upright bass like they do.   A sub is a must , but overdo it and it ruins their sound.  It took a while to find a crossover point and slope that didnt muddy their low end.   
helomech
1,838 posts
 
Hi, Heresy 3 arrived today!
I still did not connect them yet, because I'm waiting for them to adapt to room temperature. I just put them in the starting (desired) position.
Tomorrow morning, I will put them in the drive :)
The picture shows that my couch goes a little into the sound field (that's something I can not avoid, which is why I have considered the stand option).

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Tomorrow starts burning. We'll see where this leads.
I'll come up with the first results.
Regards

Thanks for sharing the pics. I would move them just forward of your tower speakers if you can. You also might consider putting an absorption panel on the left wall. You shouldn't have to worry about reflections as much with the horn drivers, but I think a wall treatment would still yield some improvement. 
grinccaffe's avatar
grinccaffe
13 posts
 
Here I am :)
To start the story, I'm very happy with the first results.
In the last two days I listened to H3 about 12 hours long.
I got up a hundred times and moved them for a few centimeters in all directions.
I was looking for the best possible sound stage. Unfortunately, I do not have much room for maneuver due to the conditions. Maybe another move brings happiness.
I came to the conclusion that H3 remains on the floor.
So far none of the stands. I will consider it later.
The couch, which goes a little in the sound field, make not visible - audible disturbances. But if I made the speakers even more forward, then the couch would be a problem. In that case, the couch would be near, very much in the sound field.
As for the left side wall, I intend to put an absorber, because of Palladiuma tower speaker, because it is too close to the wall.
Thank you all for listening to my sweet troubles.
To be continued:)

jond's avatar
jond
6,056 posts
 
@grinccaffe Welcome and very cool looking system! May I ask who made your preamp/amp combo? Also are you going to be running the H3's and Palladiums both or can you pull the Palladiums out to give the H3's more breathing room?
oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
4,189 posts
 
I don't know if it is truly mechanical break in, or my ears acclimating to the new sound but it took a little while for them to open up but they sounded great after a few weeks.    
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