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
I have to disagree with the former posts abouit horn speakers not sounding bright.  I have powered both Cornwall’s and Klipschorns with different amps. They have a tendency to sound bright to me.  We all hear things differently.  As I suggested, you can move your speakers to their proper positions, when doing serious listening.  U can put a rheostat on the midrange or get some tube amps.  Do some research. I think you’ll find my opinion bears out-or not. It’s all trial and error, hopefully not much error😊
One thing is true about these speakers.... Crap in = Crap out.....   not kind to poor recordings,  but feed them a quality source through really good amps and they sing.   I just found the ideal tube compliment for my amps and the Heresys have never sounded better.    
I wouldn't call the H-IIIs bright, nor would I call them warm. Pair them with a bright amp, something like an Integra AVR, and you'll want ear plugs. Pair them with tubes or a MOSFET amp and you can listen for hours without fatigue. 

Having owned them for about 15 months, the only notable weakness I detect, other than bass extension, is a very slight horn coloration in the midrange. It doesn't "shout" or "honk" the way some describe horns, but does add a very slight "chestiness" or thickness to vocals - at least compared to my Spendor 2/3s. I plan to damp the midhorns with some bitumen (Dynamat) sheets in the near future. 
Dampening the midhorns will not only rid the H-111s of the slight chestiness you speak of, but the lower resonant, less vibratory and cleanliness of the mid horn will clean up the entire speaker. I promise. Enjoy ! MrD.
MrD. and Helomech, what's the best way to do the dampening? Has anyone posted detailed instructions? Seems like a worthwhile project!