klipsch speakers,be honest

I have to comment. I have Klipsch Forte I with Crites x-overs and Ti tweeter diaphragms.  But the reoccurring theme on any forum discussing them seems to be "1. Modify, rebuilt or build your own cabinets from scratch, 2. Get newer, better drivers, 3. Dampen the horns, 4. Get newly designed crossovers and viola' they sound great and anyone who does not like how they sound don't know how to set them up properly.   

Well if you have to CHANGE them this much for them to be satisfactory, doesn't that suggest they aren't that great in stock form?   Heck any speaker can be great if you totally change them to your liking. 

As I have said many times on other threads, Klipsch, the Heritage line designed by PWK himself, were made with a price point, and, were made for tubes initially. When early ss came about, many folks were pairing the early Klipsch with monster ss amps, having 12, 16, 24 output transistors per channel, that did not compliment the speakers. Every speaker ever made, could have been improved, not just Klipsch. At their price point ( old and new ), the Heritage speakers are great for the money. Even the new ones, as wolf has mentioned, can be improved, even if the improvements results in less than 10 % ( btw, I was the peer pressure, but wolf was embarrassed to say so, as I am known to be crazy, with my tweaks, upgrades and modifications ). Look at any speaker out there. Better crossover components alone can be improved, all because of the price point in the initial design. If Klipsch are not the choice of the  ( horns in general ), it is ok. There are many choices, and many different sets of ears. Enjoy ! MrD.

I have owned a number of speakers over the past 35 years or so, always looking for the "perfect" sound.  Floor standers, monitors with subs, all very good.  PSB Platinum , several KEF both floorstanders and stand mount , Paradigm Studios, Revel 106, all nice , but no speaker has put a smile on my face or felt more like live music like my Heresy III except maybe the CF 4 I had 20 years ago.   Unfortunately those were just too big and honestly I like the signature of the Heresy better.  

I know there are a lot of Klipsch haters out there but I think the Heresy are solid value compared to a lot of what's out there .  They are paired with a c-j pre and Quicksilver Mid Monos which are 40 watts and it sounds REALLY good,  excellent live recordings sound just that, live.   

The Heresy IIIs are generally dismissed by people who haven't heard them with good ancillary gear, or had the older models 40 years ago. The only caveat is possibly the need for a sub with these as that makes 'em open up and really shine, but the overall tonal response they do produce down to 58hz or so is very coherent and clean. 1500 bucks for the "Capitol Records Anniversary" version was a steal maybe, but you have to admit there's nothing like these out there...short, fat, and fabulous.

But Wolf how do I get my 40 year old heresys to sound short fat and fabulous now! Can I believe that they are my first speakers and they are actually more than 40 OY.