Tekton or Klipsch

I have owned Heresy IIIs, Forte IIIs, and La Scala IIs... I still own the Heresy IIIs and LS IIs - upgraded from the Fortes. The HIIIs and LS IIs serve 2 different purposes, with a world of difference between the 2.

Originally owning the HIIIs, I upgraded to the Forte IIIs and did not experience enough of a WOW factor between the 2 to be really happy (they lasted about a week). Keep in mind I was using a sub with the HIIIs, which narrows the difference between the 2 considerably.

However, the HIIIs were also just much more "FUN" to listen to than the Forte IIIs. The FIIIs came across as a more traditional and somewhat boring speaker compared to the HIIIs. What I was looking for in the upgrade was a larger sound and smoother midrange, and the Forte IIIs didn't provide enough value to performance to really meet that need.

I'm currently listening to my Heresy IIIs, sans sub, with an old vintage Luxman component system (valve pre & SS amp) and they are delivering every bit of lively, dynamic, fun sound 3 years later as they did when I first fell in love with the Klipsch Heritage sound. 

I think you're going to be happier overall (and save some money) going with the Heresy IIIs. It sounds like you've already been bitten by the bug. 

By the way, I also owned a pair of KEF LS50W for about 1 week here in my office - they were turned around pretty quickly which is how I got my current pair of Heresy IIIs (having traded in the original HIIIs I owned against the Forte IIIs, then regretting it and having to pay another $3K for the La Scala IIs - which I don't regret at all).

I found the LS50Ws to be very tame and sterile sounding and quite a bit of a let-down after living in Klipsch Heritage land for the past few years.

sound quality differences between Heresy and Cornwalls?

Since at least in theory every component in the string influences the sound... what might the Rothwells do?


The Schitt Sys might be a viable option to moderate the 40 dB if gain as another option. 

Since at least in theory every component in the string influences the sound... what might the Rothwells do?

There have been conflicting reports here about the Rothwells. Some people have reported finding that they compromised dynamics; others (including me, in my case with the 10 db version) have used them with fine results.

I suspect that in some of the situations in which compromised dynamics have been reported that the cause was using them to drive input impedances that were low and/or that varied significantly as a function of frequency. I don’t think that would be a problem with the Brio-r. John Atkinson measured the line-level input impedance of the similarly spec’d non-r version of the Brio as follows:

...its input impedance at 20Hz and 1kHz was, at 41k ohms, fairly close to the specified 47k ohms. Though the line input impedance dropped to 36k ohms at 20kHz, this will be inconsequential.

A concern with the Schiit Sys would be that its input impedance is only 10K, which depending on the particular source components might be too low to be optimal. Based on measurements I’ve made of the 10 db version of the Rothwell it would present the source components with an input impedance of 30K when used in conjunction with a 41K load. And that figure would most likely be higher for the 15 db and 20 db versions.

Also the Sys would require cables on its output side, which the Rothwells would not.

Regards,
-- Al