It's Heresy! My Take on this Polarizing Speaker.

It's well known among audiophiles that Klipsch Heresys are often described as "bright, brittle, forward, and harsh." Being someone who despises this type of sound, I never imagined I would someday own a pair. However, at the behest of my local dealer who was well aware of my disdain for bright gear, I took a leap of faith. I've owned a pair of Heresy IIIs for the last 9 months and my appreciation for them continues to grow. The following is my complete take on the H-IIIs, the good and the bad.

The Good
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WAF: they blend seamlessly with my living room digs that also have some of that mid-century style. I can think of no other speaker that would look better in the room.

These speakers are not what I would consider bright and fatiguing, however, they are unforgiving. Even with my SS amps, these speakers are easy to listen to for long sessions. With high quality recordings, they are near as smooth as my Spendors. Low quality recordings can sound less than ideal due to their revealing nature, but to an extent, the same can be said for my other speakers.

They can rock! I haven't owned a pair of speakers that rock like the Heresys. It can almost sound as though there's a band in the room (had to fit a cliché in here somewhere). The sound of a kick-drum through these speakers is tight, punchy, and fast, not unlike the real thing. They can also play at very high volumes with no notable distortion.

When setup properly and driven by decent gear, their midrange can be as convincing and palpable as that of British monitors. With some songs, the midrange rivals that of my Spendors, which happen to produce some of the best I've heard at any price. Judy Garland's rendition of "More than You Know" is gorgeous through the H-IIIs.

They play just fine with SS amps. At the moment, they actually perform better with my A-S1100 than with my Cayin tube amp, although the Cayin is probably in need of new power tubes.

They have surprising imaging and coherence. When listening from a normal distance, driver integration is better than most at this price, not KEF LS50 good, but surprisingly close.

They're not picky about genre. Though their forte is rock and blues, they can handle it all. They do however sacrifice bass extension for bass quality, so a sub would be ideal for some music.

The Bad​

They can be finicky about placement. This mostly applies to toe-in. I find they sound best with the mid horns aimed directly at my ears. Listening distance also plays a significant role. Unlike my Spendors and KEFs, they need to be placed about 9' or more in front of the listener to produce a realistic sound stage. I do have them on the supplied floor risers, so that's no surprise. They don't have a wide sweet spot and no amount of tweaking was able to overcome this. It's fine for me as I always sit in the sweet spot, but for those who make listening sessions a family affair, not the best choice.

With some songs they do have a slight horn coloration. This is largely dependent on the recording and gear. It's not distracting to my ears, but worth noting. I wouldn't drive them with an amp over 100 watts, as higher power amps like the Parasound Halo Integrated seem to exacerbate this coloration and excite the cabinets.

As noted above, they can be unforgiving of poor recordings. Even though they're great for rock, I would avoid albums like Oasis' Morning Glory. If a recording has screeching treble, they'll produce screechy treble.

As also mentioned, their bass only digs so deep. It does a cliff dive below 50Hz, a little lower if near a wall. I did try them with my cheapo Paradigm sub, but the bass is too fast for successful integration. If you're into music with a lot of low octave content, you'll want to go with the larger Heritage speakers or invest in a very fast sub.

That sums it up folks. Prior to purchasing the H-IIIs, I auditioned at least a couple dozen speakers priced at or near $5K. Like the Heresys, none were perfect, but to my ears, only a handful were as versatile as the Heresys and believe it or not, most were more fatiguing. How can that be when so many pen them as "bright" and "brittle?" It's Heresy!

 

Ok, that last bit was rhetorical. At this point, I'm convinced that most of the "bright," "hard," and "brittle" opinions are rooted in earlier versions of this speaker. To those who've always been curious about these speakers but were deterred by those adjectives, try to audition a pair. You might be surprised. I certainly was.

 

Your review is fairly accurate. I have been listening to Heresys for 30 years, and love them. For Rock and Blues they are like front and center stage.

 

Confusing thread title. A "polarizing" speaker would have something to do with dispersion lobes.

 

It was in reference to the contention that often surrounds Klipsch speakers.

 

Good review, I completely agree. I’ve found that vintage tube gear really tamed the horn shout. As you say, more than 100wpc of SS power really isn’t a good match unless perhaps you’re trying to recreate being at an AC/DC concert. Which isn’t a bad thing but is hard to live with day in and day out.

I think these are the best speakers for someone trying to set up a system on a tight budget. A used pair can be had for $500 and they are easy to drive, a vintage pioneer, Marantz or Sansui.

 

Very nice review and pretty much mimics my own experience, but with a pair of Heresy II Signature Editions. These were the 40th Anniversary speakers released in 1986 and that came with the built-in slanted risers. While my speakers now were a lot more expensive I have never had more fun with a speaker than the Heresy II's. I had them paired with a Pioneer SA-9500II Integrated Amp and I thought that was a great combo.

 

Would love to try a nice tube amp with mine. Maybe some day.

 

Very interesting report. Thanks for sharing your reactions to the Heresys. Which model Spendor do you have (or had)?

 

I actually stuffed the mid horn with acoustic insulation. Did the trick...

 

Thanks for sharing your review.

I haven't found any speakers that make Morning Glory sound good. What a mess.

 

Now that is a heresy

 

...and they are. Also have high levels of distortion at certain frequency points. And they don't sacrifice bass extension for quality, they sacrifice bass extension for efficiency. Simply put, they are loud and peaky, in such a way that they make practically any sort of refined music sound brash. If an instrument is confined to one of the drivers only, then they are not quite as extreme at low levels, but never the equal of proper hi-fi designs. I agree that one cannot sit too close to them. I can never seem to sit far enough away from them myself.
-Bill

 

Ya gotta know how to tame these beasts...

 

They are basically theater speakers, and I have "done the music" for more than a few gatherings with just a pair. They do the job.

 

I don’t disagree with this perspective either. I just enjoy a speaker that makes a system feel like a live concert.

What would you recommend as an alternative? Something that hits the same price point, efficiency and can be placed as close to a wall?

 

Measurements? And you have experience with the IIIs?

 

SP2/3R2. All my gear is listed in my profile.

 

Appreciate the review, Helom. I'm sure I'm in the minority, but reading comments akin to "it sucks!" or "it's the best!" doesn't satisfy me. I need details and info to make informed decisions. This review is certainly heads & shoulders above the standard one-line reviews I see most everywhere.

Would you think it's safe to say that these would most likely play nice with amps which are inherently leaning on the warmer side of things?

 

Nice review... I have a pair of Cornwall IIs that I’m extremely happy with... didn’t cost a lot either. Hell, I spent more on the tubes in my integrated amp than I did these Cornwalls. Around the time I got the Cornwalls, I demo’d a new pair of $4,500 Focals and much preferred the Cornwalls

 

Think you missed the joke.

 

I have experience with all of them. Measurements can be found from independent sources, ie Stereophile reviews. Obviously we both agree that measurements do not always equal subjective sound quality, so I don't see where that would matter considering we are just discussing how they sound to us, and that that is their intended purpose.
-Bill

 

IME, it's a requirement.
-Bill

 

I like the Cornwall too. It's the only speaker in the line that I do like. The Cornwall 2 in it's last iteration, before the 3 had the best product quality IME. The tweeter domes are nicer in the 3rd series.
-Bill

 

I agree, measurements don't tell the whole story. I was just curious if you have a source of distortion measurements for these, as low distortion is supposed to be one of the inherent strengths of compression drivers. I haven't found any published measurements for the H-IIIs.

Thanks for sharing your opinion.