Thoughts on Heresy IV Grills

So I finally decided to pull the trigger on a new pair of Heresy IV's to replace my trusty old Heresy I's.

One of the many things I love about my Heresy I's are the nearly pristine original cane grills. To me, they are an absolutely beautiful match to the oiled walnut cabinets and go perfectly with my décor.

The new walnut IV's I ordered come with "salt-and-pepper" grill cloth. While it's not terrible, I find it looks a little too generic and pales in comparison to the cane grills on my Heresy I's. Since I love the look of the linen cloth grills that come with the distressed oak Heresy IV's, I reached out to Klipsch to ask if they would sell me a pair. To my surprise, they quickly responded that I can purchase a pair of linen Heresy IV grills for $320.

I'm curious to hear what the SHMF community thinks about replacing the grills. Please refrain from posting on the merits of removing the grills. I don't like the look of speakers without grills and don't feel that removing them provides any significant sonic benefit. Please also refrain from "Klipsch bashing" or asking why I didn't go with Forte's or <insert the name of your favorite speaker here>. I love the Klipsch sound and think it pairs perfectly with my MC240 tube amp and the compact size of the Heresy IV's work best for my environment.

To give me an indication of how they will look, I photoshopped the picture below to put the linen grills on the walnut cabinets. I included a copy with the original grill to compare them side by side.



Thanks in advance for your helpful thoughts and feedback.

 

My Forte IV’s in walnut came with the salt and pepper grills, my wife didn’t like them and I did the same ordered the Lambswool grill which is off white like the linen one. Looks much better, not sure why Klipsch doesn’t offer a choice or ditch the salt and pepper grills since this seems to be very common. I listen to the Forte’s with their grill on, didn’t notice a real difference on this speaker with the grill on or off.

 

I have Forte IIIs in distressed oak with the linen grills and I love them- sadly, my cat used the grills for a bit of claw sharpening which hasn’t damaged them too badly but it did make me think about how I might one day replace them. It’s good to know that Klipsch will sell you new replacement ones but I’ve also heard of people having them made locally.

Either way, I think you should go with the linen ones- they look great to me on that mock up.

 

The lambswool grills look best IMO.

 

Thanks. Fortunately my cat's interest in my speakers has so far been limited to listening to smooth jazz and classical guitar (he typically leaves the room for anything else). I also keep them off the floor to put them closer to ear level and to keep the right speaker above a couch that would otherwise obstruct them.

 

You’re a wise man- although my cat stopped this once I’d deployed some well aimed shouting!

 

I think you could go with either combination. Each one is a valid look in my opinion.

 

The lighter ones

 

Agree that the lighter linen cloth looks better in new condition. My only concern is that over time they would age poorly...collecting dust, dirt and (cat) hair, that would show up easier on their lighter color?

 

Definitely prefer the new grilles. They look more rock 'n roll. The linen ones look a bit soft.

 

I don't know if the grills are compatible with previous generations, but used grills do show up on eBay occasionally.

There is also the option of having the existing grills recovered. An upholstery shop is a good candidate for doing this work, if you don't feel it is in your wheel house.

 

What about something like this?

I thought I had read that Klipsch no longer carried the correct material, but is this the correct material? Or at least what you seek?

I'd suspect that are a number of sellers out there, and to be honest I am no authority of the real deal.

This may not be an easier option, but could be a less expensive one.

This one is from Crites.
A couple tubes of good Grillcloth glue from somewhere like Simply Speakers should work.

New Speaker Fabric Grill Cloth "Cane" for Klipsch Heresy Speakers PAIR! | eBay

 

Congrats on the new grills. But, are you really sure that you don’t want one of these: Just a warped thought

Speaker Grills

 

Very interesting and valid points to ponder. While I keep my stuff very clean, white linen would tend to age over time. If I do end up going with the linen, I would keep the originals around "just in case".

 

Those are absolutely fantastic! Maybe if I was back in college!

 

Unfortunately (or fortunately) the Heresy IV's are about 3" taller than the previous generations due to the introduction of a bass port. I would love to have seen what the natural cane grills from my Heresy I's looked like on the IV's!

I'll check out eBay, but I suspect if there are any IV grills up for sale, they're likely going to sell for close to the same $360 Klipsch is asking for new ones.

 

I think the linen grills add a note of maturity to the design. The linen also leans toward a late fifties/early sixties contemporary modern look that remains enduringly appealing. The contrast that creates is also attractive and remains that way (to me) without ever becoming dated. It's a very good look, IMO.

 

Well my new Heresy IV's were finally delivered today and I have to say that they sound mind-blowingly fantastic right out of the box. That may be due to the fact that I had previously listening to 40 year old Heresy I's, but as I sit here writing this, I am listening to Milt Jackson's Bag's and Flutes and I can now hear each breath Bobby Jasper takes on Bags' New Groove as well as each well defined strike of Jacksons mallets on the vibes. It's incredible.

Now as far as the grills go, I have to say that the salt-and-pepper stock grills don't look nearly as bad as I thought they would. They tend to blend pretty well with my décor and the fact that they are dark keeps them from screaming out "HEY! THERES A PAIR OF SPEAKERS HERE!"



With that said, I really do love those linens. As @Agitater said so well above, "the linen leans toward a late fifties/early sixties contemporary modern look" which is definitely my aesthetic. I think may just let the look of the salt-and-peppers burn in a bit more while the speakers themselves continue to burn in sonically. I'll give it a few weeks and then decide if I want to swap them out.

Thanks everyone for all of the great thoughts, perspective, and advice!

 

i personally love the salt and pepper grills. i strongly prefer them to the white/linen ones on the distressed oak. jmo . . .

 

Maybe get the linen anyway and then you can rotate them with the salt and pepper according to your mood?

 

I like the new grills .... they look great on my Cherry Forte IV.... but so do the linen. I was thinking of getting a pair of lambswool and switching them out every now and then. The lambswool are definitely retro and high WAF at the same time.

 

I see no problem with either. Get rid of the cat. And where did you get that shirt?

 

1. Cat ain't going nowhere - He's the cat in CatManDude
2. What shirt?

 

Hell yeah! I've been eyeing these things for weeks. They just seem amazing, I've never heard them in person, though.

 

They definitely are amazing. Going from my Heresy I's to these is totally night and day. I know they're entirely different speakers, but wow, I was not prepared for how much better they actually are. Considering all of the factors that go into speaker performance, not every speaker is right for everyone. With that said, the Heresy IV's are are about as right as it gets for me.

I had been eyeing the Heresy IV's for a while as well. What finally made up my mind was that Amazon was offering 18 month no interest financing on them if I used my Prime Visa. I could have bought them outright, but the $3K seemed a bit more palatable spread out over time.

And as far as the grills go, I think I may stick with the salt-and-peppers. They're really growing on me.