To answer the OP’s question, years ago, Klipsch did have name cache with audiophiles. (about 45 years ago) That eroded as boutique American brands appeared as well as the great British brands. At that point, the image of Klipsch became less exclusive, because they expanded beyond the Heritage range to less expensive models as well as moving into home theatre.
Meanwhile, they still produced a few of the Heritage models, and steadily improved them. Today, with the renewed interest in the improved Heritage models due to the enthusiastic professional and consumer reviews, I think that the Klipsch image has really regained some of its former luster and prestige.
I have owned Khorns, Cornwalls and still use Epic CF 4’s as my main speakers,. This past weekend in fact, I bought a pair of KG 3.2 off of Craigslist for $150.00 for my shed, and they sound amazingly good.