I recall a Klipsch ad from 1987. It was for the Heresy II. In short, the ad showed a picture of the Heresy II with the grill off, so you could get a good view of the midrange and tweeter horns. It went on to talk about how most other speaker manufacturers didn't use horns and if you took a look at them, most of their drivers looked pretty much the same and as a result, most gave the same kind of sound. It then stated how Klipsch didn't use "coventional" drivers like the "other guys." Rather, they used compression drivers mated to horns and they're about the only people who did. Consequently, they afforded the buyer a distinct DIFFERENCE...a difference he could literally HEAR. Klipsch heritage products have always been super-sensitive (97dBs with just one watt @ 1 meter for the Heresy IIs; 104 dBs with just 1 watt @ 1 meter for the Khorns & La Scalas). Most other speakers just can't even come CLOSE to that kind of efficiency! The thing to remember about Klipsch is that they sound DIFFERENT compared to other speakers due to design - they're *supposed* to sound DIFFERENT for God's sake! Now, whether or not somebody likes the Klipsch "sound" is a personal issue. Down through the years, many, many people have liked the sound put out by their "heritage" products, as they've now become known. I own a pair of Heresy IIs and a pair of La Scalas and people are always blown away by how clean, loud, and "in-your-face" they sound. And when I show them I'm running them with an old 70s-era Harman Kardon 430 solid-state reciever with just 25 wpc they simply shake their heads and generally mutter something to the effect that they just can't believe it. I've heard the newer Klipsch offerings (the RF-7s in particular) and at 102 dBs with 1 watt, they are very efficient indeed. However, they don't have the traditional (read: heritage) Klipsch sound that made me buy my Heresy IIs and La Scalas years ago so therefore I don't really care for them regardless of their sensitivity. My fear is that Klipsch is bowing to those who want a more colorless and thus less Klipsch-like loudspeaker. I guess it's all subjective again, but Klipsch have always sounded different then other speakers and I hope Klipsch doesn't "sell-out" and in effect emasculate, or tame the distinct Klipsch sound that made the company so famous in order to make more bucks. The day Klipsch stops making their Heritage line is the day, to me, when I'll consider the company dead. This unfortunately might be closer then even I want to admit when I ask myself this simple question: Why can't I find any of the Heritage line on display for audition in audio stores any more?
