Questions to Klipsch Heresy IV owners

A good friend of mine, who is now 89 years old, bought some original Heresy's that are in beautiful condition, on integrated stands that are beautiful as well. He was not happy with them at first, so he made some inquiries regarding the crossovers and wiring, he was then able to rewire them until they sounded to his liking.

I came over to visit him, and brought my new 3C24 tube amp with me and hooked it up to his Heresy's, and I was floored by what I heard. I spent hours with him, just enjoying every minute.

I know this probably not what you were hoping to hear, but I was very impressed by what I heard. I think whatever Heresy you wind up with, you will have someting quite good to work with, there is an untold amount of knowledge available for the Heresy line so there's undoubtably a good future ahaead of you.

Regards,

Dan

What speakers do you have now? It might not be the speakers, but the issue of "Loudness" - your ears are less sensitive to low and high frequencies, so listening at low volumes with most speakers can sound a bit lifeless. Although I do not have Klipsch speakers, my Harbeth's (and previous KEF and Totems) sounded rather dull at low volume also, which is why I choose a preamp with tone/loudness controls. Yes, many will say never to tone controls, but to me, it makes my listening more pleasurable at low volumes. 

I'm just saying that you need to figure out the problem first before you solve it. You may end up spending big money on speakers and not solving your issue. I will say that some speakers do sound good by themselves even at low volumes, but that's not normally the case in my experience. Klipsch's did sound quite good at low volumes when I listened to them, I simply don't have the room for them.

Triangle loudspeakers in your price range play really well at low volumes, way better than my Heresy IIIs. Also, they are an easy load to drive, my 25-watt tube amp was perfect.

Class A SS amplification is the best for low volumes practically with any speaker even with lo efficiency.

my vote is for a high quality SET, autoformer passive pre, and single driver speakers ie Omega if your preference is lower volume listening 😃

@deadhead1000
If you don’t have tone controls or an equalizer the best speaker choice seems to be high sensitive speakers.
My 89dB sensitive Tannoys are not sensitive enough. Not for low level listening and not for my 12 w tube amp.

@russ69
They are not sensitive enough for my 12 w tube amp. Unfortunately.

@czarivey
Many says that tube amps are the best choice for Heresy IV.

@simna I agree with you. Also you can try a Class A amp rather then tubes, a good substitution if the price of a higher watt tube amp is not practical. I’d still go for the tube and Heresy if it’s practical for you. Similar to you, I heard Harbeth and a good class A was magical, and it is for my listening habits. Hope the tube and Heresy do it for you. 

Hmm... not many Heresy IV owners in this forum.

Many horns tend to sound good at low levels. And break-in is subjective best to just use and hear improvements. I haven't owned the smaller models just the top 3 from Klipsch. But have heard many other models in a good num of systems.

@johnk 

Thanks for your opinions.
But I really need to know the differences between Heresy III and IV. Heresy III I thought was too shouty and harsh. At least with those amps and in those two rooms I've heard them.

https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/188670-heresy-iv-versus-heresy-iii/

@johnk 

Thanks a lot!