Klipsch Speakers

[Tidybuoy]

Originally Posted by 911 Rod

I went into a high end stereo store to see how other people live. My system is an old NAD amp/preamp and Bose 901's.
The advice I got from the owner was you can use old quality amps, but speakers lose their crispness over years and as our ears age we need it to hear all of the music.

I have always liked the sound of the 901's, they are amazing.

[911 Rod]

Originally Posted by Tidybuoy

I have always liked the sound of the 901's, they are amazing.

Placement is key. I wanted them for my garage and they only sounded great when on my bench a couple of feet from the back.

[ltusler]

Here are my Klipsch Jubilee's. These are now referred to Underground Jubilee's since the new production version is out.

I have upgraded the horn drivers to Celestion AXI2050's and built 2 Danley TH-SPUD clones for subs. all 6 driver channels are powered by 3 QSC PLX1104 amps controlled by a Xilica XP4080 DSP.

[David]

My last garage stereo upgrade was about 13 years ago when I bought some LSA1 bookshelf speakers to go with my Onkyo 2 channel stereo receiver. It sounded pretty good. Not audiophile good, but pretty good. Recently I replaced the Onkyo receiver with a new Onkyo TX-8470 strero receiver so I'd have more input options and I'm debating replacing the LSA speakers to better fill the garage size.

I've been researching bookshelf speakers in the $1,000 to $4,000 range and keep coming back to Klipsch Heresy speakers. Besides wondering if I'll like the sound of these for my music of choice, classic rock, I'm wondering if a lowly stereo receiver is adequate for the Heresy's. Then I noticed this pic on the Onkyo website with the TX-8470 with Heresy speakers.

Anyone have thoughts or experience with Heresy's with a stereo receiver? Any concerns with using them in the garage? It's got AC/heat but I only run it when I'm working in the garage.

[IROC]

The story I've heard on Heresy's seems to be that the early versions lacked bass. The current IV models are supposedly much better. But...even Klipsch only shows frequency response down to 48 Hz.

I have zero first-hand experience, though. I just went down the rabbit hole of reading reviews on Heresy's after some IIs showed up locally for $700...

[Tidybuoy]

Originally Posted by ltusler

Here are my Klipsch Jubilee's.

I think you should show these amazing speakers with a person standing next to them. I think most people don't realize how huge these are.

[908/930]

David, Yes a receiver will run the Heresy's easily, they are pretty efficient at around 96db@1w and easy to drive at 8ohms load. A clock radio could likely power them. Placed closer to corners could help with low frequency a little or a powered subwoofer would really help.

[ltusler]

Here you go, I am 5'11". They measure 5'7"H x 47"W x 24"D, The sub peeking out behind it is 48"x48"x12". I painted them the same color as the wall so they don't stick out so much. In case anyone is interested the subs run 18hz to 40 hz, The bass bins are 40hz to 250hz, and the horns are 250hz to 20,000hz.

[Scott Douglas]

For some reason I just can't imagine sitting in front of those speakers listening to music.


I'm a fan of the Infinity speaker sound. I'd like to hear what those big Klipschs sound like though.

[aschen]

Originally Posted by David

My last garage stereo upgrade was about 13 years ago when I bought some LSA1 bookshelf speakers to go with my Onkyo 2 channel stereo receiver. It sounded pretty good. Not audiophile good, but pretty good. Recently I replaced the Onkyo receiver with a new Onkyo TX-8470 strero receiver so I'd have more input options and I'm debating replacing the LSA speakers to better fill the garage size.

I've been researching bookshelf speakers in the $1,000 to $4,000 range and keep coming back to Klipsch Heresy speakers. Besides wondering if I'll like the sound of these for my music of choice, classic rock, I'm wondering if a lowly stereo receiver is adequate for the Heresy's. Then I noticed this pic on the Onkyo website with the TX-8470 with Heresy speakers.

Anyone have thoughts or experience with Heresy's with a stereo receiver? Any concerns with using them in the garage? It's got AC/heat but I only run it when I'm working in the garage.

What is driving you to heresys? IN my extremely biased opinion the main thing they have going for them is killer looks, also they are available cheap in the earlier series.

Otherwise they are a bit wonkey on axis and at least the older ones had no bass. Less extension and impact than a normal 6" driver ported stand mount speaker with more moderate sensitivity. I see the latest series are ported but I think bass has been sacrificed for efficency. Choose 2: speaker size, sensitivity, bass extension

People love them I get it. I had a pair in the 90s for about a week, ended up trading for contemporary Fortes which I thought were MUCH better.

in the year 2025 there are a 100 speakers I think more compelling than Heresys. For classic looks Id consider something Like JBL 4309 or l82, Otherwise there are a billion other compelling options from Revel, KEF, Mofi etc

For a vintage set of cool looking decent speakers, sure a 600$ of 1970s heresys is a fun choice. For a new set of 3500 speakers they would be near the bottom of my personal shopping list

[David]

I've been clicking through the Klipsch Heritage speaker page a lot in the last few days and it never dawned on me how huge the Jubilee speakers are. Wow!

On the Heresy's, I'm not worried about the power output of a stereo receiver, since like noted, a clock radio could probably drive them, but more about it being too 'bright' which I take to mean too much treble or high end sound. The Onkyo TX-8470 does have quite a bit of adjustments compared to my old receiver, they're just done through the display rather than with knobs.

[David]

Originally Posted by aschen

What is driving you to heresys? IN my extremely biased opinion the main thing they have going for them is killer looks, also they are available cheap in the earlier series.

Otherwise they are a bit wonkey on axis and at least the older ones had no bass. Less extension and impact than a normal 6" driver ported stand mount speaker with more moderate sensitivity. I see the latest series are ported but I think bass has been sacrificed for efficency. Choose 2: speaker size, sensitivity, bass extension

People love them I get it. I had a pair in the 90s for about a week, ended up trading for contemporary Fortes which I thought were MUCH better.

in the year 2025 there are a 100 speakers I think more compelling than Heresys. For classic looks Id consider something Like JBL 4309 or l82, Otherwise there are a billion other compelling options from Revel, KEF, Mofi etc

For a vintage set of cool looking decent speakers, sure a 600$ of 1970s heresys is a fun choice. For a new set of 3500 speakers they would be near the bottom of my personal shopping list

Here's what I've been considering:

JBL L100 Classic MkII $4,800
JBL L82 Classic MkII $2,900
MoFi Source Point 10 $3,299
Wharfedale Linton $1,800
KLH Model 5 $2,500
Klipsch Heresy $3,200

I didn't see a Revel or KEF that really seemed to fit my bill.

They need to fit on a high shelf to clear garage stuff and I'd like to run without a subwoofer so looking for good bass in a bookshelf size (under 28" tall) speaker.

I'd like them to be somewhat vintage looking, not that my garage has anything esthetically going for it.

You can see my current right speaker above the Cayman windshield and I'm looking to keep speakers on the same shelves.

[ltusler]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

For some reason I just can't imagine sitting in front of those speakers listening to music.


I'm a fan of the Infinity speaker sound. I'd like to hear what those big Klipschs sound like though.

Its a different way of listening for sure. Mine are about 14' apart and I sit about 14' away. The rear wall is 4' behind me and there are no sidwalls near the speakers. Given a good recording you can "see" where the instruments and voices are in the sound stage. The sound just seems to be there. Its hard to explain. Given the size and amount of power driving them the sound just seems effortless. Its not about loudness, its about dynamic range and very low distortion. If anyone is around the Minneapolis area, look me up happy to share.

[greglepore]

Originally Posted by David

Here's what I've been considering:

JBL L100 Classic MkII $4,800
JBL L82 Classic MkII $2,900
MoFi Source Point 10 $3,299
Wharfedale Linton $1,800
KLH Model 5 $2,500
Klipsch Heresy $3,200

I didn't see a Revel or KEF that really seemed to fit my bill.

They need to fit on a high shelf to clear garage stuff and I'd like to run without a subwoofer so looking for good bass in a bookshelf size (under 28" tall) speaker.

I'd like them to be somewhat vintage looking, not that my garage has anything esthetically going for it.

I'd add the Mission 770 to that list. They're at the pricy end of your spectrum for the reissues, but the originals are available on ebay for around 2k.
I'm a huge fan of Mission speakers . They do everything well, and have incredible presence. I have 3 pair floating around here (2 bookshelf and one pair of large towers on my veranda). I was blown away when I heard the original 770's at a high end store in the 80's, and remain so every time I hear them now. https://www.stereophile.com/content/mission-770-loudspeaker

[908/930]

David, I would consider JBL 4425 with the JBL's listed. Up in the price range you are considering lots of good speakers.

[aschen]

Originally Posted by David

Here's what I've been considering:

JBL L100 Classic MkII $4,800
JBL L82 Classic MkII $2,900
MoFi Source Point 10 $3,299
Wharfedale Linton $1,800
KLH Model 5 $2,500
Klipsch Heresy $3,200

I didn't see a Revel or KEF that really seemed to fit my bill.

They need to fit on a high shelf to clear garage stuff and I'd like to run without a subwoofer so looking for good bass in a bookshelf size (under 28" tall) speaker.

I'd like them to be somewhat vintage looking, not that my garage has anything esthetically going for it.

You can see my current right speaker above the Cayman windshield and I'm looking to keep speakers on the same shelves.

I think those are all good options though point source 8 measures better than 10 according to erins audio corner data.

Should be noted that most all of these speakers can be found below retail for "demo" versions from places like music direct, the music room, audio advice and crutchfield, sometimes with a bit of patience.


For JBL, I think they are killing it with their modern compression driver found in studio monitor series such as the 43x series and the 705/708 professional monitors. seems like HDI series are always on sale and measure well also.

Really up high like that anything decent will suffice.
For me Id lean:

https://www.musicdirect.com/speakers/mofi-electronics-sourcepoint-8-bookshelf-speakers-walnut-pair-open-box/

or the L series JBLs or 4309s.

Retro looking constrains you a little, there are so many good reasonably priced speakers these days

FWIW buying an old pair of heresys of facebook marketplace for several hundred bucks seems like a fine route for a garage system, If you can fit some KG3s or 4s up there I think you would get better bass response with passive radiators vs sealed

[stevej37]

As long as we're posting pics of our Klipsch's....Here is a pic of my Klipsch R-120SW Subwoofer.

It looks better with front cover off....so I sometimes leave it off. (in pic)

[aschen]

IF you don't order these I might. A lotta nice speaker to be hanging out on a garage shelf but smoke em if you got em.


https://tmraudio.com/speakers/bookshelf-speakers-monitors/jbl-4349-monitor-speakers-walnut-pair-w-stands/

[GG Allin]

I have a set of Monitor Audio MAG 901's from the late 90's that I was given for free. They're phenomenal speakers but they're beat up. I'd love to here something modern and comparable to them, like the Silver 100 7G's.

[bleucamaro]

Originally Posted by David

On the Heresy's, I'm not worried about the power output of a stereo receiver, since like noted, a clock radio could probably drive them, but more about it being too 'bright' which I take to mean too much treble or high end sound.

The Heresy's will be brighter than the L100's and Lintons. whether that is too much is up to you. Do you have a dealer nearby you can audition them?