How do speakers age? Heresy II
 

I've always been a Klipsch fan having grown up with them in my Dad's system. Right now I'm trying to figure the best way to have excellent, but not necessarily exceptional, sound in my workshop. This is a big room, about 900 sq ft, and very lively (all wood surfaces, if not glass or metal). Being a dusty woodshop I don't want anything fancy, so the idea of old speakers makes sense. They will be suspended from beams off the ceiling, not on the floor. For this room bookshelf speakers may be too small (I'm using some now). Need to listen to good tunes all day without fatigue. I'm driving with a perfectly working/restored older Adcom amp at 200 watts/ch.

I'm looking at a pair of Heresy II speakers on Craigslist that might just fit the bill. It makes me wonder how speakers age. What fails first? What to watch out for if no obvious sound distortions? These were highly regarded in their day and I bet I would have loved them when new. How much does sound quality change over time?

I know SQ is completely a personal choice so we don't need to go down that path, just wondering if there is experience as to these holding up.

Thanks,

JR

JR, with respect to dynamic drivers, unless the speaker has been 'electrically abused' (overdriven, clipped, etc) it's usually the 'surrounds' of the cones themselves that eventually need replacing.

I have a pair of Heresy II's I purchased brand new back in the day. They are still in great condition and sound pretty damn good.

The good news is the woofer surrounds on these are not foam so they should still be in tact. The only area to look at updating due to aging is the crossovers. The capacitors can change values over time affecting the crossover points.

If you are so inclined, I'd also recommend replacing the stock phenolic diaphragms with new titanium diaphragms.

These two updates were huge improvements for me. Google Bob Crites - they offer both upgrades. :smoking:

JR.......You might want to look at a pair of JBL 4312A speakers, or the other iterations of the 4312. They are good sounding speakers with nice bass response. Check eBay. You can get the newest version of the JBL 4312M2WX from Japan with free shipping for less the $850 a pair.

Copy this link into your browser line to check them out.

ebay.com/itm/JBL-4312M2WX-pair-small-monitor-speakers-walnut-pair-New-Harman-Japan-blue-line-/271985935942?hash=item3f53a00646:g:VTgAAOSwQPlV9sB 6

Thanks all. I'll look at the Heresy's and give a listen on Thurs, then decide from there.

Heritage I've bough second hand at times already has a Blown tweeter. PWK struggled with this.....In fact I heard Valerie (his wife that just deceased) go on and on about a story with PWK and his fits with the tweeters. The HII had a different tweeter than the original.....and it wasn't as much of a problem.

I like phenolic diaphragms in the mids. Odds are they are fine.

As said....Bob Crites is the best resource. I have bought many many things from here over the years.

If all drivers work, move on and enjoy. The refresher I would do with them.....if I was to improve the sound, is to replace the capacitors on the boards. Easy.

My experience with Klipsch Heresy's, vintage 1983 is to just recap the crossovers. Unless someone was hammering on them the drivers are most likely fine. I believe the Heresy's are rated to 100 watt? My 40W Mac's get them very loud and 5 to 10 watt set amps get them loud enough. So check the drivers, recap if they sound a bit off and enjoy.

BillWojo

Just a follow-up here and a thanks.

I went to Bob Crites as recommend above and got new caps and new titanium drivers for the tweeters. I put them all in a couple days ago and, wow, what an improvement. This was $122 upgrade and maybe 90 minutes of replacement and soldering fun. I'm fabricating mounts now to hang these speakers from the rafters in the barn/woodshop where they will probably stay and entertain me for many many years. :music:

Thanks for the tips! :thumbsup:

JR

I know this is an old thread but.... is it possible to get pictures ?
Thanks

Happy to help, but pictures of what? I can send you pictures of the speakers hanging on their brackets, but all the mods are internal of course and I can't get to those.