klipsch speakers,be honest

Voice of many theaters, and I have no idea what Klipschorns sounded like then (or currently) as nobody I knew had them. The pro version of the Klipsch apparently had the tweeter, which could have helped the Altecs somewhat maybe...the A7s were very "woody" sounding with a 900hz or so crossover which meant that horn had a really wide range...not sure if ours had phase plugs, or at least I never noticed one when replacing the horn diaphragms. They were likely 1970 or 71ish versions.

I’ve heard several recent models recently and latest models are very good products overall and could make a lot of people happy including most likely me.

Have not heard any older models in recent years but the consensus seems to be those often need tweaks to compete with more modern designs, as is the case probably for many vintage speaker designs out there.

Klipsch has been around a long time so not reasonable to compare 50+ year old speakers to modern equivalents.

I have to comment. I have Klipsch Forte I with Crites x-overs and Ti tweeter diaphragms.  But the reoccurring theme on any forum discussing them seems to be "1. Modify, rebuilt or build your own cabinets from scratch, 2. Get newer, better drivers, 3. Dampen the horns, 4. Get newly designed crossovers and viola' they sound great and anyone who does not like how they sound don't know how to set them up properly.   

Well if you have to CHANGE them this much for them to be satisfactory, doesn't that suggest they aren't that great in stock form?   Heck any speaker can be great if you totally change them to your liking. 

As I have said many times on other threads, Klipsch, the Heritage line designed by PWK himself, were made with a price point, and, were made for tubes initially. When early ss came about, many folks were pairing the early Klipsch with monster ss amps, having 12, 16, 24 output transistors per channel, that did not compliment the speakers. Every speaker ever made, could have been improved, not just Klipsch. At their price point ( old and new ), the Heritage speakers are great for the money. Even the new ones, as wolf has mentioned, can be improved, even if the improvements results in less than 10 % ( btw, I was the peer pressure, but wolf was embarrassed to say so, as I am known to be crazy, with my tweaks, upgrades and modifications ). Look at any speaker out there. Better crossover components alone can be improved, all because of the price point in the initial design. If Klipsch are not the choice of the  ( horns in general ), it is ok. There are many choices, and many different sets of ears. Enjoy ! MrD.

I have owned a number of speakers over the past 35 years or so, always looking for the "perfect" sound.  Floor standers, monitors with subs, all very good.  PSB Platinum , several KEF both floorstanders and stand mount , Paradigm Studios, Revel 106, all nice , but no speaker has put a smile on my face or felt more like live music like my Heresy III except maybe the CF 4 I had 20 years ago.   Unfortunately those were just too big and honestly I like the signature of the Heresy better.  

I know there are a lot of Klipsch haters out there but I think the Heresy are solid value compared to a lot of what's out there .  They are paired with a c-j pre and Quicksilver Mid Monos which are 40 watts and it sounds REALLY good,  excellent live recordings sound just that, live.