The Klipsch Heresy IV Review. WHOA!!! 

My take on Klipsch is this; if you buy music to listen to your equipment they're not for you - BUT - if you buy equipment to listen to your music you'll love Klipsch.

In my early days I liked to believe that nothing is more important than the speakers but now I know that a real good amp is at least as important for a satisfying sound. I think your amp let’s most speakers perform much above their level.I heard these with a Gryphon hybrid amp mich like yours (yet not as expensive) and I was as much impressed like you are. Really beautiful.

Nearly three years later and this is still the best review on the Klipsch Heresy IV’s… and I still love mine.

I've been eyeing a pair of these in Cherry and I'm so glad a review finally dropped! I was worried about the change in the mid-range material but it seems to have had a positive effect. I'm absolutely a fan of Klipsch's live, dynamic and transparent sound. Unfortunately, auditioning these is pretty impossible for me but I may just take the plunge anyway!

Welcome to the world of well designed horns and high efficiency. Nothing else can give you the low distortion dynamic range reproduction that makes music sound exciting and lifelike.

What a great sound and review! Can’t wait to listen records with my new speakers ! 🤟🏻

I've watched 3 other reviews, and yours is the only one that actually allowed the speakers to sing. Thank you.

Your review helped me decide to purchase the Klipsch Heresy IV. Love them. Paired with Raven Audio Nighthawk MKIII. The sound is incredible for me. Depth, no harsh vocals, soundstage-yes yes yes. Raven Audio service is hard to beat!! Klipsch and Raven- super combo..

The port in the back turns the box into a Helmholtz resonator where the frequency of the resonance is determined by the compliance of the air in the container and the mass of the air in the port. If the box is properly tuned, the vibrating air piston works in phase with the cone over a selected band of frequencies to reinforce base output. Reggae!

One of the best speaker reviews I've seen, because you actually record quality audio! Even through my mediocre built in speakers on my monitor I can tell these are something special. So many speaker reviews have mediocre audio, to the point where I really can't discern if the speakers being reviewed are really any good.

I own the Brand New Klipsch Heresy IV One of the Best sounding speakers iv'e ever heard. I been around the block a few times in my years of owning great gear. Every time i try to get a refined sound i get drawn back to The Klipsch Heritage Brand because it gives you everything you want and more in a loud speaker. So if you're looking for an Party animal or looking for dynamics and that all around refine sophisticated sound these puppies will fill that need. Klispch Heritage Series is something you have to experience.

Really appreciate you taking the time to make this review!

Just scored a deal on brand new Heresy 4s right before the price went up for $2400 and I’m too happy. I don’t have such amazing equipment just a Yamaha a S701 and a blue sound node, and I’m just blown away… wonder what even higher end amps could do… I don’t consider myself an audiophile I just have an idea of what sounds good and bad and I have a feeling my ears won’t be able to tell the difference between a $800 amp vs a $2500+ one haha… I may demo some tube amps but I’m just really happy with the set up right now.

I guess I will be one of the few descentors when it comes to Klipsch in general, and the Heresy IV specifically. My cousin bought a pair, but before he had a chance to get them set up, he was called out of the country on business. So, he lent them to me (I guess he thought I would be able to break them in for him), and I had them in my system for quite a while. I played them on all tubes, and tube preamp and solid state amp, all of very high quality. When I first had the set up, sure, I was enthralled with their dynamics, their ability to play loud, their seemingly live sound. But after a few days, their negatives started to make themselves known just a bit too much for my taste. They lack detail, they are not quite cohesive from low frequencies to highs (you can hear when each driver takes over from the other drivers), they don't image very well, and yes, they sound 'live' but only in certain way. It is like they make everything sound like it is coming from a PA system. If all I listened to was rock, country, electronic, metal, I might have been more forgiving. But I listen to a fair amount of classical and acoustic jazz, too. When I listen to an Elliott Carter string quartet, I don't want it sounding like it is being reproduced by a PA system. I want an illusion that I am listening directly to a violin, viola, cello, coming from an acoustic space in front of me. The Heresy's didn't really get close to that illusion. They come across, to me, just a bit like a 'blunt instrument'. After a couple solid weeks of listening, I put my Dali Rubicon 8's back in (yes, they are about $500 more for the pair), and it was like a sigh of relief. I don't even think it was close. There was that well defined percussion coming from the correct space behind the orchestra in that Bartok piece, there were those violins coming from 15 feet beyond the left wall of my listening room, and those concert basses coming from 15 feet beyond the right wall (and all the other instruments coming from their correct acoustic space), there were those breaths of Jan Garbarek while he was playing his sax, there was the sound of the stick hitting the cymbal (and not just the sound of the cymbal itself), etc, etc. None of which the Heresy's were able to do with any real sense of detail, transparency or overall realism.

Man, I was considering Forte III's but may have to switch, great review!

Just got a pair from a guy who brought it but then want to let go of it because he spotted a pair of La Scala. He had a pair of well burned in Forte already. When I saw it on FB market place, I jumped on it and also had a chance to audition it together with a older Forte and the La Scala... Forte and the La Scala was well broken in. The Heresy IV is almost new, just a few hours usage. The Forte sounded more open and La Scala blown everything away ‘cause it’s a total different class. The Heresy wasn’t bad at all but a little short of the other two at the audition. Amp used was a Yamaha Receiver with Forte and Heresy and a Yamaha DAC for the La Scala. I suspected at the time the Heresy needs some breathing room because of the rear port and the height needs to raised up a few inches. So I took them home and put them on dolly to add some height, leave them some breathing room from the wall. They sounded very natural from the get go with nice image and there are plenty of base to go around, no needs for a sub. With the raised height my ears told me they can match the well used Forte in terms of open feels. The base and vocals, as my wife like to put it, married, as compare with the run of the mills spkrs that relies on sub to help and sounded much more musical and realistic. I am pushing them with two Marantz monoblocks with tube buffered the phono/CD/Blue Tooth 4.0 and running burn in tracks from RU-vid. It should open up the sound stage a lot more but that will take time. If I have a chance I will revisit this post and give a impression on after the burn in is done. Given the price I paid, a win for the seller and I. Things I would do.... 1. Try raising them up a few inches 2. Keep them away from the wall and let them breath (I suspect Heresy 3 may not have that issue)

Been waiting for someone to finally review the IV's and voila! Nice to hear review with an audiophile angle, as many of the establishment have long put their nose up to a perceived Klipsch lack of refinement - to this point, it would be beneficial to the poorer (me) audiophile class to hear what the difference would be with a 'bit' more common/affordable/attainable amplification and average wiring gear(Integrated amps from Yamaha, Onkyo, PS Sprout100, under

Great review and THANK YOU for the audio samples! 😎👍 Cheers - Luther

What do you think of the Heresy vs. the RF-7 III?

Absolute awesome Review! Thanks dude

Are you sure you are pronouncing the word “Heresy” right?

Bill Burrs side hustle

When I was a young Music Lover in my 20s back in the early 1990's, many Audiophiles ( snobs ) would scoff at Klipsch speakers and hold their hands at the sides of their mouth to mock the sound of the Horn-Midrange of the classic Klipsch design as if they couldn't POSSIBLY be considered in the same league as the KEF's, B&W's, Vandersteen's, etc of the day. Well, not only was that NOT true or fair, but 30 Years plus of innovation and research as a company dedicated to wonderful sound, has brought their classic line like these even more refinement and sonic excellence. I'll be 51 years old in April, ( go ahead with age jokes lol ) and the best thing I can tell a young Audiophile is, listen with your ears and heart - NOT with your wallet or what Stereophile gushes over each month. It's about the MUSIC - not impressing your neighbors with overrated gear like Krell and Wilson. Peace ♫

I am sure the IVs are great but I just lucked up and got a pair of new Cornwall IIIs in Cherry for $1521 each. I have been trying to get a good deal on a set of IIIs since the IVs came out but the best I had seen was $4500 pair in that awful black finish. It was after midnight and I was surfing Amazon when these popped up out of nowhere, I know because I have been looking for them every day. My guess is Amazon found them in their warehouse and since there were only two they put them up for a quick sale to clear them out. It took me about 3 seconds to decide to order them (if that long). I know they are not the IVs but in truth I am not so rich that I would pay $6000 +tax for them. But, when I can get the IIIs for half the price that were $6000 a year or so ago and were still getting rave reviews then I feel I got a great deal. UPDATE: When shipment from Amazon arrived they were SPL-100 subs, not even what was sold to me. The shipping papers even said 110 lbs ea but UPS showed 47 lbs. Wow! Can Amazon do any worse? They could care less! Stay away from Amazon.

Good luck with trying to get these in the UK for under £3500. That is roughly 4300 dollars so for the guys in the US, please don't complain of the prices you have.

Nice break from your photo gear reviews. Would like to see more audio gear reviews.

No free ride with the porting, Klipsch went from rating at +/-3db to +/-4db to cough the extra supposed 10hz.

That big woofer cone is for lower mid bass. Mid range is where the music is so think of this speakers function asa large mid range machine. If you want sub frequency then get a subwoofer.

How would this pair with a Yamaha AS-1100? Don’t have a tube amp...

I use the REL 5 Ti sub! Works very well

Great review! I have the Special 40s matched with a Modwright tube preamp and Bel Canto amp. I was interested in getting a high efficiency speaker to try out and was looking at the Zu Dirty Weekends. I didn't realize the Heresy IV was out until I saw your review. I think I'm going to try these instead. I can't imagine how the V Rossi sounds---that is crazy expensive too. Do you recommend any particular speaker cable?

congratulation on obtaining a great speaker system. I have a fetish for pre-bookshelf format speakers that has high efficiency, and very open sound that you just can't get from a small format speakers. when I came into the world of hi-fi speakers, acoustic suspension speakers were all the rage, but those types of speakers never sounded open or unrestricted like the good old large format speakers. I like these speakers with ridiculously large enclosures and retro furniture design. i'm not interested in life like reproduction, I want my stereo to sound better than live sound.

Point of info...re @ 4:20...'price of $3000'. Heresy 1 circa early '80's, app. $850/pr., is approximately $3k in 2021 money. Klipsch is a rare company in that prices through the decades have not exceeded inflation rates. (an inflation app will bear this out) But...BUT, the products have improved with each new iteration, ie, my Heresy 1's compared to the new 4's. Same is true with Forte, Cornwall, etc., etc. Soooooooo, in 2020, 3 grand for a pair of Heresy 4's is more than fair, considering the improvement.

Thanks for a great review. By any chance do you know how this compare to B&W Formation Duo?

Sounds fantastic but I'd venture a guess that your components sound great with a lot of speakers.

Trying to figure out what's color to get

Thanks great review. What do you think about buchardt s400 similar to these...?

Another $3000, high efficiency speaker (though not horn) is the Tekton Double Impact. How do these compare in sound performance? I get the impression that the sound of the Heresy is highly colored, much like tube amps are... but that the coloration is very entertaining.

Great review, thanks for this! How would these compare to the Dynaudio Contour 1.3MKII that I currently own?

The Dynaudio Special 40's bass over powers your room at times?

I hear these today for the first time, was blown away but was shopping for bookshelf so picked up the Polk L200s, now I am thinking I am going to remake the room to allow for these mofos as I can't stop thinking about them :)

Is that a heater in your audio credenza? The speakers sound really good.

I had no idea they were still going with this line. I still have my dad's Heresy II from around the 1970s I think. I even saved his McIntosh 250 pre-amp from around 1968 to go with them. I'm sure my set up is less than optimal but I enjoy it.

Will These Awsome Pair be Good for A Home Theater Set up as Well??? Or Just 2 Stereo Audio for Music Only??? If Not For Home Surround and or Theater Set Up, Then What Klipsch Left and Right Speakers are???

Defiantly gives me food for thought on an upgrade from the H3's. I've thought about the Forte 4's and Cornwall 4's as well but they may be too large and if the sweet spot is the H4's now I may go in the direction. I was surprised how much I am enjoying the Heresy 3's after my many years with Living Voice Avatar 2's. they are so alive feeling and i don't miss the extra bass the LV's had at all. great for movies as well. ] Have you or anyone heard the new la Scala, I've got lots of time with the older ones as well was also considering them?

Im torn between this and the JBL L-100.

I have and love my H3’s but am thinking about moving them to my back corners and purchase Cornwall’s for the front ground. I can do H4’s for half the cost so ???

this is the best made to be great....try listen from Boston "More Than a feeling" its so great.

What is better, Devialet Phantom silver/GOLD or Klipsch Heresy/Klipsch Cornwall IV?

Hey who makes that cabinet with the fire it’s great!

I absolutely love the entire Klipsch heritage line of speakers...to my ear, it's the only way to listen to music.

What about using a quality-professionally-carefully recapped vintage Marantz receiver like 2238 or 2252? I'm not going into vini rossi type stuff, ever... so... Marantz 2238? Pioneer 750? Harmon Kardon 430 twinpower? see what I mean?

hi great review what is the size of your room?

Heresy iv or the Mofi sorcepoint 10 you recently reviewed?.

he kinda looks like van Gough

Well....I feel saddened when I think that it took decades and decades of research and improvisation just to faithfully reproduce what has been recorded??? Really?. Actually that's the way it should have been when they started to manufacture loud speakers right. Now, when I watched your review and heard the sound from the Klipsch speakers, I said to my self this IS IT. This is it "faithfully reproducing what has been recorded". Feels like the artists are performing in the room LIVE!!!!. This is absolutely great. The voice, OH! Elvis is in the room, Frank Sinatra is in the room..PERFORMING!!!. Sadly today's listeners just want to bang their head to the beats, want to hear electronic sounds, rather than enjoy lively, beautiful Voice. Thanks for Amazing review, Great speakers. Apologies for lengthy comment.

Those do look retro cool.

Sorry, but I just don't get the love for these... My cousin bought a pair, and before he could set them up, he was called out of town on a long business trip, so he let me use them while he was gone. I drove them with tubes and solid state. Yes, they are dynamic, yes they are exciting, yes they project well, but compared to some non horn loaded speakers in the same ballpark price range, they lack detail, imaging, soundstage. There are some horn loaded speakers that do not give up detail, soundstage, imaging in trade for great dynamics, but they are quite a bit more $$$.

What happened to the lm219ia?

When will be published the Klipsch Cornwall IV review?

Where did you get your music stand with the fireplace?

Do you think those Speakers will Benedict from a subwoofer? Make them a 2.1 system?

Three grand retail? They are $4400 here in Canada.

Thanks for the great review. I'm torn between the I I l s or v I

What happened to those Sonus Faber speakers you used to have?

I’ve been a Klipsch fan and owner of various Klipsch speakers since the 80’s and I’m ready to setup a two channel system again. Heresy speakers are on my short list but I’m worried about the sound being low on the floor unlike a true tower speaker like the Forté III. Well I was writing this and you answered my question. 🙂

Do you think the Heresy IV would fare well with electronic music (house and techno)?

The Wood cabinet look thinner than the Heresy 3 ?

How would these compare to the wharfedale linton heritage ?

are the on a small stand? something making them angled upward, is it removeable?

Please get that opening title typo fixed... Klipsch is missing the “c”...

How would this sound with a Fisher 400. RIght now I have some Quartets

im in phx also... where did you get those from?

Haunted Laundry? My socks like to disappear, then reappear elsewhere.

Klipsch heresy iv or klipsch rp 800f for loud music

How they compare to Hersey III in sound? In regards to highs and mids. I don't care for the ported slot. I prefer sealed cabinet.

I won't let go my 3 way speaker with a 15" pro, they know how pressurize the room.

do you have a speaker recommendation for Hard rock/metal? I would love to get some vintage Forte

I'm a huge Klipsch fan, but there in no way in hell those speakers are worth $3K a pair.

My god, those are gorgeous.

Would it work with spotify well or would it be like buying a ferrari to drive on sand?

Want to have some fun. Put a pair or Klipsch Heresy 3 on top of some KLF 30 Line up the front of drivers. Hook up to AB on 2 channel and be prepared to be blown away.

Glad you love em. But I don't care for the sound. Too much echo, reverb or something else.

I still use my Klipsch Heresy 1 which I bought in 1978 for $750. I never regretted my choice, although a set of K Horns was tempting but at $5K they were out of my salary range.

Interesting that you didnt care for them on stands. Zeos review exactly the opposite.

do they disappear?

Is it possible ton

They are much more refined than the III, but i thought they really stood out with amazing recordings. I also listen to great albums, that were given a bad pressing and those don't work with these. Acoustic guitars and vocals sound amazing though.... And i also agree that they are not bright sounding at all. Still i'm sticking with my Magnepan's, because they are better allrounders in my opinion.

I keep thinking this would be a great speaker for me to upgrade to. Nice review. BTW.. Heresy is pronounced Hair-esee.

Can you do a session for rapper pop smoke

III's plus REL T7i

her·e·sy /ˈherəsē/ 10 minutes of research into the history of the company and this speaker and you’d have got the name correct. Also, you misspelled Klipsch in the opening credits.

Camera Conspiracies sent me here 😘

Hair-a-sea. Just like the actual word the name is taken from.

I gotta say I went and listened to these heresy 4 at at a local store the other day here in slc Utah through Macintosh amp.. and to be honest I thought my heresy ii sounded better... and I play mine just through a nad 316bee. They still sounded great, but the upper midrange and vocals were not as lush sousing as my heresy ii. I was surprised

Heretic IV or the Cornball. Decisions, decisions.

I'd suspect anything would sound good with that gear. I mean, cmon, The Rossi alone has a 18K MSRP! You have a poor guy here questioning his Yamaha paired with the speakers...lol

Should have played "Vincent".

pressed steel basket,small magnet,hornloaded? 3 to 5000 usd retail.hmmm....

Sadly I can't afford to pay for those speakers...😪