Prometheus vs. Heresy I

Posted by JBasham (A) on July 17, 2006 at 10:45:27

Before I had Prometheus Mark II speakers I used Klipsh Heresy in my "A" system. These were the older, more sensitive versions; I liked having the sensitivity because I use 300B SET monoblocks at about 8 watts. I had put them on stands, re-voiced the crossovers, and firmed up the cabinets. They sounded really good.

This weekend I sold them, and before I delivered them to the buyer, I did an A-B comparison of a few songs. The Prometheus are, of course, a much better system. Here are some of the things that really stuck out:

Sensitivity: The Heresys are around 94-95db, I think. With the preamp inputs at the same position, average sound levels were about 4db higher with the Prometheus than the Heresys.

Bass: All the mods I had done to the Heresys tightened up the bass, and when people listened to it, they never thought of it as a bass-shy speaker. I played both systems with the first track off of Tidal by Fiona Apple . . . is the song called Criminal? . . . anyway, it has a thunderous repeating bass sound right from the beginning of the track. This bass sound was 10db louder on the Prometheus than it was on the Heresys.

Massed voices: On the Cover the World CD, Ladysmith Black Mambazo backs up Phoebe Snow on a cover of "People Get Ready." It sounds great on the Heresys. On the Prometheus, it's in a whole different league. Individual singers separate into distinct voices and float in their own distinct space, side to side and front-to-back.

Treble: On the Clash tune Armageddon Time, there are two instruments, I think they are triangles or something, one in each channel. They are distinct and rich on the Heresys, but on the Prometheus, they are startlingly real. The one on the left side is staged well outside of and above the left speaker. It's like you're looking around the room trying to figure out how the speakers are presenting the information so realistically.

Soundstage, image, and detail: Again, the Heresys do well in these departments, but the Prometheus is remarkably better accross the board.

All being said, the Prometheus is a whole lot more expensive than the Heresy and so we should expect it to sound a whole lot better -- though we all know many disappointing products in audio where that equation doesn't hold true, don't we? But the special thing is that, for SET guys, there isn't much in the new market for super-sensitive speakers that work well with SET, so we're left to work with compromise vintage horn speakers or venture off into horn DIY, which can be a bit insular and impenetrable. With Prometheus, for those of us in SET looking at the step-up market for speakers, we have a workable commercial solution at a price more attainable than many other contemporary new, sensitive speakers I've heard about.

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Topic - Prometheus vs. Heresy I - JBasham 10:45:27 07/17/06 (0)

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