Klipsch Heritage Belle Modified to the Max!
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Payment methods | |
Contact seller after sale to pay viaCertified check | |
Ships from | Durham, NC, 27707 |
Ships to | United States |
Package dimensions | unspecified |
Shipping carrier | unspecified |
Shipping cost | Specified after purchase |
Original accessories | Box |
Average | Research Pricing |
These are a pair of Klipsch
Heritage speakers that are original on the outside and new and state of the art
internally. The no expense spared upgrades were completed ~3 years ago. These
are the most unique and best sounding Klipsch Belle speakers you’ll hear. I am
regrettably selling the pair, because I am moving across the country and need
to downsize.
The steps in the
restoration and customization: I purchased this pair of vintage Belles
that were hand delivered from Canada. They were selected based on the
cabinetry being pristine. They are walnut in color and with NO blemishes. What may appear to be scratches or scuffs in the photos are flash artifact. These have the deep patina and satin gloss that occurs only with natural aging.
These were manufactured in 1978. I removed all the electronics and
conferred with Al Klappenberger and David Harris Roberts of ALK Engineering and
Fastlane Audio, respectively on the electronic and horn upgrades. Many of
us think that Al and David are two of the three top vintage Klipsch
experts. Al has a set of highly modified Belles for his personal listening,
so this pair were set-up based on his experiences. ALK extreme slope
woofer/squawker/tweeter (ES500 +ES5800) crossovers
networks were installed ($1300/pair). This network gives substantially lower
distortion, better stereo imaging, and an improved frequency response compared
with even current Klipsch speakers. Adjustable transformer tweeter attenuators
were installed to adjust the treble for room listening conditions
($89.00/pair). All the internal wiring was
replaced with 16 ga twisted wire from KnuKonceptz with gold plated clips
wherever possible. Fastrac V-Trac horns with new grille clothes replaced
the original K-55 driver and squawker horns. They have Fastrac tractix flares
($660/pair) with the much wider throat that eliminates the horn honk and
coloration. The original midrange drivers were replaced with JBL 2426H 8
ohm ($880/pair). The tweeter horns were replaced by B&C ME10s with Selenium
D220Ti drivers ($100/pair). Last, new Crites 1526C cast-frame woofers were
installed ($600/pair). And last, I put solid brass feet on each speaker that
can be removed if desired.
How does the pair sound?
Amazing! These are horns with >100 dB efficiency. They sound
like live music that only top end horns create, but without the honk or shrill
sound that makes longtime listening unpleasant for horns. Very detailed and
precise with a gigantic soundstage. My comparison is to my main system, which
is an Avantgarde Trio. If the Avantgarde at $75,000 is reference at a 10, these sound like an 8. The original Belles were a 5.
I will ship them but they need to be crated and shipped by truck freight. I will work with the buyer to coordinate the crating and shipping at you costs. Each speaker weighs 125 lbs.
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