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Should I Buy These Isobariks?

Mike Hanson said:
… I’ll put my money on Rush. ;)
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also @John

I did say the Briks could go loud :D:D

LP, naturally, via Sondek/Zeta/Audio Technica

it was only when the side had finished that we first heard the alarm, and called out the Feds. We looked out on the the back of a DIY/hardware “warehouse”, and saw that the back door had been opened and the alarm was sounding. The rozzers turned up with two d@mn great German Shepherds which they let loose into the building, but the perps were well gone by that time.
 
Paul R said:
I think the very early speakers had the wide side pointing forwards...
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My father had a pair of these, my recollection is that it was narrow side to front but that the foam grill wrapped all the way round front and top. But after 40+ years my memory may be wrong. They were replaced by a very early pair of PMS active speakers (serial numbers 13 & 14) which I still own.

I've searched the internet and can't find a picture of the first generation Isobariks.
 
Mike Hanson said:
She's got my pick, although there are many others that could be slotted in.

However, given this was a volume issue for the fellow, I'll put my money on Rush. ;)
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****ed Up or Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

If Cornwalls are too big, how about some Heresys? A pair of nice lls used to run less than $500 but probably double that now due to the popularity of classic Klipsh speakers. Nice thing is you will be able to sell them for no loss if you don't like them.

Or get what I replaced my Heresys with:
https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/649889735-yamaha-ns1000-speakers-with-grills/
 
I believe the notorious Brik farker track was 'Spanish Wind (Ikarus Remix)' by Café Duo or some similar combination. Available on your favourite streaming service and probably worth a decent discount if deployed tactically.
 
dan m said:
****ed Up or Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

If Cornwalls are too big, how about some Heresys? A pair of nice lls used to run less than $500 but probably double that now due to the popularity of classic Klipsh speakers. Nice thing is you will be able to sell them for no loss if you don't like them.

Or get what I replaced my Heresys with:
https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/649889735-yamaha-ns1000-speakers-with-grills/
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I heard the Forte IV last weekend, and it didn't satisfy me. It's creation of scale was impressive, and it was astonishingly fast, but there was a coloration in the midrange that didn't sit well with me. Therefore, I'm pretty darn sure the Heresy wouldn't satisfy.

As for the NS1000, it's an interesting idea, but I'm not quite ready to go that route. :)
 
The Heresy is a peculiar speaker. I didn’t like it either. With a Macintosh receiver, vinyl records, I found them shouty with no bass (carpeted room with lots of bookshelves) and a distinct wooden coloration. A bit like those ubiquitous party speakers on tripods.
 
If you are looking for something lacking colouration, is an old skool subjectivist speaker (in need of attention too) the right place to look? I can't help feeling it may not be, not really. I think you really need to take a listen and see given your comments on the Forte IV.
 
Mike Hanson said:
I heard the Forte IV last weekend, and it didn't satisfy me. It's creation of scale was impressive, and it was astonishingly fast, but there was a coloration in the midrange that didn't sit well with me. Therefore, I'm pretty darn sure the Heresy wouldn't satisfy.

As for the NS1000, it's an interesting idea, but I'm not quite ready to go that route. :)
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The Heresy is not perfect but a great all-rounder IMO (unlike a lot of “hi-fi” speakers). The NS1000Ms are better top to bottom and really come alive with a big solid state amp. I’m running them with a Ayre. Those beryllium drivers are something special but I would imagine they’d cost a fortune to make today.
 
Classic Klipsch sounds absolutely dreadful on Naim type amplification IME, and I certainly tried. Definitely not a good option for Mike as it would necessitate a full system change.

PS Heresys can sound great on the end of a nice EL84 or EL34 valve amp IMO, even SETs. My main problem with them is they sit so low it feels like you are looking down on everything (they need the floor reinforcement to deliver any bass). Get them setup well and use a nice valve amp and they can sound big, fast and agile, I looked at mine as ‘big floor Kans’ as they shared many traits aside from needing a totally different system.
 
I find it so amusing comparing the pioneering science and technology of Paul Klipsch with the vacuous point-scoring ego lines on a plot audio measurement has sadly become. Anyone really interested in loudspeaker should read PWK’s many white papers, lots used to be available via links on the Klipsch forum and likely still are. One of the great audio pioneers who really understood how speakers and rooms interact and designed his speakers for use in real rooms, not irrelevant lines on a graph.
 
I think when trying to discern if a speaker has a heap of colouration, or is more reasonably balanced, a plot can give an indication. I would agree in room response is what really matters, plus personal subjective preferences, but my point here (in so much as I manage one) is not to big up objectivism but to suggest the Forte IV is not obviously terribly coloured though Mike felt they were too coloured for him, while the Briks are undoubtedly coloured ... @Tony L if I amused you along the way I will take that as a plus, we all need more giggles in these troubled times surely ;)
 
nobeone said:
I think when trying to discern if a speaker has a heap of colouration, or is more reasonably balanced, a plot can give an indication.
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The problem is there really is a religious crusade at present. People apparently with very little understanding of audio history, context or synergy placing absolute trust in one measuring tool that takes absolutely zero account of design intent.

The Heresy was IIRC introduced in 1957, it is clearly valve-era kit, and it was designed to sit on the floor against a rear wall (quarter-space), even a corner, either in a small room, or as a centre speaker between a pair of Klipschorns in a huge room if the corners were so far apart the central image collapsed. There is a lot of maths in PWK’s designs. He understood exactly what he was doing and why he was doing it. The positioning intent of the Heresy fully explains the response. It was a design decision. His rational for both corner placement and tightly controlled dispersion is fascinating reading and remarkable in its logic. I rate him at a similar level to say Peter Walker, who is another designer who totally changed audio thinking. Another who’s stunningly good loudspeakers wouldn’t measure well bolted to one of these flavour of the month measuring machines.

PS Isobariks would suffer the same. It would actually be hysterical to see them get this modern measurement treatment by people who have no idea of their design intent or usage context. If ASR or whoever are clickbait fishing that one is a guaranteed win. SBLs & DBLs too!
 
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