I am not a Klipsch fanatic, to start with. There Heresy IV are the first and only K that I've owned. call'em K-H.
I've read this entire, entire thread, and I have to weigh in here...
My background is value-orientation, so the K-H are also the most money I've ever spent on a speaker... in fact, it's almost heresy in my book to spend that kind of money on a speaker because I've heard many that sound so good at much less dollars... like my beloved Epi speakers, newly upgraded w parts by Human Speakers. Frankly, I thought I was DONE, once I put those Human parts in the Epi: simple speakers, exceptionally clear and non-fatiguing, and rich natural sound with great soundstage AND dispersion (so that's a neat trick... I can sit way off to the side and still get the neutral clear sound as well as a stereo image...!!! ) Easy to live with, and stand up incredibly well to critical listening as well. I've owned many other speakers that I've given a good solid run with - a variety of price points but never thousands - neutral, non-neutral, big, small, "scientifically perfect measurements," party speakers, on and on, and they all eventually went out the door; likewise I've never heard a more expensive speaker elsewhere that would kick the Epi to the curb let alone for the cost/benefit... diminishing returns, indeed! OK, so, where's the story going?
That all said, I did spend and got the K-H, based on many many glowing reviews from a variety of pros and of course users, and based on auditioning them prior to purchase. Erin's review is an outlier, no question about it.
Here's my reaction to my audition: the Heresy sounded DIFFERENT than all the other speakers near, at, and above the pricepoint. Yes, that's true. But here's the problem: all the other speakers did NOT sound many thousands of dollars better than the Epi, and in fact they sounded very similar in many regards to the Epi... and they sounded quite similar to each-other, as well. There's no way I would spend thousands, or even a thousand, for a speaker that sounds basically the same as what I already have. THAT's why I selected the Heresy.
And, that's why I'm keeping them... and keeping my Epi as well. They are two different sounds, and they allow me to experience music in two different ways. And, like the Epi, the Heresy are not fatiguing, and they are not picky about where I sit or stand. The Heresy allows me into a different sound-world than the Epi, and hence I'm re-exploring all the music that I thought I knew so well... and it all sounds new and refreshed.
The Heresy IV sounds more LIVE than any of the other speakers that I've heard. More... robust, more vibrant. Does it "measure" perfectly? No doubt not. However, the detail is there, in addition to the liveliness, which is what makes these speakers relatively unique. Over decades, I've been to many many concerts of ALL types in all types of venues, and I say: yes, the new Heresy is what live music sounds like.
Some people prefer laboratory over live. All good; enjoy your lab. Some people prefer "perfect" sunny weather always and hate rain; myself, I like California sunny too, for golf, but I also enjoy that rolling Minnesota thunderstorm flashing over the lake... Some people prefer absolute laser clinical over smooth natural live-your-life beauty, and that's fine too... myself, I'll take my Epi any day all day, literally.
The Heresy are not laboratory perfect, although I've seen other measurers that disagree w Erin even on THAT metric; but, I've heard plenty of lab-perfect speakers that are frankly boring and non-unique, and I'd not take 'em over my Epi, let alone over these Heresy. I'll take both: Epi, and the Heresy, because they both bring different things to the house and they are both wonderful speakers to LIVE with...
