RichardP

The KA-1000 amp also has only Neutrik Speakon connectors, which would have to be modified to end in two bare wire leads to connect to standard sub enclosures. It isn't difficult to modify, but is another reason the amp and KW-120s were made as a system. If it were me, I would be more inclined to get the KW subs and power them with a different amp, rather than vice versa.

Yes the Forte "I" has a 12" passive and an exponential horn, while the Forte II has a Tractrix horn (a more square-ish opening than the exponential horn) and a 15" passive. I have both, and with music/movies I certainly cannot tell a difference in the sound. Maybe I could with some type of test tones. OP: with the buzzing passive radiator, first see if all mounting screws are tight. If they are, then try to touch it in different places to see if one area is the source. Then see if there is a tear or split in the cone or surround. If so, it can be repaired with white glue and tissue paper.

When I suggested "search threads" I meant here on the forum. There must be a couple dozen separate threads over the past few years on refinishing/refurbishing the veneer, although most are probably about walnut or oak models. Some likely address replacing missing veneer chips. Luckily, your black finish means that you don't have to be as precise or careful in your repairs, they won't show up like walnut, etc.

rhing: There are many, many threads on refinishing speakers; do a search and you should get lots of hits. Try "refinishing black" as search terms. I have not tried myself, but I am guessing that it will be nearly impossible to take the black off of the black veneer. The veneer itself is about as thin as thick paper, and can't be sanded much. Completely reveneering is possible, but not easy, unless you have done something similar before and are handy with woodworking. Those who have done similar projects should chime in here about now.

If you are into classic classic rock, I strongly recommend the new multichannel remasters of King Crimson's 1969 "In the Court of the Crimson King" and 1974's "Red." Remixed (and greatly cleaned up) as regular stereo, hi-rez stereo, and 5.1 multichannel (5 ch analog and DTS) by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree, with Robert Fripp's endorsement, these are fantastic reissues of some great earl prog-metal-rock (if you want to categorize it as such). Any KC fan owes it to him/herself to get these. If interested, there was a big story in a recent Sound & Vision about the project.

"The hills are alive...with the sound of Griswold..."

While I am sure there has always been a sizeable portion of the population who revel in expressing their opinion to whomever will listen, the internet has now made that possible without the necessity of having a face to face listener. Combine that with the increasing levels of narcissism in successive cohorts of young adults over the past 25 years, and we now have a large number of people who not only want to express their opinion on anything and everything, but are convinced that their opinions cannot be wrong. Their perfect view can now be presented to potentially millions in the online world. Some social scientists attribute some of the change in narcissism to the self-esteem enhancement curricula of the 1980s, designed to strengthen children's and teen's resistance to peer pressure to do drugs, etc., but now known to have virtually no effect at all on the targeted undesired behaviors. What is scary is that a lot of the current fiery political debate is supported not by knowledge, scientific fact, or any sort of hard evidence, but only by what some unqualified a-hole said on a blog. But, that is just my opinion.[]

Does anyone know the difference between the 1999 release and the 2005 release of Hell Freezes Over? Was the '99 version DTS only? Thanks.

Beautiful! Can you get a closer picture of the grain details?

I assume you are equating output levels of center and L/R? (hopefully with SPL meter and pink noise). While 3 of the same across the front is optimal, sometimes a different center can blend reasonably well with different L/R speakers.

Cherry finish, I suppose?[]

I like the chimp chorus window.

He will be remembered anytime we eat a pie, or look at a Klipsch pie slice logo.

Bose is absolutely the king of marketing, that's for sure. I am continually amazed where I see their print ads. Not only have they paid their way into millions of unsuspecting homes via ads in high circulation mags like the AARP mag (20-30 million members), but the most obscure location I have seen is in my local rural electric co-op newsletter, which mainly has ads for farm equipment and metal buildings [:S]. Bose spends tens of millions on advertising, an order of magnitude more than any other home electronics/audio company, present one included. No wonder the public is deceived about their quality.

About a month ago I was pushing my cart through the older and "dirtier" of the two walmarts here in town, and came across a good ol' boy standing there, 40ish+, jeans, big belly, and no shirt. Unfortunately, I do not have a camera phone, etc. for documenting the experience.

Also check out MalwareBytes. It got rid of a popup for me that Spybot and AdAware could not find.

I think you have it right. This is a powered sub, correct? And one which takes either speaker level or line level inputs, I assume? Using speaker level inputs provides an signal that varies according to the receiver's volume control setting. I know that using a line level output to a powered sub, such as from a tape-out jack, will not vary volume; you would have to set it on the sub with every change in the volume control knob. I also presume that, despite the speaker level output, the receiver amp is not using its power on the sub, as it would if it was an unpowered sub, so you aren't losing amp wattage on the sub. Hopefully this does not sound like gibberish.

Excellent and complete answers. Thanks to all.

I have ordered a Toshiba model 420 dvd recorder, just to replace the aging VCR, and wondered if there is a preferred disc type or format. It records in all the normal formats: -R, RW, R+ R-, etc., but other than knowing the difference in R and RW, I don't know what difference the others would make. I rarely record anything, but I do have some VHS tapes I would like to transfer, and once in a blue moon I will time shift something. Anyone have any recommendations? Thanks in advance.

An imbalance can drive you nuts. I seem to always hear the left channel as louder, regardless of the system. Is it my hearing? When I play a receiver's internal test tones, as for HT speaker setup, the left and right channels sound equal, so that doesn't support a hearing explanation. It is just music that sounds left biased. When I switch cords, connectors, speakers, the left is still louder. Go figure. I hate using the balance knob, or the individual channel adjustment in my Oppo player, but it just sounds a bit better when I do. Does anyone else notice that more high freq material, like cymbals, seem to be located left, rather than right? Could that reflect a studio engineering convention of sorts, as to where certain instruments "should" be located?

A leading "O" is likely "OO" the abbrev for "oak - oiled." Don't know what the written "R" might be for. Show us a pic of the grain, and we can easily tell walnut from oak. Walnut has a finer, usually uniform grain. Oak has a bolder, sometime "jagged" grain. Also, the walnut usually is browner, the oak a bit orange-y.

I have the sub I was looking for, a SVS CS-Ultra, and found it on Audioholics. I "closed" my WTB thread here, but should have closed this one. Thanks for all your comments.

Your 2.5 will match the 5.5 ideally as a center (assuming there are no magnetic field issues with your TV and the unshielded 2.5). The 5.5s are nice and big, and will be great by themselves for stereo-only music. Rear and side match to front/center is less critical than front-center match. I have only heard 5.1 setups, and don't know if rear to front match is more critical than side to front, or even how much sound comes from rear vs. side. In summary, I say keep what you have and go for the 5.5s. My experience is they should go for no more than $400.

Yeeargarlaghralear!

I love my Forte HT system. Be aware that the only officially-designated-by-Klipsch matching center, if you decide to build an HT system around them, is the elusive Academy. Fortes were made for several years, but the Academy was made only for three years, if I recall correctly. Thus, not a huge number were sold, to be available in the current used market. If you have the space, another Forte or Quartet makes for a great center, and are much more frequently available on the used market. In the last few years, Academys have sold for as much as $600+, to a low of about $300. If you see one, snap it up, even if you don't have immediate plans for a Forte HT.