RichardP

Smaller speakers from the KG series are a good bet, as already posted. I used the KG 2.2s at one time and got a great surround field that blended quite well with my Forte fronts. So, any from the KG 1.2, 1.5, 2.2, 2.5 series should do well and are not terribly hard to find. Perhaps others will comment on their experience with other choices, such as the KG-1, KG-2, or other lines. A great deal of rear channel material from movies is ambient, incidental sound, so an exact timbre match is less critical than it is for the front three speakers (exceptions being occasional front-to-back or back-to-front jet flyovers or some such unique/rare effects). Perhaps as critical for the rears is your ability to position them optimally. Most people will, by room necessity, have the rears closer to their listening position, compared to the fronts. Being able to aim the rears toward your head, and get their output level balanced with the fronts, will make a big difference in acheiving a seamless blending of the multiple speakers. This might argue in favor of smaller speakers on stands, unless you have a large cabinet or shelves behind your listening position.

I noticed it about an hour ago, but did not realize that was Venus. I think I'll try to take a photo.

But on the other hand, he dumped Jennifer Aniston. [^o)]

Just yesterday heard a fellow psychology professor give a talk about nicotine and cessation techniques. Diseases caused by smoking kill about 440,000 persons in the US yearly, while alcohol kills "only" about 100,000 (CDC data). About 24% of the US population smokes, while about 50% drinks at least occasionally. About 70% of regular smokers say they would like to quit altogether. Addictiveness of drugs is defined by several factors, including typical number of attempts before successful cessation, etc, and based on that definition, nicotine is rated as more addictive than heroin, cocaine, alcohol, marijuana, and caffeine.Those are some interesting statistics.

If you are referring only to the center dome (dustcap), then no, it will not affect the sound. This is a common problem with exposed drivers, usually caused by toddlers, animals, or drunks. You can try to pull it out first using semi-sticky tape, like masking tape. If that doesn't work, you can use a straight pin bent 90 degrees, insert at the deepest dent, and pull out; then put a dab of glue over the pinhole. If you mean that the whole 12" driver cone is pushed in, that's probably another story, and may warrant a replacement (which may not exist).

My 6-yr old Yamaha receiver has a Dolby ProLogic Music mode, which allows you to adjust how much sound comes from the center vs. the fronts, as well as the effect level of the surrounds. I played with that a lot to get the best balance of center-to-front (too much from the center and you lose the stereo effect, while nothing from the center can leave a gap in the middle, dependent on input material). The other adjustment, the rear surround effect "panorama," makes for an "echo-y" sound, which I have on the lowest non-zero setting. New receivers have Dolby Pro Logic II, which may offer different synthesized surround options.

This might suffice:

Yes it was me, but I must have been thinking of another SACD that I finally realized had only a 4.0 remastering. Sorry about that. I may have also been misremembering something about Alan Parsons' early quad mix. [note to self: write posts before drugs take effect]

He sure did hop around that stage, for an almost 60yr old. Little Steven Van Zandt (Silvio Dante) has added a few pounds, but was still good in his "duet" part of the show. I couldn't help noticing the difference in the energy levels between Springsteen and Tom Petty from last year.

I can't figure why they can't get a lot of re-issues right also.....one glaring example is one of my go to system test lps...Santana Abraxas, I have the original which IMO can't be touched by the MOFI or the 1/2 speed remaster..... Simon and Garfunkle's Bookends is another...my old scratchy original sounds better than the brand new 180 gram I just got???????? with just a few exceptions ....CD's that I burn on my Tascam CC -222( pretty low tech ) from vinyl, sound better than purchased cd's. I don't know....what were you talking about? I have a similar complaint, only for CD reissues/remasters. Surely if something is worth remastering, or put on SACD/DVD-A, why can't they get rid of tape hiss? My SACDs of Allman Bros -Eat a Peach, Derek & Dominoes, and Abraxas all have surprising levels of hiss. I can't believe that hiss is not one of the easiest defects to clean up, with today's technology.

If you have any plans at all to set up a home theater for movies (requires at least 5 speakers and subwoofer), then get a multichannel receiver. As I am sure you know, playing movie/DVDs in such a HT will offer surround sound, with discrete soundtrack material coming from any or all speakers/channels, although most material comes from the front three (left-center-right) speakers and the sub. Even if you aren't interested in HT, low end multichannel receivers are not much more $ than low end stereo receivers, and having one will allow you the option of adding speakers for HT in the future. Note, however, that technology is changing rapidly, and MC receivers only a couple of years old typically don't have the connections (HDMI, etc) that new TVs and other components will use in the near future. That said, if you are fairly certain that you won't expand to HT in the near future, then obviously go with a stereo receiver. Most major brand lines still offer a 2-ch only receiver. There will be a huge range, starting around $100 and going into the stratosphere. Many people here like the old style stereo receivers of the 70s and 80s, like your dearly departed Kenwood. The only problem is that anything that old may need service or parts, which can be scarce. For new receivers, you might look at Amazon, selecting/filtering to only 2-ch receivers, and reading the user reviews. Items often have only few user reviews, but they can be useful in identfying dogs, or ones which gave owners trouble. One more point: you don't need a superpowered receiver, as Klipsch speakers are efficient (sensitive), and play loud even with low power.

I agree with JB, the SACD is very good. It is a 4.0 channel recording, not 5.1 as most SACDs, but still is a nice departure from the original 2-ch. There is also a good "making of DSOTM" DVD that is fascinating. Alan Parsons talks alot about his recording techniques and decisions from way back then. An interesting story, maybe from that making of dvd, is that Pink Floyd was making the soundtrack for Michalangelo Antonioni's "Zabriskie Point," a hippy-trippy movie from around 71-72. He changed his mind so many times that some music made for the movie never was used. Some of those numbers were subsequently used on DSOTM.

Do da peanutbutter jelly peanutbutter jelly peanutbutter jelly wit a baseball bat!

The only literature I got when I bought mine new in 1989 was a generic Klipsch brochure which illustrated all the models at the time, with a crude frequency response chart and spec of each. The only user instructions said to toe in the speakers so that you "look down the throat" of the horns. Don't put them flat against the wall, as the passive woofer on back needs at least a few inches of space to work properly, ideally perhaps a foot or so. Don't be afraid to try many locations and angles to get the best sound.

Man, both the risers and the Fortes on stands are impressive pieces of engineering/carpentry.

I thought of more pros and cons to create further confusion: [] One argument I made with myself when going to Forte rears was whether I lost any significant floor space. If your 2.5s are on stands, then they have almost the same footprint and volume as Fortes would. If they are on shelves, that's another story. If you want to take a purist approach, than exact timbre matching using exactly the same speakers is the best possible HT arrangement. The 2.5s are a two-way speaker, and thus will have some audible differences from the Forte. Whether the difference is audible to you, or more importantly, limits your enjoyment of your HT experiences, is difficult to predict. It's just one of those things you have to compare directly to decide. I have a lot of multichannel DVD-As and SACDs, and most of them have lots of rear channel sound, so full range matching is more important to me than it may be for you. In favor of the 2.5s, I also believe that many bookshelf speakers, especially substantial ones like the 2.5s, can create very spatially-realistic and sonically-accurate rear sound fields typical of movie soundtracks and concert DVDs. Most movies I see don't have a huge amount of big deep rear sounds that would challenge bookshelf speakers, and as you stated you have two subs already. To me, the rear ambience soundstage is as much an issue of sound localization as it is frequency range. An advantage of 2.5s is your ability to put them on stands exactly how high and where you want them in order to get the best rear sound image. I think I had mine on 28" stands. I would like to see pics of anyone's Fortes on higher bases. I hope this helps.

CS, I have traveled your route almost exactly. Had Forte mains, with 2.2s as center and surrounds. Got two more Fortes for rears. Then had a Quartet center for a while, but a 50-lb horizontal speaker on top of my 55" old-style rear-projection TV was a looming monolith in my living room. Got an Academy and am satisfied for the foreseeable future. There wasn't a huge difference going from the Quartet to the Academy. I think it's an almost unbeatable setup, due to the 360 degree timbre match of one of the best speakers ever made. With Fortes as rears, 3-4 feet of room behind your listening position is optimal, to get some sense of acoustic space behind you. I toe the Fortes in maybe 45 degrees and still get a nice side/rear spaciousness. It's also best if your listening seat back is at least a couple of inches lower than the top of the speaker. I recall somebody here has raised their rear Fortes a few inches on bases. My bottom line is that if you have the floor space, go for it.

Yes, it can be moved. If I recall correctly, most badges are glued on fairly lightly, and can be pulled off gently without damaging the grill cloth. Some badges may be affixed with the military-style button "clamps' on the back. I have repositioned ones using only double-sided scotch tape. although some type of glue could work as well.

I know it's been a few days since the last post on this thread, but I had to add a bit. Tonight I just finished watching "Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind," a DVD from Netflix that was originally produced for the PBS American Masters series in 2003. A fabulous and nostalgic biography-documentary of Joni. Many interviews with her fellow artists and music industry colleagues, and with her as well. Some great footage from early performances on TV shows from her "folkie" days in the mid-late 60s, through her 80s jazz phase and all the way up to the present. I highly, highly recommend this to fans, as well as any who want to learn more about her. Bonus: both DD5.1 and DTS audio options.

If KG 2.2s will fit in your ent center then by all means try to find some. Matching speakers across left-center-right is critical for great home theater sound, while rear-front match is less critical. The KG2s will do fine as rears. 2.2s appear with some regularity on ebay or from other forum members, and sell for about $200-$250/pr. A 2.2v will cost about $100-$150. The 2.2 series will easily fill up a modest sized room (sonically, that is). I think you can also get a decent 5.1 receiver for $250 if you stay with a mainstream brand.

But don't get the Nikon D40; it's the first Nikon camera in 40 years that won't take all the old (and some current) Nikon lenses. On another note, I like, with limitations, Ken Rockwell's site (www.kenrockwell.com), as he tries out all sorts of cameras, both Nikon and Canon, DSLR and point-and-shoot. Also he provides easily-digestible articles on photographer skill development, which accounts for far more of the photo's outcome than brand of camera.

[Oh wait I just looked at the fact page on the Forte II and : mid frequency horn 90°x40° Tractrix® Horn My bad rookie mistake!!!] Yes, and because the 5.2 and 3.2 are two-way designs, they only have one horn-loaded mid/high freq driver, along with the woofer. If I am not mistaken, I believe the midrange is where a lot of the timbre quality is found, so matching in that range is the most critical (although front-to-rear matching is less crucial than for L-C-R). Coincidentally, I have owned Fortes since 1988, and the only other Klipsch I have heard to any extent is a KG 5.5, similar to yours. I like them both a lot! You also asked previously about placement of the Fortes. The general rule of thumb for all horn loaded speakers is to toe them in, so you are "looking down the throat of the horn" from your listening position. You may have to experiment with how far apart they are, in order to get the best stereo image, then also adjust your receiver's levels for the center and rears. You can find the recommended positions for 5.1 and 7.1 arrangements according to Dolby Labs at their website and other places as well.

"My concern is that the 5.2s use the 90°x60° Tractrix Horn and none of the rest do." The Forte II uses the Tractrix horn, thus the 5.2s should be a better match. As far as which rears to use, it may not matter a great deal. Only in the most extreme action movies are many loud sounds coming from the rear, so the bass capabilities of the 5.2 vs. the 3.2 may not be put to great use. What may matter more is the height; if you watch from a sofa or large chair; the mid and/or tweeter should be at ear level and above the sofa/chair back.

By "woofers" do you mean the exposed passive woofers/drones on the back? I would suggest a brush head attachment on a canister vacuum cleaner (not moving brushes, just the nozzle with bristles around the edge). You might also be able to use the extendable brushes on a dustbuster, just don't push/scrub too hard. Slight pressure from bristles should unstick a lot of the dust particles, and then they are sucked up. You can wipe them with a slightly damp cloth as well, but don't get them wet.

That price is definitely high. I have seen them in decent shape for as low as $450. You will also be spending a bit picking them up, in gas and if you have to say overnight. I personally wouldn't pay more than about $550, especially if I was traveling to pick them up. You have to be the judge, but I would only pay that for ones in pristine shape and if no other ones have appeared anywhere within pick up distance.