dstrachan

I guess you can add my name to the list of KHorn wannabes someday!! It would sure be nice to hear them before I committed 'cause their not easy to get here and woudl be difficult to unload. Anybody out there from BC Canada have these?

Thanks for the link. I'll do some reading and may post some questions here. I appreciate the help! Dave

By acoustical treatment are you referring to the speaker or the room?If the speaker...what have you done and what woudl you recommend? As for the room...I have been lazy and I know my room is far from perfect acoustically. I have large windows, an open area into another room; sliding glass doors...not a good set up for first rate audio. ANy suggestions for room treatments? Dave

I certainly hope to hear some KHorns one of these days so I can understand what you are all saying. For now, I will have to pass as the issues around room fit, shipping etc are just more than I can take on. My room is 11 X 18 but the only two decent corners are on the long wall which would place the Khorns about 13 feet apart (inside edges) and only 7' from my listening position...not ideal. The Fortes can certainly fill this room with no problem!! and they fit on the short walls 8' apart and about 11' from my seat. Having just got the Fortes back from a friend who wants to buy them and hearing how much of the bass was missing with my BLH speakers...I don't think I can part with these right now. The risk of not being able to replace them just isn't worth it. Has anyone upgraded the internal wire in the Fortes to DH Labs or another higher quality? If so, was it a noticeable improvement? Thanks for your input...KHorns maybe someday when I can modify the house to accommodate.

I haven't been hanging out here much lately as I was a bad boy and tried some back loaded horn single driver speakers in place of my Fortes. While these little guys are amazingly coherent and image like crazy; they lack the body and live experience that I found with the Fortes. My Fortes have upgraded caps in the X over and new tweeter diaphgrams (soft ones) but otherwise are stock. I'm wondering if I should give them new internal wire...perhaps DH Labs to match the speaker cables and if I do, how much of a difference that would make? Also wondering if those of you that have owned both the Khorns and Fortes can comment on what the difference is between the Khorn and Forte in sound? Buying the KHorns is a major undertaking no matter how you slice it. The shipping alone could buy some darn nice speakers!! My other gear... Jolida stock JD 100 CDP McAlister custom tube preamp McAlister SET 22w/ch amplifier Glad to be back and looking forward to some good advice as in the past. BTW...did anyone else see the two pairs of Klipschorns on eBay in England? The Buy Now price was 700 pounds (about $1,300US) and it included packing in original boxes and shipping anywhere in the world!! Sounded too good to be true! Cheers Dave

I've done the caps and am now thinking of going new inductors and resistors. Can anyone give some recommendations on replacement resistors for the Forte I's? What difference has it made? Same questions for the Inductors - I'm thinking of the inductor for the tweeter unless there is an argument for the woofer. Thanks

I have Klipsch Fortes and am using a preamp from Eastern Electric called the MinMax togetehr with a Consonace Ella power amp. It is a highly acclaimed pre and a great value for dollaer pre amp IMHO. Some professional reviewers have claimed it bested their high-end multi-thousand dollar units. A tube rollers dream and best of all, I think you can pick them up for around $800. You'd have to go out and get a phono pre though but even if you spend $400 on a dedicated Phono stage, you're into great, new gear for the price of some of those older units (which may be very good, mind you). No balance control on the MM. You'd have to mess with speaker placement to adjust imaging if your room is a problem. Check it out www.eeaudio.com No affiliation at all, just a satisfied customer. Best of luck. It's a jungle out there!

Popbumper, Now that is beautiful!! How much did these improve the sound? Have you done this for the Forte I's??

Looks impressive. How does it sound compared to the original? It looks like this is the Forte II X over, correct? I have the Forte I which is P to P. Thanks for posting. Dave

I have done the cap upgrade on my Fortes and am pleased with teh results. Is it worth replaceing the old resistors? Al Klappenberger, while not offering any upgrades to the Fortes, has suggested I replace the inductor in the tweeter filter. Has anyone done this? Does it make for an improvement? ANything else X over related that I should try? What about basket damping etc? Thanks fo your help. Dave

Congratulations!! I also own the Fortes and think they are a wonderful speaker capable of producing a full, detailed and balanced sound regardless of the type of mucis you play. I upgraded the X overs by replaceing the caps with auricaps (same values) and highly recommend it. The detail was all there but with a smoothness that was lacking in the original parts. I thought I got a deal on mine at $425.00! Yours is a steal! Dave

For now, I think I will remove the clips and check all for integrity and tightness. Then I will scotchbrite the tabs on each speaker to clean them and hook the wires back up. I upgraded the caps in the X-over with auricaps so I am familiar with marking the wires for correct replacement. I also have the instructions form Klipsch on which wire goes to which terminal so worse case scenario I will pull the tweeter and mid horns and get it right. ON another note...Al Klappenberger, while not providing upgrades to the Forte, has suggested it would be worthwhile on a 20 year old speaker to replace the inductors in the tweeter filter. Has any of you done this? Improvement?? What to replace it with? Any instructions/pics on the X over so I can make sure I identify the correct part? Thanks, Dave.

Thanks guys! It appears that caution is the order of the day and that there is no real upside to be achieved. I'll make sure all clips are tight and leave well enough alone. Any other tweaks that have noticeable improvement? I have done the cap update with auricaps and was very pleased with the improved smoothness. I was thinking of the resistors in the X over or damping the baskets and horns. Any thoughts?? Thanks again, Dave

I read over on the A Asylum that removing the clips and soldering the wires directly to the speakers improves the sound noticeably. Anyone tried this? Results?? Thanks

Thanks all for the thoughts. As for not liking the caps...on the contrary, I very much like what the auricaps have done for the Fortes. What I am experiencing is a polarity issue I am sure. It's not that it's terrible, it's just like Larry describes that the speakers appear to be fighting each other and it shows up in lost imaging. I have a CD that tests polarity and it appears one of the speakers is out but it does not tell me which driver within the speaker is actually out. Trial and error I suppose unless anyone has any better ideas.

How do I check to make sure all the wires are connected correctly to the individual drivers on my Fortes? Can I use a meter? This will sound really stupid (because it is) but I replaced the Xover caps with auricaps and while I marked the terminals on each driver with tape, I think I may have switched the leads somehow. The imaging just doesn't seem as solid as it should be and I am wondering if it is a phase problem. Be gentle...I feel bad enough already! Thanks

"Distracting" is a good word for it. I actually prefer my AKG headphones to the sound of that system. With them, it is "in your ear" for sure but it still sounds smoother and more natural. I'm sure that system is very "accurate" in reproducing all that is on the source but musical?...not to me. I played in a jazz band and like live music. It does not sound like what that system was producing. I am amazed whenever I come back from a live event, at how "real" my system sounds.

Neo, Not exactly the same but similar... Jolida JD-100 CDP Consonance Ella EL34 pp amp Eastern Electronics miniMax pre amp (tube) various cables mostly DH Labs though no "high-end"stuff Forte I's ( I thought you were using these as well - when did you switch to the Cornwalls?) Anyways, I am very impressed with the sound of this simple and relatively cheap system. I have probably about the same as you as all my gear was bought used as well. I listened to a fairly high-end system the other day at a hifi shop. $10K speakers $ 10K, 350w/ch amp, $7K CDp etc...Lots of sound and very powerful sounding but...got home and realized how much more entertaining and musical my modest system is. Vocals on mine sound real and smooth with great timbre. On the "super system" it sounded like the singer was 2" from you ear. I want to be in the audience, not inside the microphone!!

I have a Consonance tube amp that allows 17w in triode adn 35+w/pentode. My Fortes sound very nice in triode but with a few more watts, they really open up and the bass is tighter. Haven't heard a ST70 but I think you will like the extra power. Good luck!

I don't know about your B adn K amps but, my Consonance tube amp does the same thing when starting up and shutting down. I don't believe it is anything to worry about unless it is a noticeable POP! A friend has the same Consonance amp as me and he just re-wired it to p2p wiring and replaced a bunch of parts with better quality stuff (Blackgates etc)and the pop went away. I'm sure there is something you can do if it really bothers you but IMHO, I doubt it will do any harm.

---------------- On 1/27/2005 12:39:42 PM DeanG wrote: "I trust DeanG as he certainly is the expert based on my research here." I'm sure the real experts are still rolling around on the floor. I'm a delusional audiophile with a soldering iron. Ëxpert"is a relative term...compared to my knowledge, you are a GOD!! "The black lead denotes outside foil." I actually thought it was the red lead. Oh well. Not that it matters, but I do orient the red leads torwards the drivers, even though I think it's BS. Now that's funny!! ----------------

AS promised...here is Audience's response to my question...looks like I'm okay for the crossovers. Thanks DeanG and Popbumper. Now to upgrade the second Xover. The reason we recommend using the Auricaps according to directionality has more to do with low level circuits than loudspeaker crossover networks. The black lead denotes outside foil. By connecting the black lead to the lower impedance point (source or ground) the potential for noise pickup is reduced. This would not be important in a high-level crossover. However, I tend to wire Auricaps into crossover networks according to the application notes anyway just because it seems more correct to me.

I trust DeanG as he certainly is the expert based on my research here. I've asked Audience to indicate their reasoning for the suggestion. I'll post their explanation here when I get it.

Thanks for the advice!! This must seem awfully basic to you experts but it's nerve-racking to a newbie! I did remove the units from the speaker to work on making sure I marked the speaker leads as to polarity. I cleaned off the old solder and made new connections. Had a little trouble getting a good connection on the binding post until I went out and got a 100W iron (the 30w just wasn't enough for that job). Everything is back and even with only one speaker updated, I hear a difference. I know it is not accurate to a/b speakers in this way but until the other caps arrive, I am stuck. Observation...the upgraded speaker is less "in-your'face" but delivers more inner detail. The side of the soundstage with the upgraded speaker seems quieter as in less "filler" if that makes sense. The original side, while providing excellent instrument placement seems to fill in the spaces with energy or something. I swtiched the speakers aornd to make sure it wasn't room acoustics and the experience followed the speakers. I am very much looking forward to having both speakers done as this will really accentuate the difference. Already on Nora Jones I noticed a string bass run on one song that were "blended" before and now had definition and the upper bass is definitely tighter! DeanG...you have no idea how relieved I am to hear your assessment of the +/- orientation. I was really dredding opening up the speaker again and re-doing all the connections. Question...why would Audience suggest the + alignment if it isn't a big deal? Thanks

---------------- On 1/24/2005 11:03:09 AM krustyoldsarge wrote: ---------------- On 1/22/2005 4:58:21 PM dstrachan wrote: My Auricaps arrived and I am ready to dive in and replace the stock Japanese caps. IN my haste, I ordered the wrong mix of caps and now have too many 1.0 caps and not enough 1.5caps I'm going to go ahead and mod the one speaker that I have parts for now that I've torn it apart. Question: My '85 Fortes have no circuit board but a small connecting plate. Things are kind of tight so is it okay to snip the previous cap leads and solder the new leads to the stubs? Or do you have to desolder and remove the lead end? Would there really be any sonic difference particularly if the connection was right up against the connection? Thanks folks. ---------------- You can order some .5uf caps, connect them in parallel to 1.0uf and you have 1.5uf. It might even sound better than a single 1.5 cap. I made a similar screwup when recapping my KG4s. Bought 6uf (typo) instead of the required 8uf. Ordered 2uf, wired it parallel to the 6uf: works just fine. IMHO, try utilizing the PCBs original holes if possible. ---------------- Good idea. i hadn't thought of that and it would likely save a couple of bucks as well. Thanks