sberger

I'm guessing that, although now that you bring it up it's possible that I could've blown them out by connecting positive to negative, as seeing the +/- on the terminals was impossible. The woofer didn't go because it was easy to see the symbols, and the connections were not difficult to remove. This was all done because Bob did all the connections in order to make things go easier for me. Ah, sweet irony.

Yup. Wasn't planning on that(wasn't even planning on new crossovers until I started hanging around this place) but so be it. I am really looking forward to hearing them because I liked the sound stock. And you're right about Bob. He has been nothing but great from day 1 in helping me, patiently answering question after question, and then when thing went south after I got the crossovers quickly replying to several emails to help determine the problem. If anyone is thinking of a mod to their Klipsch's, you owe it to yourself to speak with Bob.

It turns out that both the mid and tweeter on both speakers were evidently damaged when I went about disconnecting the old x-over wires. I know it sounds weird, but I can't come up with any other reason. The old wires were very difficult to disconnect, and I was unaware that I could damage the internal wiring by even slightly turning the terminals, which I'm sure I did. Live and learn. Luckily, I have a local repair shop that specializes in vintage stuff, and they have Klipsch parts in stock, so the fix shouldn't take more than a few days or so, and hopefully by next weekend I'll finally be able to listen to Bob's work on the Forte's. Can't wait.

i remember my first beer also, dude. go easy. that first hangover is a *****.

woo hoo we're all having a good time now, aren't we? professer it's yer turn!

It was. Sorry, I certainly was not referring to the few sincere posts here.

This is dumb. Sorry, but a legitimate theory is posted in a credible forum by a very credible music professional, and rather than credible thoughts, all we can come up with is dispariging remarks covered up by nitwit humor. Really, if you have nothing positive to add, don't threadcrap. The question was asked in sincerity, and solicited sincere response. Geez, I thought the Klipsch forums welcomed discussion on tweaks and upgrades.

Unfortunately it's been somewhat of disastrous first evening. I did receive the crossovers, but for some reason I can't get the tweeter and squawker to work. I've tried every connection available, but to no avail. As you all know who have done this before it's pretty much plug'n'play, but I just can't get things to work. Extremely frustrating. I've been in touch with Bob, but he's as confused as I am. I'm getting in touch with a local speaker repair company that work on vintage speakers, including Klipsch. I'm waiting to hear back to see if they can be of any assistance, but suffice to say it's been a mighty dissapointing night. If anyone has suggestions, thoughts, etc, I'd love to hear them.

Ok, wrong term. I meant roller blocks, or roller bearings. Aurios and Symposium are two pretty well known companies who make them. Steve Hoffman and Barry Diament, two very well respected and well known mastering engineers, both use the Symposium blocks. Here's a post by Barry in Hoffman's forum about using roller bearings: http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showpost.php?p=3238355&postcount=25 And here's a link to Symposium's site: http://www.symposiumusa.com/rbjr.html

I've been reading about the positive effect of doing this on this on the Hoffman forums. Has anyone tried this with their set up?

Wanted to take this opportunity to publicy thank Mr. Bob Crites for the amazing service he has provided me. He got my crossovers today, and already has them upgraded and ready to ship back to me. This is the culmination of a seemingly never ending flow of first class help and patience that he has provided a real novice who simply wants to get the best sound possible from his pair of Fortes. I love these speakers stock, but they're from '87 and I trust those forum members, and Bob, who advised that this was something that just needed to get done. In addition to being somewhat intimidated by actually going in and getting the x-overs out, I also hated the idea of being relegated to headphones for a prolonged period of time. Obviously, Bob sensed that and took care of business so that I'll be back in business tomorrow. I already know that things are going to be improved, so don't even need to talk about that now. But for anyone thinking of doing this upgrade, talk to Bob. You certainly will not regret it. And I also want to thank Chris Munson for his help and patience as well. Chris and I traded many emails about this whole process, and he too was nothing less than a gentleman and scholar. I'm certain that his x-over is equally as good as Bob's. But because of the way Chris is set up, it just wasn't possible to work with him this time around. Nonetheless, I have no doubt that he would have provided the same positive experience that Bob has. So now all that's left is the waiting, and the listening, which will start tomorrow night. I'll report back. I

Well, thanks to Bob, got them out. They do indeed just unplug from the drivers. Got them out, and they're on their way to Bob.

So I'm planning on ugrading the crossovers with BEC. Went into the speaker today and thought I was going to be able to unplug the wires from the drivers. But it seemsthat they are soldered into the connectors. Does this seem right? And any thoughts how I can disconnect them? Bob was nice enough to offer to have me send him the x-overs attached to the terminal cups and he would send me back new x-overs ready just to plug and play, but now this does not seem possible.

I got a pair of '89 Forte's about a month ago, and I absolutely love them. I'm using them with a predominately analog tube system. Fantastic sound. Nonetheless, I've decided to have Bob Crites help me upgrade the crossovers, as so many on this forum say the improvement is not subtle. I believe them. And considering I got them for $450, I think it's a reasonable investment. If you can find a pair(check Craigslist) think seriously about it. Good luck.

Complete Control

I saw the Clash in 1978 in Cambridge, MA on their first tour of the States. They were supporting "Give 'em Enough Rope", their second lp. Bo Diddley opened for them(!) . Suffice to say it was one of the greatest shows I've ever seen, and I've seen pretty much everyone worth seeing when it came to punk/new wave. London Calling is a great listen. Very diverse lp. While it sounds nothing like it, it's their "Exile on Main St". I love it. For a rawer listen, try their first, eponymous lp, and find a way to listen to their early, non lp singles(you can find them on various compilations).

According to a couple of people, including BEC, who have seen pictures of my crossovers, soldering would be necessary.

As some of you know, not long ago I got a nice pair of ca. 1987 Forte's. I love the sound, but I am interested in replacing the crossovers. Unfortunately, I'm a total novice when it comes to soldering, and from trading pics and emails with another forum member about this, my set up would require it. So I'm wondering if there is anyone in the San Francisco Bay area who is experienced with this that might lend a hand. Obviously, I would pay you for your time and other expenses. Please email me at bergersv@inbox.com if you can help. Thanks.

I'm a little suprised that more Forte owner's have not replied. I would really appreciate other opinions/comments.

I recently purchased a pair of '89 Fortes. After playing around with room placement, they are sounding really good. However, after reading a lot here over the last week, I've been strongly considering a x-over replacement that member popbumper provides. I'm sure there are others here who have considered that, but for whatever reason decided against it. I'd love to hear from those folks as to how you came to reach your decision. Was it money, the fear of tinkering(which is part of mine), or simply that the sound from your speakers was good enough for you? This in no way is meant to put a negative spin on the upgrapde, but I'm just curious to hear from others who are satisfied with what they have. Hope that makes sense. And if there have been other threads like this that I'm not aware of, I'd appreciate being directed to them.

John, from earlier in the thread: Even if you are not a big DYI person (which I am most definitely NOT) you should consider replacing the X-over and possibly the diaphragm for the tweeters. I did both and the results were impressive and easily heard. There are two guys that I know who do the X-over -- Bob Crites and Chris Munson a.k.a. Popbumper, who answered an earlier post on this thread. With the X-over, you just pull out the passive radiator on the rear of the speaker to create a space to make your connections. Then you pull off the speaker connection cap, snip the wires on the old X-over, which is affixed to the rear of the cap (after making sure you know where the wires are connected), connect the new X-over and voila! As for the diaphragm, it is even simpler: you just remove some screws, pull out the old diaphragm and put in the new one. About a 10-minutes process max on each speaker. If you think your speakers sing now, you're in for a real treat.

I got the itch now. But I'm loving what I hear more than I have since I got them. How come you guys don't talk about the specifics of placement more?[:^)] Anyways, thanks for all the help from those that have contributed to this thread.

While I'm pretty certain I'm going to do the crossover replacement, I must say that doing a little work to get the speakers placed right has paid huge huge dividends. No more murkiness,just strong bass, great clarity, and a huge, wonderful soundtage. I pulled the speakers out about 5 or so feet from the back wall(as far as I could) and now I have terrific sound, and instruments and vocals floating above and to the sides of each speaker. While I don't doubt the improvement that can be had from crossover replacement, I must say I'm not as anxious about it any longer.

Sounds doable. I've tried emailing Chris but haven't heard back. Perhaps if he's reading this he can contact me at bergersv@inbox.com . Thanks.

Tom, You're right. And I guess I knew that, but for some reason the Heresy's weren't as sensitive to placement as the Forte's are. No matter, I'm glad I took what amounted to a few minutes and got it as right as I can for now. Thanks for your comments.