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sberger

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Posts posted by sberger

  1. So the speakers were damaged when you unhooked the connectors to them inside? I thought about doing that, but then I decided to re-use the original wire and original connectors. I cut the original wire going to the original crossovers about 3" from crossover so that a connector could always be connected to the original crossovers should they ever be sold or re-used. I wasn't comfortable disconnecting all kinds of wires and then accidentally installing the wrong one or reversing polarity on them.

    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.

  2. Now you will probably have new diaphragms in the mids and tweets as well. An almost complete upgrade. They should sound better than new, really, once everything is back in place.

    I really hate it when something simple ends up becoming complex and costing more than it should have. When dealing with Bob, though, all anyone here can say is he is wonderful to work with.

    Bruce

    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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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.

  9. 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.

  10. 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).

  11. If you do the whole crossover (like BEC's) there is no soldering .... Gosh, even me, with tennis racket sized hands, and a middle name of klutz, can, and did, do it ............... unless all you want to change is the caps ..... or, the xovers are different than the one in my Cornwalls ....

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

  12. 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.

  13. 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.

  14. Where do U buy the new crossover from? Are there certain ones that are better than others?

    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.

  15. 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.

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