windycitylion

My set up as of now (it's a work in progress).

If you are a fan or enjoy the music of YES you need to pick of their DVD "Songs From Tsongas". It is a DVD of their 35th anniversary concert with the line up of Anderson, Howe, Squire, Wakeman and White. Two discs of music and the guys are on top of their game.

WOW! I didn't realize what an upgrade the Academy was going to be from the KV-3. The new speaker matches my light oak Fortes. More importantly it matches them sonically. The only word that comes to mind is WOW! Thanks for your input into this guys, I didn't even know the Academy existed or that it was the preferred match with my Fortes until I came here. http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/685006/ShowPost.aspx Without a doubt the sound stage is without holes or muffled areas. The sound from my system is much bigger without a corresponding change in the volume control. New TV is next......

Didn't want to wait even though prices were high. Have an Academy arriving hopefully by the end of the week. Will post my thoughts on it compared to what my system sounds like with the KV-3. I like this forum, you guys have been very helpful and I thank you.

Revisiting the timber issue... With my Fortes as my mains, which is a better sonic match to them, the Academy or a single Heresy? I will be getting a new TV and it looks like a Heresy is small enough to go under the TV using a custom stand my buddy will build. So while another Forte isn't an option the Heresy is. I am actively watching ebay for a new center. The Academy is going for a lot of money. If the Heresy is as good or better a match I will go that direction then. I will have to stay with small rears for now as space is an issue. When I move into a new place I think I will upgrade the fronts and use the Fortes as rears or just get another set of Fortes.

Keeping the center as close to the same speaker as the fronts makes perfect sense to me. The center will have to reside on top of my TV so it will have to be a shielded speaker. I am on the hunt for an Academy. There was a complete system up on e-bay with an Academy and Chorus II's. I e-mailed the guy and told him to get a hold of me if he wanted to separate the system and sell me some of it. He never got back to me and his auction ended with no bids. I appreciate the feedback guys, thanks a bunch, I'll keep you up to date on what happens. If anyone knows of an Acedamy for sale let me know!

Thanks for the replies guys. The Academy seems like the best alternative to bring my center up to snuff and match my Fortes. Believe it or not I have a line on one already not far from where I live! The internet rocks! If this guy will seperate the speakers he is selling as a system what is a good price for an Academy? I see one on e-bay that is at $315 with 7 days to go. Hopefully I will be talking with him this afternoon and I will need to shoot him a fair price. It has a black cabinet and that is all I know other than it works.

I spent some time here on the site comparing my Fortes/KV3 and the new RC52/62's. You guys are right, the center is the weak link right now. As far as a sub I have a KSW12 so that is handled. The RC52 or 62 would be an upgrade and would make an imediate difference for sure. The question about mixing the old horns with the Tractrix horns still is hanging out there though.

Here is my system. ADCOM GTP digital preamp ADCOM GFA 5503, 3 channel 200w per channel main amp ADCOM GFA 535, 2 channel with A/B speaker switches, 60w per channel for the rears My main speakers are the original Fortes I bought in 89. KV-3 center speaker KSW12 subwoofer My rears are KSB1.1 bookshelfs As you can tell I patched this system together over the years. Adding subtracting and upgrading slowly. Where do you think I will get the most bang for the buck when upgrading? The weakest part of the system are the rears as I see it. How much difference can I expect from an upgrade there? The center is not rated for the same wattage or sensitivity as the Fortes so I was thinking this is the logical place to start. Is there any issue with having Tractrix and older style horns in the same system? The rears are Tractrix but of course they only play a small role in the system. How crucial is having "back" speakers? I could upgrade the rears and use the KSB's as backs.