J M O N

Welcome aboard! Nice speakers!

I have not heard this particular one but it might be worth looking into. Maybe others here have first hand experience with it: https://www.audiogon.com/listings/tube-jolida-fx10-integrated-stereo-tube-amp-2016-10-09-integrateds-17602-lancaster-pa

Placing them in corners will help.

Cornwalls will still work fine. You don't have to listen to them loud to sound good. In fact, without the need for loud listening levels, you might want to consider Single Ended Triode (SET) amps.

The Forte is a wonderful speaker. It sounds to me that somewhere something is wrong as your experience isn't typical. Now, it could be that your particular hearing is sensitive to something the Forte is doing, in which case there is no fix other than to replace them (the speakers, not your ears -- unless you are really determined ). However, it is worthwhile to first see if you can find if something isn't quite right somewhere. Yes, tube amps will smooth out the sound, but what you are describing and to the extent you say doesn't seem like solid-state alone is the culprit.

I haven't heard every solid-state amp, but the last one I had in my main system was a Jeff Rowland -- they are pretty expensive and have long been considered among the very best solid-state amps you can get. The next amp I acquired was the VT-50, my first tube amp. As soon as I turned it on I knew instantly the Rowland was getting sold, and the amp hadn't even warmed up yet. I have since sold that amp but have never had another solid-state amp for my main system. I do still have a Nakamichi STASIS amp (Nelson Pass design) to compare and whenever I try it out it is instantly obvious that something is missing with it. Granted, the Nak isn't at the same level a the Rowland, but it is no slouch. The quality that tube amps have over solid-state is that they are more musical which I eventually came to realize is the most important quality of a music system.

Tubes would sound best with Belles in my experience but would be a tall order within your budget (not impossible though). However, as mentioned you should consider the age of the speakers. If they are more than 20 years old you may need to get the capacitors replaced in the crossovers. Bob Crites is a great source.

Tube amps can have very good bass control. Not all do but there are some that will have it. I used to have an Audio Research VT-50 and it had great bass control. In fact, I remember the reviews stating it had an overall sound similar to solid-state.

I think you will find the sound you are looking for with a nice tube amp and any of the big Heritage Klipsch. I've owned all of the Heritage and the Khorn is the best, but the Cornwall comes in second for me. Yes, the La Scala / Belle have a cleaner lower end due to the bass horns, but the Cornwall goes lower and my ears preferred that trade off, I started with Cornwalls and dreamed about La Scalas for years. When I finally got some, I realized I liked the Cornwalls better, albeit not by a large margin as La Scalas are also great.

Welcome to the forum! I prefer tubes but for solid-state, Classé is one of my favorites. The Heresy does not go very low but you can improve the bass by putting them in corners (closer to the floor/ceiling will improve the bass the most).

Very nice! Varathane Cognac is also what I ended up using. I was trying to get as close to the Klipsch walnut oil color as I could on birch wood.

Regarding screen format, it will probably be depending on your wall constraints. For me (and probably for most), I wanted the largest screen I could get for both content formats. My room is more limited in height than width so I got a 2.35:1 screen. With this situation, I get the largest 16:9 picture my room would allow for and I also get the largest 2.35:1 picture as well. If your room is more width constrained then a 16:9 screen may give you the largest picture sizes available. If you do go with a 2.35:1 screen, you'll want to make sure you get a projector with lens shift memory. That won't be needed with a 16:9 screen. I was not aware that most movies are in 2:35 format until someone mentioned it on this forum. I'm very glad that I found this out as the 2.35:1 format gives me the biggest picture size for both given my room dimensions. I'm really enjoying this screen and projector.

Based on your initial description or your situation and goals, I would recommend against a pool. The only way it would be worth it is if your family ended up spending a lot of time using it. Initially, everyone says they will use it often, but that probably doesn't hold true most of the time. Time flies and your kids will likely be out of the house before you know it. Will you still want a pool at that time? It's not like a boat that you can at least sell, unless you are willing to move. I say all this as a current pool owner. Bought my current house just over a year ago and it came with a pool. I didn't pay extra for it, it cost the same as other similar houses without a pool (in other words, a pool will not add value to the house). We really didn't want a pool, even a "free" one. Sure, they are neat to have and a lot of fun when you are enjoying them, but that is a small percentage of the time spent at home, even if you use it a lot. We ended up getting a home with a pool simply because we couldn't find the right house that didn't have a pool, so after nearly a year of looking we eventually started considering pool homes. This is my first pool and I've had to learn a lot. Unless you pay someone (additional expense), you will have maintenance to do. Salt pools generate chlorine from the salt and you will have to replenish the salt. A salt cell is used for the chlorine conversion and I am told they last about 5-7 years and cost around $500 to replace (haven't had to do this yet so just going off what a pool company told me). Even salt pools need chemicals (muriatic acid is the most frequent, along with other types of chemicals to balance the water correctly). You either have to buy the chemicals to test the water yourself, or make regular trips to your local pool supply store to have it tested there. The salt water conversion doesn't happen below 70 degrees so you still have to add chlorine in the Winter. The pumps need to run for 8-10 hours each day to filter and circulate the water so that adds to your electric bill. Don't forget about your water bill -- you have to replace the water that evaporates -- the larger the surface area the more evaporation you will have. Also keep in mind, everything you need for pools seems to be more expensive than it should -- from nets to clean the pool, to the chemicals needed to maintain it. Thus far, we haven't had to replace any major components yet, but it's just a matter of time. Small stuff has had to be replaced and I probably still got a couple hundred bucks of expenses there. Before we bought the house and started looking at houses with pools, my kids were of course excited and promised they would help with pool maintenance. Now that we have the pool, well, you can guess what happened to their excitement when it comes to helping clean it. Even for first-time pool owners where the thrill hasn't worn off, I think I can say we haven't used the pool nearly as much as we thought we would. Consider this point -- I spend a whole lot more time maintaining the pool than I do swimming in it.

Isn't this one of the brands used in the white van scams?

This is actually a very good idea (not just a spray paint job, but a very high quality black lacquer finish -- think piano black lacquer). The 60th and 50th anniversary models also had something similar.

Here you go:

I have the 4638 bass bins which are similar and use them for LFE in HT configuration. They are some serious pieces of equipment.

P.S. If you are looking solely for a solid state preamp, the Audio Research LS-3 would be an excellent choice.

You can send your crossovers to Bob and he'll do everything for you at a very reasonable price. He'll even check all other components in your crossovers to make sure they are good. He has an extremely fast turnaround. Highly recommended.

Congrats -- good buy! Those are worth more than $1,200. They are Klipschorns for Pete's sake!! In my experience (which I have owned all of these), the Cornwalls (both I and II) are second only to the Klipschorn. I prefer them slightly over the La Scala/Belle due to the lower bass response. The Chorus IIs, while nice speakers, fall shorter on my list than most. I actually prefer the Forte over them which probably nobody else does.

Hard to say from just from the photo, but I don't believe those woofers are original.

I'm guessing you are looking to buy with the possibility that you would resell if they didn't work for you. In which case, a used set will obviously make the most sense to minimize losses in the event of a re-sale. With that being said, my recommendation would be to look for the best cabinets you can find (condition and style/veneer/grills that you prefer). Once you have the cabinets, everything else is relatively easy to replace if needed, but you don't want to be shipping Khorn cabinets. In other words, if you have to chose between perfect cabinets or perfect components, go with the cabinets. All Khorns are great and there really aren't any years to avoid. The components have changed over time, but as mentioned you can configure yours however you prefer once you have good cabinets and aren't opposed to changing out components. Crossovers will need to be updated on older models of course, so if you buy a newer set you won't have to worry about that. Once you get Khorns, I would suggest finding some good Single Ended Triode (SET) amps to try with them. You may decide SET is not for you, but you at least need to give them a good audition (live with them for at least a couple months).

What Schu said. The La Scala II is an improvement. The thicker cabinet will reduce cabinet resonances in the bass horn at higher output levels. The Belle is no longer made so the La Scala ii was also dressed up to provide better cosmetics. The La Scala II is shown below and the used prices will run quite a bit more than the original.

You stole those La Scalas! Welcome to the Hotel Klipschifornia...

Here is an amp that you may want to look into: