hawkster

About ten years ago, I bought and installed the K-Stack crossover for my Forte IIs, made by Chris Munson (akaPopbumber ). I was happy with the improvement in sound I got, and continue to do so. I do have a concern, though. I recently got an new Marantz 8802A, and I've been running the Audyssey MultEQ XT32 setup. Although my KLF-C7 crosses over at 110 kHz my Klipsch surround backs crossover at 120 kHz, and my Klipsch in-ceilings crossover at 60 kHz, Audyssey sets the Forte IIs to 200 kHz, even though they spec much lower. I got much the same result with my Onkyo 5508 in a different house. Since my RSW-12 sub maxes out at 120 kHz, it seems to me i'm getting a bass "hole" between 120 and 200. I would like to know if the K-Stack is creating this situation, but unfortunately Munson seems to have been a brief flash in the pan, so there's no help there. My options are 1} stick with the K-Stack and not worry about the numbers I'm getting from Audyssey, 2} reconnect the original crossovers, which are still in the speakers but are now 20 years old, 3} buy a pair of Bob Crites crossovers, appealing since his business is quite stable. Any votes on which way to go?

OK, for those of you who may be disassembling their sub themselves, it doesn't matter which power lead goes to which lug (although I would mark them anyway). All of the other leads will only fit in their matching connector. So, here's my experience: in the late 90s I bought a 12" Definitive Technology subwoofer (I don't remember the model number, sorry). It gave me great service for about 10 years before the amp failed. I took it in to my local repair shop, and they couldn't fix it (no parts, no schematic, blah, blah). It never occurred to me to do an internet search for alternatives, so I abandoned it. I replaced it with a 10" Dayton Audio assemble-it-yourself sub. Although it got very good reviews, it suffered in comparison to the Def Tech, so after three years I went looking for something else. I bought a used but super clean RSW-12 on eBay, and boy was I happy! All of the other nine speakers in my setup are Klipsch, ilcluding the fabulous modded Forte IIs, so maybe I'm biased. As you can imagine, I was totally bummed when the amp in the RSW-12 died. I took it to the same local repair shop, and they couldn't fix it (no parts, no schematic, blah, blah). But this time, I was determined to not give up on this sub. Setting aside the cost to buy a new sub, I couldn't imagine that I could find as good a one at my budget. So I was delighted to find the Edwards Electonics solution here. The sub was already disassembled by the shop, so all I had to do was buy the repair on eBay and ship it in. I made the mistake of filling the box with peanuts, and my first email from them was an irritated, "In the future please use bubble wrap then peanuts - tech is going to have to spent lots of time to get all the peanuts out of from under components." I don't know what 'lots of time' is, but there you are. Including shipping both ways, the repair took a total of three weeks. Since the subwoofer box was open, I replaced the foam sheet that Klipsch had rather casually placed in the enclosure with waffle foam that I got from Parts Express. $20 bought enough to cover all four interior sides of the box. Reassembly was straight-forward (except for that anxiety about the power leads), but I agree that a note from Edwards on reconnection and what was repaired would have been nice. The RSW-12 is now back in the system and working well. Overall, I'm quite pleased. Total cost was $275, including the $45 estimate charge from the local shop, $165 for Edwards, the foam, and shipping. Not bad, I think, to keep this sub a few more years. One thing to keep in mind: Edwards' eBay listing said three repairs were available, and two had been sold. I bought "the last one," thinking this was just an advertising ploy to induce sales, and three more repairs would be available the next day. But no. It's been three weeks, and nothing has become available for the RSW-12 (or -10 or -15, for that matter). I take it that Edwards has a very limited number of parts available, with restocking a spotty proposition. So, if you have an older RSW and want to keep it for a while, next time a repair becomes available you might want to bank it.

Davidness, I just got my RSW-12 back from Edwards, and I have an urgent question they can't answer: Does it matter which power lead goes to which lug? The wires are both black (and I didn't disassemble the sub). I'll post a full account of my experience once I have the sub up and running.

Is this still available? My son-in-law is interested, and he's local.

Huh. My RSW-12 just failed yesterday. Same symptoms: Good fuse, power indicator lights up, and that's it. I have an open channel in my Emotiva UPA-700 (not sure I want to go from 625 watts to 80 watts, though!) But, there are no binding posts on the RSW-12. How would an external amp be connected?

Greetings, friends. I'm considering a 5.1.4 Atmos setup. My current speakers are mains: fully Crited Forte IIs, center: KLF-C7 with titanium tweeter dome, backs: KSFS5s, sub: RW12. The room is small, about 18' x 17' with standard flat 8' ceiling. I have a full attic, so four ceiling speakers are the way to go, I think. But, which ones will best match my others? Thanks for the help.

OK, I'm still loving my 23 year old Forte IIs. I've done the Crites crossover and titanium tweeter upgrades, but we're always looking for the next, best, mod, right? Today I read a review of the Reference Premiere RP-150M system in Sound and Vision, and it got me thinking: would the Forte IIs benefit sonically by upgrading the original paper 12" bass drivers with the orange Cerametallic drivers? (Not to mention the aesthetic upgrade.) Has anyone done this? Is it even possilble to buy the Cerametallics separately?

Thanks, river. Although I live in northern Illinois, I'm going to be in Madison, Wisconsin, tomorrow, Jan 17. What's the name of your retailer?

I have owned a pair of Forte IIs for nearly 20 years, and enjoy them as much now as the day I bought them. However, sometimes I must reluctantly trade my Forte IIs for a pair of headphones. I realize no set of cans can duplicate the sound of full-size speakers, but what suggestions would you have for me to get a headphone experience most in keeping with the Fortes? I've been reading about open-back models recently, and I'm thinking that might be the way to go. (Better spatiality being the primary appeal. When listening to headphones, I am almost always alone, at least in the room, so sound leakage isn't an issue.) My current 'phones are the Shure SRH840. My budget is in the $ 300 - 500 range.

I've been happy with the results I've gotten with a KLF-C7.

"Whether the loudspeakers are horns or not, I can tell you from auditioning a dozen loudspeakers, that they should be 3 to 4 feet away from the front and side walls to create the deepest soundstage, with the best vocal and instrument imaging." Amen to that, brother. I lost that room setup to a move six years ago, and I still miss it.

I've been pushing my Forte IIs wth an Adcom 5500 for years now with excellent results (like, neighbors-complaining results).

Over the past couple of months I've replaced my preamp and amps, and still have an intermittent "soft static" in one of my trusty Forte IIs. I removed the passive radiator today to eyeball the crossover circuitry, and of course nothing was obviously wrong. Any suggestions on how to quash the static? I'm loathe to replace the Forte IIs, since they've been the one constant in my system for the last 16 years and I'm still happy with them.