tlarwa

Bracing in center

Bracing at top

Bracing at bottom

Side view

Bought a pair of Forte II's last weekend, with the intent of making them as good as I can (within my budget). I've been consulting with Moray James about his efforts to improve his Forte II's, and am following a similar path. The order of improvements: Brace and seal (with white glue) the cabinets. I also sealed the backs of the grille magnets. Build new risers to get them up to ear level (~10" high - and the stock risers were pretty beat up anyway) Refinish the exteriors with Howard's (just aesthetics, but it sure did clean them up!) Reseal all drivers with foam tape when re-installing Re-terminate the internal speaker connections. I used automotive spades, crimped and soldered. Recap crossover with Crites rebuild kit. Replace tweeter diaphragms with Crites Ti. Replace Midrange diaphragms with Crites version. Replace binding posts with Pomona 3770 (beefier than stock) Add 3 oz. of weight to the passive Dampen driver magnets, horn backs and woofer spiders with Dynamat. The biggest decision was what to do with the crossovers. I seriously considered the ALK version, but just didn't have $350 to spend on them right now (and Al doesn't offer the DIY version anymore). Since the new Crites crossovers are essentially a better version of stock (from what I can tell), I didn't want to spend $250 on them. So I opted to just replace the caps for now. My plan is to replace all of the inductors with Solen air cores as soon as I can round up the funds. For now, at least I'll have the original crossovers back up to spec. The bracing wasn't too hard. I used hardwood, and was able to brace side-to-side in three places; between the floor and the bottom of the woofer opening, between the midrange and tweeter openings, and between the tweeter opening and the top. Front-to-back I was able to brace in two locations; between the floor and the woofer opening and between the top and the tweeter opening. because of the size and postion of the passive opening, I couldnt find a good way to brace from front-to-back in the center of the cabinet. I've attached some half-*** pics to try to show the bracing. I made my own risers after seeing that the stock ones were not worth fixing (plus, they were a little too short). I used stair treads for the tops and bottoms (they have a nice rounded front, which looks good to me) and a 1"x8" for the "H" between them. Total cost ... about $15. Time to build ... about 90 minutes. Their height is about 9 inches, which puts the mid-range dead center to my ear in my listening postion (32"). The pics show them, but they aren't finished yet. I'm planning to paint them black. I think I'll leave the bottoms smooth for now so I can push them around on the carpet as I fine-tune the placement, and once I get that nailed down I'll add spikes to the bottoms. My floor is carpet/pad over concrete, and I like the spiked connection to the subfloor. I thought about screwing them to the cabinet bottoms, but I think I'll attach them with Blue-Tack instead. I'll take some more pics as I get them buttoned up and once they are in my listening room. Should be ready by the weekend! Tom

Just bought a pair of Forte II's and they have one K-75-K and one K-84-K. I'm going to install the Crites Ti diaphragms, so I really just need the horn and magnet driver. Anyone? I can trade a K-84-K with a Ti diaphragm if you need one! Help!

I just gutted my new-to-me Forte II's so I can internally brace them (Moray James' style) and low and behold, they have two different tweeters! One is the K-75-K, with the phenolic diaphragm, and the other is a K-84-K with what appears to be a Ti diaphragm. The horns look the same, but the magnet is much larger (3 1/4" vs 2 1/4") on the K-75-K. What should I do? Get another 75 or another 84? I was getting ready to order Bob's Ti diaphragms, by the way. Advice, please?? Tom

I've emailed the guy several times with no response. I sell a lot of stuff on CL, so I know how it works. They just popped up again, so as you said, he must've renewed the listing. It doesn't happen automatically. We'll see if he gets back to me.

Hard to do with no phone number or address.

I sent him an emial asking for some numbers off the drivers and crossover to see what they are. I'll report back.

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/ele/4063916053.html Posted in the Chicago CL. Not far from me. Worth $395?

I just emailed him before you sent this. Hopefully he'll get back to me today. There's also a pair of black one's in St. Louis for $500 that I've requested pictures of. If they look good it might be a road trip this weekend!

Thanks. I've been watching the Madison CL. I get up your way quite often.

I just know I'll regret settling for the Quartets, even though I know they're good speakers. I'd rather hold out for what I want. I would consider the Chorus II's at that price if they weren't almost 400 miles away.

Yeah, they are. Bob Crites confrmed it. A bunch of models use the same 1" Ti diaphragm. Maybe you're thinking of the KG4 and not the 4.2.

I saw all those. With the exception of the overpriced Chorus II's in Minnetonka (which is a haul form here) none of them are II's, they're all original versions. And I don't really want the smaller Quartet. I'm going big or going home (within my budget, anyway).

Well, I have the KG4.2's and wanted to try the Heritage line. So I bought a nice set of H2's, figuring I'd run them with my sub. I popped in the Crites Ti diaphragms from the 4.2's and tried them on the floor (with the risers), on a 24" stand, on a 14" stand ... no matter what I just couldn't get them "right" for my ears and in my room. Not that they weren't acceptable, but they weren't good enough to live with daily. So, off they are going. I'm on the prowl for a nice set of Forte II or Chorus II. Since they are big and expensive to ship, pick-up somewhere within reason of SE WI (Milwaukee area) is preferred. Northern WI, Minneapolis area (I have a son at the U), Chicago or south, even Western MI will work. Obviously I'd consider Cornwalls too, I just dont see them come up around here very often. What's out there? Tom

I've got a minty pair of 4.2's that will likely be for sale soon, with original packaging. Can't help you with the 2.2's though. Tom

Thanks ... about 2000 miles too far away though[]

Location? And I assume they are all black?

Can someone please confirm that these 3 caps are appropriate (type and voltage, I know the values are correct) to rebuild the crossovers on my KG4.2's? I can get these all from Madisound, so it make is easy to order. The 2.5uF cap is a tough one to find ... Most places only carry 2.2 or 2.7uF. Solen PB 2.5 mfd Metalized Polypropylene Fast Capacitor 400V Solen PB 3 mfd Metalized Polypropylene Fast Capacitor 400V ClarityCap 33 mfd SA Range Polypropylene Caps 630V Cost for all 6 caps is about $63.00. I ca get the rebuild kit from Bob Crites for $66 shipped, but I'm not sure what type of caps he supplies either. Any suggestions on the best way to go? Thanks, Tom

As luck would have it, a posting came up last night for a pair of black Chorus II's AND a black Academy, for $450!! I immediately responded, but was to late. I'm second in line if the first person is a no show. What a deal!

Thanks, Wolfram. From other responses it sounds like the Heresy's would be an upgrade over the KG4.2's, so if I can find a deal on a pair I might try them. I know I can resell them and recoup my $$ when I find the next upgrade, so there's no risk there. As for the Khorns, they do come up fairly often (several sets now in the WI/IL areas on CL) but they typically push the $2000-$3000 envelope. I rarely see Belle's or Lascalas though. In fact, the gentleman I bouoght the Fisher 400 and Empire table from tried to sell me his Khorns for $2000, but I just couldn't swing it at the time. I take it the room size is adequate for those big speakers then??

I'm in SE Wisconsin. I see you're in MD ... I lived in Columbia for 13 years, leaving the state in 1995. I enjoyed it there! I have yet to see Cornwalls anywhere near $500 around here. They are typically $800+. Heresy's are going for $400-$500. I realize the corner horns and Lascalas and Belles are quite a bit more expensive, but how do you think they would integrate into my room? For future reference ... you never know what you might fall into!

Immediate? Probably $500 or so. Heresy, Forte II, Quartet or maybe Chorus is I scored a great deal. I've always had my eye on the Cornwalls, but they rarely come up for less than $800 (more with upgrades). As I said, even though I may upgrade now (to Heresys, most likely, due to affordability and availability) I definitely want to keep my eyes open for the more expensive models. If the "right" set comes up I'd try to make it happen. The question is, what's the "right" speakers for this room, having not heard many of them myself and not being able to audition them (most likely). By the way, I listen to a lot of jazz .... Brubeck, Woods, Davis to Return To Forever, Pat Metheny, Brand X, etc. as well as classic rock and pop. Not a lot of classical, just a smattering here and there.