John Chi-town

Expresso; Where are you located? I am in the greater Chicago area. If close, I would be more than happy to assist you. Best regards, John

Expresso; I use bananas, and yes they fit as you have described for the past 23 years, all is good. Just tighten the red and black terminal jack on each speaker once banana plug is fully inserted. Best regards, John Also, I provided several posts ago a schematic as to why a cross over mod is required with titanium mids on the forte II. Your question afterwards was, am I happy with the modification. The answer is a resounding yes!

The forte II appear to be original forte, not forte II. Best regards, John

Ed; Welcome to the forum. Your forte are excellent speakers. I own forte II in my system. Yes keep as mains the forte and forte II are among the most balanced speakers Klipsch ever made. A real jewel of a speaker. Not to be sarcastic, but 2 ears, 2 speakers does it for me. With a good amp, why do you see the need for multi-channel? No "Real" need for a sub, forte dig deep. I would integrate the new tv to your existing platform. Best regards, John

I want to believe that THIS EARTHSHAKEING NEWS is more than just a change of manufacturing location. Best regards, John

expresso; See below per Bob Crites. The stock diaphragm goes nowhere near 7khz on the squawker, peaks at 6khz. The tweeter starts to take over at about 6khz+. Per Bob: I can provide a little technical information of using the Klipsch titanium midrange to replace the orignal phenolics. On the trace below, the red is an original K-53 phenolic diaphrgm and the green is the K-53TI titanium midrange diaphragm on the same 700 hz horn. We see slightly higher average output for the titanium than the phenolic. The phenolic output drops like a stone at 6khz where the tweeter takes over. That allows the crossover to be pretty simple since there is no reason to roll off the midrange. But, the titanium diaphragm keeps on going, in fact heading for a peak at around 7.3khz before it drops off. So, if the titanium diaphragm is used in place of the phenolic without a crossover mod, you would have the midrange and tweeter both at full output at the same time around 7khz. Bob Crites Attached Thumbnails Best regards, John

Expresso 12 inches is minimum in most situations my sweet spot for my room, etc. is 18 inches from rear wall with NO TOE IN. But room, equipment, etc. will dictate what sounds best for you. Too close too boomy, too far, weak bass. Best regards, John

expresso. Congratulations on your forte II, they truly are a lifetime speaker. I agree with others who have suggested that you leave them stock for a while. I owned mine for nearly 20 years before upgrading. Best regards, John

R.I.P. Joe, You Can Leave Your Hat On.......

Glad to hear your issue/problem is now resolved. Best regards, John

When I ordered never asked me why. Yes ask for a price on two complete drivers, and just the diaphragms themselves. When I bought diaphragms were $80.00 each and NEW DRIVERS and diaphragms were $85.00 each. A real no brainer. Take a look at Bob Crites website, he has step by step instructions with photo's for replacing the tweeter diaphragms. Squawker procedure is the same. However if you get new drivers there will be one or two less steps since you will only be swaping the driver to horn, and terminal connections. Best regards, John

You can do all of the upgrades with the speaker in the upright position. You can change the tweeter and mid diaphragms without removing the passive radiator, if memory serves me correctly. Bob DOES NOT sell the titanium diaphragm. You can order through Klipsch. Per post of mine above, Bob can add the mid range roll off to your exiisting cross overs with a cap refresh, or build into his replacement crossovers. I think the only reason I pulled my passive radiators was to put in Bob's replacement crossovers which do not fit through the terminal cup. If you do need to remove, very easy, just take out dozen or so screws and slowly remove. Best regards, John

Expresso; I made the titanium upgrade maybe 2-3 years ago. Do yourself a favor; check with Klipsch as to the price of a complete K53TI driver. At the time I made the modifications the price for a complete driver and diaphragm was only $5,00 more than just the diaphragm. For an extra $10.00, I just swaped drivers and now I have originals with phenolic and the new K53TI in my squawker horns. Also, please see attached from Bob Crites regarding Band Pass Roll off required with Titanium mids. You will be quite pleased once you are there. Best regards, John Per Bob Crites: On the trace below, the red is an original K-53 phenolic diaphrgm and the green is the K-53TI titanium midrange diaphragm on the same 700 hz horn. We see slightly higher average output for the titanium than the phenolic. The phenolic output drops like a stone at 6khz where the tweeter takes over. That allows the crossover to be pretty simple since there is no reason to roll off the midrange. But, the titanium diaphragm keeps on going, in fact heading for a peak at around 7.3khz before it drops off. So, if the titanium diaphragm is used in place of the phenolic without a crossover mod, you would have the midrange and tweeter both at full output at the same time around 7khz. Bob Crites Attached Thumbnails

Patientce is a virtue....... I thought I saw a member listed a pair in the garage sale section of this forum in Fl. How long have you been looking? Since you stated shipping was a requirement, scour the Craigslist ads in metro areas within several hundred miles of you. Yes they are worth waiting for. Shouldnt take long to find the right pair. Good luck. John

Tall skinny two way boxes is my guess.

No kidding. Two different animals. Bigger 3 way vs. smaller 2-way. Not even close. Agreed. Don't like to slam others peoples choices.

The Tractrix horn in the forte II and Chorus II was groundbreaking INMHO to say the least. The Current Heritage line including Cornwall III & Heresy III all have tractrix horns in them. As well as the RF7 II line if I am not mistaken. In a nutshell the forte II is slightly more forward in a good way, as well as covering a slightly wider range of listening position vs. the original. If you close your eyes, no Klipsch speaker reminds me of a true "Live" performance, regardless of genre.

The KG4 is a great speaker but the forte II is better. I would keep forte II over KG4. Good luck on your search. Best regards, John

INMHO, not enough juice. Not as efficient as the Heritage lineup. Hey, couldnt hurt to try, but I do not think you will get optimal performance with an 8 watt SET. Best regards, John

Of all the Heritage and Extended Heritage line, the best balanced speakers INMHO are the forte II and CF4. I have owned forte II since new in 1992. I will never part with mine. If you are running a good high current amplifier, that has ample reserve power for "Difficult Loads, or Passages" you will find little need for a subwoofer since they dig to 32KHZ, if not slightly lower. Keep an eye on your local Craigslist, Audiogon, etc. Unless your really remote somewhere odds are you can avoid shipping. Best regards, John

LG is a good bang for the buck. Been very happy with my purchase over a year ago. Best regards, John

If I had the room, I would be on my way there. LOL.....

No affiliation. http://chicago.craigslist.org/sox/ele/4745954163.html

No affiliation. http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwi/ele/4784560722.html Best regards, John

My listening position is about 14 to 15 feet from my forte II. I keep them 18 inches from the rear wall. I to have found that for my set up and room that no toe in is best. Most find the forte, forte II best bass response to be between 10-20 inches out from rear wall. Also, the mod required to the crossover for titanium mids, is very inexpensive and simple to perform. A simple band pass roll off. INMHO, the benefit gained with titanium squawkers far outweighs that of replaceing the tweeter. A much more noticeable improvement. As Paul always said, the music is in the mid. Best regards, John