John Chi-town

Wuzzer Hope all finds you well. When I purchased I worked with Steve Philips, great guy at Klipsch. At the time a pair of diaphragms was $180.00, while a complete set of drivers and diaphragms was $185.00???? Go Figure!!! Needless to say for the extra $5.00 I bought the drivers as well. Spares in case the originals ever go. For $5.00, best insurance ever. The nice thing about this modification is that it is completely reversible if considered undesirable! Take care. John

Bob; In your opinion, having both the K53 TI Drivers along with your titanium tweeter as well as your new crossovers.... Is this a bad thing on "paper" without having modified the crossover for the higher frequency output? I really enjoy the sound as configured now!

So, what are your impressions on your new forte's???

Yes...... Forte hands down..... unless you are trying to fill a 2,0000 square foot room with sound, or using for a "PA" system. As Bill stated above Forte, or Forte II will give you beter imageing, etc. in "real world" situations. As far as I am concerned the Forte line is among the best value that Klipsch ever produced when you factor in foot print, sound which can compete with Cornwall and above. I have owned my forte II since 1992. Although I have made reversible modifications, see below on my user proifile I have never felt the need to upgrade to another Klipsch speaker. Also, the Quartets would make great rears in a surround sound system. Good luck!

The forte II does have a tractrix midrange. I installed Bob Crites New Crossovers, K 53 TI "Titanium" Mids and Bob Crites titanium tweeter diaphragms in my 1992 forte II and I can agree with you in that they are very hard to beat when you factor footprint, etc.

Bass shy??? I have never heard the forte II refered to as bass shy! The forte II bass response challenges all but the best subs on the market! You will have plenty of bass to spare once you set up properly! Get those puppies connected already, and post your thoughts! [H]

Yes, the caps appear to be original. If you are interested in upgrading the parts or completely new crossovers then look into Bob Crites, who is a member of this forum. You can replace the caps or the entire crossover through Bob. The advantage of going with new crossovers is that you get a new and better auto transformer, and since the new crossovers will be mounted on boards at the bottom of the speaker additional mods will be asier to perform down the road, rather than working from a very cumbersome terminal cup. Look up Bob Crites on the internet for a full listing/description of parts/service/ and pricing. How do the speakers sound to you now? I have owned my forte II's since new when I purchased in 1992. After putting in Bob's replacement crossovers about a year ago, it was as if a "Veil" was lifted from them from a listening standpoint!

Of course I love my speakers, why else would I have owned them for 19+ years, without ever thinking I needed to upgrade to something bigger???

Nice speakers! I cannot answer the oil questions but I can answer your crossover question and recommend placement for you. Crossovers appear to be stock. Where they mounted to the back of the terminal cup? If so they are more than likely stock. Place speakers no futher than 18 inches from the wall. The passive 15" radiator works off the wall, does not need to be a corner. I prefer no toe in but that is personal. Once you get placement and setup complete you can then look into mods such as new/rebuilt crossovers, and new diaphragms for the squaker and tweets. Enjoy, you have one of the best speakers Klipsch ever made based on price, footprint, etc.

The Rippingtons, Live in LA makes my forte II really sing! Very well mixed, recorded live album...

I can only speak for my forte II which are wired in phase. I would think that the forte would be in phase as well.

I completely agree with Moray. Although I own forte II, I have done the following upgrades to them since I purchased new in 1992. 1) Bob Crites new networks 2) Bob Crites titanium diaphragms for the tweeters 3) Klipsch K53 TI drivers which include the titanium diaphragms for the mids or squawker. If you decide to order from Klipsch order the complete driver and diaphragm for both speakers. The cost is only $2.00 more than just the diaphragms themselves. I performed the upgrades in a phased approach with the networks first, then the new diaphragms about a month later. The sound is simply amazing at this point. Each of the 3 upgrades was like lifting a veil off the speaker. Enjoy!

Glad to hear you are enjoying. I personally think that the break in time is probably less than 5 minuets. INMHO it is our brains getting used to/adjusting to the new sound

As others have mentioned replace the caps on the stock crossovers or have Bob Crites build you a new pair with sonic caps and a better auto transformer. As far as not replacing the diaphragms with titanium, that is a personal taste choice. I can tell you that the Heresy III & Cornwall III use titanium diaphragms, and have the "Klipsch" sound. In any case if you decide to upgrade the diaphragms, just keep the originals and you can always put back the way they were if you are unhappy with the sound, or find a buyer who does not want the modifications. As far as DIY ease, all that is required is a Philips head screw driver to remove the crossovers and passive radiators. From there you can access all internal parts. Take a look at Bob Crites website where you can find a detailed step by step instruction with photo's on how to remove the crossovers as well as replace the diaphragms. Best of luck!

Not much at all, could hear the difference almost immediately. I would say no more tha 8-10 hours of listening time for full burn in.

They are the same mids/drivers currently used in the Heresy III & Cornwall III. I spoke with Bob and his favorite speaker's that he owns are the Heresy III. Also, the only difference between the original mid driver in a forte II, and the K-53TI drivers is the titanium diaphragm. Otherwise "Identical" in all other aspects. At the end of the day, I let my ears tell me what sounds good, rather than just other peoples opinions. Remember no one hears exactly the same thing from the same source.........

I have always been a fan of Winchester, they make a very nice "Defender" pump for under $400.00 http://www.winchesterguns.com/products/catalog/detail.asp?family=021C&mid=512252 Take a look at the attached link.

Check the Klipsch website as well and look for dealers in your area that may have a pair to demo.

Not sure who you spoke with at Klipsch, but I delt with Steve Philips who is one of the most knowledgeable on the Heritage and Extended Heritage line. According to Steve the drivers are identical, other than the diaphragm used phenolic vs. titanium. The K53 TI drivers are used in both the Heresy III, and Cornwall III. If you decide to go with buy the drivers and titanium diaphragms only $2-$4 more per pair than just the diaphragms themselves. Sound is amazing to my ears, but everything with audio is subjective. As far as Bob C building new networks aimed at the K53TI driver, no they are his standard build. There is no option for the titanium tweeters, so INMHO this should work for the mids as well.

Order a pair of Klipsch K53 Titanium Squaker Diaphragms as much improvement on the mids as replacing the tweets with Bob's titanium. I have a pair of forte II with Bob's new networks, titanium tweets, and Klipsch K53 titanium midrange diaphragms and the results are beyond belief!

To my ears, the Klipsch K53TI drivers for the midrange along with Bob C's titanium tweeter is simply nirvana. I could possibly see issues if not using the titanium tweeters as well. Oh well, that is what makes this hobby so interesting; no one hears the same thing!

Thanks for the information, I was always under the belief that they were 8 ohm speakers.

I know exactly what you mean! Good choice INMHO. Of course I am partial to the forte line though. You should be beyond pleased when you receive and power up!

Were you able to get the speakers, or still looking?

Congrats on your purchase! I am fairly certain that the original forte like the forte II is an 8OHM speaker, not 4OHM. The forte series is the best speaker in the Klipsch line up when you factor in real world variables such as space, WAF, etc. You will notice another big improvement when you upgrade your networks and diaphragms!