JD15

Could it be seen as an input vs. output kind of scenario? As in, the engineers do their final mix which produces the end result, then anything after that is just monkeying with the finished recording? Just poking the nest...[6]

Ironsave, it seems that more folks say there is a noticeable difference after recapping vs. those that say it's a slight or imaginary improvement. I actually replaced the tubes in my preamp recently and then brought it in for service, as I thought the caps needed to be replaced. I just wasn't happy with the sound of my system and felt it wasn't as clear as it could be. Perhaps the caps in the speakers are the obvious answer. Regarding "Tusk" as a tester, it's funny my friend and I always liked the way horns sounded on horns. What better way to reproduce the music, eh. I wanted to include a picture of my crossover in my post, but can't figure out how.[:$] Basically it's pretty tight, no printed circuit board, just a bunch of stuff attached to the back of the round terminal cup (is that what it's called?). I think I have to send them and have them done. Curtains and such are on the shopping list, just have to find the time and get the boss on it. Re: equilizers, I was brought into the audio world with the audiophile no-tone-controls-needed ethos, so I just can't consider an equilizer. Thanks all again for your help. JD

Alright, now I'm right back to waffling about the course of action with all the different approaches. I will still start with room treatments, and now maybe monkey with placement. I do have a friend with a receiver, which I believe is an old Marrantz tube unit. I'll see if I can borrow that. As none of these involve any dismantling, no harm or risk. I still have my concerns with the caps and crossover mods and definately the tweeter diaphragms regarding addressing my issues. It seems they all enchance/accentuate the high end. So tough to assess online, as one "man's rolled off highs" are another man's "tube warmth". Tube amplification has always been on my wish list of things to try, but I'm still trying to hash out the types, the amount of power and the pros and cons. Will it deliver the low end thump that a 200 wpc SS amp will give you? I have seen that a lot of forum members that love low power tube amps with their Klipsch, but I don't know what their musical diet is. I think it's cool that you could feel Charlie Parker inhale, but it's not that high on my priority list. Thanks for all the continued input, no matter what direction it sends me [*-)]

So what I've learned from my intervention is: Kill the room acoustics a bit and Redo the xover or caps RE: #2, can old caps cause this kind of problem, what happens when good caps go bad? I read as much as I could on this stuff but I have very little experience with electronics parts. From what I can tell it is not a huge outlay of cash, so it seems to be a good idea. Unfortunately, as much of a DIY guy that I am, I'm soldering impaired. So I would send away to Mr. Crites. Now, as far as new tweeter diaphrams, that just seems like blasphemy. But again, if this is a normal mod, I think I can accept it. Can it be reversed if for some unknown reason it doesn't work for me? Is this a DIY deal? I haven't been inside my speakers, so I don't know how things are hooked up. I have also learned that the forum is indeed full of crazy people: nice, helpful, patient, crazy people. God bless and thank you, JD

New to the forum, great info here. I try to avoid visiting often as I always seem to find something that I didn’t know existed, but now I need. [] Further, it legitimizes my craziness by proving there is a whole community that is seemingly more afflicted than me. I have owned a pair of early Fortes for about five years. I love them dearly, but I find that they are harsh/fatiguing at higher volumes. I mainly listen to rock, with a smattering of blues, classical and other material. My system consists of a nearly vintage (early 90’s) Denon POA 2400 amp, a YS Audio Symphonies pre (a pretty good Chinese tube unit) and a Rotel RCC 955 CD player. The room is about 15 x 23 with hardwood floors, and not much in the way of upholstered stuff - a pretty live room. I bought Fortes due to the fact that a friend had a pair when they originally came out back in the day with similar amplification as mine and I absolutely loved the dynamics of these speakers. I play drums and found that these speakers reproduce the slam of percussion like nothing I’ve heard, along with internal organ-punishing bass. What I don’t recall in my friend’s old system is the harshness. Am I getting old and my hearing is not the same, or are my components getting old and not producing the same sound? I have swapped out the Rotel with an OPPO DV983 and removed the pre from the system to see if there was any difference. Not anything positive, without the pre it lacked the presence that the tubes seem to provide. Is a tube amp the way to go, when I can afford it? Or do I have to pony up more $ for a better CD player? I have seen several threads regarding crossover and cap upgrades. Is this the potential issue or are my upstream components the source? I plan on being buried in my Fortes, so the idea of messing with them seems sacrilegious. But, if this is a normal course of actions with a 25 year old Klipsch, I will try to get over it. If you made it to the end of this post and can shed any light on my situation, thank you. JD