chuckears

I have to strongly disagree with the slow and boring comments about UP... this was an excellent film, and while the 3D was not completely mind-blowing, it was nonetheless very effective. The story was told carefully and sublimely; unless you have to have something blow up in your face every 90 seconds (see Transformers2 for that), then UP is a terrific addition to the Pixar catalog. (I loved the Pixar logo\ title sequence in 3D).

I've seen it twice now, and have to agree that it is probably one of, if not THE, best film made in this genre. I do have to disagree with the previous comment about having to love the Joker... I loved the performance, but the character is an amoral monster, and there was way too much laughing at some of his more terrible deeds at both screenings I saw, in situations that had me just saying, Good God, what is he going to do next? It is very sad that we will not have the opportunity to see Ledger's Joker reprised for another film...

Who is this Neal Young person? Any relation to one of the gods of Rock, Neil Young? I'll have to check out the Late Show web site, because Neil is King, with no Rust in sight...

Beautiful... This (sans the stand) is what I have been imagining sitting on top of my Mits RPTV (instead of my little Academy) Of course it would help balance out if I had a pair of La Scalas instead of my (still wonderful-sounding) Fortes. I love the Sapele wood... it seemed a good alternative to Rosewood when I was veneer shopping for my subwoofer enclosure. Keep us updated on the the sound tweaking. A design question: Did you use any polyfill or other dampening material on the interior? Also, what kind of bracing did you engineer into this?

Congrats! I have had mine for coming up on 20 years now - oiled oak like yours - and nothing new that I have auditioned in the past 5 years comes close (except for the 60th Anniversary K-Horns I listened to a few years ago, but of course, they weren't new either). These are very receptive to component upgrades; the better the signal you send them, the more impressed you will be. Enjoy!

Sorry... I'll elaborate later today... I have to go buy a car right now. Be back when I'm poorer...

MIke, I haven't performed reference-level SPL test. The rest of the system is calibrated at a level that doesn't make my ears bleed when I run the test tones; usually setting my HT receiver\processor at -15dB (per the manufacturer recommendation), and setting all speakers at 75 Hz on the SPL meter from the listening position. Target budget is so far as low as possible, since my original intent was to use drivers and materials I already have on hand (except for maybe a piece of Birch plywood)... I am starting with down-firing driver)s) in a rectangle approx. 24D" x 26H" x 18W" (but correct tuning may require a couple of inches more). I actually planned to raid the driver in my second sub (a Hsu VTF3) since it is a close match to the other driver I pulled from a Hsu TN1220 - I have yet another driver to take its (the VTF3's) place, that will work well for what I intend to use it... this is all just theory and planning at this point, and it looks like I am not headed in quite the right direction...

I'm trying to match the Sonotube sub I built...

Both drivers came from Hsu subs; one from a TN1220 cylinder, the other from a VTF3; the space where the new enclosure would be located is best suited by a traditional rectangular box-type sub (I have more Sonotube from previous builds, but it would not work in this location). I cannot say I am hearing\feeling a 15 Hz output from the new corner Sonosub... that is merely the "tune" of the unit, which is lower than my second sub (the one that helped to "dis-locate" my old corner sub)... that is why I assume that a sub tuned to match the new one would once again help to balance out this sound. ...and it's not an issue that is ruining my audio\HT experience... I am just a chronic tweaker, and since these drivers are just lying around...

Thanks for the replies and input... The reason I am looking for 15 Hz tuning is because the Sonosub I recently completed is tuned that low, and a problem I had solved a few years ago has once again become an issue; that problem being the ability to locate my right corner-positioned subwoofer with a lot of bass material (this is not a good thing, when the sound you are hearing is supposed to be straight ahead, or to one side, or behind you...). I solved it (and greatly helped my room response curve, as well) by adding a second sub (between my display and left channel speaker). (Yes, I know that the prevailing "wisdom" is that bass content is non-locatable, especially with the lowest material, but every room is different... my 12' high cathedral ceiling, the peak of which runs from my display to the back wall, does not provide for a kind of cut-and-dried solution you read from the set-up instructions. I have come to the opinion, like many, and through much experimenting, that the room is one of the most important factors in setting up an audio or HT system). Anyway... the new Sonosub has resurrected the problem of locatable bass; my second sub (which used to match the tune of, and was the same brand as, my previous corner sub) is not able to dig down as deeply as the Sonosub, so is not "doing its part" to equalize the sound I am looking for. ...and the reason I am\was looking to use drivers not suited to the task is simply because I have two on hand, and was looking for the most economical solution. I have a notion of the physics behind why this is not going to be feasible; I am relatively inexperienced with subwoofer design (I have built two, but only with the help of emulating others, and a couple of nifty little programs called Sonosub.exe and WinIsd), but had the hope that enough air could be moved by using two drivers in tandem to reproduce these lower-lows. I appreciate receiving good, honest, experienced advice... I will continue analyzing and see what else I can come up with...

Wasn't sure where to post this one; it's a technical question about a DIY sub mainly for home theater use... most of the builders seem to hit this section, so here goes: I'm planning a traditional rectangular box (probably mostly birch plywood, with some MDF for motorboard and support pieces) with a 15-Hz tune to match my existing DIY Sonosub (aesthetics and logistics do not allow for another Sonosub). I have two 12-inch drivers to work with, but do not have their complete T\S parameters - just efficiency, power handling, and XMax. I know from using them in another project that each driver individually is not quite capable of the 15-Hz tuning I am planning (they will bottom out at the SPL I require somewhere under 16 or 17 Hz), but the big question is: Can both drivers, working together in the same enclosure, handle the lower tuning; in other words, will a dual-driver system provide not only the obvious increase in SPL, but at lower frequencies beyond the drivers' individual capabilities? I would hate to find out after-the-build, and hear that dreaded fapping sound...

I've a Hsu TN1220 Cylinder and a Hsu VTF3-MK2 (Rosewood) sharing the bass duties in my HT setup; very clean, very deep, very musical, and for a great price for the quality. They integrated very well with my Forte-Academy-RS3 system. A quality sub (or subs) is crucial for getting the most out of modern film, and also helps bring more realism to music.

I have owned my Fortes for over 18 years, started with 2-channel music listening, and they now perform double-duty as the mains in my HT setup; I've experimented with positioning, and found that I prefer the "as close to the wall as possible", to get the full effect of the rear passive radiators. In my case, the inner back corners are about an inch to an inch and a half from the wall, and the outer corners are about four inches from the wall. This provides the "looking down the throat of the horns" that Klipsch recommended at that time. (I have tried pulling them forward, as many report improved imaging; it had roughly the opposite effect with my setup).

I have had in mind for quite some time a custom LaScala center, featuring the midrange and tweeter horn top section, and with two woofers, one on each side. The enclosure and crossover specs are a bit beyond my skill-set, but I can dream...

...These responses help to explain why my system sounds sooo much better (to my ears) with my mains (Forte I's) crossed over at 30 Hz; crossing them at 80 does not do them justice, and does not allow for them to really sing with that terrific flat response they are capable of. (This is for HT use; I have them running at full for music listening, with 2 subs filling in the lowest material).

Another sub to go with the two I already have? I would have to let someone else sell this particular notion to my wife [] I have a Hsu TN1220 cylinder in one front corner, and a Hsu VTF3 between my display and the left main, to de-localize the bass and balance out the room response. BTW, my HT processor (Anthem AVM20) is set to small with my center and rears, but with custom crossovers for each, to adjust for their different frequency responses... it took a lot of time to set it all up to sound the most natural, and I would dread having to do it again...

This is very useful information for me... I have had the Forte-Academy soundstage for a while now (love it!), and sometimes see Chorus go up for sale, and wonder how it would be to place the Fortes in surround duty, with the Chorus taking over as mains. While I'm sure I would love the sound of the Chorus for music listening, I would hesitate to shake up the Forte-Academy love I've been enjoying. I had tried and RC3 center with the Fortes (terrible!), then a KLF-C7 (sounded great on its own, but still out-of-timbre with Fortes); the Academy really ties everything together, and while is doesn't sound exactly the same like another Forte would, it does the job nicely, and sits on top of my Mitsubishi 55" very comfortably.

If you like Dire Straits, you owe it to yourself to check out the soundtrack from "Wag the Dog"... it is by Mark Knopfler, and has a lot of acoustic guitar (with balls, not the wimpy classical stuff), along with some very catchy tunes. The sound is terrific on my Klipsch Fortes. My age is starting to show, as I have been enjoying female vocalists (their singing, not in the other way) in recent years. Listening to Sarah McLachlan, Dido, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Alison Krauss, and even Avril Lavign can turn me to butter at the end of a long day. Since it's the season, my disc changer usually has a few Christmas CDs from now until the New Year; Mannheim Steamroller, Philadelphia Brass, and (my favorite) a Charlie Brown Christmas (Vince Guaraldi rules). Of course, we all have different tastes, but all of these sound great on my gear, and are among music I enjoy sharing with friends and family.

My recommendation would be to look diligently for a Klipsch Academy center to come up on audiogon or ebay; neither the Synergy or the Reference are acceptable matches sonically with the Forte. I went through an RC3 (Reference) and KLF-C7 (Legend) before I scored my Academy; the RC3 was a terrible match, the C7 was similar (and sounded terrific in its own right), but was still far enough away from the Forte's pedigree to not allow for a seamless match across the soundstage... sounds that used both the center and one of the mains were "off", as well as sounds that panned across the front soundstage. Had I been unable to find an Academy, I would almost see myself going for a pair of KLF30's to go with the C7, but patience won out in the end; the Academy is a near-seamless match. Best of luck!

No K-Horns here... just Forte-Academy-Forte for the front soundstage, and McCormack amps make them sing like none of the other amps I've tried (Carver, Rotel, HK).

I have a niece studying in a student exchange program there; curiously, the "go-to" person in the family for information did not even know about the quake 12 hours after it happened, so I have yet to hear how she made out. Snowstorms and earthquakes seem to be picking up the slack from the milder-than-predicted hurricane season...

Fifteen years ago, after having cycled seriously for about two years, I was training for the local MS150; I was taking pain medication for a tooth that ultimately required the dreaded root canal treatment, and was amazed at how far and long into a usually-more-grueling 45-mile ride I got without stopping, or even feeling any fatigue. A few days later, after I had stopped taking the pain medicine, I started to feel an "achiness" in my left knee that turned into popping every time I bent my knee. It was diagnosed as chondromalacia, or a roughening of the cartilege under the kneecap, caused (then exacerbated) by repetitive stress. I stayed off the bike for a week or two (an eternity for a junkee), then gradually and tentatively started up again. It was no good; every time since then that I have stopped, then tried to start back up, the popping and aching returns; not only with bicycling, but also with climbing, running, etc. Since my work does not depend on my riding, climbing or running, I have not sought any sports-medicine or surgical solution to this, but I still miss the long rides and the pure endorphine-fueled joy of riding a bike for miles; I could ride more leisurely, but living around so many hills is too stressful to successfully ward off the return of the problem. My bike has hung on a hooks in my garage for about a year now, with tires that need to be replaced, and I have settled on long walks to get a little of the fix of being out and about... I envy those of you who can cycle without the prospect of pain and unease at the end of the day...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Klipsch-Forte-Crossovers-modified-with-Mundorf-MCaps_W0QQitemZ300020698599QQihZ020QQcategoryZ3276QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Would these be worth looking into for my 1987 Fortes (which are sporting the original xovers)? I'm not sure about the parts used, especially since they were tacked on to the original networks...

If you're referring to the chap in the photo, it's Ricky Gervais, creator of the original BBC "The Office", and one of the funniest people I've seen on TV since Seinfeld ended its run. I've never seen the actual jacksonbart, and doubt if he really exists.

JM, Nice room you've made for yourself... the 120" screen is another future dream of mine. Are you using a custom crossover for your center speaker array? Also, did you find it necessary to dampen or insulate the inside of the two Heresy boxes at all, given the extra open space due to the mid and tweeters being vacant? I think my own thoughts are of a more specialized pair of boxes sporting 15" woofers; again, currently only in dreams...