KenazFilan

My McIntosh MA6200 integrated amp sounds absolutely amazing with my Fortes. I've heard from many people that McIntosh and Klipsch syncretize beautifully together and based on my own experiences I'd have to agree. The MA6200 has a warmth which cuts some of the brightness from the horns while preserving that sense of presence and dynamism you get with horns. While I've never listened to the 4100 I have heard nothing but good things about it and I'm sure it is doing justice to your La Scalas Congratulations on building a superb sound system!

I have been very tempted to buy a Schiit DAC and a Shinola turntable. Just to prove that I do so know the difference.

I have a Music Hall 25.3 hybrid tube DAC which I find more than satisfactory. It's a bit over your price point, but you can buy it used on Amazon for under $400.

I was having a similar problem with one of my Forte Is after installing the Crites crossovers: it turned out I had not properly connected the squawker. You'll have to open up the back to make sure but that sounds like a loose or missing connection to the woofer. "Not much bass" is not something you normally hear about Cornwalls. It is possible somebody swapped out parts: I've seen a few egregious swaps and "improvements" on eBay where the sellers honestly described how they had "fixed" their speakers. One person replaced the woofers in his McIntosh LS320s with Yamaha woofers: another "got rid of that woofer in the back that wasn't attached to anything and built smaller cabinets" for a pair of Fortes. And those are just the people who admitted it. But I'd bet this is something which can be resolved more easily than that.

I have now installed what should be the final update in my Klipsch Forte Is -- titanium midrange diaphragms. Moray James was absolutely right: they make an enormous difference for the better in the sound. There is much better separation between instruments and a wider soundstage: there's also a far greater clarity to vocals. There are only two things to watch out for when installing these diaphragms. The first is that you must be careful about getting those big heavy drivers out of the horn slot: there's a small curve atop the left side where you can get them out with relative ease. The second is that the positive terminal on the titanium diaphragms is wider than the negative: you will need to open up the connector on the crossover wire with needle nose pliers to get it on. Neither of these are particularly difficult: if a technodunce like me can do it in 20 minutes you probably can do it in 10. As an added bonus, the blown channel on my MA6200 turned out to be a dirty speaker relay: I've now run the system through its paces with a playlist that started with Sarah Connelly singing Elgar's "Sea Pictures" and ended with Arvo Part's Lamentate with Amon Tobin, Dire Straits, Shelly Manne & his Men and others thrown in for good measure. Everything sounds fantastic and I couldn't be happier with this upgrade. (Now I can't wait to see what they sound like after a few hundred hours of break-in... ).

The right channel went out on my McIntosh MA6200: luckily it is still under McIntosh Audio's 2 year warranty and I'll be sending it back sometime this week. I have three spare receivers lying around the apartment but they are all out of service for one reason or another. And so I went to Craigslist: within 24 hours and $280 I was the proud owner of a just-serviced Marantz 2220. The first thing I noticed is how much oomph this little fellow has. It's at least as loud as my MA6200, which is conservatively rated at 75 watts: both get to painful levels before the volume dial reaches 9 o'clock. It also has a warm tubelike sound that reminds me very much of McIntosh. It's not as velvety black silent on quiet passages and the MA6200 has more separation and a bit better soundstage. But for around 1/6th the price the 2220 gives the McIntosh a decent run for its money. I see now Marantz units command a premium for more than their quintessentially 70s styling. If you're looking for something to pair with your Klipsches, I'd definitely recommend giving vintage Marantz equipment a look.

I have two sets of floor standers: Klipsch Forte Is in my living room and Bose 10.2 series IIs for my bedroom set.(*) I've found larger speakers have a better sense of "presence" and musical "flow" (for lack of better words) that you can't get with even the best bookshelf speakers or small monitors. Smaller speakers sound constricted to me: they don't sound like live performances so much as sound coming out of a little box. Granted, sometimes it is excellent sound but it's not the same as what you hear from a beast with big woofers and bigger cabinets. AIUI today's "tower" designs have nothing to do with improved acoustics: they are all about the WAF and fitting unobtrusively in a contemporary living room/home theater. (*) I know, I know. Most contemporary Bose stuff is overpriced and mediocre, but they have made a few excellent speakers and the 10.2 is one of their best. The acoustimass-loaded woofer gives some extremely tight and clean bass and the Stereo Everywhere effect is great for casual listening though maybe not so much for sharp imaging and soundstage.

If Baba Yaga had a sound system... These are a nice example of Ukrainian folk art if you like that sort of thing. If you read the 6moons article you'll see the painting is pretty labor-intensive so that helps explain the high cost. (I actually give Volya credit: I've seen many other $150k+ speakers that didn't look nearly so ... striking). I'd say they would look great in a Ukrainian peasant cottage, save for the fact that one could buy several Ukrainian peasant cottages with the money you'd spend on this speaker.

As I continue listening to the Ti tweeters I am struck by just how unforgiving they can be. Bruce Cockburn's "Golden Serpent Blues" (from an early CD pressing of High Winds White Sky) was one of my favorite Cockburn tunes despite the less than stellar recording. On this system it sounds like it is being played through a cheap transistor radio and I can't get through one verse without my head starting to hurt. Bill Evans Live at Art Lugoff's sounded so hollow and distorted I turned everything off and checked every connection in fear my McIntosh was going bad. Then I played an SACD recording of Bill Evans Live at the Village Vanguard followed by Brian Wilson's Smile and they were astounding: I was particularly impressed with how well the Fortes handled Wilson's intricate vocal arrangements. My amp and DAC are both more about euphonious music than dead-accurate pinpoint precision: the MA6200 has that classic warm and friendly McIntosh sound and the tube stage in the DAC really does help give digital music an analog feel. With the titanium tweeters the Fortes have the precision of studio monitors and the same propensity for bringing out a recording's warts. When it works it is breathtaking: when it doesn't it's painful.

I have been very impressed with my Music Hall 25.3 DAC: it is a hybrid design and the tubes add a nice bit of warmth and analog sound to the digital signal. It is a bit above your budget at $595 but I got mine on sale for around $450.

After the self-inflicted difficulties with installing my Crites crossovers, I was a little hesitant about tackling the titanium diaphragms. But the instructions on Bob's website were pretty clear and I have a multimeter handy to test the connection. Finally I took the plunge and I'm glad I did -- once I started it took around 15 minutes to replace both! I noticed a little extra clarity and a clearer soundstage after installing the crossovers. The titanium diaphragms took the process to a whole new level: it is the aural equivalent of cleaning a dirty window. Everything is brighter and sharper, not just the highs. Cymbals sparkle and stand out: Freddie Hubbard's trumpet on 1970's Red Clay is so clear you can hear him hitting the spit valve. The Ti upgrade definitely makes the speakers less forgiving: badly recorded material goes from tinny to nails on a blackboard as every bit of distortion is reproduced with painful fidelity. But the glorious improvements on good recordings well worth $54/pair + shipping. I must admit that this has me wondering about titanium midrange diaphragms. On another forum I saw Moray James commenting on how much Ti midranges improved his system and Klipsch's current Heritage lineup uses Ti midranges, but I'm not sure where I would purchase these. (Critesspeakers.com also has a very helpful tutorial on changing the midranges on a Heresy, but I believe he only has phenolic midrange diaphragms). But for now I'm simply going to bask in the glory of these improvements and give Bob Crites thanks once again for making my world a more musical place.

They're so durned efficient it can be difficult to get them down to a reasonable volume. I'm using a 75w amplifier and if I get them much above 9 o'clock I'm shouting to be heard. (To put this in perspective: I had the dial at 12 o'clock when listening to the Bose 10.2s at a reasonable volume). Right now I'm listening to Janacek's Glagolitic Mass with the dial at around 8:30 and the crescendos are a little uncomfortable.

Following up on this: after a few days I returned to the scene of the crime and was able to successfully tame the beast. Thank you to Mr. Crites for his services and his crossovers. In the interim I also picked up a pair of Bose 10.2 Series IIs. While Bose gets a bad rap, I must say the 10.2 is a very good speaker. The Acoustimass system makes for some very clean and tight bass and the "Stereo Everywhere" effect is nice if you're wandering around the room. That being said, they don't hold a candle to the Forte's midrange and high end: neither do they have that larger-than-life "presence" I get from the Fortes and as far as efficiency goes, fuhgettaboutit. Funniest thing: when I was listening to the 10.2s I was thinking "You know, maybe the Fortes are a bit big for my 12 x 15 listening room. Sometimes the sound gets a little overwhelming when you're trying to have conversations. I may want to get a pair of Heresies and a subwoofer." Now that I've moved them to my bedroom system and have hooked up the Fortes in our living room I am once more thinking "If these sound good I bet a set of Cornwalls or La Scalas would sound even better... "

The input terminal cup is not broken: upon a brief inspection today I am reasonably sure that all drivers are functioning and I just need a competent person to install the crossover and Ti tweeters. I've already put out some feelers for local audio people and should have the beasts back in shape before too long. Thanks very much for your response! I will shoot you some pictures tomorrow when the young'un is out of the house and I can open her back up again. (I'm now much more inclined to pick up Cornscalas next time and save myself this trouble... )

It happens. I should have known better than to try playing electrician, but at least I learned my lesson before purchasing expensive old tube equipment and starting a house fire with a soldering iron. My incompetence in things mechanical goes clear to the bone. If anybody knows a stereo repair guy in the northern NJ area who makes house calls -- I'd rather not haul these beasts out of my apartment if I can avoid it -- all referrals will be greatly appreciated. Otherwise I may have some Forte parts for sale soon at very reasonable rates.

Well, THAT didn't go as planned. First I discovered one of the screws to the tweeter was stripped. Then I managed to turn the original crossover (glued to the back of the terminal) into scrap metal trying to get the transformer off to remove a nonexistent circuit board (a difference in design between the 1s and 2s). Then I snapped off one of the terminals on the squawker drive. At which point I decided it is time to let a stereo professional do this, as I have not become more skilled with mechanical things in my later years. I'm presently looking around for somebody in the northern NJ area who will make a house call. In the interim I've attached my old DLKs, and I suppose if I want to listen to mono recordings I still have one working Forte. Not throwing things at walls and swearing yet, but get back to me if it turns out I turned the speaker into spare parts.

The ordering process was painless and the package even got here a day early. I am hoping to add the new crossovers tomorrow after my 5 year-old goes to preschool -- as any parent will tell you, tinkering with stereos with a 5-year old at home is a recipe for disaster, especially if you live in an apartment. My speakers sound amazing as is -- I'm presently listening to Paul Desmond's Glad to be Unhappy as we speak and it's like a massage for your ears. I'm waiting to hear what they will sound like with refreshed crossovers and will keep everybody posted. (I also got the titanium tweeters and am planning to put them in next. I first wanted to make sure the crossover upgrade wasn't beyond my limited capabilities before tampering with fragile diaphragms. This may seem overly cautious until you've seen some of my previous misadventures in electronics).

I noticed that but wasn't sure whether or not it was a typo. Since it is a local only sale I'm guessing the prospective buyer would want to take a look inside one: I've gathered driver fraud isn't uncommon and neither is seller stupidity. (I remember one seller trying to sell some Fortes he had "improved" by building a new cabinet without that ugly woofer on the back, which he observed wasn't even wired up anyhow... :smdh: . There's another guy who is trying to sell some McIntosh speakers whose blown woofers he "fixed" with woofers from his Yamaha speakers... ).

I'm partial to vintage McIntosh: it's within my price range, and it comes with history. I'd love to A/B my MA6200 against an MA5200 in my setup and hear the difference. I still haven't listened to enough high-end equipment to have any idea of how much better a $25k Mark Levinson or Krell amp sounds next to a $7500 contemporary McIntosh amp vs. my setup. But I'd also recommend the OP check out an MC275 (new or vintage) as tubes go well with Klipsch and the MC275 is a legend among tube amps.

Thanks, that's good to know! The price on those speakers is certainly right and I hope they find a good home.

An eBay seller is offering four "Cornwall E" speakers: the back label has no serial # but says "Exclusively made for audio int'l/Frankfurt, Germany." Googling reveals nothing about this line: do any of the Klipsch experts on here have any further information? I'm not interested in the auction as I'm not a Ft. Lauderdale local and don't have the room for four Cornwalls in my apartment, but I'm always interested in learning more about Klipsch history.

You need to talk to Tom Manley at McIntosh Audio. He has a fantastic selection of vintage McIntosh and is a great guy as well. He'll be more than happy to discuss your needs and help you find the McIntosh amp that works for you. (If you're willing to work with tubes, an MC 275 would make those Heresies sing... ). I picked up my MA 6200 from him and couldn't be happier with my purchase -- and it was $2800 less than what you're willing to spend, so you should be like a kid in a candy store browsing his site.

I'm running a vintage McIntosh MA6200 integrated amp with Fortes and have nothing but good things to say about the combo. McIntosh and Klipsch go together beautifully, IMO: the McIntosh warmth smooths the bite from the horns while the Klipsch brightness and dynamic sound help add sparkle to the music. And while McIntosh equipment is pricy it has excellent resale value. If things don't work out I'm sure you'll find somebody who will be more than willing to take your unwanted McIntosh equipment off your hands.

I love my Forte Is but I suspect I would love them even more if I refreshed their crossover. I know Bob Crites' crossovers are a refresh of the original Klipsch design, while ALK's crossovers are a product of his own vision: I've also heard good things about both. Could any of our gentle readers compare and contrast the Crites and ALK crossovers in action? (And in case I've accidentally asked a "Do Balrogs Have Wings?" question, I really am not trying to start a flame war or cast aspersions on either. I am just curious as to the differences between the two and how their differing approaches effect the sound).

Got some excellent sound out of my Forte Is with a Luxman R-405. Then I picked up a McIntosh MA6200 integrated amp from Tom Manley at McIntosh Audio and discovered a whole new world of music. The tone is warm and non-fatiguing (I see why so many small offices use McIntosh for their sound systems): the separation between instruments reveals notes I'd never heard. I'm thinking about setting up a Macintosh MAC1700/Heresy listening station in my bedroom -- or just move my Fortes to the bedroom and put Cornwalls in the main system...