thenewold

Dig it! Thanks Matt for sharing the process. For those who haven't heard Matt's amps - I recommend getting your ears on one.

We have a G42 here for sale. I do not have the packaging, so looking for a local sale. The bar is like new - only in use 6 months or so. Moving the Forte to the living room, so the bar goes. Thanks, Darren

I neglected to add that I recently bought a vintage Luxman integrated - L430. 100 watts into the Forte in my small space is ridiculous. This channel isn't for SS amps, so I'll leave it at that.

Hey All. I posted last year about my Forte I restoration project, and wanted to follow up on my experience. Once I finished the Forte, I started a second larger format horn project with a pair of Altec Lansing A8's pulled from an old theater in San Diego. I've been running those for several months, and am now back to using the Forte with my latest amp - the Toolshed Amps Euphoria Stereo 45. Matt Formanek is no stranger to these forums, so you may already be familiar. If not, I recommend his site - http://toolshedamps.com for more photos and specs, etc. Disclaimer: I helped Matt build his site this winter. (Donated my time) I've no incentive to write/post reports, outside of wanting to share the excellent quality of TS Amps with you folks here. I bought my E45 last summer, and have been driving both the Altec's and Forte with it since. Being a flea-watt amp, I didn't expect much - if I'm honest - despite the Forte's 98db rating. My listening space is small (13'x10'x9') and quiet, so I don't need much power to get where I want to go with playback. I have a great digital chain and a nice analog setup (Clearaudio Concept 'table w/2M Blue, and Lounge Audio LCR MKIII phono pre) running directly into the E45. I had Matt build mine as an integrated, because I intended to use it primarily as a headphone amp. It has both headphone and speaker outputs, and will switch between 8 and 16 ohms. I also use Audioquest Nighthawks as my primary headphone. While ultimately I do intend to get another more powerful amp, this setup is very satisfying driving both speakers and headphones. First, it's very quiet for a DHT amp. Even with 'phones, I hear only the slightest hum when no music is playing. There's no hum pot on the E45. It's extremely quiet for this type of design. Of course, the 45 tube is known for low distortion, great tone and timbre, and tremendous insight...I'm loathe to use 'detailed' as a description but it is that. 2 watts or so of output limits it's use, but for Klipsch Heritage owners, this is perhaps less of an issue. For the past couple weeks, I've had the Forte back in the room (actually selling them, and am happy now there's been little interest!). Whoa. Running the amp about 1:00 or '7 to 8' on the dial, and I'm getting (dependent on the material) excellent drive and power from this pair. Describing sound is kind of silly - so subjective - but, this rig does exactly what I want from my hifi. It's delivering the nuance of a performance, realistic tone, plenty of scale and drive in my space. No, it won't deliver pants flapping low end, or ultimate grip and control of those big lf drivers, but that's not what this design is about, ya? Again, I'll be grabbing another 10-20 watt amp later on. That said, the bass has enough control and reach for my space and preferences. My listening preferences are all over the map - from heavy rock, jazz, electronic, limited hip hop and some classical. In the end this experience confirms for me that the heritage line easily competes with other modern designs, and of course does the 'live' music sound better than most. If your preferences lean more toward nuance and a realistic tone, vs muscle and scale, then a DHT amp may be worth looking into.

Time to clear the house - I'm providing links to my posts covering the Forte project, instead of dropping the photos here. Will add photos of the Dynaco soon. I've a pair of Forte I that have been restored/upgraded with Crites crossovers (also upgraded with some nice parts) new Ti tweeter diaphragms. Original mid drivers, lf drivers, and passives. They sound beautiful. Cosmetically rough - I stripped the black paint and stained the veneer underneath. These were purchased last year, and were not cared for prior to my purchase - the stands should be rebuilt, I think. Many spots where the veneer is gone. A good purchase if you're wanting to restore the cabinets. Again, they sound awesome, so also good if you're less concerned with the look. I have the grills too - one badge missing. They look worn, and never used them. Asking $800 http://thenewold.co/the-vintage-project-klipsch-forte-crossover-updates/ http://thenewold.co/the-vintage-project-forte-i-stands/ http://thenewold.co/the-vintage-project-klipsch-forte-i-great-lows-and-no-highs/ http://thenewold.co/the-vintage-project-klipsch-forte-i-listening/ http://thenewold.co/the-vintage-project-klipsch-forte-i-almost-finished/ Also have a Dynaco ST70 I traded for last year. DIYtube mods installed by another owner. Sounds good. Including the full tube complement. Asking $500 Finally, I've a Dynaco ST150 amp. Not sure of it's history, but I've had it on the shelf for years. It's working, though likely needs a cleaning and recap. Power switch is always on, so also needs to be fixed. Asking $100 Will consider fair offers on all of these. Prefer local pickup, so you can see and listen to them. Thanks, Darren

Selling the recently restored Forte series I. Cabinets are a bit rough. Stands need refinishing. All electronics are upgraded- Crites diaphragms in the HF driver. Mids and woofer are original and in excellent condition. Crites crossovers upgraded with Jupiter Copper/Foil, Duelund JAM and Obbligato caps. Duelund resistors. Duelund tinned copper wire. Come check them out. Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

Been running the Forte for a couple weeks now. Using Crites crossovers. I am slowly replacing the stock caps with my own. The first move was to drop in a pair of Jupiter CF 1.5uF - I had these on the shelf from a previous project. After running those for a week, I added the Duelund JAM 1.0uF caps. These are a new 'budget' line from Duelund. Really digging how they sound now. In the meantime, I got an offer to trade my Tekton speakers for a modded Dynaco ST70 (DIYtube). So I'll run this until my new amp is built.

Interested!

Any downside to installing the crossover on the board below the woofer, and under the foam?

Ok, thanks. Almost think I should do that. Too much bass for this space. But I'll wait to make any moves.

Alright, new XO's are in, and I'm running them for a bit before I mess with setup. Question on positioning in a small space: With the passive drivers what happens if I push the speakers closer to the wall? Currently have them about 30" from the front wall.

Another shot - finish is uneven. But I was able to match the stands and cabinets. American Walnut stain. Again, not perfect, but I dig it much more than the black. Should have the crossovers tomorrow. Look forward to putting these things to work.

Hello! I've had both the Primaluna Prologue premium integrated and an Amps&Sound Mogwai more recently. I don't have Cornwalls and haven't heard the Dialogue HP. Both amps offer great sound, though the PPP offers more features like multiple inputs, remote, etc. The Mogwai is more budget friendly and offers the same tube rolling opportunity if you get into that. Of course the HP has 10 times the output of the Mogwai. I've also got Matt from ToolShed Amps building a 3watt stereo amp for me now. I'll post on that down the road. There's no substitute for listening in your space, of course. In my experience both PL and A&S are solid amps with good sound and reliability. Never had issues with either.

Great article! Really dig this community, and, now have better insight into it's dedication and enthusiasm.

I did something similar...tape and heavy paper over the front/drivers. Ya, I dig it! Much better than the black paint, even with the scars. Some damage to the veneer - not sure where these lived before I grabbed them. Hah! Thanks for noticing...we got a new mattress today.