bobd

Well, my friend offered mr 500 plus a Schwinn spinner in new condition for my Fortes. That did it. I'm more of a fitness nut than an audiophile so he got the Fortes. Part of my reason for letting them go was that the room just didn't accomadate them. It's rectagular room with the speakers at one end. The listening position is off center. So I got no imaging and at times you could really only hear one speaker. There just wasn't enough dispersion in those horns. I ended up buying a pair of Cambridge Soundworks M80s. Just an 8"bass driver, 3" mid and a 1" silk dome tweeter. Let me tell you, for my room, these sound SO much better. The only loss is some bass, but that can be easily fixed with a subwoofer. Also, you'll be happy to know the Fortes went to a friend that is buying them for a future HT setup. He also has Heresy's that he will be using fore the rear channels and I told him to look for an academy center. So they went to a good home.

My Forte's look like the ones pictured under Heritage Speakers on this site. Is that the oiled oak finish? My brother in law has a pair of Chorus II's that are darker. What finish is that and can I refinish my Forte's in that finish?

So I'm an idiot. I was thinking of getting rid of my Fortes because the Yamaha reciever I'm driving them with is too bright. Well I sat down the other night when everyone was in bed and put on some Stan Getz. I first listened the the "Lost Sessions" CD which is a current release. One of the tunes opens up with a little piano, brushed drums and high bass.Everything was crystal clear. Then the bass drops down an octave and Getz comes in. I was listening at very low volume and the bass just quietly filled the room while all the highs were nice and clear. I listened to a few more Getz CD's. The only one that got annoying was his Getz/Gilberto "Jazz Samba". One of the percussion instruments got too abrasive. Maybe caulking the horns didi have some affect. So now I've done a 180. I'm going to keep the Fortes. I think I'll also try finding a good Marantz 2270 reciever to see if that settles things down a bit more. Those seem rather plentiful on Ebay. Prices seem to range from 175 to 400 based on condition. There is one guy selling restored ones for around 400 with out the wood encloser. I think it's Shains Colletables. Anyone know anything about him?

Well, 33 views and no reply's. Is the price too high or did I screw myself by saying I would only sell in the New England area?

I have a pair of Fortes that I bought in 1987. They are very clean except for some water stains on the tops. All cabinet edges are sharp, connectors are solid, screens are in perfect shape. Basically a very clean pair of Fortes. Oh and they have not been driven very hard over that time frame. These were not "party" speakers I bought them for their sound not for their efficiency. I will sell only to New England buyers, unless you are willing to travel. I don't wish to ship them. Asking $500. I don't have pictures so email me or reply here if you have questions or interest. email: rdoherty@phcs.com

I have a pair of Fortes that I bought in 1987. They are very clean except for some water stains on the tops. All cabinet edges are sharp, connectors are solid, screens are in perfect shape. Basically a very clean pair of Fortes. Oh and they have not been driven very hard over that time frame. These were not "party" speakers I bought them for their sound not for their efficiency. I will sell only to New England buyers, unless you are willing to travel. I don't wish to ship them. Asking $500. I don't have pictures so email me or reply here if you have questions or interest. email: rdoherty@phcs.com

I actually do love the sound of Klipsch. They are so "alive" sounding. And the bass is tremendous and textured. My problem with them is I get almost sensory overloaded while listening to them. The highs and mids are just too bright and too much. When I listened to the Cambridge Soundworks M80's(8" woofer,3"mid,1"dome tweeter) they were easy to listen to. Very tame highs but at the same time clear. Also, the bass was pretty good. The Tower I's were even better becuase they had the added bass and they have rear firing mids and tweeters that give the speaker a very open sound without being at all harsh. Plus they are on sale for 680 bucks. That's a lot of spreaker for that kind of money. Also, I don't feel so bad about leaving Klipsch for these speakers since they were designed by Henry Kloss who is another great American speaker designer.

It's not so much that I like the Yamaha more than the horns it's more a matter of the Fortes really don't fit the room soundwise and the Yamaha is newly purchased. Also I can get 400 for the Fortes where as I would probably get less for the Yamaha. I think my friend may want the Fortes for a future surround sound system. He said he'd give me 400 for them.

SO I went and listened to a pair of Paradigm reference speakers. They were very nice and very clear. No bass to speak of when compared to my Fortes. they were driven by a Yamaha rx777 which is what I have. Then I went to Cambridge Soundworks. Listened to a pair of Tower I's. They are very nice. Very warm and clear. And currently on sale for $680. If anyone is in the Boston area and wants a pair of Fortes in Oak with a bit of water damage on the tops let me know. I'd let them go for $400. I think that's a fair price considering they are almost mint. There are some waters marks on the tops.

So I tried the rope caulk on the Fortes'. It didn't make much difference. Maybe took a little off the harshness. I'm beginning to think these speakers are just too big for the room they are in. It's a 13 by 26 room. The room is cut in half by rather tall love seat. So the speakers are in a 13 by 13 area. It's like too much sound. Even when your at the other end of the room it's as if the sound is some what scattered and there is no imaging since the love seat cuts that off and the couch is located on a side wall. Totally sucky room set up fo listening. I'm thinking a smaller pair of speakers like a Paradigm(sp?) Monitor 3 on short stands or B&W 602's.

So I've been reading a lot on these boards and I've come to the conclusion that if I want a SS receiver that is under $1000 and can give me a warmer sound on my Fortes' I should look for a Marantz 2270 or Harmon Kardon 430/470. But, if I wanted to go new what brands match more favorably with my Fortes'(ie Denon,Nakamichi,NAD). Thanks, Bob

I have not read anything here about rope caulk on Fortes. Is this a viable mod for them? I'm trying to reduce some of the harshness caused by my Yamaha/Klipsch combo. Thanks.

So in the past I traded my Fortes to my sister for a lawn mower and some bucks. I moved into a house that just couldn't fit them. Eventually I NEEDED them back. So I got them back and made them fit. Anyway, my sister put a stone bust of Homer(not of Simpsons fame) on top of one of them and it stained it black. Something must have leached out of the stone. Also, my wife decided a flower pot would look nice on top of one and that leaked and out a water stain on it. I know these cabinets aren't solid oak so I'm wondering how thick the veneer is. Can I just sand away until the stains are gone and then re-stain? Do I need to replace the top veneer and if so how do I do that? I'd really like to fix them since they are otherwise in such mint condition. Thanks.

BobG wrote "Now you might say, "Hey Klipsch, why not just take the Heritage series to the network of high end dealers in the US?" We'd love to, but it seems that those dealers are looking for brands that bring them added panache' and credibility among the ultra high end audience and that Klipsch is not such a brand. For one thing, our products are not expensive enough." I don't understand this. Dealers in the US such as Tweeter carry a full range of products. They have Boston Acoustics which are a pretty good value and certainly not considered high end, Vienna which are the most over priced pieces of crap I've ever heard. I think they may be the worst speaker of all time but that's off subject. So why is Klipsch no longer offered thru Tweeter. I know I was SHOCKED when I went in to a Tweeter a while back and all the Klipsch were on sale. The people at that store said that Klipsch wanted to go mass market and sell a lesser quality product. And that they, Tweeter, dropped Klipsch because Klipsch wanted to sell at a price point that Tweeter already had occupied by other brands. So, it seems that if Klipsch wants to sell their Heritage line Tweeter might be the place to start. And you can't say that Tweeter is not set up to properly display the Heritage product. So I'm starting feel like Klipsch is just going for the almighty dollar at the expense of their image, reputation and vision of their founder. That sucks.

BobG said that the dealers in the US(I'm assuming Tweeter Etc.) think that the Klipsch brand isn't viewed as exotic or high end. This, to me, is a problem with Klipschs' marketing strategy. These ARE high end speakers. Klipsch needs to get out of the mass market dealers. That does nothing but cheapen the image of their products. A full scale marketing strategy, including the introduction of the Jubilee, calling it the last brain child of the great Mr.Klipsch(Look at all the stuff Cambridge Soundworks sells on the name of Henry Kloss.)could be a start towards cracking BACK into the high end market. When I bought my Fortes in 87 from Tweeter they were in Tweeters expensive room. Also, maybe people don't perceive them as high end becuase the new models don't LOOK high end. Use better woods with dark stains and charge more. It would be a shame to see a name like Klipsch just fade from the home audio market. I had a pair of EPI's once. Great speakers. My parents bought them in 1979 or 80. They were great. Years later I saw EPI in a Lechmere(now defunct retailer). They were lighter weight cheap,crappy incarnations of the previous product. What a shame.

Your doing a good job digging into jazz but let me interject some advice. Don't go for anymore compilation or sampler CD's. You definately have enough of those. Try to find a listing of the must have recordings. A few that come to mind are- Coltrane: Blue Trane(much,much more accessible than anything you listed), Ballads, Johnny Hartman and John Coltrane, Lush Life. Be aware that Coltrane is an aquired taste. Miles Davis: Kind of Blue, Porgy and Bess, Birth of the Cool, Someday My Prince Will Come, Relaxin with the Miles Davis Quartet. Cannonball Adderley: Somethin' Else Stan Getz: Anniversary, Serenity, People Time Stanley Turrentine: Ballad or Blue Hour, Hustlin, Sugar, Let It Go Hank Mobley: Soul Station Dexter Gordon: GO, Carnegie Hall Concert, A Swinging Affair Oscar Peterson: Night Train Charles Mingus: UH UM, OH YEAH! Sonny Rollins: Saxophone Collosus, Way Out West Wayne Shorter: Speak No Evil Lee Morgan: Sidewinder Sonny Stitt/Gene Ammons: The Chicago Concert Dave Brubeck: Take Five Charlie Parker: Jazz at Massey Hall There's just so much really good jazz out there. The history of jazz recordings is vast so you can always find something old that is new to you. In addition, the new generation of jazz artists are also very good so new music is always on it's way. Sorry for the long post but I'm a huge jazz fan.

So if I sold off the Yamaha and got something like a Jolida tube amp(I mention them because they seem affordable) I would hear a big difference?

Hello, Thanks for all the replies. I am currently using a Yamaha RX777 Natural Sound 100w/ch reciever to power my Forte's. It has a few switches to bypass the treble/bass controls and go from amp directly to the speakers. I was actually thinking of adding a Margules DAC unit to warm it up but haven't gone that route yet. Maybe I should save my pennies and invest in some other warmer source. What are some options in recievers that are new and in the 500-700 dollar range?

I've had a pair of Forte's since 1987. They are in good shape and sound OK it seems like they are a bit of "shrill". I feel that when I listen for any length of time I get fried/fatigued. I listen mostly to jazz and these speakers are very good with separation in terms of each instrument is nicely defined. I was thinking of maybe upgrading to a Reference speaker like the RF-35 or RF-55. Are these speakers considered to be smoother and less shrill thatn the Forte's?

I have a pair of Forte I's that I think I would like to sell. They are just too big for my house. How much could I ask for them. They have some water marks on the tops but other than that are in great shape and have had an easy life. I haven't played music on them at loud levels ever. I listen primarily to jazz so they really have never been "cranked up".

I thought the 60's/70's Marantz stuff was supposed to be good. I not then what Marantz stuff is everyone raving about on the internet?

I was looking around the web and noticed a lot of vintage Marantz receivers for not too much money. I need information on which ones are more compatible with my Forte's or which ones are just considered to be the best of Marantz. I may sell my Yamaha RX-777 and was thinking I could use that money to buy a Marantz or H/K430 plus a Musical Fidelity X10-d. Thanks for any info you can give me.

What's an integrated amp and how does it compare to a SS amp in a reciever? I'm new to this so "dumb it down" please. Thanks, BobD

Ray, Thanks for all the great info. As I said I'm just getting started and your explanation was "dumbed down" just enough for me. Justin, Since I bought my Forte's in 87 I have yet to hear a non horn speaker that I like. And most of the time it's the expensive speakers that I like the least. Those Vienna's just sounded so muffled with WAY to much midrange. I got this mental vision of paper cones made out of kids contruction paper. I like my little Cambridge Soundworks better. I also listened to a pair of Sonus Faber. They were less offensive but I would never shell out 3500 for them. Maybe my ears are not refined enough to appreciate these high end speakers.

Ray, I'm very new at this audio stuff. I knew the X10-d is out of production but I did think it was a DAC. So, what's a DAC? Thanks, Bob