Forte II front channels, Quartet Center channel, Linux driving a solid state receiver...simple and elegant....

[wuboy]

Ok, so I have issues, don't we all, I had to opportunity to get a pair of Quartet's to go with my Forte II's. One of the Quartets has a dead and woofer. I had to replace both tweeter diaphragms, easy enough. I figured, what would make a better center channel for Forte II's than it's sibling. I mounted the Quartet on a piece of MDF about the size of the television, I have not run into any shielding problems, I set the back post up in the shape of an equilateral triangle.and all is good, In my little 20 X 10 office. I sit about 8' on axis from the center channel.

This "old technology" provides that rich, powerful sound that is the hallmark of Klipsch, something that has been lacking from my previous attempt (RF-52's, RC-52 and an RT-10d). The power of the Forte II's and the Quartet center present a full sound stage, with much more depth and presence than my "new" RF combination could have possibly done.

These speakers (Forte II's and Quartets) were true to the design principles of the pioneers of acoustic engineering, which in it's uncompromising infancy was far beyond it's years in wisdom. When I fire this system up every morning, I marvel at the brilliance and elegance of designs created from a understanding of technology that seems to have been lost over time. For a little office system, cobbled together over time, this combination of sheer power and open sound never ceases to amaze me.

Sometimes I think we get so caught up in the gadgetry that we lose sight of the bottom line, how it all sounds. I have never really listened to an iPod, as I remember some crazy speaker designer in Arkansas trying to propagate a 20 Hz wave length through folding a horn and placing it in a corner. No amount of DSP can make that can happen with a pair of micro diaphragms plugged into the outer ear. Some times I listen to the blose eating morons up here in New England and realize that they know no better, but I do.

To achieve power through the deliberate act of simple, functional engineering is truly an art form. Form should be integral with function, not a result of a fashion ( cute little cubes with cheap speakers and an elaborate DSP unit as part of the input side of the equation ). I love using google chrome, but I wish this darn IIS generated text box control would recognize more line feeds/returns. I had to again edit in IE, which means using IE(note to Amy Unger and the IT staff).

That one little Linux machine in the background can serve 20 client requests for media throughout the house, some times beauty is the way that function dictates correct form, the Linux kernel is an example of this. The open and simple nature of the Linux kernel allows me alter form in accordance with function. SAMBA and SMB/CIFS allow all machines to access shares (one of the few really good Microsoft standards). Those Forte II's and Quartets are an example of how sound engineering principles create a form that emanates true beauty and power. Like other Klipsch products of it's time, performance was the bottom line and the form that followed is both beautiful and functional.

Ok, that was my rant, if any one thinks it's coherent, please respond in kind. And if you do find a coherent thread in these musings, do us all a favor, seek professional help.

-I'm still on the hunt for a k-10-k.

[wuzzzer]

Very nice. A Quartet will work very, very well as a center with Forte IIs.

May I make a suggestion? Having the Quartet below the TV will put all the drivers in the front 3 speakers closer to the same height. Have you thought about doing that? Would that make your TV higher than you'd like it to be?

[wuboy]

I did just angle the speaker down 10 degrees( after your response), either way, it does the deed. The tv ( 27" Sony Wega ) actually weighs more than the Quartet, so I would have had to make a really solid shelf. One day I'll break down and get an HDTV, then I'll put a shelf around the Quartet, under the tv.

[odysseyrevolver]

Get a new television immediately. []