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buyers regret, maybe.


Ski Bum

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So I just impulsively bought a pair of forte II speakers on eBay. The seller listed them as 8/10, all original parts, one previous owner. On the phone, the seller told me that they may even be considered a 9/10.

They arrived yesterday, and I am a little disappointed. Based on the sellers description, I paid perhaps more than I should have ($450 specifically, but that seems in line with what 9/10 condition forte II's go for on audiogon/eBay/CL). In person, I would give them a 6 or 7 at best out of 10, cosmetically speaking, but that is not my biggest grype. One of the passives appears to have been repaired, rather sloppily. I pulled them both to check part numbers, and they both are K D 15 K passives, so it appears that someone merely replaced the surround. The cone itself does not seem damaged, but the outer rim of the cone is slightly distorted (not parallel with the rear baffle), and the surround material is different than the stock passive (accordion style fabric surround).

Now, they seem to work fine. The repair job was good enough that the passive is functional, but given the different surround material I would imagine the mechanical resistance of the passives are no longer the same. Klipsch has replacements, for $126.

I don't think they were worth what I paid, particularly since the seller misrepresented them. I would not be comfortable trying to sell them for $450 as they are. Maybe $300-350 would be a more realistic value. The seller, when asked if he would make an allowance for the passive and cosmetic condition said he would rather have them back, since he paid almost as much as I did for them.

So, my question is, is that repaired passive worth perseverating over? I have to admit that part of me wants to keep them, but my sense of propriety says return them and get a better deal from a more honest seller. I have about a day to decide if I want a refund. What do you think, klipschfolk?

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I have to admit that part of me wants to keep them, but my sense of propriety says return them and get a better deal from a more honest seller. I have about a day to decide if I want a refund. What do you think, klipschfolk?

If you're not happy now, do you see anything in the future that might change your feelings? I'd send 'em back, even though shipping may be high. I've bought things on the bay that If I could have returned them, I would have. Just my 2 cents.

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Now, they seem to work fine.

I don't think they were worth what I paid, particularly since the seller misrepresented them. I would not be comfortable trying to sell them for $450 as they are. Maybe $300-350 would be a more realistic value. The seller, when asked if he would make an allowance for the passive and cosmetic condition said he would rather have them back, since he paid almost as much as I did for them.

So, my question is, is that repaired passive worth perseverating over? I have to admit that part of me wants to keep them, but my sense of propriety says return them and get a better deal from a more honest seller. I have about a day to decide if I want a refund. What do you think, klipschfolk?

Don't sweat the possible focus on the certain. IF you sell them for $350 on eBay you will net about $300 so you've spent $150 and have nothing. If the seller agrees to take them back you will have to pay shipping plus all your time which will be at least $100, and again...you've got nothing!

Await the arrival of "cognitive dissonance"! Soon you will be rationalizing that you got a pair of speakers that work the way you want them for a price you were willing to pay. IF, after listening to them for a week or so you percieve a problem, you can spend the $125 to replace the passive and then for $25 more than option 1 or 2 you will have something to listen to instead of a hole on your wall where your speakers were.

Feel better now?

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That is my current dilemma...replace the passive for perhaps negligible improvement, or call Crites and spend the money on caps/mid/tweet upgrades, which could be quite significant. I can refinish the cabs on my free time whenever, and replace the passive some time down the road.

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As long as the passive is sealed properly it probably wouldn't be worth it to spend the money on a new passive. That is, unless the repair added a lot more weight to the passive than it originally had.

For my Forte IIs the most noticeable improvements came in this order:

1) titanium tweeter diaphragms

2) crosover networks

3) midrange diaphragms

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Unless you are getting a buzz (literally, not figuratively) from the passive I agree with wuzzzer.

New crossovers made a big difference in my Cornscalas but can't speak to the diaphram issue, except that I've seen many positive posts regarding the titanium tweets.

Have fun!

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Thanks for the advice, wuzzer. The only difference on the repaired passive is the surround, which is fabric rather than rubber. The mass of the passive should be unchanged. It is sealed, even if the guy who replaced the surround needed glasses. I think I will upgrade as you suggested, but they seem to be performing marvelously as is.

Now I'm playing with the forte's fussy nature re placement. In the room with the tubes I can't place them near any room boundaries, and bass is lacking. It kind of robs them of that high-sensitivity impact. For now they're going into the corners of the bedroom (much, much better sound with this placement), hope the lil' woman doesn't mind! I'm loving the lack of any dynamic compression, trying to get adjusted to their highly directional nature (another reason they don't seem to work well in my living room...sweet spot too constricted, and I'm used to bipolars in there.

Also, and this surprises me so far, they seem to like ss power better than the tubes, but I suspect that is more of a placement issue with that particular room. I can't imagine the tubes being outclassed if I were able to corner load them.

Ok, enough for now, gotta concert to attend to upstairs...

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Maybe $300-350 would be a more realistic value. The seller, when asked if he would make an allowance for the passive and cosmetic condition said he would rather have them back, since he paid almost as much as I did for them.

With your refund from the seller did you get into the range you thought was a more realistic value? (rhetorical question, you don't have to answer)

I agree with what wuzzer is saying that its probably not worth replacing the passive. Faults of new speakers will haunt you until you figure out the placement and get them sounding good and then it will all go away in time.

I've got two pair of Forte IIs right now. One I'd call great. Oak oil speakers that are in excellent shape with original box and receipt bought from the original owner. The others aren't going to win a beauty contest but they sound great. Actually they sound better than the better looking ones I found out after moving them to the front spot while I wait for DeanG to mod my crossovers and get the Bob Crites titanium tweeters installed in my "good" ones.

Point being you can hold out for museum pieces or you can buy something less and enjoy the music. I think once you get the placement figured out, pour yourself your drink of choice (or whatever your poison is) and sit down and listen to your new Forte IIs you'll be happy with your purchase. Especially if the seller made the money side right!

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Hola, Carbon-

I kept them, seller gave in. With the new badges I had to get, I've got $385 in them, a very fair value.

There are no apparent performance issues with the repaired passive. The sound is on par with my other systems, and better in the dynamics dept, lovin' it! I'm sitting here, sipping a baileys and coffee, listening to live DMB, and watching my woman go from naked to professionally dressed. Yeah, that progression is definitely the wrong direction, but someone has to work around here!

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he sound is on par with my other systems, and better in the dynamics dept, lovin' it! I'm sitting here, sipping a baileys and coffee, listening to live DMB, and watching my woman go from naked to professionally dressed. Yeah, that progression is definitely the wrong direction, but someone has to work around here!

Why do I like this?

The surround can definitely make a difference in the compliance of the passive, but you might not hear a difference. The most important part is that you are able to enjoy them (with or without you woman in front of you).

Bruce

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