SET12's Forte's.....Awesome.

[SWL]

SET12 here on the forum has some Forte's that will blow you away.

A pair of DIY SET mono-blocks (10 wpc) and modified outboard crossovers that take the Forte's to another level of performance.....and then some.

A huge soundstage, imaging at it's best and powerful.......I mean powerful bass that is subsonic perfection. The "Jackhammer" like bass is like no other Forte I've ever heard. These amps have serious power. They ooze all the wonderful tube qualities but with muscle that controls the low end with authority.

If you're ever in his neck of the woods, listening to his system is a real treat. Klipsch owner or not......his system demands respect. Dan is a gentleman with wisdom that he's eager to share. Great guy.......great experience. Thanks Dan. []

-Scott

[stormin]

Sounds very impressive. Did you guys do some rockin out up there?

Sure wish I could of made the trip.

[SWL]

Yeah......He had some cool reference cd's. From what I know, SET amps are known for their sweet mids and not neccesarily for the low end. His amps have the most solid low end I've heard. Combined with the sweet mids and highs it was really slick.

[seti]

Yeah......He had some cool reference cd's. From what I know, SET amps are known for their sweet mids and not neccesarily for the low end. His amps have the most solid low end I've heard. Combined with the sweet mids and highs it was really slick.

It is a popular misconception that SET has no bass. I had some Canary Audio 300B set and George Wright preamp with Belles. I am always trying to get back to that quality of sound. Of sure you would blast it past 110db but at good listening levels it was beautiful with great bass. Kaiser and I were listen one day and her looks of smiling asking what the hell guys are talking about SET Heritage and no bass. The 3D soundstage is what I miss from that combo. Not all SET are created equal so listen to a few of them. I'd love to hear SET12's.

[SET12]

SET12 here on the forum has some Forte's that will blow you away.

A pair of DIY SET mono-blocks (10 wpc) and modified outboard crossovers that take the Forte's to another level of performance.....and then some.

A huge soundstage, imaging at it's best and powerful.......I mean powerful bass that is subsonic perfection. The "Jackhammer" like bass is like no other Forte I've ever heard. These amps have serious power. They ooze all the wonderful tube qualities but with muscle that controls the low end with authority.

If you're ever in his neck of the woods, listening to his system is a real treat. Klipsch owner or not......his system demands respect. Dan is a gentleman with wisdom that he's eager to share. Great guy.......great experience. Thanks Dan.

-Scott

Thanks Scott,

Those are some poetic words.

"Jackhammer like bass" That's a new term for me but I like that!

Yes, Its a huge stage that I truly have come love.

I'm glad I was able to demonstrate the stock Fortes to you as there's nothing better to show the merits of network modifications even to stock network configurations with simple high subjective value replacement parts as I have done.

So as some may wonder how was this achieved?

Forte's

No doubt the Fortes sound huge. And I feel networks are
the one of the ares least explored, Its one thing to maintain them. But
if one is to go beyond the stock networks performance it takes some
extreme measures IMO and what was done was very extreme and costly with
the mods costing as much as the Fortes were new. The yield from these
mods is easily worth 5-10 times the original Forte cost IMO. Allowing
the Forte's to compete easily with other Klipsch Titans standing just as
tall and forthright "like a sleeping giant awaken with a terrible will
to resolve"

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=159441'> http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=159441

Amplifiers

The key to powerful SET amps IMO is supply time constants. This means using a very low DCR path. Mine of which is just 3.5 ohms from a large .3H choke running at 1/10 capacity of its current rating and using nearly 2000uf's/Mono of supply caps and 300,000uf's of filament supply, the B+ reserves are uniquely diode isolated, which isolates my bulk electrolytic's from the very high quality Aeon Polypropylene Caps that run the gain stages. The Diodes allow the Polypropylene's to discharge fast without crosstalk from the electrolytic's this preserves the speed and transparency of the prop sound while the electrolytic's give a solid foundation to the amplifiers helping to pull up the props after discharging.

The only other person working with this type of supply is a very highly controversial figure Jeff Medwin who was a mentor to J.C. Morrison and Herb Reichert

Two of the most legendary DIYers I know of.

While my supplies are similar in low DCR I think mine are closer to a virtual battery IMO and as a result the Jackhammer like impact response yet with great size and delicacy.

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=257784The source

A highly modified 35lb Sony CDP X77ES, supply was increased from 15,000uf's to 150,000ufs, Burson Discrete Op Amps were added along with an AC bypass of the discrete series pass transistors for the analog stage. This eliminated the feedback of the regulator series pass while allowing the DC to be regulated. This gave the analog stage great warmth to the sound. The supply uses diode isolation of its final Muse Electrolytic's .

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=185971

If anyone wishes this system please feel free to contact me.

SET12

[SWL]

I love my mids and highs.......but my bass sounds "tubby" after hearing Dan's tight, powerful, articulate low end. Did I say powerful? Of course my system will re-create a concert type atmosphere in my living room.....which is what I'm after.....but I've never heard low end finess like I have in Dan's Forte's. [Y]

We're gonna be all over you to bring those amps down to Chicago so we can demo them with a plethora of Klipsch speakers. We're even talking about funding your trip and accomodations. While the heavily modded x-overs were without a doubt leaps and bounds above the stock networks......the stock networks sounded fantastic as well. Which in turn has a lot of curiosity in how your amps would sound with say.....Cornwalls, KLF-30's, Heresy's, K-horns, KLF-20's, Alon's and even some RB-75's. I think we'd be in for a real treat.

[jbsl]

Thanks for the review!![] I have fortes and really like them but this will give me a project to work on over the next year.

I am going to have to email SET12 about what the cost was to upgrade his Fortes. Then upgrade in phases as I get the money.

Off Topic here but just found the website for a band here in Austin called PorterDavis that is outstanding[Y], website

http://www.loveporterdavis.com/fr_index.cfm

go to the website and their album will play. Bottom of the page is the controls for the songs. Going to buy it Sunday, support your local musicans[8] everyone.

[Dennie]

I love my mids and highs.......but my bass sounds "tubby" after hearing Dan's tight, powerful, articulate low end. Did I say powerful? Of course my system will re-create a concert type atmosphere in my living room.....which is what I'm after.....but I've never heard low end finess like I have in Dan's Forte's.

We're gonna be all over you to bring those amps down to Chicago so we can demo them with a plethora of Klipsch speakers. We're even talking about funding your trip and accomodations. While the heavily modded x-overs were without a doubt leaps and bounds above the stock networks......the stock networks sounded fantastic as well. Which in turn has a lot of curiosity in how your amps would sound with say.....Cornwalls, KLF-30's, Heresy's, K-horns, KLF-20's, Alon's and even some RB-75's. I think we'd be in for a real treat.

Man! You are hooked, aren't you? LOL I love it! It's fun watching you grow into "Tube Gear"! [<)]

I'm just not going there......yet! But, you're starting to make me wonder........? (Note to self: Don't read SWL's threads!)

Dennie[]

[SET12]

I love my mids and highs.......but my bass sounds "tubby" after hearing Dan's tight, powerful, articulate low end. Did I say powerful? Of course my system will re-create a concert type atmosphere in my living room.....which is what I'm after.....but I've never heard low end finess like I have in Dan's Forte's.

We're gonna be all over you to bring those amps down to Chicago so we can demo them with a plethora of Klipsch speakers. We're even talking about funding your trip and accomodations. While the heavily modded x-overs were without a doubt leaps and bounds above the stock networks......the stock networks sounded fantastic as well. Which in turn has a lot of curiosity in how your amps would sound with say.....Cornwalls, KLF-30's, Heresy's, K-horns, KLF-20's, Alon's and even some RB-75's. I think we'd be in for a real treat.

Man! You are hooked, aren't you? LOL I love it! It's fun watching you grow into "Tube Gear"!

I'm just not going there......yet! But, you're starting to make me wonder........? (Note to self: Don't read SWL's threads!)

Dennie

Love this line and it was so true with much of my work on the Fortes and and everthing else in my system.

Basic research is what I am doing when I don't know what I am doing.

- Wernher von Braun

But geez, imagine a 10 watt tube amp making an impression and a SET amp at that, bass, go figure!

Never seen them get so much attention.

Cheers

SET12

[SET12]

Thanks for the review!! I have fortes and really like them but this will give me a project to work on over the next year.

I am going to have to email SET12 about what the cost was to upgrade his Fortes. Then upgrade in phases as I get the money.

Bottom line, as much as the Fortes cost new. you can go as far as you want, one can easily spend several thousand, I just scratched the surface with what I spent. To get these kind of results your going to have spend at least near this much minimum IMO. Cost are always rising like my inductors are now $600 for the 4 of them. 5yrs ago they were half this much.

I have no regrets spending what I have, because in order to match them you'd have to spend thousands more IMO and even then they will give run neck and neck with some of the best.

You can find all my parts and mods here

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=159340

Heres a photo contrasting the stock network to the modified.

And the latest version I'm using with Duelund VSF Copper midrange cap, and Duelund Graphite resistor, the other caps are Mundorf Silver/Oils

The fun of these is entertaining people like SWL and his friend Jim facial expressions were priceless.

SET12