What a deal, I'm officially freaking out!!!

[handrewmoore]

So I took everyones advice from a previous thread and decided to invest a bit more for a McIntosh ma-6200 over a Marantz 22xx series. I went to the guy's house to check it out, he said it was mint, and boy is it ever. There isn't a scratch, ding, or bubble on this thing. It works beautifully and the sound is amazing. He even had the walnut case, also in mint condition. He hooked it up to some Forte II's that he had and I was blown away. I have read numerous threads on how the Forte II sounds and they're correct.

We negotiated on the amp, and settled on a pretty reasonable price. I decided to ask about the Forte II's on a whim and he decided to sell it all to me... for $800!!!!

The Forte II's are also in mint conditon, like they just rolled out of the factory. They've got the walnut veneer and match the amp's case pretty good. No chips or dings anywhere, they literally look brand new. From pics I had seen of Fortes, I thought they were kind of ugly, but they are much more appealing in person. I've just hooked everything up and am in heaven, this is quite a step up from a Denon HT receiver and polk monitors.

I've been digging on some Jeff Buckley and Odetta, just can't believe the sound. I was listening to Neil Young's Zuma, and the bass is so awesome on Danger Bird and Cortez the Killer, I can throw my sub out the window. I've been so pumped and I tried telling some friends of mine about my find, all I get are eye rolls, so I thought I'd share with like minded folks. I took some quick pics with my phone (not the best quality), I know how everyone likes pics, I'll post them below.

[handrewmoore]

[handrewmoore]

On the first picture you can see a tiny scuff mark on the bottom right of the walnut case, that is about the only "imperfection" of the whole set. He was actually worried that would keep me from buying it...hahaha! Just put on Dark Side of The Moon (MFSL), I know it's cliche, but man this sounds awesome... ok, I'm gonna stop now.

Give me some feedback, specifically about placement. I've got them about 10in off the wall, slightly tilted in, one is about 2 feet from a corner, the other is no where near a corner. What could I do to maximize sound?

And what upgrades are recommended for the Forte II's? tweets and Xovers?

[twistedcrankcammer]

handrewmoore,

Great Score!!... Congrats! []

It is a shame that you don't have someone local who can appreciate what you picked up. Alot of guys do mod the Forte IIs, but I like my Klipsch stock. If it has non stock parts in it, it isn't Klipsch as far as I am concerned. They can probably use good quality new capacitors though. Is there absolutely no way possible to get your Forte' IIs in a pair of corners?? You have not heard them yet if you have not gotten them in a pair of corners. They need to be at a perfect 45 degree angle in the corners, and play with spacing them out to get them just right. Need to have a good ammount of room between their rear sides and the two walls on each one. Sweet spot listening will be just a little past where the center line axis of the two speakers converge, about two feet beyond.

Roger

[Doc Robin]

Congrats on the great deal. Just sit back and enjoy them for awhile. Experiment with the placement; it can make a very big difference.

A good friend of mine had RF-7's sitting in free space ( no way to get them close to corners ) they sounded great; then he moved them into a different room and placed them in the corners. I was amazed at the difference, it really brought them to life.

The Klipsch and Mac sound is simply amazing, Enjoy your good fortune. Later Bill

[jason str]

Very nice find, those Frote II's do look like new.

What are your opinions from switching from the Marantz to the Mac integrated , any downs or all good ?

I never place my Chorus II's (similar to Forte II) in corners though admit it does help augment bass response, even with a straight wall depth placement makes a difference in sound, just take some time with experimenting with room placement and see what works best for you in your room, not all are created equal.

Buy some lottery tickets while the gettins good, luck don't last forever. []

[JL Sargent]

Hallelujah!

[RT FAN]

Congratulations handrew, that is a killer deal. The Fortes in that condition are probably worth $400 alone! McIntosh and Klipsch are a great combination. I agree with other posters, sit back enjoy the music and fiddle with placement of the speakers, see what sounds best to your ears.

[Rivernuggets]

Excellent find! [Y]

Forte II's are wonderful. Yep, a sub is optional, especially when you find that sweet corner placement.

[dollar bill]

Sweet, sweet, sweet and badass!

[wuzzzer]

Awesome score! I'd say the Fortes alone are worth easily 500-600 in that condition. I've had my Forte II fronts longer than any other piece of gear that I currently own. It would take something pretty major to cause me to replace them with something else.

[jamesV]

Killer deal all together... [Y]

Mac and Klipsch do make a great pairing...

As mentioned, just sit back, relaxing and enjoy. I wouldn't worry about upgrading anything on the speakers just yet.

Have fun and rock out, remember turn it up.....

James

[seti]

Very nice score!

[Y] Mac and Fortes in one day [Y]

[homemadeheresy]

Is that your picture I saw on the post office wall??? Is that the cops pulling up out front, they have an APB out on you, because it sounds like you stole them [6]

[winchester21]

Told ya so!!!![]

Love it when a plan comes together

CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dtel]

You should be freaking out, great deal.

I would just listen for a while, and later on just change out the caps and listen for another 20 years. [Y]

[handrewmoore]

Thanks guys, makes me feel more justified in my purchase. I've been moving the speakers around the room and have found a pretty sweet spot, toeing them in at 45 degrees made a big difference. One is in a corner proper the other I made a false corner with a shelf (best I could do given the room). I'm still tuning in the amp's eq, just when I got it right last night, I moved the speakers and now have to change the eq again.

I think I'm going to leave everything as is for a while, get used to the sound before I decide to start refreshing caps and diaphragms.

I am having an issue with the stereo channels though, I'm not sure what is going on. The channels are correct, right and left are as they should be, but when I move the balance knob to the right, the sound shifts to the left and visa versa. I've tried switching the L&R inputs and different components, checked the speaker wires, checked the different phase selection. Makes me think that it's something internal in the Mac. However, when the balance button is at noon, stereo is perfect and right and left are in proper places. I've checked some songs on another stereo and my computer to make sure the channels are right, and they are. I can live with it, but I'd like to know what is going on. Someone mentioned a guy named Terry Dewick that does Mac refurbs, maybe I should give him a call.

Any ideas?

Thanks again, I'm pretty pumped.

[joshnich]

Terry does indeed do great work. But it sounds like something that could be handled pretty easily by a local tech. Shipping heavy amps back and forth gets pretty expensive so I would investigate ( or ask here ) a local option. Again no issue with Terry - he has done good work for me in the past. But I have also had good work done locally for what turns out to be a heck of a lot less dough!

J

[JHoman]

Sweet deal, more of a steal!

[rockhound]

That is a unreal price. If you look on craigslist for little rock arkansas you will see two post with this same setup 750 for the amp and 675 for the speakers, I would say you stole those babies...enjoy!