gagelle Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 I'm a complete novice with speaker repair or upgrading. I want to know how difficult it would be to put in new Crites crossovers in my Forte 1 speakers? Is there any welding required or is it just a matter of attaching wires? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSport Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 ...how it was for me and my similarly configured Quartets... Lay speaker down on flat surface front down and protected... Take out rear Passive Radiator... Unscrew and remove speaker terminal cup (this is where your crossover is and the wires from the crossover run to the speakers... Send off to Bob and Michael Crites for new Crossovers...I suggest you have them taken off the terminal cup and I had them attach all wires so all I had to do was reattach exactly as they came off... New crossovers arrive from Bob and Michael Crites... place double sided tape (velcro and included) on the bottom of the new crossover and to the bottom of your Forte' run included and attached wires from the new crossovers to the right speakers... screw in terminal cup and rear passive radiator... reattach speaker wire... Listen to your "new" speakers and enjoy... Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gagelle Posted February 6, 2011 Author Share Posted February 6, 2011 Thanks Bill. I have a better understanding of the whole process although I wish I had a diagram of the speaker internals with the parts labeled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 you can go to ALK Engineering and have a look at Al's Forte l crossover design. Click on loudspeaker upgrades and scroll half way down. Al has a detailed overview of the entire design process link is on this page also. I believe Al sells the stereo kit for this crossover for about $150.00 There are pictures of the install also I think. Best regards Moray James. http://www.alkeng.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gagelle Posted February 7, 2011 Author Share Posted February 7, 2011 Thanks Moray. Best, Seth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gagelle Posted February 7, 2011 Author Share Posted February 7, 2011 Hi again Morey, I don't want to open up a can of worms but I'm confused about which components would improve my Fortes. If I'm correctly interpreting his material, Al is changing the original components to different specifications because he claims that the original Klipsch design was flawed. Crites is bringing the speakers back to original Klipsch specs. I have no knowledge of speaker design or engineering so I'm not in a position to judge who is correct. In addition, Al's network replacement comes in a kit which I hope would be easy to assemble. Who is correct? Which is better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Hello Gagelle: I have not compared Al's network to the stock one but if you read through Al's discription of the design process you will see that he goes to great lengths to taylor the network to the drivers and to insure that the load the amplifier sees is such that the net results in a very smooth impedance response for the finished speaker system. That means that the speaker is a much easier load for any amplifier to drive and the amp will do a better job and sound better doing it. Based upon my past experiences with upgrading crossovers Al's approach is the way to go and I am sure will be the better network. Combined with new and better capacitors and larger inductors this should be a significant step up in performance across the board when compared to simply upgrading the caps in a stock network. Add some of Bob's new Titanium tweeter diaphragms and new phenolic mid diaphragms and you will have a brand new high performance loudspeaker.Al's network provides greater attention to detail than the stock design. Remember Klipsch was working to a tight price point and a more complex network would have pushed the system price up. As far as I am concerned the speakers deserve a fresh network design built with top quality parts. That is a lot chealer to do than to buy new speakers. You always have the option to go back to the stock network design if you want to but I really don't think that you would want to.There are quite a number of Heritage owners who are using Al's networks who are very happy with the results. You can search the forum and read their comments. Good luck and enjoy your Forte. Best regards Moray James. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Here is a link to one members experience along with some good photos. Best regards Moray James. http://community.klipsch.com/forums/t/141614.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gagelle Posted February 8, 2011 Author Share Posted February 8, 2011 Moray, Thanks very much for all your help. I was thinking yesterday that if Al posted an instructional video on You Tube, that would be fantastic. But I'll probably order his network and dive into the work. I have to learn this stuff anyway if I want to gain the skill. There are a few videos already on You Tube of people repairing other Klipsch models. I'm just apprehensive about soldering as it appears to require some practice. But I may not have to do that for the upgrades I want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.