adamo0926 Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 I was wondering about the titanium tweeter upgrades that some have done from Crites. What is your impression of the upgrade ? How would you describe the sonic characteristcs of that upgrade ? I've always thought that titanium tweeters might sound a bit bright and harsh even though they have advantages in frequency response and power handling. Here are my original Fortes which I have had for about 25 years now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RT FAN Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 First off, welcome to the forums Adam. It's a great place for Klipscheads to hang out and learn from each other. I upgraded my Chorus II's with the Bob Crites titanium tweeters and new crossovers and am very happy with the results. I cannot seperate the two in my mind since they were a package deal but it was a clear improvement to my speakers. So much so that I plan on doing the same upgrades to both my Fortes and Cornwall II's as funds allow. Search the forum here. There is plenty of info and opinions regarding the titanium tweeters, Crites crossovers and midrange diaphragms, good luck, and nice Fortes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chisoxpurdue Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 The titanium diaphragms are a little brighter, but definitely not harsh. I actually think upgrading caps (or new crossovers) brighten the sound more comparatively than the titanium. I had to replace the diaphrams in my Chorus IIs (blew one). When I changed the one that went bad, I listened to the two speakers to compare. It was just a bit brighter and no where near harsh. Replacing the other, I love the sound even more. I have not replaced the caps in them yet, but will get to that in the next few years. Heresys and La Scalas need upgraded caps/crossovers first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted April 6, 2011 Moderators Share Posted April 6, 2011 Welcome If your looking to change something I would change the caps first and go from there...............Easy for me to say I haven't done mine yet either, but i have to many of them and to many other projects. [:$] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chisoxpurdue Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 Yeah, I would say the caps, and then the diaphragms. Unless one of the tweeters goes out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 Welcome to this great forum! [H] Great photo and nice gear in your signature too!! [Y] I have Heresy III's with the titanium mids and tweeters and to me they are nicely detailed (just how I like 'em) but not too bright or harsh sounding... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamo0926 Posted April 6, 2011 Author Share Posted April 6, 2011 Thank you all for the nice welcome. I just recently hooked up my home system again after many years. Just got back my NAD receiver from being refurbished. And just started spinning vinyl again and recently purchased that Thorens TD 145 from someone I located on Craigslist. Then upgraded the cartridge to the Denon DL-110. I still remember when I purchased those Fortes. I was upgrading from a pair of Boston Acoustics A-150s. I auditioned a ton of speakers. Definitely took my time. Polk, Advent, Bose, Genesis, Thiel, etc. I kept coming back to the Fortes time and time again. I remember at the time the Thiel's were my 2nd choice so, in my opinion, the Fortes were in very good company. The Klipsch Fortes cost me 1095.00/pair back then (plus tax of course...lol). There were some things that other speakers did better than the Fortes. But I couldn't find another speaker in the price range that did EVERYTHING as well as the Fortes. What really sold me on the Fortes was the detail and the bass response. I think there is a stereotype of Klipsch loudspeakers in some circles. That they are loud, aggressive and overbearing. Most of the Klipsch loudspeakers I have auditioned I find to be very detailed and musical. Ok so maybe they aren't as accurate as a pair of 11,000.00 B&W's or 8000.00/pair Thiel's. But then we are talking a gargantuan price difference there. I find my Fortes to be extremely well balanced and detailed with wonderful tight and low bass. And the efficiency is an added bonus. I don't need 150 watt mono-blocks to drive them. 25 years and they are still going strong. And still sound as sweet as the day I brought them home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnatnoop Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 Congrats, good to hear you're getting back into your music again, [Y] And welcome to the forums! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 Adamo0926, Welcome to the Klipsch Forum and being so loyal for so long. Where ya been all this time?[H] Fortes are great. Love mine but love them more after installing "Crite Tites". Hard to beat the performance for so little $$$. On the other hand, those caps are 25 years old. Wait, so are mine. I guess I need to do a little refreshing on my Fortes. Seriously, the titanium diaphragms made a noticeable improvement in detail to my ears. Cheap upgrade without a doubt. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironsave Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 Adam, Welcome to The Forum! This Forum is probably the best on the Net. I have also had the fortune of meeting many members in person. Definitely a great bunch....... [H] In response to your original inquiry.... I think the other members got ya covered...... I will only add that I replaced my Heresy caps (30 yrs old) and it made a nice difference in smoothness of the mids and clarity on the highs..... (Definitely noticable with an A-B test; one Xover with old; one Xover with new caps)....... I have heard nothing but great things about the Crites tweeters; so you are golden there also...... Once again.... Welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Adam: welcome to the forum it's a fine bunch of people with a tremendous amount of experience. As to you question about the Titanium tweeter diaphragms. The Ti diaphragms are flat and extend out to 20 K no problem. The phenolics are smooth but start to roll around 12K smoothly and are well down at 20K. While I agree that you are likely to hear a bigger difference with new caps as a first off mod I have to disagree with the order that most folks have suggested. I think it makes more sense to upgrade the tweeter diaphragm so you have flat response. Then if you hear things which sound too bright you know the issue is with components outside of the speaker. Also with new tweeter diaphragms installed you will be better able to hear the differences in the different capacitors that you might install. The Ti diaphragms are very smooth open and relaxed. They provide a very high level of detail. I would recommend that you switich to both Ti tweeters and mid range diaphragms then upgrade your crossovers. Though I have yet to install them into my own speakers (but it's in the works) I believe that large gage air core inductors will also buy you a significant improvement in your sound. Suggested inductor gage size min 14 better, 12 better again, 10 more so and best 8 gage. If you take a look at Audiokarma you will find in the Klipsch section a large thread by Set12 of this forum on his Forte crossover saga well worth the read. Hope this is of some help. Best regards Moray James. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modified-Tractrix Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Moray, my I ask, where did you get the information that the titanium diaphragms are flat out to 20K and the phenolic rolls of above 12K? were they actual measurements or listening tests? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Here are the measurements that Bob Crites made on the three diaphragm materials. The phenolic is very smooth but it does roll. This might be an advantage if you have ole harsh digital equipment buat as you can see you are missing a lot of information with the phenolic diaphragm which the Ti picks up. Hope that this helps. By the way the CT125 has very smooth extension out to 20K, I have a pair for my Heresy but have not had the chance to install them. One thing that I can say for the ti diaphragms is that they are much more dynamic and transient response is improved as they are so much lighter than the phenolic diaphragms. You can play at far higher levels with the Ti diaphragms and you do not ntice any strain or stress very relaxing to listen to. I can't imagine switching back but some folks do prefer the phenolics but most seem to like the Ti when they hear them. They do take some time to burn in but I found the improvement immediate and not subtle. Best regards Moray James. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivernuggets Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 If you do the titanium tweeter upgrade and do not like it, reinstall the phenolics and sell the titaniums here (in the Garage Sale section) to recoup most of your cost. I'm sure there would be people interested. If you do the tweeter upgrade or not, I also think you should put new caps in and get your Fortes close to factory specs again. I sent my Forte II crossovers to Crites for the cap replacement as I'm a novice at soldering. It was money well spent. Welcome to the Forum. [Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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