Buddy Shagmore Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 I've been lurking here for awhile, wanted to jump in and say hey. I have a marantz 2245 receiver (circa 1971) and a pair of '88 Forte's. When I was 16 (1968), my friend's dad had a killer system...tube McIntosh components and Klipschorns. At home, I had a dinky Clarion POS. So when I first saw the Khorns, I thought they were furniture, not speakers. When he turned his system on, OMG, I was just blown away...it was like front row center! So my early introduction to quality 2 channel started then. I promptly saved up enough coin to upgrade. I first got a Sansui 2000a receiver, but I wasn't happy with that, although it was light years ahead of my old Clarion. I bought the Marantz on my friend's father's recommendation. I could not afford Klipsch speakers, so I bought a pair of Jensen 3-ways, which were also horn loaded on top. I was 19 at the time. Kind of a poor mans Klipsch bookshelf speaker. Long story short, my system was stolen in 1986. In 1988, I wanted to replace what I lost, so I bought the new Forte's along with a Yamaha R-900 receiver. I had this for years, but was never quite happy with the Yamaha. Last year, I finally bought an old Marantz, and the improvement in sound was phenominal. No more harsh, brittle, low-end lacking Yamaha low quality sound. The Marantz along with my Forte's rejuvinated my love of quality sound reproduction. So here I be, looking to upgrade once more. I'm now on the hunt for a clean pair of Chorus II's or Cornwalls. I'm going to give my Forte's to my son in law, who I've in turn passed on a love of quality musical reproduction. He's now on the hunt for an old Marantz. Luckily, he is appreciative, and it looks like it will now be a passion that will be passed along to the next generation. Over and out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxx Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Welcome to the"forum." Come back often..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Buddy, Welcome to the forum. I have a marantz 2245 receiver (circa 1971) and a pair of '88 Forte's. Very sweet combination. I had a Marantz 2252B driving my first pair of Quartets for a while, and the combination was really hard to beat, IMO. I briefly drove my fortes with the 2252B with great results. I'm now on the hunt for a clean pair of Chorus II's or Cornwalls. I'm going to give my Forte's to my son in law, who I've in turn passed on a love of quality musical reproduction. He's now on the hunt for an old Marantz. Luckily, he is appreciative, and it looks like it will now be a passion that will be passed along to the next generation. Nice of you to pass on the fortes to your son in law and good luck with your quest to find Chorus II's or Cornwalls. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmako Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Slap me Five, JackMoeManny!! Welcome. Hoist a few and chill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennie Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Welcome Buddy, we're glad you're here! [<)] Dennie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted January 26, 2013 Moderators Share Posted January 26, 2013 I'm now on the hunt for a clean pair of Chorus II's or Cornwalls. I'm going to give my Forte's to my son in law, who I've in turn passed on a love of quality musical reproduction. He's now on the hunt for an old Marantz. Luckily, he is appreciative, and it looks like it will now be a passion that will be passed along to the next generation. Over and out Welcome, apprecation for music is a great thing to pass on.[Y] Stick around Buddy...........Shagmore.................I see no reason not to. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivernuggets Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Welcome to the Forum. Chorus IIs are excellent! Best of luck in your search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Buddy, welcome to the forum. i started out with Clarion, too! very cool to pass on your speaks to the son-in-law. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vital Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Welcome to the forums! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bracurrie Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Welcome. Enjoy the ride! I cant believe no one has asked for pictures, so I will. It's always neat to see the settings where someone's speakers live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddy Shagmore Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 The Marantz holds a lot of sentimental value, even though it's not the exact unit I bought new in '71, it is the same model. I love it. My wood floor on a raised foundation no doubt help with the low end. My son says he feels the floor rumbling in his bedroom. I'm sure my system is laughable compared to most of yours, but I am loving it. It's my home therapy center. The room has a 12' arched ceiling, is about 15' wide by 25' long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxx Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 The Marantz holds a lot of sentimental value, even though it's not the exact unit I bought new in '71, it is the same model. I love it. My wood floor on a raised foundation no doubt help with the low end. My son says he feels the floor rumbling in his bedroom. I'm sure my system is laughable compared to most of yours, but I am loving it. It's my home therapy center. The room has a 12' arched ceiling, is about 15' wide by 25' long. Nice looking setup.... Love those blue lights on the Marantz... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Welcome to the forum nice set up. this is a great place with great people glad that you joined in. Here is some advice. upgrade the caps as a minimum maintenance on your gear Forte and Marantz. Bob Crites will sell you brand new better than new quality caps for the speakers and you will need to have the Marants rebuilt if you plan to keep it for the duration. Personally I would buy new as the old gear like your Marantz are not much fun to work on and limit options due to size constraints. You call but it is on the fast track to a bad death right now and so are an loudspeakers hooked up to it when it dies. If you are inspierd to do that then I thik that might motivate you to upgrade your horn diaphragms to all titanium from the stock phenolic. Bob Crites can sell you excellent ti tweeter diaphragms and Klipsch can sell you the ti mids and only Klipsch has them. There is a ton of mods you can do to these loudspeakers but the first and formost after caps and diaphragms is to remove the stock risers and get them up onto four post stands. Heighr need to be such that the stand raised the speaker so that the centre of the horn is at your seated ear level. Try it with dome paint cans just to see for yourself. Skylan Stands have a custom designed stand which wll fit a Forte or a Heresy perfectly as they have the same footprint. No they are not cheap but they are superb quality and yest they make the speakers sound better. If you are handy in the wood shop then you can use the design to build a set yourself. I have included a picture of some Harveth M40 which are a similar size to the Forte so you can get some sort of idea of what this will look like. After all of this there are bags of other modifications that you can do. The upshot is that you can turn these loudspeakers into world class pieces if you want to. I would also suggest to you to expand your spudspeaker search to includea set of Legend series KLF20 (which will need new tweeter diaphragns ti are best) and my number one suggestion a set of Epic series CF3. Either of these designs will work their best when you have them raised so the centre of the mid horn is at your seated ear level. The other consideration that you should be working toward is a source which is as good as you can possibly afford for both your lazer and vinyl disks, best way I know to make any stereo sound better. Last suggestion is this, since you have had the Forte for so long and since it is one of the very best balanced designs Klipsch ever did you might want to consider checking out a pair of Forte ll. they have larger more modern designed mid horns and a fifteen inch passive over the 12 inch passive used in the Forte. Sometimes people like to stay with the familiar and that would provide a more refined version of what you have now. Do though check out the newr models I mentioned as I think they represent som of the very best which Klipsch has to offer but at the end of the day the only opinion that matters is yours. Best regards Moray James. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bracurrie Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 My wood floor on a raised foundation no doubt help with the low end. My son says he feels the floor rumbling in his bedroom. I'm sure my system is laughable compared to most of yours, but I am loving it. It's my home therapy center. The room has a 12' arched ceiling, is about 15' wide by 25' long. Looks great! Don't get caught thinking your system isn't good. For us there is no accounting for taste.[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbox Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Welcome Mr Shagmore...I hope we didnt take you away from anything. [] Chorus II's are a good upgrade, Cornwall II's as well. Hang around long enough and that wont be your only upgrade... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted January 28, 2013 Moderators Share Posted January 28, 2013 I'm sure my system is laughable compared to most of yours, but I am loving it. It's my home therapy center. No way, it's don't really work that way IMO, a classic amp and set of speakers like yours will get you 90% of the way to a very high priced setup without the craziness. And in a room the size of yours with room to breathe bet it sounds even better, cool looking room, I love wood floors, very nice. [Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddy Shagmore Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 Thanks guys, without a doubt, I came to the right place for solid advice. The suggested speaker upgrades are on my short list. Also, I've been referred to a vintage amp rebuild/repair expert who is local, so I'm going to take the Marantz over there and see what he says. I also have been considering getting a clean pair of Chorus II's...they seem like a bigger, badder Forte. As far as Cornwalls, is the III version any better or worse than the II's? How would one describe the audible differences between the Chorus II vs the Cornwall II or III? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbox Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Its a great speaker, i just dont know about that MDF? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Cornwall ll have K600 mid horn Cornwall lll have K701 mid horn a reteo thing I think. I would not buy a new loudspeaker with a K701 in it as it takes a considerable amount of effort just to make it sound good. I have a pair of Heresy 3 which have K701 but I did not buy them new. So my vote would be to buy the cheapest set of Cornwall ll you can and fully upgrade it to 3 status short of the mid horm. Everything is available on lne. I do not believe that the Cornwall is the way to go however I would point you in the direction of the KLF30 or the CF4 both will move much more air and both will go lower than a Cornwall. If you don't have a huge room and if you don't play way loud I think that my original recommendation of either a KLF20 or the CF3 would be the very best way to go as both these speakers have just about the same foot print as your Forte do only they are turned sideways narrow face out. CF3 would be my first choice KLF20 my second and a Forte ll my third choice. You might want to invest some time to decide what size woofer you like best as that will make your model selection easier. I happen to like the sound of tens. Good luck with the Marantz go have a look to see what you can find used and see how the prices compare. I can recommend you a good tube amp if you like new would be around $1,500.00 if that fits your budget let me know. Best regards Moray James. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddy Shagmore Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 ^What tube amp would you recommend? Is the Cayin A-50T any good? So much to do now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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