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Forte I vs. Forte II woofers...


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I am contemplating a custom- built center to use with my Forte I mains, and was wondering if I would notice any difference if I used the woofers from a Forte II (K-25) instead of the Forte I K-23's? The only difference I can infer is from the higher crossover point of the Forte I (700 Hz vs. 650 Hz)...

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I don't think you can get much closer, other than using the Forte 1 woofer. It should match quite well. Considering how different the Academy woofers are. But I'm not really the best person to ask/answer you're question. I'm sure you'll get more help. I'm just very interested in your idea.....In your question you said...woofers...what design are you going with for the center.

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My thought is that the different crossover point is because of the different midrange horn in the two, rather than the woofer.

If you're using either woofer, you'll have to find a way of designing for the woofer box given that you will not have the passive radiator in the back, assuming the built-in will not have a a lot of open space in the rear.

WMcD

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I recently had the notion to try a "Super-Center" by placing one of my Fortes on its side on a platform that placed the drivers in alignment with the woofer of my other Forte; I disconnected the cable from the woofer in the upright speaker and connected it to the woofer output terminal of the crossover of sideways speaker, making a classic center channel with the two woofers on either end, and midrange and tweeter between them.

The sound was great - very distinct and clear (perhaps a little "boomy", either because of the extra resonance from the woofer-only cabinet, or just from too much unbalanced woofage), but very in-keeping with the Forte voicing and timbre.

I am mulling over building a box with this set-up, but with the midrange and tweeter placed horizontally for wider dispersion (I have also considered using the Tractrix-style horn of the Forte II, but am not certain the match will be as good).

I have proposed similar builds in the past, and had forum members remark that it might put too much strain on the amplifier, due to lowering the impedence because of the two woofers, but there did not seem to be any trouble when I tried it recently; also, I am considering "tri-amping" the whole thing, with separate amps for the two woofers, and for the tweeter/midrange, but using my three-channel amp).

My other concern is balancing out the bass output with the extra woofer; not sure how to execute this in the crossover, but if I proceed, I'm sure there will be those on the forum who can offer technical advice.

The reason I was curious about the Forte II woofers was because I have noticed some for sale here and there...

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I don't follow all that about the rewiring and placement. It seems that you're moving the mid and tweeter from the (say) right cabinet to the center. But I may well be wrong.

I've observed that some people get $20 worth of enjoyment over saving $5 and that is why they will spend $10 to do it. (I've done it myself.) That is to say, your parcimony may be false economy. The other part of the money equation is that we love to tinker, which has some reward too, in fact, very rewarding to investigate.

I'd say your time and money are best spent with a regular, traditional three channel set up. Not to be harsh. You are being drawn into the magic of the center channel, which is wonderful even when done in an primitive way, as you have been experimenting with.

There will be many adventures and tinkering in doing that in a traditional way.

WMcD

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My current center is an Academy, and I have been mostly happy with it between my Forte mains, but the timbre - while being the best of those I have tried - is not a perfect match to the Fortes; also, recent placement of the Academy on the shelf under my new 70" Sharp display has decreased the room-filling capabilities of the Academy, and that is why I decided to "tinker".

I am not proposing doing anything different with or to my Fortes; I merely used them in the way described in my OP to come close to hearing what a custom center made with Forte components would sound like, and if it would work with a single Forte crossover.

It has been my observation that the center channel in a home theater environment is generally the most slighted and least appreciated aspect of assemblage; I know it has its roots in the difficulty presented by there just being no good position to place a full-range speaker, due to the placement of the display... I have heard varying percentages attributed to the sonic responsibilities of the center channel in most film soundtracks, and I would err on the larger side of the scale - at least 75% of what you hear, in my estimation, comes from the center, and I really think it is more like 80%.


What I have in mind is to place the Forte-inspired center on a shelf above my display, angled slightly downward towards the heads of seated listeners/viewers. I would have to build the enclosure myself (or adapt an existing enclosure larger than the Forte cabinet), because the proposed drivers will not all fit in the Forte box.

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