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Forte (I) crossover caps and other refresh items


adam2434

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8 hours ago, klipschfancf4 said:

on the forte & chorus 2's the terminals are on the bottom & there is plenty of slack in the wires to rotate 180* to the terminals on the top. fortes should be the same. 

 

Thanks.

 

Do the wires need to be removed from the plastic clip on the inside of the cabinet, meaning that the the PR would also need to be removed?

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Been awhile since i was inside fortes so im not sure on the wires in the clip, pulling the passive is very easy & lets you see what can or cant be done inside, i prefer to pull the passive when doing any work inside just for a better view & access to things.

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9 hours ago, klipschfancf4 said:

Been awhile since i was inside fortes so im not sure on the wires in the clip, pulling the passive is very easy & lets you see what can or cant be done inside, i prefer to pull the passive when doing any work inside just for a better view & access to things.

 

Yeah, I should have rotated the woofers when I had the PRs out when doing the crossover work.  I don't like the idea of removing and reinstalling the PRs again, but agree that's the best route.  I feel that each additional time a PR or driver is removed, the chances go up that something will get damaged or that a hole will get stripped.

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I rotated woofers and PRs 180 deg tonight.  The PRs probably did not need to be rotated, but thought why not go ahead and do that too, while they're out.

 

The woofer wires were not in the plastic retaining clips on the interior side wall - just the mid and tweeter wires were.  There was just enough wire slack to rotate the woofers.  With the woofers rotated, the wires are in contact with the woofer magnet due to the tautness of the wire.  I wrapped the woofer wires with electrical tape where they contact the magnet, just for a little extra protection against abrasion due to vibration.

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On 3/25/2017 at 0:29 PM, klipschfancf4 said:

sounds good.  your speakers are set for another 25+ years of use!

 

Yep, I hope these go in one of our kids' rec rooms or basements someday when they fly the coop.  Until then, I'll rotate them in and out of the unfinished basement spot.

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  • 2 weeks later...

At higher volumes, I feel that the mids can be a bit shouty and forward, and kind of dominate the sound.  I notice this with vocals and electric guitar.

 

I'm wondering if the Crites midrange diaphragms would make the midrange a bit smoother?

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Bumping the diaphragm topic above...

 

From what I've read, some folks like the Crites Ti tweeter diaphragm, and others prefer the phenolics.  I do wonder if I would consider the Crites Ti or phenolics an upgrade over the stock ones.

 

Regarding the midrange, I know the Crites Ti require a high pass filter because they do not not roll-off at the crossover point like the stock ones do.  I also wonder if the Crites phenolics would be an upgrade over the stock midrange diaphragms.

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I'm pretty sure the stock tweeter diaphrams are phenolic, crites has  the TI that everyone considers upgrades, not sure if he sells phenolic tweets though but if so I think they are the same as factory.  

 

For the mids, I think crites phenolics are a factory equivalent replacement, good quality but not an upgrade.  

 

As for your "shouty" comment, some people get that impression from horn speakers, they definitely have more pronounced mids than other speakers. there are some mods to help this like dampening on the horns.  You can also turn down the mid levels with EQ or turn up the bass & use less volume.  Or try playing with location of the speakers.

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The Crites ebay listing for the phenolic midrange diaphragms indicates that they have some technical improvements vs. stock.  However, I have not read any comments yet regarding improved sound quality vs. stock.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Replacement-Diaphragm-PAIR-Klipsch-Midrange-K-53-k-K-57-K-k-52-H-and-Others-/370876365663?hash=item5659f43b5f:g:ul0AAMXQ56ZSCVz4

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  • 1 year later...

I know this thread is a few years old, but when I got my Forte Is and was looking for information, this is one of a few that I found with Google. So  maybe it will help someone else. I have a different version of the Is that have the crossover mounted directly to the round binding post cup with no board whatsoever. The inductors are glued to the cup and the autotransformer is on screw posts. Being new to speaker repair I got the caps($50) at Crites speakers along with tweeter upgrade($50). I may have just ordered the correct value caps online, as they were nowhere near as friendly and willing to chat as I had been led to believe. The parts were great and got here quick, so it's your call. I was torn between just doing the caps and moving the entire crossover, but I was worried about damaging the inductors or binding post caps without spare parts on hand, so I just soldered caps. I may go back and relocate the XOs, and possibly set the speakers up for bi-amping to use with my 6L6 SET amp and 90w SS. My XOs were very tight and I had to desolder a few2 leads to move stuff. I had removed the passives once already as one was torn and the other had dry rot cracking from UV rays, they had not been in direct light at the original owners, just very indirect light for a long time. I got the "refoam" kit from Simply Speakers for ~$30, it was staightforward ,but a little more difficult than regular foams. I removed the passive, labeled ande disconnected the drivers replaced the caps, glued the grill posts using E6000 a clear flexible adhesive(I've seen other folks use it in repair videos since) I just made sure the posts were seated and filled the backside with E6000 while they were lying face down. I also regasketed all the openings using Armacell 2" foam insulation tape, I've removed the passives a few times and the Armacell has stayed intact though compressed it still forms a much better seal than the little thin original gaskets. If you're reading this and wondering if you can do the repairs, if you know which end to hold a soldering iron by, I'd say go for it. 

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