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Forte II vs Chorus I


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Hey guys,

 

I recently got a pair of "mint-ish" walnut Chorus I and have installed the titanium tweeter diaphragms and about to have my xo refurbished by Bob.  The Chorus are replacing my good looking walnut Forte IIs that also have the titanium tweeter diaphragms and the xo that have been refurbished by Bob.

 

My question/conundrum is this: Should I sell the Forte IIs or keep them a while?

 

I am really torn as to if should sell my Forte IIs.  One the one hand, from what I understand and read, a great pair of walnut Forte IIs are somewhat of a rare thing. On the other hand, my Forte IIs are just taking up space in my living room, not connected. I am not in need of the cash value of the Forte IIs, so I am not in a hurry or pinch to sell them. 

 

I wonder if I am being short sighted in considering selling the Fortes IIs? Another question I considered, is the Chorus I a step up or above the Forte IIs? In my ear, the Chorus has a better mid-range than the Fortes II, and this is before my Chorus has their xo refurbished by Bob.  I can only imagine how much better the sound will improve once the xo are refurbished.

 

Is there any other points I'm not thinking of that perhaps I should consider before making a decision?

 

Thanks in advance guys.

 

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Keep both and A/B them when the x-overs come back.  

I think the horn depends on the room (the Chorus 90 deg horn vs the Forte II 60 deg horn).  

I personally would probably pick the Forte II over the chorus for the lower bass extension.

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5 hours ago, Mr._Music_Fan said:

Hey guys,

 

I wonder if I am being short sighted in considering selling the Fortes IIs? Another question I considered, is the Chorus I a step up or above the Forte IIs? In my ear, the Chorus has a better mid-range than the Fortes II, and this is before my Chorus has their xo refurbished by Bob.  I can only imagine how much better the sound will improve once the xo are refurbished.

 

Is there any other points I'm not thinking of that perhaps I should consider before making a decision?

 

Thanks in advance guys.

 

 

Do you really think the Chorus has better midrange than the Forte II?  The Forte's mid horn is better and have the same drivers.  The Forte II is more open and that is one of the reasons there became a Chorus II using the same mid horn.  It is more likely the balance that you notice and not the quality.

Wait til you get the Chorus updates done before you decide which one.  They are both great speakers with somewhat different strengths but if you really think the Chorus is better now and don't have the room for the Forte's, sell them.  They don't bring a ton of money but they are considered one of Klipsch's best speakers and will sell quickly.

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I believe the mids are better with the Chorus line over the forte for two reasons: 1, the Chorus mids are bumped up in output and present themselves more clearly and 2, the pro 15" driver has better upper mid detail and articulation at the expense of the lower end thump of the forte woofer.

 

After the drop in replacement crossovers from Crites the Chorus are one of the most detailed and clear speakers I've ever owned or heard. Add a RSW-15 sub or two and I'm not sure it gets much better without spending thousands of dollars more.

 

As far as keeping the forte II or not I'd say keep them if you can, at least for the short term until you've settled into your new speakers for awhile, its nice to A/B them after some time passes to be sure what your preference is. I know form personal experience that sometimes "new" seems better at first only to wear off after the dust settles. Anyway, congrats on the new Chorus, sure wish a pair would pop up near me some time soon!

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I seem to recall reading somewhere in this forum Mr. Crites stating he had difficulty hearing the difference between his Chorus 1's and his Cornwalls. That is a noteworthy observation. There are always compromises, but Cornwalls are as close as a speaker comes to doing it all.

 

I sold my Forte ii's shortly after landing my first pair of Cornwall's. The punch from the Cornwall's was missing in the Forte's. There is no replacement for displacement.

 

Now having said that, I recently replaced the mid horn (K601) in both my Cornwall 1's AND Cornwall 2's with the mid horn (K-61) used in the Forte ii entirely because I missed the "openess", greater detail, and to some degree imaging at CLOSER listening distance that marvelous tractrix mid provides.

 

I have since acquired a pair of walnut Forte ii's, just like yours, which I intend to have and hold, in sickness and in health...

 

Monogamy is not a practical approach to audio and we only miss something once it's gone. You will find the money to fund your Chorus project. But finding another pair of WALNUT Forte ii's tweaked like yours will be costly AND rare.

 

I would not consider myself an audiophile, but the performance of the Forte ii is head-spinning, in a GOOD way. Low, clean basslines, open midrange, and crisp highs in speaker almost half the size of a Cornwall.

 

Keep the Forte ii's.

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keep or sell them is up to you but please never do the automated picture thingy...it annoying as all get out. I wanted to take a close look at the speakers and could not figure out a way to stop it from changing photos every split second. 

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I've owned forte II, chorus I and chorus II speakers. I personally liked the forte II over the chorus I by a huge margin. I didn't like the mid-range horn on the chorus I. It's very in-your-face sound, where as the tractrix horn on the forte II and the chorus II is so much more laid back. I would keep the forte II over a chorus I. I would keep a chorus II over a forte II. Good luck

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3 hours ago, dtr20 said:

I've owned forte II, chorus I and chorus II speakers. I personally liked the forte II over the chorus I by a huge margin. I didn't like the mid-range horn on the chorus I. It's very in-your-face sound, where as the tractrix horn on the forte II and the chorus II is so much more laid back. I would keep the forte II over a chorus I. I would keep a chorus II over a forte II. Good luck

I had the Chorus 1 & 2 side by side a few times over the years and honestly didn't think they sounded that different from each other, certainly more alike than different. The Chorus is higher sensitivity and much more forward in the mid / high end so room acoustics and equipment matching plus good source material are more critical than with the forte, at least from my experiences. The Chorus are a little harder to get everything just right but when you do the pay off is big.

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4 hours ago, BlueHusky79 said:

Ditto, on never "auto" pictures, impossible to take a look. Unless of course your afraid to have folks look.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk
 

Don't knock it too hard.  At least I got a seizure out of it.  Haven't had a good one of those since that anime show was on.

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with a realistic amount of power the Chorus ll is the way to go no contest. If on the other hand you are determined and only want to use a small amp then the Forte ll is a better option or a CW ll would be even better. Several members have dropped the K604 mid horn (from Quartet, Forte  ll and Chorus ll) into their Cornwall ll which is an excellent option. Remember that the Chorus was the replacement for the Cornwall ll with the Chorus ll being the better of the two versions.

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3 hours ago, Mr._Music_Fan said:

I'm getting the impression I should a/b my Chorus and the Forte II's. 

 

I'll revisit this after the xo refurbishment. 

 

Also, point well taken... no more animated gifs. 

you will find that there is a distinct difference in the balance between the Forte ll and your chorus. The Forte ll plays a fair bit lower than a Chorus does. I think that this may be what leads some to think that the Chorus and Chorus ll have a bumped midrange they do not they simply do not go as low and that shifts the spectral balance. Either Chorus is more efficient than the Forte(s) are and that alone makes them much more dynamic and exciting to listen to. If you re tune your Chorus with a pair of 7" vent tubes you will come close in bass extension to a Forte and you will beat the heck out of the Forte so far as impact and whack goes. You can always add a sub to a Chorus if you want more extension but a sub with a Forte will never give you the excitement dynamics and impact that a Chorus has. You can play loud clean driving pounding music with the Chorus that you could simply not replicate with either Forte. If you have the room the Chorus is your best option. That's my opinion. Ask around to guys who have owned both speakers and see what they think. Compare for yourself and see what you think. Your opinion is the only one that matters here.

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