Fido Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 Back in the mid 80s my dad wanted a nice stereo so we went to a local high end dealer and listened to some many systems along with some Forte 1s and picked up some NAD gear to complete the package. My father was not into audiophile anything but he loved listening to his Cds on his new fancy stereo. His wife HATED the speakers but he loved them. After my dad and his wife passed away I ended up with his gear. To me they did not sound as good as i remembered. With a little research I found the Bob Crites crossover info and titanium driver upgrades. After I installed those they sounded better than I remembered. A year ago I had a pair of Cane grills made to compliment the look of our living room and added a big HSU subwoofer to the mix. I LOVE how my stereo sounds now and it has the sentimental appeal too since it was something my dad and I shared. I wouldn't trade them for anything but the question begs to be asked ????? How do the Forte 111s compare to the Crites modified Forte 1s??????? Im sure some people here have heard both - has 40 years and technology radically improved the sound qualities of music? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 Those are not upgrades you performed you just swapped the same network for the same network with different parts and you took the smooth sounding phenolic diaphrams and replaced them with the more harsh (to most people) metal diaphrams. The biggest improvement in the II and III is the addition of the larger and more appropriate 15" rear drone and the tractix midrange horn. That said they are certainly not going to sound $3000 better than what you already have. I owned Forte' I's for many years prior to trading them towards Belle's around 2000 and I consider them to be once of the best balanced speakers that Klipsch has ever produced and I never messed with them. Not sure why people think that they know better than the engineers the created and voiced them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fido Posted February 17, 2019 Author Share Posted February 17, 2019 18 minutes ago, Frzninvt said: Those are not upgrades you performed you just swapped the same network for the same network with different parts and you took the smooth sounding phenolic diaphrams and replaced them with the more harsh (to most people) metal diaphrams. The biggest improvement in the II and III is the addition of the larger and more appropriate 15" rear drone and the tractix midrange horn. That said they are certainly not going to sound $3000 better than what you already have. I owned Forte' I's for many years prior to trading them towards Belle's around 2000 and I consider them to be once of the best balanced speakers that Klipsch has ever produced and I never messed with them. Not sure why people think that they know better than the engineers the created and voiced them. So have you heard the Forte 1s with the Crites modifications versus the Forte 111s? Thats the questions I'm asking here. I don't find anything harsh about the titanium diaphragms but it could just be my ears or my other equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kink56 Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 If you want to talk harsh, that would be the Ti mid diaphragms in the FIII to my ears. I currently have FI with the same mods as you and I had FIIIs for awhile. I sold the FIIIs and kept my modded FIs. So, I would stay put if I were you. Now that being said, I am curious if I would like the FIIs and maybe someday I will find out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
001 Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 52 minutes ago, Frzninvt said: Those are not upgrades you performed you just swapped the same network for the same network with different parts and you took the smooth sounding phenolic diaphrams and replaced them with the more harsh (to most people) metal diaphrams. The biggest improvement in the II and III is the addition of the larger and more appropriate 15" rear drone and the tractix midrange horn. That said they are certainly not going to sound $3000 better than what you already have. I owned Forte' I's for many years prior to trading them towards Belle's around 2000 and I consider them to be once of the best balanced speakers that Klipsch has ever produced and I never messed with them. Not sure why people think that they know better than the engineers the created and voiced them. changing the caps in the x-overs from the cheap stock electrolytics is definitely an "upgrade." yes they are the same values but the stock caps are very low quality & OLD! changing to even the low price poly caps is an upgrade. the Ti tweets are a more personal opinion but i would not say "most people" find them harsh... from what i've read on here & other places "most" people love the TI tweets compared to stock. maybe 1 or 2 out of 10 say they are harsh. as for the question, i have never heard the F3's but speaker technology has not changed that much in ~30-40 years to justify a $3000 set of F3's that have the same basic technology... a box made of wood, a woofer with a passive radiator & horm mids/tweets, aside from different diaphrams in the mids/tweets, they are still the same basic design aside from some cosmetic changes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veloceleste Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glens Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 Not able to share comparative experience, but am an extremely satisfied and elated owner of the IIIs. Perfect balance top to bottom. Can't imagine an earlier iteration in any configuration surpassing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjptkd Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 24 minutes ago, veloceleste said: If memory serves me correctly, the modified Forte I had deeper, punchier bass. The original forte and forte II are rated down to 32hz with the inverted rubber surround woofer, the new forte III has the accordion style surround woofer like the Heresy models and is only rated down to 38hz IIRC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 I borrowed a pair of modded forte Is for a couple weeks before I bought a pair of forte IIIs. Without a doubt, the newer version is better. Shakey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fido Posted February 17, 2019 Author Share Posted February 17, 2019 8 hours ago, kink56 said: If you want to talk harsh, that would be the Ti mid diaphragms in the FIII to my ears. I currently have FI with the same mods as you and I had FIIIs for awhile. I sold the FIIIs and kept my modded FIs. So, I would stay put if I were you. Now that being said, I am curious if I would like the FIIs and maybe someday I will find out. thanks for the honest input - wasn't thinking of changing but I have been curious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fido Posted February 17, 2019 Author Share Posted February 17, 2019 1 hour ago, Shakeydeal said: I borrowed a pair of modded forte Is for a couple weeks before I bought a pair of forte IIIs. Without a doubt, the newer version is better. Shakey Thanks for the feedback - what part of the iiis sound better? is it overall just a cleaner sounding speaker? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 Better bass response and an overall more refined sound. More modern without giving up the forte magic. This is not to take anything away from the original speaker, it is very good. Especially when modded. Shakey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fido Posted February 18, 2019 Author Share Posted February 18, 2019 15 minutes ago, Shakeydeal said: Better bass response and an overall more refined sound. More modern without giving up the forte magic. This is not to take anything away from the original speaker, it is very good. Especially when modded. Shakey thanks for the feedback - I'd love to hear a pair of the 111s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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