_rod_serling_ Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 So a few months ago i had no klipsch speakers - now I have 2 pairs of KG4's and a pair of Forte I's and new HT klipsch fronts.(though i just put the un-upgraded kg4s up front now lol. * Question 1: Can you tell if a tweeter has a crites upgrade from the outside without removing it ? * Question 2: Whats the easiest route (which component to remove) to check to peek and see if crossover has been upgraded? My setup is like this I believe- * KG4 - oiled walnut - has both tweeter and crossover upgraded according to previous owner * KG4 - Blonde Oak ? - unknown upgrade status (my belief is that it has not been) * Forte I - oiled walnut - unknown upgrade status (my belief is that it has not been) which leads to my observations. * system 1 - nagaoka mp150 -> technics 1700mk2 -> grant fidelity tube buffer -> anthem receiver (being replaced with musical paradise tube amp soon) * system 2 - soundsmith carmen -> vpi prime -> rogue audio cronus magnum -- I got the Forte's last and expected to be somewhat impressed over my KG4s - but I wasn't - The crites upgraded KG4's really grab your attention with their clarity but cannot be toed in much at all as that 'brightness edge' shows up. The forte's i have been experimenting with and are currently pointed at the listening seat and are not harsh in the least but do not have that attention grabbing realism of the upgraded KG4. * Question/Observation 3 - Is it the Crites tweeter upgrade that adds the clarity /realism that grabs you? * Question 4 - aside from just replacing old /bad caps - how does upgrading the crossovers generally affect the sound ? ok- if you made it this far ... thanks for reading. if you have any anwers - i appreciate those too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted July 21, 2019 Moderators Share Posted July 21, 2019 Welcome to the forum. They are going to want some photos of your speakers, the backs, drivers, however, you may want to wait until someone who has those speakers can give you help on easiest way to access the drivers and crossovers. Travis 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emile Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 49 minutes ago, _rod_serling_ said: got the Forte's last and expected to be somewhat impressed over my KG4s - but I wasn't - The crites upgraded KG4's really grab your attention with their clarity Hi Rod, Welcome to the forum ... haha; even though you only have 7 Klipsch speakers You can usually "tell" if you have the Ti diaphragms ... as in your KG4's. Same experience with Forte's (V1). Got them about a year ago and thought they sounded dull/horrible. Upgraded the diaphragms and they were much better Still not a big fan of Forte's ... sold them a couple of months ago; replaced them with CF-3's ... much better. OK; next try some "pro" speakers. IMO they are in a different league. Cheers, Emile Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivernuggets Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 1 hour ago, _rod_serling_ said: Can you tell if a tweeter has a crites upgrade from the outside without removing it ? Yes, Crites tweeters will be aluminum/metal in color. The originals are black. With KG 5.5s and a Heresy II pair I could see the difference by removing the cloth grille and looking down the horn. KG 4s should show just as easily. 1 hour ago, _rod_serling_ said: Whats the easiest route (which component to remove) to check to peek and see if crossover has been upgraded? With KG 4s, removing the passive woofer on the back should give you a decent look at the crossover. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_rod_serling_ Posted July 21, 2019 Author Share Posted July 21, 2019 1 hour ago, Emile said: Hi Rod, Welcome to the forum ... haha; even though you only have 7 Klipsch speakers You can usually "tell" if you have the Ti diaphragms ... as in your KG4's. Same experience with Forte's (V1). Got them about a year ago and thought they sounded dull/horrible. Upgraded the diaphragms and they were much better Still not a big fan of Forte's ... sold them a couple of months ago; replaced them with CF-3's ... much better. OK; next try some "pro" speakers. IMO they are in a different league. Cheers, Emile ok well i will at least try the upgraded diaphragms on the forte's - i would like to see how they sound elevated with an upgraded tweeter- i do like my upgraded kg4's. i have not seen cf-3's around here yet. how would contrast them to the forte's ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_rod_serling_ Posted July 21, 2019 Author Share Posted July 21, 2019 1 hour ago, Rivernuggets said: Yes, Crites tweeters will be aluminum/metal in color. The originals are black. With KG 5.5s and a Heresy II pair I could see the difference by removing the cloth grille and looking down the horn. KG 4s should show just as easily. With KG 4s, removing the passive woofer on the back should give you a decent look at the crossover. I examined the tweeters for all 3 sets of speakers. All 3 have some kind of silver center circle. The one set of kg4's that i know for sure are upgraded have a flat silver surround circle around the center circle. the other 2 pairs of speakers have a deep reddish/orangeish/brownish circle surround.- is that the original phenolic? material . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 yes your observations are correct. If you see smooth black shiny circles then someone has installed a set of the poly tweeter diaphragms used in the Legend series (KLF) you would definitely want to change those out for a set of phenolic or better yet the Crites titanium diaphragms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrestonTom Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 R Serling: I am not sure why you are so focused on "upgrading". Is there something about the sound you do not like or find lacking? If truth be told, there is very little energy coming from the tweeter and the stock tweeters are not bad. I would spend my efforts elsewhere. Good Luck, -Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 The stock phenolic diaphragm, shown below, is almost black. The second photo shows the silver Crites titanium diaphragm visible from the outside. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_rod_serling_ Posted July 22, 2019 Author Share Posted July 22, 2019 50 minutes ago, PrestonTom said: R Serling: I am not sure why you are so focused on "upgrading". Is there something about the sound you do not like or find lacking? If truth be told, there is very little energy coming from the tweeter and the stock tweeters are not bad. I would spend my efforts elsewhere. Good Luck, -Tom the difference between my crites upgraded kg4's and non upgraded forte I's is striking. and i mean all in the treble area - piano key strikes, harmonics , decay.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_rod_serling_ Posted July 22, 2019 Author Share Posted July 22, 2019 28 minutes ago, DizRotus said: The stock phenolic diaphragm, shown below, is almost black. The second photo shows the silver Crites titanium diaphragm visible from the outside. -ok - then it looks like one set of kg4's and the fortes are not upgraded. all have small silver circles in the center - but the 2 non-upgraded ones have that dark color bordering around the center small circle . and not the flat silver of the upgraded kg4's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emile Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 12 hours ago, DizRotus said: The second photo shows the silver Crites titanium diaphragm visible from the outside Awesome ... never thought that was "visible." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emile Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 14 hours ago, _rod_serling_ said: have not seen cf-3's around here yet. how would contrast them to the forte's Bigger sound ... close to "pro" speakers. Better horn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_rod_serling_ Posted July 28, 2019 Author Share Posted July 28, 2019 I figured I would add these pictures to this post - since they help display the difference between a crites upgraded and non-upgraded tweeter. these pictures are from my 2 different sets of kg4's. the dark ring is the non-upgraded. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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