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Forte II tune-up and repair [Philadelphia]


RedMoss

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I purchased a pair of Forte IIs last year for a very reasonable amount. I was unable to test these at the point of purchase as the owner was moving and just looking to get rid of them (they were quite apologetic, actually: "are you sure you want these? They're huge!")
 

I was overjoyed when I hooked them up. The experience was everything I had been looking for in a speaker: the sound seemed to pour out effortlessly and had an almost "buoyant" quality to my ears (if that makes any sense). Unfortunately, the amount of space in our living room available at the time would not accommodate them, and so they went into the basement and were brought up for special occasions.

With the additional time I have had available over the past couple of months, I've been listening to these more often. As I've been listening more attentively, I've noticed that the sound in one speaker is a bit recessed. Vocals have a distant, echo-y quality to them, and lacks the oomph of its sister. I'm sure it's time to open these up, but I have zero confidence in knowing what I'm looking at or doing the repair myself properly. (I can upload a video of both speakers isolated if it would help a diagnosis).

Any tips on how to get these back to stock sound? I've been reading about the Crites crossovers -- my dilemma would be in finding a speaker repair place locally that know the speaker well and could do the repairs appropriately. (I'm in the Philadelphia-area, if that helps). Is there a ballpark figure on how much this would cost?

 

If the cost is overly excessive, I'm wondering if it might be better to sell these and purchase a pair of the new Heresys. Would the presentation between these two speakers be drastically different? +1 for the Heresy IV would be that it's visually more appealing and intrudes less. Regardless, I do plan on moving the furniture around to accommodate either option, so it's certainly not a deciding factor.

 

Thanks for any guidance on this.

Edited by RedMoss
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First thing would be to check the wiring to make sure both speakers are in phase.  + to +, - to -.  If that checks out, switch the speaker wires between each speaker to make sure it isn't your amp/receiver.  If that checks out, open up the speaker cabinets by taking out the rear passive woofer and make sure the speakers internally are wired in phase.  Those would be the easiest things to try to start.

 

After that, if you choose, you can remove each driver individually and swap it with the driver in the speaker that sounds better and see which driver(s) sound 'off'.  

 

For the crossovers I would suggest sending them directly to Bob and have him rebuild them.  He'll mount everything on the existing crossover boards.

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Thanks for this. I'm pretty sure it's not the amp nor the wires as other speakers sound fine using both. I'll certainly run through your other suggestions.

 

If I were to have the existing boards rebuilt, would this be a simple matter of removing/reattaching spades or is there some soldering involved? Sorry, I'm totally ignorant when it comes to this stuff.

 

Thanks again.

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25 minutes ago, RedMoss said:

Thanks for this. I'm pretty sure it's not the amp nor the wires as other speakers sound fine using both. I'll certainly run through your other suggestions.

 

If I were to have the existing boards rebuilt, would this be a simple matter of removing/reattaching spades or is there some soldering involved? Sorry, I'm totally ignorant when it comes to this stuff.

 

Thanks again.

Soldering is required for the actual recap.  If you lack solid skills send to Bob.  As far as removal, no soldering required.  They are attached to the terminal cups below the passive radiator.  Simple removal process.  If you remove passive radiator, care should be taken, as they are delicate and near impossible to replace.  Re-capping with parts should be under a $100.00.  Even if you find a bad driver, parts are relatively cheap.  Keep the forte II.  PM if you are interested in reversible upgrades I have done to mine.

 

Regards,

John

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Yeah, keep the Forte IIs. Love mine. The only reason you might let them go is if one or more of the speakers are damaged. Otherwise upgrades will make them sing again.

 

You can send your OEM crossovers (on terminal cups) to Crites to be rebuilt or have him build you a better set that will come mounted on separate boards. At that point they are all but plug-n-play.

 

I'll also suggest getting the Crites titanium diaphragms for the tweets. Some say they are a bit harsh but I've had mine for several years & think they are great! Well worth the +/- $50 they cost & are very easy to install.

 

Take care,

 

Frank

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4 hours ago, willland said:

@RedMoss,

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Where is your location?

I ask that because there are some really good folks on this forum who would be delighted to give you a hand with trouble shooting and repairing/refreshing your Forte IIs.

 

Bill

 

Hi Bill. Philadelphia, here.

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5 minutes ago, willland said:

Maybe post  in Technical/Modifications Forum,  title it "Philly Member Needs Hands On Help With Forte IIs".

 

Bill

Better yet, just change the title of this thread.

 

Bill

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