zoocow Posted August 3, 2003 Share Posted August 3, 2003 Ok...drove 3 hours on Saturday to pick-up the Fortes. Got them back and the wife was waiting for me in the basement to inspect them. The cabinets are in great shape and she approved them. They are actually Fortes model Forte 00. Got to hook them up to my old Sony receiver this morning(only thing I have now to drive them). Trouble at first. The left speaker played at a much lower volume and had no bass. After a few minutes the receiver cut out with a message of "protection" on the read-out. I assumed that I had the polarity of the wiring crossed. What I found was that I did a poor job in wiring the receiver and some of the wires were touching. I fixed the problem, turned on the receiver and damn it sounded good. Had small sat/sub system first, then my Reference 3 system, but this sounded great...even with the old sony. So nice to hear a system with bass without the need for a subwoofer. Spent most of the day today playing cd's, hearing them all over. Next is to upgrade to a good amp...maybe tubes..who knows, addicted now. Wife yelled at me already twice to turn it down. Just keeps sounding better and better. Finally, just a few questions...the speakers say 4 ohms impedence..but the Klipsch website says 8. What is the difference really? ..my RF3 are 8 Ohms. And...the problem I had when I hooked it up..you think it was only a polarity problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBM135 Posted August 3, 2003 Share Posted August 3, 2003 Congrats on the Fortes--they will grow on you. I did not get the full benefit with mine however until I went to tubes and bought a better CD player. Forte's need good "fuel" to perform their best IMHO. Experiment with placement too. A little tweak here and there can make a big difference. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 Zoo Congrats. The Forte is a great speaker. My set of fortes are also 4 ohm. Not a problem for most amps or receivers. The only problem may be if you wanted to run a bridged amp to them, since the amp would see them as a 2ohm speakers per channel. I can bridge my McIntosh amps down to drive a 4 ohm speaker so it is possible with the right amps. Other than that, enjoy the Fortes JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhawk92 Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 Zoo- Fortes are a great set of speakers, especially in my favorite flavor, OO. I am pretty sure my Forte II say 8ohms, but I'll check it out. As Mike said above, play around with placement and you should be able to get a phantom center channel and be in pure sonic heaven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 To answer your question, your reciever probably went into protection due to the short in the speaker wires. SS doesn't tolerate that kind o mess. Be thankful it had protection, or it would be fried! Also - OO means Oak Oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
111db Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 ---------------- On 8/3/2003 9:14:52 PM zoocow wrote: Finally, just a few questions...the speakers say 4 ohms impedence..but the Klipsch website says 8. What is the difference really? ..my RF3 are 8 Ohms. ---------------- Zoocow, the original model Forte had a minimum impedance of 4 ohms at around 150Hz, and a maximum of over 100 ohms if I recall correctly: an unusually wide range, and perhaps a reason why they are considered somewhat amp-finicky. Most speakers nominally rated at 8 ohms dip down to 6 ohms or so in the midbass region, so the Forte at 4 ohms min. could be similarly classified as a 5 ohm speaker. A tube amp should probably use the 4 ohm tap; a SS amp must have good current output capability to handle the low impedance. If your SS amp's 4 ohm max wattage rating is not significantly higher than it's 8 ohm rating, then it is not high current and shouldn't be used with Fortes or other lower impedance speakers except at low volume levels. Likewise if the amp doesn't even HAVE a 4 ohm wattage rating, as is common with cheaper receivers, don't use it. Also, you should use heavier speaker wire with low impedance speakers to keep damping factor high and woofer cones under control. 12ga should be quite sufficient for most home situations. Welcome to the Forte club. How sweet it is! Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoocow Posted August 4, 2003 Author Share Posted August 4, 2003 Ok..now you got me worried. I looked for my specs on my Sony amp and could not find them. What could happen if I continue to play them with this older receiver if the 4 ohm rating is low? Can I hurt the speakers? Does anybody know where I can get a cheap tube amp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easylistener Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 Just pay attention to how hot it runs. If you play it loud for awhile it may over heat. Sounds like you receiver has some protection and will probally shut down if it can't run four ohms. It sound like you have been playing it for a while and it should be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 Hey Zoo I was going to say something simular to Easy, but then I was thinking.... Fortes are such great speakers. Driving them with a Sony receiver.... well, just kind of sucks. Look into upgrading and really enjoy those Fortes JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckears Posted August 5, 2003 Share Posted August 5, 2003 zoocow, If you want those new (to you) Fortes to SING, and can part with $750 - $1000, check out audiogon.com for several days, and look for a McCormack DNA 0.5 or DNA1, preferrably a Deluxe edition (better binding posts and internal connections). I owned my Fortes for 12 years before I discovered the glorious sound they were actually capable of producing with a fine amplifier. If you have no luck with a McCormack, check out a Belles 150A HotRod... it has been compared favorably with the McCormack, but it isn't quite as "sexy", IMHO. The biggest drawback with either purchase would be the fact that you would be limited to two-channel listening. This is why I no longer own the McCormack DNA1. I got into home theater so deeply, and the McCormack 5-channel amp was not to be had at my price range (adding a 3-channel was also not a viable alternative, space-wise and price-wise), so I sold mine, and went with a Rotel 5-channel. It's a capable amplifier, but does not touch the sky like the McCormack... Don't let anyone tell you that you don't need very much power with the Fortes... those 12-inch cone woofers love and need power to give you the slam they are capable of; I was floored by what I heard from mine when I went from a 120-watt Carver to the 185-watt McCormack. There are other, and higher-end, brands of amplifiers out there, but this is the unit with which I have had a personal, almost religious, experience... I didn't remember experiencing the phrase "jaw-dropping" until I listened to my first several songs with the DNA1. Congratulations on your purchase; I know you will love these speakers, no matter what you drive them with... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoocow Posted August 5, 2003 Author Share Posted August 5, 2003 Thanks bclarke for telling me what the "oo" means. I do like the finish..and the wife approves also. Actually matches some of the wood trim in the bar we built. Chuck...I am only using the Fortes for 2 channel so a two channel amp is what I am looking for. Thanks for the advice. I'll be looking. The arrangement with my wife is I get to buy two toys a year...birthday and Christmas. So the amp will prob wait till December. One final question on this thread. What is the history on the Fortes? When they were new, were they like the RF-7's or RF-5's? Were they part of a speaker line with the Chorus? Just wondering... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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