nanus Posted August 22, 2003 Share Posted August 22, 2003 I have a pair of Fortes that have been in storage for the last ten years. I want to put them in my home theater, but I have problems matching the speakers to a center and surround speakers. any ideas?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted August 22, 2003 Share Posted August 22, 2003 Well you obviously are not going to find any matching speakers new, but there is a ton of used Klipsch out there at decent prices. The Klipsch Forte' is a fantastic speaker and would make killer mains in a HT. I would use another pair of Forte's in the rear, if this is not possible Heresy II's would fit the bill perfectly. The Academy would be the center of choice but they are rare and command some big bucks when they do pop up. An alternate and suitable substitute would be a KG 2.2V or 2.5V, the cats meow would be a single Forte' with the riser base removed and layed sideways on top of your TV if you have a decent sized RPTV. A single Heresy II would also work for you. For the additional rear surrounds you could go with KG-1's, 1.2's, 1.5's, 2's, 2.2's, or 2.5's all would work well. Then just add a good subwoofer. Otherwise you could sell the Forte's and spend alot of money on an all Reference Series speaker system from Klipsch. I would personally stick with the Forte's and build on from there it will most likely be cheaper and the sonic results would be well worth your efforts of gathering the speakers necessary to make the Forte's work seamlessly in your HT. Good luck in your endeavors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted August 22, 2003 Share Posted August 22, 2003 Nanus Welcome to the Forum. I would not mix the Forte with anything other than Heritage. I too have a pair of Forte's in storage because they are such an amazing speaker for the size. Use the Forte's as mains. Always try to match your center to your mains. For center use another Forte if possible, could get a set and use one for a center and one for a center rear in a 6.1. You never mention what your room sizes are and what HT format you are trying to set up?? If size is an issue, the Heresy 2 is a great match for Forte as a center. For sides and rears or a 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1, I would use Heresys or Quartets. If your room size is huge, you could use your fortes for sides or rears and go with big Heritage accross the front. Something like LaScallas, Belles, Chorus, or Cornwalls or evan the big boys like Khorns depending on your room. JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted August 22, 2003 Share Posted August 22, 2003 Best center choices in order: another Forte, a Heresy II, an Academy. The center should be as close a match as possible to the left and right from speakers so sound pans seamlessly from one side to the other. Heresy is not a good choice because if your ears are at least half way decent you will hear the difference in timbre as sound pans. Heresy II OTOH has similar drivers and should be a close match. Academy is the closest match in a center channel form factor. But it is not an exact match. KG series is a definite mismatch. Frankly, anything other than a Forte or Heresy II will be a mismatch. Don't forget you can set your receiver/processor to phantom center channel mode if you don't have a center speaker. Depending on your room configuration, this might work well for you. Some folks report good results. For surrounds: more Fortes or Heresy IIs. Maybe Quartet, maybe. It is a bit different from the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckears Posted August 23, 2003 Share Posted August 23, 2003 nanus, Check out my signature; take a look at my lame pics, if you wish... I finally found an Academy for my Fortes several months ago, and the soundstage is wonderful. A KLF-C7 was my center for several months, but the match was just not close enough. My soundstage is seamless (to my ears, which are pretty picky). There are a couple of Academy's on ebay right now; they have gone as high as $625, but I was able to talk to the seller of mine personally, and nabbed it for around $325. Put those Fortes to work! ...and remember, they LOVE a good amplifier. My favorite has been McCormack, but I couldn't afford the 5-channel version at the time I upgraded; my Rotel is perfectly decent; slightly warm, with no effort at all reproducing a decent volume. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhawk92 Posted September 5, 2003 Share Posted September 5, 2003 As other folks have mentioned earlier, the Fortes will do quite well as HT mains and are a great start. You should be able to find another pair on eBay for about $400-600 and use those as your surrounds. Then, if you are lucky, add an Academy, or if your wallet isn't that big, a KV-3, which is what I had before I got my Academy. It does quite well and you don't give up too much on the timbre matching. As an alternative, you could find a pair of Quartets for surrounds, or a pair of Chorus I or II for the mains and move your Fortes to surrounds. Or if space is limited, look for a pair of KG 1.2/1.5 or 2.2/2.5 for surrounds. Those are very good little speakers and will be much easier to deal with if you have tight spaces or have to deal with "significant other factor." Great start to a system. Let us know what you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaq Posted September 10, 2003 Share Posted September 10, 2003 I know this may sound crazy but here we go. I started off with 4 KLF10's and finally found a pair of Forte II's locally!!!!!!!!!!! So of course I snagged those as fast as I could. The problem is that I could not find a center channel for my taste, I tried 2 non-klipsch smaller main speakers and a KLFC7 but could not feel the sound stage appropiately. I tried to re-position my mains, angling the center channel and even adjusted my A/V center channel graphic eq but to no avail. So I dumped the center channel and moved on with phantom mode. Then my wife got this hair up her %^& that I had to sell the 2 KLF10's sitting in the garage. of course I repsonded with "Are you Crazy?!?! Actually sell my Klipsch speakers?!". It almost caused a divorce. Then I decided to listen to HornED and other posts I read a year or two ago and try one last attempt to salvage the "use" of the KLF10's so I wouldn't have to sell them. I turned one on it's side above my TV on the entertainment system (it barely fit, I had to remove the spikes due to design of the entertainment cabinet) and VIOLA!!!!!!!! I can't get over how sweet it sounds! Mixed in with the Forte II's, it really compliments them nicely. The best center speaker I have heard, but of course, I haven't heard them all. I really enjoy the bass and the voice tonial balance that the KLF10 carries as the center. Since I have now read many others post about re-configuring their KLF10's-30's as centers, I humbly bow and appreciate their initiative. Someday I will re-face the KLF10 and re-position the drivers so the horn is in the center. Just food for thought! Jaq Daniels -Gentleman Jack or Single Barrel? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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