chickey Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 Folks, I got a friend into Klipsch some years ago, and started her off with KG 2.5's for a 2 channel system. She then acquired a KV-3 for her center channel as her first foray into home theater. She's now interested in moving the 2.5's to the rear and upgrading the fronts (although she would like to keep the KV-3 if possible). I'm not sure if some of the newer stuff would be a good match, but I also don't think she's going to spend the time sifting through Ebay to buy used gear. Any suggestions? I'm not sure in what direction to send her, and the speaker matching section wasn't much help. Thanks in advance for any help or thoughts you may have. Colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 I would say a pair of original Forte's or KG-4's would work nicely with the KV-3 center and the KG 2.5's in the rear. They can be had for $250 - $500 for the pair, the higher number being for the Forte's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redtop Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 Colin, The best thing I ever did for my home theater is put KG 3.5's all around. I started with some KG2.5's (surrounds)with my KG3.5's(mains) and a KV-2(center) and it was fine...until I heard what a timbre match would do. For timbre matching the mid's and high's for the least possible dollar, I would recommend that she look for 2 more KG 2.5's and add a nice SVS subwoofer. The KG2.5's come up on Ebay all the time and can usually be had for about $200 or less per pair. Here's a link to a pair where the bidding ends in 2 days...http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3076301122&category=14991 A SVS 25-31pci would make a good moderately priced ($550)subwoofer. With the KV-3 anchoring the center she will be in very fine shape. If she wants to spend a little more KG 3.5's or 4.5's would make a nice system as new mains. All of these come up on eBay and are worth waiting for. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 KG 5.5's. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickey Posted February 10, 2004 Author Share Posted February 10, 2004 Folks, Thanks for all the good input - much appreciated. I'll definitely pass on all your comments to my friend and see how she wants to proceed. Thanks again! Colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhawk92 Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 Chickey- Good to see you back on the boards. I'd go with Frz's suggestion of Forte or Forte II. I really enjoyed the ForteII/KV-3 combo for a long time. The KG 2.5s will do great as surrounds. I think the 3-way of the Forte II is a great main speaker. I've not heard lots of the KG-4, but several folks have heard both and like the Forte better. Just ask Erdric...he heard my Forte IIs and then went on a massive upgrade, replacing his KG-4 with Forte II. I just love spending other people's money! He got me to spend money on my SVS, but I don't think we are even. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagangjee Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 Colin, I have a KV-3 matched with my KG-4's and IMO, I am very, very happy with the sound they produce togehter. I have never heard the Forte's matched with the KV-3, but have only heard great things. Either way you go, you should be fine, I think the KV-3 will be a good match for any of the KG line or Forte's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardP Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 I have been watching Ebay on a daily basis for the past 2-3 months, both for myself and to help a friend set up a modest system as you are doing. There seem to be about the same number of auctions for Fortes (I and II) as there are for KG 4s, both of which are fairly frequent (3-6 pairs of each up for auction at any given time). The KG 4s go for $280-$350, while the Fortes go for around $400-$600. They are far more frequent than auctions for the smaller models, e.g., KG 2.5, 2.2, 1.5, 1.2, which I have also looked for. I can't say whether Fortes or KG4s would match the 2.5s better, but both would sound pretty good; I used my Forte fronts with a KG2.2v center for years, and was able to get quite a good soundstage across the front. Most posters here would say that the KV-3 will sound even better with Fortes. Also, one could get by for a while without a powered sub, as the Fortes have pretty good bass extension, for both music and movies. If you decide to bid on auctions for either of those speaker models, you would be wise to consider only those close enough for in-person pick up, because if the seller does not have original boxes, then he/she may or may not be able to adequately package them for shipment. Both are heavy speakers (50 & 67 lbs), and there was a recent story on this forum from a buyer of Choruses receiving them in splintered condition caused by inadequate packing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redtop Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 Ultimately the "beauty" of the sound is in the ear of the beholder... If you are looking for an OK match for your soundstage any of the above suggestions will do. ALL of them will sound very good. I would caution though, that if you want the best and most uniform soundstage for a dollar spent, you need at a minimum to make all of the speakers in your system from the same model series (i.g. .2's .5's,etc.) The horns (mid and high frequencies) in the KG2.2's are different from 2.5's. Going to the extreme of having the same speaker all around just adds another layer of clarity to the soundstage, IMO. To my ear, (and remember this is just MY opinion) my very inexpensive HT system has a cleaner, fuller sound than some others I have heard costing thousands of dollars more, all thanks to the timbre match. Someone much smarter then me on this board (HornEd) put me onto the concept of timbre matching and after hearing the difference I will never be able to go back. One of the additional benefits of timbre matching is that you can enhance your listening experience with small bookshelf style speakers all the way up to Lascalas and Khorns. It works for all of them! HornEd's comments on timbre matching are still available by doing a search on this forum. Much better at explaining than am I. Remember what ever you do will sound better than Bo$e... I only wish to the best in your HT journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardP Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 Actually, Mr. Redtop, the KG 1.2, 1.5, 2.2, and 2.5 all share the same tweeter, which is the K-86 (and all are two way speakers, thus no midrange). The 1.2 and 2.2 have one K-1007 and two K-1008 woofers, respectively, and the 1.5 and 2.5 have a K-1018 and 2 K-1019 woofers. I don't know how much different the different woofers sound (especially ones with adjacent model #s), but I was under the impression from other forum posts that a match in the higher frequency drivers (tweeter, or mid, if present) is more critical than woofer matching. Of course, in 2-way speakers, the woofer handles freqs in the lower midrange, so differences in woofer models might sound different. If one can find exact matches, that will be preferable than mixing completely different ones. I just got a pair of 1.2s from Ebay to use as rears for my friend's 2.2s f-c-r, and it took a long time to find an auction for speakers with matching tweeters AND matching finish. Good luck to Chickey's friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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