Advice needed on buying a pair of Forte's

[robertl]

hello,

I'm a newbie to this board and with help from the super nice folks here. I've decided to get a pair of Forte' 1's as main speakers for my Fisher 500C tube receiver. To repalce my Pioneer HPM 100's,which are for sale. $200 plus shipping. I found a pair of Forte's still in the box,that have not been used for 10 years for $500 plus shipping. The owner is going to send me pictures. What questions should I ask? I did ask do they still work,overall condition,any repairs,cabinet finish color,do they have the grills.

All and any help is greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Robert

[RichardP]

I would ask for photos of front (w/ and w/o grills on), sides, top, and back. Look for dented speaker center on woofers and rear passive radiators, which would not be a problem, but is common for the unprotected rear cone. Look at rear connecting posts; sometimes they get broken off. Ask how they were used, i.e., quiet home at moderate volume, vs. party central blasting the windows out, etc. Try to see if any mold or mildew is evident, which could occur if stored in damp basement. Hopefully they weren't stored in a hot attic, either, which could dry out wood and maybe paper cones. Ask if they ever oiled the cabinets; they should have every couple of years, but not critical. Watch out for inflated shipping charges. You can use this website (front page, "classic classics") to get Forte dimensions and weight; add 2 or 3 inches to all dimensions and about 5 lbs apiece for boxes, then go to UPS website and calculate estimated shipping (as 2 separate packages). Pay for insurance; other people on this forum have described shipping nightmares in which speakers were literally split apart in shipping damage. $500 is OK for Forte's in good shape, assuming 8.5/10 or better condition. On Ebay, they go for anywhere between $400 and $600. See if the seller will readily declare that they are 100% fully functional and will refund $ if they are not (because of blown speaker diaphragms, fried crossover, etc.). If they are in good working order, you will love them.

[robertl]

Thanks Richard,your reply is a great help.

I spoke with the seller,he said he bought the Forte' 1's in 1988 new ,with hopes of hooking them up with a dream system down the road,but because of a divorce they were never used and were stored in their boxes in a closet since 1988.

The price is $500 and I split shipping cost.

I will have them insured for shipping and make sure he'll owner a return policy if they don't work.

Thanks again,

Robert

[harbolt]

Hello. Could you please tell me if there is really that big of a difference between the original Fortes and the Forte IIs? I would appreciate any info on this. Thanks.

Brent

[3dzapper]

Robert, That's a great deal, $500 for a "brand new" pair of Fortes. I'm sure that you will be very happy with them, Just don't leave them in your car parked out in the street until the wife leaves. We've all seen the trouble that can befall one in that situation.

ENJOY!

Rick

[RichardP]

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On 4/1/2004 10:48:36 PM harbolt wrote:

Hello. Could you please tell me if there is really that big of a difference between the original Fortes and the Forte IIs? I would appreciate any info on this. Thanks.

Brent

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Brent:

I don't notice much difference, certainly not as much as between different speaker lines, such as Forte vs. Heresy. That said, I actually haven't ever put my Forte I's and II's side by side (too heavy for whimsical experimentation). But after having the I's for 15 years, I did not perceive any clearly-identifiable change when swapping them out for the II's. The II's have a slightly different midrange horn (Tractrix vs. "exponential"), and a larger passive radiator (15" vs. 12"), so maybe a couple of Hz deeper, and one dB louder than I's. No doubt there are some persons on this forum who will suggest there is a large sonic difference.