edwardre Posted July 15, 2004 Share Posted July 15, 2004 Seems like this is the center of choice. I have a backup 'pedestrian' HT that we use for general TV watching and letting the kids watch their movies with. The all Heritage HT in the dedicated 'theatre' room is strictly for DVD movies and is from the kid's perspective, hands off! Anyway, the HT I'm talking about is comprised of a pair of Forte 2's as front mains, a klipsch SC1 center, and a pair of Tannoy studio monitors as rear surrounds. A 60" Proscan rear projection TV rounds out the HT. The center channel is clearly the 'weakest link'. Since I subscribe to the philosophy that you are only as good as your weakest link, clearly this center has to be upgraded. It is waaaaay toooooo 'screetchy' for my liking. Questions are: What would integrate well with the Forte 2's? An Academy? Is there anything else that should be suitable? I was thinking of a single Heresy? Perhaps a C7? But then you are talking about a lot of scratch. What does an Academy typically sell for? Any input will be greatly appreciated......thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olorin Posted July 15, 2004 Share Posted July 15, 2004 The fuss is because the Academy is the center channel for the Forte/Chorus/Quartet family, and it seems that the desire for a center to match those mains outstrips the supply of the Academy. If you have a sonically transparent screen (and the space) you can use Fote II's all around. A Quartet would make a nice center for Forte II's as well, and would cost you less than the Forte. Someone here on the forum -- jhawk I think -- has a setup with three Chorus II's across the front and Forte II's in the rear. I can only imagine how hard and well that kicks. I would not consider a Heresy. Maybe a Heresy II, but I haven't heard one. Some guys are using H II's as surrounds for Fortes, and hopefully one of them can chime in on the potential match. I haven't heard a C7 -- I assume you mean a KLF-C7? Matches the Legend series, but probably not the Forte family so well. Recently tillmbill (I think) here on the forum had a cosmetically challenged Academy up for $250. It looked repairable to me, but I don't know if he still has it. You'll have a hard time paying less than that, and should probably consider anything around $350 to be a really good deal for an Academy. You can get a pair of Quartets for that. Last winter some went over $900 on eBay. That's a pair of Chorus II's. Of course nothing but the Academy is shielded, but that is probably a surmountable problem. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted July 15, 2004 Share Posted July 15, 2004 Academys are hard to come by and usually sell for about $500 these days which is what I paid for mine. It matches perfectly with fortes. It is for those who don't have room for a big center speaker. Of course a belle or lascala or cornwall is a better option (for me since I have cornwall fronts). I like the academy better than a single heresy for movies (JMHO) which I also tried. I never tried 2 heresys which may be better than the academy. I don't know. If you can fit a big speaker, try to match your fronts all the way. 3 fortes would be perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale W Posted July 15, 2004 Share Posted July 15, 2004 So whats wrong with the CF-7 center ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popbumper Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Academys ARE hard to come by, but I happened to be shopping on EBAY a few months back when there were like four available - mine was $500. It is a perfect match to my Forte mains. I also tried a KG2 as center - close, but not as crisp, and a Heresy II, which was so BRIGHT it drove me nuts, and any transition between the mains and center was blatantly obvious. Good luck finding one! Popbumper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Having a few spare minutes on my hands earlier this week I decided I would try a KT-LCR for center along with my Chorus II's that I usually use for 2-channel. I set the LCR small and bumped the center channel output up +3 per my SPL meter. Unable to find my spare digital cable so testing was limited. I thought the match was pretty decent. Most notible was sheer output, which I think you'll find is the case with most large main/small center cofigurations. Otherwise, dialogue sounded fine. Bass output from the 'small' center was surprising. Hopefully in the future I'll find the time to test a little more extensively. If you can find a KT-LCR you might try that. They generally sell for 1/3 the price of an Academy. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olorin Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Hey, that's a cool unit. It's just like the KLF-C5 that doesn't exist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwardre Posted July 16, 2004 Author Share Posted July 16, 2004 Thanks folks for the great input. The sentance that sealed it for me was 'it is the only center speaker designed to match the forte/chorus/quartet line' (or something like that). I did not know that, now I do! So there was one that was suppose to close on epay yesterday evening. When I left work here around 4:30PST, it was sitting at $256 with about 5 hours to go. Hmmmm I think. I'll submit an esnipe bid of $357.57 and collect it in the morning!! Wrong. went for $405 and from what I gather now, that's a fair price. I do have a spare pair of Cornwalls laying around but they are kind of large to set uptop of the RP TV. I have a couple of Belles, but they are currently utilyzed as front and rear centers in the 'real' HT setup, besides, they would be kind of large as well. There seems to be no shortage of Fortes on 'the bay', occasionally for a decent price...heck, a pair of Chorus 2's went for under $300 earlier this week or late last week. If I get a pair of Fortes on the cheap, I'm sure that there will be someone here that might want the other one...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 ---------------- On 7/16/2004 11:27:12 AM Olorin wrote: Hey, that's a cool unit. It's just like the KLF-C5 that doesn't exist. ---------------- There's the KSF-C5, but you probably know about that one. Synergy, different bird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.