Forte's in the house, first impression

[theplummer]

I managed to snag a pair of 87' Oiled Oak w/ brown grillcloth Forte's from my old high school buddy, He'd bought them new, I was with him when he got'em. I hadn't seen him at least 15 years and ran into him last month. I asked if he still had the Forte's and he said that he did, but hadn't hooked them up since he got married almost 18 years ago. They look great.

Waf hadn't wanted any more speakers as she feels that a pair of Chorus's for mains Academy center and Heresy II's in the rear, with a SW10II was just too much already.

I set up a weight room in my basement and wanted to use my old Adcom equipment there and needed speakers for the weight room.

Got the Forte's home and placed them in the middle of the living room to allow the WAF to acclimate to them (Kinda like bringing a new cat home). After about a half hour of ranting for me to get rid of them, I got a serious response. She liked that the Forte's were smaller than theChorus's. She asked if they could become mains, (I had to compromise somewhere), I said, "Sure." Then she suggested the Chorus's go to the rear surrounds, as the Heresy's had been on stands and the Chorus's would be about the same height as the Heresy's with stands.

I thought, This is nuts, I bit my lip and said, "Sure".

Once the new setup was complete, (and the Heresy's were carried to the basement) I started tinkering.

One major thing that I discovered right away was that the Forte's have a much deeper bass than the Chorus's have or at least they have a flatter response down lower, although they're definately a more laid back speaker, very musical, but less efficient. So much so that I have had to attenuate the Chorus's all the way down to -10 on the Sunfire Theater Grand II and they still appear to be too much for the rear duties.

Another thing that I have noticed though The Academy is definately a "Perfect" match to the Forte's as mains. With the Chorus's, I had to overdrive the center to prevent it from being lost between the Chorus's. The timbre match is better also. Then I turned on the Sub. OH, My Lord. I could not believe that this little Sub could even perform this well, It's seamless with the Forte's. I found myslef disappointed with the SW10 and Chorus's. I guess the Chorus's are so forward that they aren't a good match with that little sub.

I feel that the Chorus's and the Heresy's are a very good match to each other, and I've used the Chorus's as rears to Lascalla's and was a good match also. I've used a Heres'y II as a center between both the Chorus's and the Lascalla's and that seems to be a better match than the Academy also.

I think ultimately the Chorus's and Heresy's should stay together and I should (secretly) work on obtaining either another pair of Forte's or I'll bet the Quintet's would be a good possibility for the rears on the Forte system.

That means that I have to find another Heresy II for the Chorus/ Heresy setup also (darn the bad luck).

That's all for now, until I get to play a little more.

[DrWho]

Wow, nice move [Y]

[wuzzzer]

Enjoy! I've loved every minute of mine.

[DrWho]

wuzzer,

I know it's way off topic but how do the KLF-30's compare to the Forte II? The KLF series is the last of ones I'm yet to hear and the KLF-30 seems strikingly similar to the Chorus II...was there a thread on this already and I missed it?

[Arky]

Plummer

You need to teach wife lessons 101. Sounds like you handled it perfectly.

[dtel's wife]

Plummer

You need to teach wife lessons 101. Sounds like you handled it perfectly.

Yes, good suggestion. Sounds like he's got it "in the bag".

[dtel's wife]

I would recommend another pair of Forte's. I think you would be surprised![]

[theplummer]

Well, ultimately, I'd like to go with larger heritage, (wife really hates that idea though). I think Belle's are the cat's meow, even though i've never heard them, I believe they'll sound similar to my Chorus's. When we build our new home the Media room will be 30' wide and 57' long, theater on one end with open back to the rest of the room. I know I'll need serious speakers to fill that space.

I collected these Forte's mainly because I 1) I know the history of them. 2) I needed a pair of speakers right now for the weight room. 3) they were a VERY good deal 4) I have a couple of buddies that have watering mouths for these, just cannot afford them right now and didn't want to see the deal slip by, so re-sale won't be an issue.

Now that I have them, I think they will still be used somewhere in the new diggs, maybe the formal family room,(although WAF said that she's like built in speakers there), kids playroom (bonus room over garage) or even the sub basement work shop. Either way they'll get to be enjoyed regularly.

The only real issuie about the new Forte's is WAF really doesn't like the brown grill cloths. She would like for me to try to find black ones. Any one got any extras laying around. Me personally, I kind of like the color and would like to find at least a brown Academy grill to match the Forte's for now.

While I'm on the subject, anyone got a decent grill for a SW10II (black or brown), as my children use the sub as a jungle gym and the grill is destroyed by now.

[oldtimer]

My original pair has the brown and my more recently acquired pair has black. I kind of prefer the brown myself, oddly enough I think it helps blend into the room better than black. If you find brown for Academy let me know, I'm not sure they had that option. Maybe we could trade? Edit. Mine are Forte II's, I'm not 100% sure they are identical (size, magnet location, bevel, etc) but we could see, or maybe someone knows for sure?

[dtel's wife]

My original pair has the brown and my more recently acquired pair has black. I kind of prefer the brown myself, oddly enough I think it helps blend into the room better than black. If you find brown for Academy let me know, I'm not sure they had that option. Maybe we could trade? Edit. Mine are Forte II's, I'm not 100% sure they are identical (size, magnet location, bevel, etc) but we could see, or maybe someone knows for sure?

Forte I and Forte II's are identical in size. I almost positive they match up exactly, but I will check when dtel comes in. The Forte's are mounted close to the ceiling and I can't reach them. I will let you guys know within an hour, unless someone answers you sooner.

[theplummer]

My original pair has the brown and my more recently acquired pair has black. I kind of prefer the brown myself, oddly enough I think it helps blend into the room better than black. If you find brown for Academy let me know, I'm not sure they had that option. Maybe we could trade? Edit. Mine are Forte II's, I'm not 100% sure they are identical (size, magnet location, bevel, etc) but we could see, or maybe someone knows for sure?

Forte I's don't have magnets on the grill. Rather there are a series of plastic posts molded to the back of the grill that protrude into rubber grommets that are stuck into the motherboard of the cabinet.

[theplummer]

Well, ultimately, I'd like to go with larger heritage, (wife really hates that idea though). I think Belle's are the cat's meow, even though i've never heard them, I believe they'll sound similar to my Chorus's. When we build our new home the Media room will be 30' wide and 57' long, theater on one end with open back to the rest of the room. I know I'll need serious speakers to fill that space.

I collected these Forte's mainly because I 1) I know the history of them. 2) I needed a pair of speakers right now for the weight room. 3) they were a VERY good deal 4) I have a couple of buddies that have watering mouths for these, just cannot afford them right now and didn't want to see the deal slip by, so re-sale won't be an issue.

Now that I have them, I think they will still be used somewhere in the new diggs, maybe the formal family room,(although WAF said that she's like built in speakers there), kids playroom (bonus room over garage) or even the sub basement work shop. Either way they'll get to be enjoyed regularly.

The only real issuie about the new Forte's is WAF really doesn't like the brown grill cloths. She would like for me to try to find black ones. Any one got any extras laying around. Me personally, I kind of like the color and would like to find at least a brown Academy grill to match the Forte's for now.

While I'm on the subject, anyone got a decent grill for a SW10II (black or brown), as my children use the sub as a jungle gym and the grill is destroyed by now.

I really hate quoting myself, but I'd like to bump this back to the top, Anyone have knowlege about brown grill cloth for Academy's, or have black Forte I grills, and a decent SW10II grill cover. Or should I post this in Two channel?

[Arky]

Have you checked wendell fabrics.

[dtel's wife]

It's okay that you quoted yourself...sometimes you have to repeat yourself a couple of times to get someone's attention on here.

If you have the frames for the speaker covers it should be fairly easy to replace the cloth on them.

BTW, is there any way to "convert" a Forte I cover to a Forte II cover. I really like the magnet idea, it works much better than the little post.Maybe you could cut the posts off and the attach magnets??? I don't know, just asking.

Does Klipsch sell the magnet set up? They are used on the newer speakers also.

[chuckears]

This is very useful information for me... I have had the Forte-Academy soundstage for a while now (love it!), and sometimes see Chorus go up for sale, and wonder how it would be to place the Fortes in surround duty, with the Chorus taking over as mains. While I'm sure I would love the sound of the Chorus for music listening, I would hesitate to shake up the Forte-Academy love I've been enjoying.

I had tried and RC3 center with the Fortes (terrible!), then a KLF-C7 (sounded great on its own, but still out-of-timbre with Fortes); the Academy really ties everything together, and while is doesn't sound exactly the same like another Forte would, it does the job nicely, and sits on top of my Mitsubishi 55" very comfortably.

[theplummer]

This is very useful information for me... I have had the Forte-Academy soundstage for a while now (love it!), and sometimes see Chorus go up for sale, and wonder how it would be to place the Fortes in surround duty, with the Chorus taking over as mains. While I'm sure I would love the sound of the Chorus for music listening, I would hesitate to shake up the Forte-Academy love I've been enjoying.

I had tried and RC3 center with the Fortes (terrible!), then a KLF-C7 (sounded great on its own, but still out-of-timbre with Fortes); the Academy really ties everything together, and while is doesn't sound exactly the same like another Forte would, it does the job nicely, and sits on top of my Mitsubishi 55" very comfortably.

I've got my Chorus's for rear's right now, It's really growing on me. I watched Pirates of the Caribean 2 Last night and was very impressed by the amount of material that I had not heard with the Heresy's in that position. I've never had floor shaking bass until now.

One thing you might want to verify, Chuckears. If you have the ability, try two things. first make sure that your processor is set to "Small" for the Academy. This will send all bass signals to your sub, this helps the timbre difference between the Academy/Forte combo. Also, If your processor has two RCA outs for the Center channel, try hooking your sub directly to the center along with the Academy, then set your processor to "Large". I think you'll be looking for another Sub real soon.

Good Luck.

[Roc Rinaldi]

I have Forte-IIs for my mains and KG-4s for the rears with a Velodyne 12" for the sub.

It sounds pretty good to me so you might consider acquiring KG-4s for your rears.

BTW, I am seeking an Academy for my center. Would you know of one in excellent shape for sale? Preferable in the Baltimore, MD area so that I can see and hear it?

Thanks,

[chuckears]

Another sub to go with the two I already have? I would have to let someone else sell this particular notion to my wife [] I have a Hsu TN1220 cylinder in one front corner, and a Hsu VTF3 between my display and the left main, to de-localize the bass and balance out the room response.

BTW, my HT processor (Anthem AVM20) is set to small with my center and rears, but with custom crossovers for each, to adjust for their different frequency responses... it took a lot of time to set it all up to sound the most natural, and I would dread having to do it again...

[theplummer]

All righty then,

Since you already have two subs, this should be a easy experiment, if you have two center outs on your processor, hook one of the subs to it and set your processor to wide. you might find out that you like the Academy's timbre match better now. I'm in the same situation you are, I have a large DIY sub that my wife won't allow in the family room.