Wify says my Forte's have got to go!

[garymd]

My wife tried to get me to trade in my Zebrawood Cornwalls when we moved to our current house (decorating reasons) and even gave me a blank check to replace them. After 2 hours at Myer-Emco listening to all they had to offer (Wilson, B&W, etc.), she turned to me and said, "Looks like we're keeping the Cornwalls."

The Corns pre-dated our marriage and she knew it was a package deal. Once you get accustomed to the Klipsch Heritage sound, it's difficult to go back. At least you're sticking with Klipsch. If your wife enjoys the Fortes, maybe she could accompany you to a Reference dealer for a listen. You never know. She might decide it's worth giving up a little interior real estate to keep that that big sound. It's not like you're replacing Lacalas. The Fortes aren't exactly huge.

[Mic Stiffy]

Thats hilarious. I'm glad it worked out!

[dtel]

Easy problem to fix, get another Forte and tell her to find a "entertainment center" to fit !

Or tell her you need some of the new fancy Palladiums 5.1 will do ! They are WF approved for looks !

[HatTrick66]

Dump the entertainment center idea. You will be sick of it in 3-5 years, looking to get rid of it, and guess what, your speakers will still be gone.

[cjgeraci]

Hmmm.......interesting responses thus far. For me personally, even though I have my "dream" system downstairs, if it ever came down to my wife vs. my speakers, the speakers would be long gone. But, hey - that's just me.

To answer your question, I would opt for the RB 81s. Both the RB 81 and RB 61 share the same upper horn, and having owned variants of both speakers, I have found the eight inch woofer to offer a larger sound that its six inch brethren. As far as the whole entertainment center thing goes, your biggest constraint is that with the chosen entertainment center, you are really hampering your center choice. The adage is that for HT, the center speaker is the most important because it carries most of the dialogue, etc. - the heavy lifting - so the bigger the better.

I may have walked in your shoes a little bit. When we redesigned our main living room, my wife wanted to go with a lower entertainment center so that she could hide the front speakers behind the cabinets when not in use. I decided that it was a battle not worth fighting. Of course, in full disclosure, it should be noted that I have full reign of my basement for any size (and number of speakers). In any event, I convinced my wife to let me have a say in the choice of the entertainment center, and I purposely looked for one with a center cavity large enough to accommodate my "large" center of choice upstairs: my RC-7. It took some searching, but we finally ordered a nice entertainment center from Ballard Designs in which my RC-7 and a pair of Reference bookshelves sit. If you can still steer her to another entertainment center choice (one that would accommodate a larger center), do it. If the furniture choice is already a done deal, it is what it is - and I agree with your choice of a RB 61 as a center - given the constraints.

If I were you, since you are heading towards bookshelf speakers, I would also opt for a larger sub than the RW10d. My entertainment center system upstairs (99% movies only) is anchored by a nice large SVS cylinder sub. Again, the bigger the better sub-wise. Basically, get the largest and/or most capable sub that you can get.

As far as the Fortes go, having lovingly owned a pair, I would not give them to your son just yet. Just because the Fortes are banished from the living room does not necessarily mean that you can't put them somewhere else in the house. What about downstairs?? Heck, I would even put them as the garage system if you have to. All you need for a portable, cheap two-channel system is a CD player and a digital chip amp (if in a crunch).

Holding onto speakers even when you don't know where to put them at the given moment can pay off down the road. I kept a pair of JBL cabaret 4612 speakers tucked away even when I was tempted to get rid of them (and had nowhere to really put them). Then, after many months.........they eventually became the portable patio speakers.......then the garage speakers.......and wouldn't you know.........after having the compromised "entertainment center" system upstairs for two years, they have made an appearance in the family room. And they are still in there. [:^)] If the JBLs get kicked out of the "family room," I'll find another place for them (again). Even if you end up getting RB 81s with a nice sub, you will still miss your Fortes for two-channel. Just find another place in the house for them.

Bottom line: good luck and let us know how it goes.

Carl.

[Arky]

That's a very reasoned response Carl. How did you get the wife to go for the cylinder? I have one also...big sucker.

[cjgeraci]

That's a very reasoned response Carl. How did you get the wife to go for the cylinder? I have one also...big sucker.

Thanks, Arky. Well, when my son was two, he kept putting hot wheels down the tuning ports in one of my former subs in the family room (A HSU), which necessitated me taking the sub apart. On a lark, I moved one of my subs (cylinder SVS) from downstairs up to the family room under the premise that he could no longer put toys in it. She looked at, cocked her head, and never said a thing.

It should also be noted that subsequently, I brought the VERY BIG SVS box sub upstairs and put a lamp on it. She arrived home, took one look and said "nope - back downstairs."

Carl.

[garymd]

It should also be noted that subsequently, I brought the VERY BIG SVS box sub upstairs and put a lamp on it. She arrived home, took one look and said "nope - back downstairs."

Carl.

That's hysterical Carl. The old lamp trick.

When I finally found a cherry RSW15 to replace my black RSW12, Scott (Boomac) delivered it to my house and when my wife wasn't around, I made the switch. For those who haven't seen both, the 15 is significanly larger than the 12 but it sits behind an almost perfectly matching antique cherry chair in the corner of my family room. About 3 months later, I came home from work and my wife says, "What, you think I wouldn't notice that huge sub sitting in the corner? It's ridiculous! What did you do with the black one?" She thought I must have swapped it the night before. We both got a kick out of that. Not much she could say when it took her 3 months to even notice! Plus, the 12 was long gone.

[colterphoto1]

Check the specs, the 61 will beat the 81 in LF and efficiency. How? The cabinet is sized correctly for the driver.

[colterphoto1]

...I notice from your avatar your speakers are in the garage...

Bill

Bill,

Those are TSCM Pro Cornerhorns. I have klipschorns with a LaScala center and two Velodyne HGS-18IIs in the house for my surround system. I just made a deal to get four more K-260 horns to try to build an all TSCM surround system. By the way, the K-260 midrange horn has a manifold that attaches 4 K-55 drivers to each horn. I am not building this system by compromising for WAF.

Roger

quite possibly even sicker than me. note the empty Red Bull can at the base of the stack, I wonder how many of those were sacrificed bringing the MSM cabs home?

[oldbuckster]

Speakers or Wife ................... Never mind all this Macho chest pounding, ......... Good Bye Speakers !!!!!

[aaron here]

Hmmm.......interesting responses thus far. For me personally, even though I have my "dream" system downstairs, if it ever came down to my wife vs. my speakers, the speakers would be long gone. But, hey - that's just me.

To answer your question, I would opt for the RB 81s. Both the RB 81 and RB 61 share the same upper horn, and having owned variants of both speakers, I have found the eight inch woofer to offer a larger sound that its six inch brethren. As far as the whole entertainment center thing goes, your biggest constraint is that with the chosen entertainment center, you are really hampering your center choice. The adage is that for HT, the center speaker is the most important because it carries most of the dialogue, etc. - the heavy lifting - so the bigger the better.

I may have walked in your shoes a little bit. When we redesigned our main living room, my wife wanted to go with a lower entertainment center so that she could hide the front speakers behind the cabinets when not in use. I decided that it was a battle not worth fighting. Of course, in full disclosure, it should be noted that I have full reign of my basement for any size (and number of speakers). In any event, I convinced my wife to let me have a say in the choice of the entertainment center, and I purposely looked for one with a center cavity large enough to accommodate my "large" center of choice upstairs: my RC-7. It took some searching, but we finally ordered a nice entertainment center from Ballard Designs in which my RC-7 and a pair of Reference bookshelves sit. If you can still steer her to another entertainment center choice (one that would accommodate a larger center), do it. If the furniture choice is already a done deal, it is what it is - and I agree with your choice of a RB 61 as a center - given the constraints.

If I were you, since you are heading towards bookshelf speakers, I would also opt for a larger sub than the RW10d. My entertainment center system upstairs (99% movies only) is anchored by a nice large SVS cylinder sub. Again, the bigger the better sub-wise. Basically, get the largest and/or most capable sub that you can get.

As far as the Fortes go, having lovingly owned a pair, I would not give them to your son just yet. Just because the Fortes are banished from the living room does not necessarily mean that you can't put them somewhere else in the house. What about downstairs?? Heck, I would even put them as the garage system if you have to. All you need for a portable, cheap two-channel system is a CD player and a digital chip amp (if in a crunch).

Holding onto speakers even when you don't know where to put them at the given moment can pay off down the road. I kept a pair of JBL cabaret 4612 speakers tucked away even when I was tempted to get rid of them (and had nowhere to really put them). Then, after many months.........they eventually became the portable patio speakers.......then the garage speakers.......and wouldn't you know.........after having the compromised "entertainment center" system upstairs for two years, they have made an appearance in the family room. And they are still in there. If the JBLs get kicked out of the "family room," I'll find another place for them (again). Even if you end up getting RB 81s with a nice sub, you will still miss your Fortes for two-channel. Just find another place in the house for them.

Bottom line: good luck and let us know how it goes.

Carl.

Carl, thanks a lot for that constructive post. I can go with the 81's and after re-measuring the cubicle for the center channel I find that while the width is only 17" it can accomodate an 81 as well. However, I'm really concerned about the negative comments (from others here) re placing those speakers inside the entertainment center cubicles - since (based on your photo) you seem to doing something similar, what's your take on that? If doing that truly will impact their openess, presence and staging, perhaps I should 'campaign' for a couple of narrow towers to place on both sides of the entertainent center. However, the center speaker would still be inside a cubicle and as you say that's the 'key' speaker in a 5.1 home-theater setup! And even if I can sell my wife on a pair of narrow towers for the fronts instead of the 81's, there certainly would be more of a timbre-matching issue with the RB 81 center-channel! [*-)]

As for my Forte's, there is no other place in our house (single floor plan and no basement) for them, not even in our 2-car garage. Actually, I feel pretty good about giving them to my son (who recently got his own 'pad'). He has always loved the Forte's and while his and my taste in music aren't the same, he nevertheless has 'an ear' that appreciates those speakers.

Aaron

[garymd]

If you can fit the center 81 in your cabinet, the placement of the mains also inside the cabinet won't be much of an issue for movies. If you also intend to use the system for 2-channel listening, larger towers placed outside of your entertainment system will be a huge improvement. If you just want it for movies, make the wife happy and go with the three 81s inside and try to find a better/bigger sub that you can place in a corner (preferably), or similar to Carl's setup.

JMHO.

[tyler8]

My wife went on Ebay a couple of months ago and bought a pretty pair of Forte II's for my birthday.

While she did mention the size she is well aware of my love for music, and Klipsch, and felt they made me manageable to live with.

My wife and I have been together as long as you and your Forte's. Apparently she thinks there is some upside to all of this or is just crazy about me cause she would be happy listening to music out of a boom box. Either way I think I will keep her and the Forte's. ( If she reads the last line I will be listening to music out of the cheapest Radio Shack speakers in a parking garage and the Forte's will be back on Ebay).

She has voiced concern that the Forte's will not be the end of this and has seen the size of the move up the Klipsch food chain. I have assured her I am good as long as I can perform a few upgrades with the help of Mr. Crites. Little does she know that when she is gone if the neighbors spend too many more evenings of me 'breaking these back in", the neighborhood will burn down the house. Wish I had a basement to go to or a lot more land around me. Show your wife some Horns or La Scalas and tell her they are an entertainment center themselves. I know that's no help.

[twistedcrankcammer]

Speakers or Wife ................... Never mind all this Macho chest pounding, ......... Good Bye Speakers !!!!!

OB,

"Macho chest pounding"???!!

It is not macho chest pounding!!! The statement was made "I am lucky she let me"!!! She let me??? Does she allow you to potty by yourself as well??

Are the speakers putting you in a finacial hardship, taking away from your kids colledge fund, or a bad influence in some form or fashion?? I would hope the answer is NO!!

We are talking about a spouse that puts her own asthetic desires above something that actually brings pleasure to her mate here!!

Have any of the males here (as I can't call the subservients MEN)... Have any of you ever told your wife she had to get rid of something or stop doing something that truely should not affect your marriage, was not a finacial strain, etc., just because you did not like it??

A woman who would put her asthetic wants over something you have enjoyed for 22 year (AKA your feelings) does not deserve a husband!!

My wife can do anything she wants as long as it doesn't impact the marriage, the kids, or our finances in a dramatic fashion, but by god, I am the one who has the final say, and that is not chest beating!!

OB,

I will let you in on a secret, there are 40% more females than males in the United States, they are more replacable than we are.

I take it personal and hold every male (that lets his wife make the descissions or says that is OK for another male to let his wife make all the descissions) accountable for how screwed up this country has become in the last 35 years. I hold people like this responsible for gun grabber legislation. I hold people like this responsible for "hate crime" laws, and all the other screwed up legislation and laws allowed to happen because of feel good law making without any real thought about implications!!

"I am lucky because she let me"............ JC!!! I wouldn't live in your shoes for a Billion Dollars!!!!

Where would any of us be if George had said "Your right Martha! I could get killed if I went out and fought the british, and then where would you and the kids be?"

Roger

[BLSamuel]

Oh well, they have served me well for 22 years...

How long you been married?

Remind her how you don't go catting around the bars at night, since you love to come home and listen to your friends of 22 years....

You don't go catting around the bars at night, do you?

I agree with Coytee... and you know, Klipschorns kind of disappear into the corners. And if that doesn't work, find a picture of Coytee's Jubilees.... Forte's are somewhat puny by comparison to many models.

[aaron here]

If you can fit the center 81 in your cabinet, the placement of the mains also inside the cabinet won't be much of an issue for movies. If you also intend to use the system for 2-channel listening, larger towers placed outside of your entertainment system will be a huge improvement. If you just want it for movies, make the wife happy and go with the three 81s inside and try to find a better/bigger sub that you can place in a corner (preferably), or similar to Carl's setup.

JMHO.

Yes, the 81 will fit the opening for the center channel speaker with about an inch of space to spare around each of the 3 sides of the 81.

As the living room is our only area for AV enjoyment, we will definitely be listenting to music as we have a large CD (& LP) collection. I would say that there will be a 50-50 mix of music listening and home theater, and in that regard the entertainment center will accomodate up to a 52" flat-panel HDTV (which is also in our near-term plans). So since you would advise me to go for a pair of narrow towers (using the 81 as the center-channel), what would you recommend that would retain a timbre-match to the RB-81 center?

[twistedcrankcammer]

aaron here,

Is the entertainment system bought and delivered?? Please let us know. My mother has a home entertainment center that you can change the size of, to allow for different width telivisions, so if you change TV later, you can still use the same entertainment center, and it still looks like a one piece afair. It is solid oak, and she has an RC-7 center channel. The RC-7 is about as tall as she can go, but she could go alot wider on the center as well. If you have not paid for the entertainment center, I could try to post a picture later so you could show youe wife.

Roger

[garymd]

If you can fit the center 81 in your cabinet, the placement of the mains also inside the cabinet won't be much of an issue for movies. If you also intend to use the system for 2-channel listening, larger towers placed outside of your entertainment system will be a huge improvement. If you just want it for movies, make the wife happy and go with the three 81s inside and try to find a better/bigger sub that you can place in a corner (preferably), or similar to Carl's setup.

JMHO.

Yes, the 81 will fit the opening for the center channel speaker with about an inch of space to spare around each of the 3 sides of the 81.

As the living room is our only area for AV enjoyment, we will definitely be listenting to music as we have a large CD (& LP) collection. I would say that there will be a 50-50 mix of music listening and home theater, and in that regard the entertainment center will accomodate up to a 52" flat-panel HDTV (which is also in our near-term plans). So since you would advise me to go for a pair of narrow towers (using the 81 as the center-channel), what would you recommend that would retain a timbre-match to the RB-81 center?

Aaron,

I'm certainly no Reference expert since I only own Heritage stuff. I would definitely recommend the largest towers that match the 81s, probably the RF83s?? They should have the same horn so timber match would be perfect. You can find that info on the Klipsch website or someone can jump in who has more Reference experience than I.

[SilverSport]

Speakers or Wife ................... Never mind all this Macho chest pounding, ......... Good Bye Speakers !!!!!

OB,

"Macho chest pounding"???!!

It is not macho chest pounding!!! The statement was made "I am lucky she let me"!!! She let me??? Does she allow you to potty by yourself as well??

Are the speakers putting you in a finacial hardship, taking away from your kids colledge fund, or a bad influence in some form or fashion?? I would hope the answer is NO!!

We are talking about a spouse that puts her own asthetic desires above something that actually brings pleasure to her mate here!!

Have any of the males here (as I can't call the subservients MEN)... Have any of you ever told your wife she had to get rid of something or stop doing something that truely should not affect your marriage, was not a finacial strain, etc., just because you did not like it??

A woman who would put her asthetic wants over something you have enjoyed for 22 year (AKA your feelings) does not deserve a husband!!

My wife can do anything she wants as long as it doesn't impact the marriage, the kids, or our finances in a dramatic fashion, but by god, I am the one who has the final say, and that is not chest beating!!

OB,

I will let you in on a secret, there are 40% more females than males in the United States, they are more replacable than we are.

I take it personal and hold every male (that lets his wife make the descissions or says that is OK for another male to let his wife make all the descissions) accountable for how screwed up this country has become in the last 35 years. I hold people like this responsible for gun grabber legislation. I hold people like this responsible for "hate crime" laws, and all the other screwed up legislation and laws allowed to happen because of feel good law making without any real thought about implications!!

"I am lucky because she let me"............ JC!!! I wouldn't live in your shoes for a Billion Dollars!!!!

Where would any of us be if George had said "Your right Martha! I could get killed if I went out and fought the british, and then where would you and the kids be?"

Roger

...and here I thought they were being sarcastic with just a touch of satire...[:^)]

Bill