anarchist Posted January 30, 2002 Share Posted January 30, 2002 This was posted to the HT forum but it seems 2 channel is where the fanatics are and I need lots of feedback! Here it is: Ok guys, Here's the deal. I have had my system intact for two years and the upgrade bug has been biting me hard for 6 months; about the time I started reading this board religiously. I have decided I MUST buy a new set of mains - not that I will ever get rid of the old set - and am thinking Fortes or Choruses must occupy a piece of my HT. Perhaps I will use the KG4's as rear surrounds, who knows? I just love these speakers. I listen to all kind of music - classical and country the least - but primarily like rock, alternative, blues, and jazz. I am also a big time movie buff so 5.1 performance is a must. Real simple. Should I buy Forte, Forte II, or Chorus II? Is the sound difference between Forte (either) and Chorus worth the difference in the price of admission? Look forward to your thoughts cause I got a pocket full of quarters and it is time to buy something! Keep in mind, the wife believes we need a new car and I am trying to get her to understand we have to prioritize our purchases - so sound advice on the best possible speaker choice is absolutely crucial! ------------------ Fronts - KG4's Center - C6 Surrounds - S6's Sub - KSW200 Powered by - YAM995 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted January 30, 2002 Share Posted January 30, 2002 what do they have in stock? what is it about your systems that you want to improve? can your receiver do six channels? ------------------ Colin's Music System Cornwall 1s & Klipsch subs; lights out & tubes glowing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted January 31, 2002 Share Posted January 31, 2002 Since HT is big to you,and considering the speakers you already own,I would recommend you buy a pair of Klipsch KSP400's or KSP300's.You might find a pair for a song.You've got the center and surrounds already.Set up correctly(which is easy)they make for a great HT package.Good for multi channel music,too.I listened to these speakers last year while looking to upgrade and was impressed by the lack of harsh high end.I recommend them highly. Use the KG's in a music set-up. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake2 Posted January 31, 2002 Share Posted January 31, 2002 Crash - I'm a fellow KG4 owner, and I share your sentiments. Keith has a good point about you already having the matching center/surrounds for the KSP 300/400s. That said, I upgraded from KG4 to Forte I's and fell in love with the Forte's. Then, I got the bug again and upgraded to Chorus I's, and fell in love with the Chorus. Bottom line, they are all great speakers and I still have them all. I preferred the bigger, more open sound of the Chorus over the Forte, but you will give up some bass with the Chorus. If you augment with a good sub, you'll be fine. The Fortes and Chorus sell for close to the same money, so that should not be the deciding point for you. If you have the room and the budget for a good sub (which you almost always need for HT anyway, even with a good deep speaker like the Forte), I'd go Chorus. Then, the quest begins for the proper center... Doug ------------------ My System Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anarchist Posted January 31, 2002 Author Share Posted January 31, 2002 Hi guys, Thanks for the advice I have received so far. Keith, I had planned on getting a set of KSP400's for the HT but they are few and far between - particularly at a price I am willing to pay. The thing is they don't appeal to my 'brute' sense of self; they are tall but are rather dainty. I am looking for a more primal kind of appearance hence my quest for 'old school' Klipsch. Yeah, I may have to disgard the S6's and C6, or more likely hide them in another room so the wife isn't aware they no longer match until I pick up some KSP's but hell I have another ten or so years before those things even age properly. For the right amount of money I certainly could be persuaded to part with them though. I need big sound that can only come from a big speaker - but not Cornwall big. Of course, at the right price, I could find room. This is my understanding so far: Chorus II's are awesome with slightly less bass than Fortes and supposedly more coloration of the source with less forgiveness of 'cheap' equipment. Forte II's are supposed to be an improvement over the original Forte but some claim the sound was ruined. I am contemplating a new source setup to include an Outlaw preamp and power amplifier. Why? Because I want to make the music truly come to life - I want to be able to imagine sitting front row at a Queensryche concert. I want to hear every subtle nuance of Ted Nugent's Gibson guitar playing Cat Scratch Fever. And I hope the HT experience is just as compelling. Oh, yeah, and a SVS sub is clearly on the shopping list down the road - just gotta sell the almost new, in perfect condition Klipsch subwoofer I currently have. Give me an order of preference on these three speakers (Forte, Forte II, and Chorus II) fellow owners - pro's and con's. Thanks. ------------------ Fronts - KG4's Center - C6 Surrounds - S6's Sub - KSW200 Powered by - YAM995 This message has been edited by crash827 on 01-31-2002 at 10:21 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake2 Posted January 31, 2002 Share Posted January 31, 2002 Well, without regard to generations, I'd say Chorus first, then Forte. I think you'll like either the Is or the IIs, but not having heard the II's of either model I'm just flapping in the breeze on that. Mike Lindsey has both Chorus I and II, so I'm sure he'll chime in on that. As far as pure bruteness go, you can't beat a pair of black lacquer Chorus with the grills off. 90 pounds of speaker muscle, with no regard to pretty little boxes. A look only a mother and a Klipsch fanatic could love!! You'll swear you can feel the sweat flying off Ted Nugent as he blasts away on the ol' ax. Doug ------------------ My System Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted January 31, 2002 Share Posted January 31, 2002 I have Black Chorus II's, Doug's right man. I don't understand a Forte having more bass with a 12 inch driver, than a Chorus with a 15 inch driver. I can see the Forte being more Punchy and less colored than a Chorus. I never heard Fortes, so I can't make judgements. The chorus's will play anything you give them, from heavy to light, and they will also let you know if the source recording is bad or not, trust me. With little power. I have two SVS 16/46's but no amp, isn't that weak. Hopefully by May. Mike Lindsey should have some comments as well. Thanx! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted February 1, 2002 Share Posted February 1, 2002 To be honest, I have never heard the Forte's. But I know a lot of people just love them and that speaks volumes. I do however have a pair of Finished Black Chorus I's and a pair of Oiled Oak Chorus II's. At present, I have my Chorus I's as my mains and the II's as my rear surrounds. After extensive listening with both as my mains, I think I like the I's better (I know most people would probably disagree with me). One of the reasons why the I's only had a shelf life of three years was because of the bass response (45hz) coming from the tuned-port box. They improved that to 39hz with the II's passive radiator. But, if you are using a good subwoofer (I have the SVS 20-39CS) with a x-over of say 55-60hz, I don't think that makes much of a difference. They also changed the squawker horn from a K-57-K (same as Cornwall II) to a K-61-K which has a much bigger mouth on it. The crossovers are 650 and 7000 for the I's, and 600 and 5000 for the II's. I have done nothing to any of these 4 speakers but at the moment, I think I like the I's better. Also, the Finished Black matches the Black C-7 I'm using as a Center. With any of the 4 speakers mentioned (Chorus I's and II's, Forte I's and II's), I don't think you will be disppointed at all... Mike ------------------ My Music Systems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhawk92 Posted February 1, 2002 Share Posted February 1, 2002 Ok, it sounds like you need someone who is on the Forte side, or at least has experience there. I helped my dad pick out his 2-ch stereo back in 1987 and he picked the Forte. Then, when it was my turn, in '93, they had the Forte II. I listened to both the Forte II and the Chorus II. I preferred the Forte II just slightly, though my judgement may have been clouded because I couldn't afford the Chorus. The Forte was a stretch for me back then, but I liked it better than the Quartet. I do remember the bass was slightly deeper on the Forte than the Chorus. Dad got jealous of my HT, so he jumped in with a pair of Forte IIs as well. I have done some pretty good listening with both sets of his speakers and I think I prefer the Forte II over the original, but it is very close. Dad is the same way as he moved the IIs to the 2-ch room and moved the Forte's to the HT, as they listen to more 2-ch than movies. I have not heard the Chorus I, but I'd be happy with a Chorus II or Forte II. Or, someday, maybe both!! I'd rank the Forte just slightly behind the two IIs. Hope this helps! Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orthj Posted February 1, 2002 Share Posted February 1, 2002 With regard to the Forte, Chorus discussion going here. There was a comment about not understanding why the Fortes (IIs?) would have greater bass than the Forte IIs...why not! There are two-way six inch drivers that go much lower than the Chorus or Chorus II!!! It is a blend of driver, the driver's natural resonance, what the cabinent is 'tuned' to, what the cross-overs are like, etc. If you see the frequency response curves the Forte II does indeed have higher output at 32 Hz than the Chorus II, so, this could lead to the perception of there being more bass-based on what we hear. But, at 25Hz and lower how do the speakers compare? Also, bigger does not always mean more bass. Accoording to Klipsch the old Kg1s and Heresys both were rated down to 50 Hz - is this true? Also, the Forte II has a slight hump in the bass region, for whatever reasons, combination of driver/cross-over/cabinet, etc., perhaps by design, whereas the Chorus II are VERY VERY flat, perhaps by design? So, why it is hard to believe that a speaker has 'more' bass than another (bigger one) is silly. Buy what you like, what you can afford, and what sounds the best to you. I should qualify this by saying that I own Forte IIs, and they do have outstanding bass performance, I audtioned those against Chorus IIs when I got them. The Chorus IIs were 'flatter' sounding to me...that is not to say less dyanamic, but rather more even at all frequencies at a set output, (ie, they were 100 db at 15kHz and 100 db at 50 Hz, while the Forte IIs were 100 db at 15kHz, and 105 at 50 Hz). With test discs with a lot of extreme low-end bass I felt the Forte II was a slightly better perfomer, for whatever reason, perhaps because of the 'exaggerated' content at 35-80Hz...Because I listened to a lot of music with a lot of low-end, I got the Forte IIs. Any way you go, you are GOLDEN, and should feel lucky and privelaged to own these, perhaps underappreciated, pieces of audio history. Happy listening!!! ------------------ James D. Orth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake2 Posted February 1, 2002 Share Posted February 1, 2002 Gee, I'm getting all misty with all this gushing over something besides a Cornwall. Maybe us Forte/Chorus types are finally getting our day in the sun (or at least a sliver of light around the edge of the Cornwalls)! Doug ------------------ My System Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted February 1, 2002 Share Posted February 1, 2002 James is right about the Chorus II being a relatively flat speaker. I used the Stereophile #3 CD to check the frequency response of my room. I put the Denon in Direct mode and adjusted the volume (-13) to get 76db at 1k hz. My listening position is almost 4 meters from the speakers. This chart also includes the adjustments to the SPL meter (inside the parenthesis). I never did the tests with the speakers by themselves as I am using a SVS subwoofer to compliment the Chorus's. Here are my results: ___20hz-80db (7.5db) ___25hz-81db (5db) ___31hz-81db (3db) ___40hz-82db (2.5db) ___50hz-78db (1.5db) ___63hz-76db (1.5db) ___80hz-79db (1.5db) __100hz-81db (2db) __125hz-80db (.5db) __160hz-76db __200hz-75db __250hz-76db __315hz-78db __400hz-76db __500hz-75db __630hz-78db __800hz-77db _1000hz-76db _1250hz-78db _1600hz-79db _2000hz-79db _2500hz-77db _3150hz-76db _4000hz-79db _5000hz-81db _6300hz-81db (2db) _8000hz-80db (3db) 10000hz-78db (4.4db) 12500hz-77db (6.2db) 16000hz-75db (8.5db) 20000hz-73db (12.2db) Mike ------------------ My Music Systems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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