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cgregory4

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  1. Bella, That is the precise feedback I was wanting -- however non-precise my initial post may have been. Ceptorman, I'm partial to FET outputs, so I'll try Van Alstine, Perreaux, or Counterpoint amps. WVU, Go Mountaineers! BTW. What makes these 'B' stock speakers? Just wondrin'. Greg
  2. Sorry for the mistake. I edited the original post. I guess I was just asking if I should have gone for the newer Klipsch tecnology -- which I suppose might be a pair of the P-series? Just an old man making a mistake in a post -- no offense intended. I have 40 year old memories of the glorious sound of two Khorns supported by chain on a platform about 8' high in 2 corners of a bar in west Texas that made the best margaritas I ever tasted. I guess I couldn't say whether my sonic impressions came exclusively from the horns. But I decided to go with something I always wanted -- hope they don't disappoint. But the new Klipsch designs look beautiful -- but never had a chance to hear them. Greg
  3. Thanks for the help -- several years ago -- in refurbishing my original Fortes. They sound fabulous with the Crites mods (slightly modded by me.) Wandered around in audio speaker wasteland a bit. Probably bought and sold 20 different brands/models. Fell into the JBL blackhole -- you have to experience it to understand it. But, it's been fun. Been looking at the new Klipsch designs. They look super and apparently sound the same. Then I made the fatal error: Entered 'Klipsch speaker' as search on BadBay. I'm old and have an affection for old designs -- warts and all. So, I purchased these bad boys, as the price seemed hard to pass on: http://www.ebay.com/itm/391274033448?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT I guess the free shipping put me over the edge. Plus, one speaker in particular was telling me she wanted to live in Texas. Did I do well? Pay too much? It was an impulse buy for sure -- but, I have not had one 'second thought' about the purchase. (As sometimes happens -- maybe just to me.) Blast away, pards. Greg Should I have gone for the P-series? 'Bout the same money, I suppose.
  4. Moray -- thank you for the compliment on my system. The pic at the bottom of page 2 represents the 'final' [] results of my efforts. The Forte' on the right shows up lighter because of the photo flash. The 'color' match between the Forte' walnut and the Hooker cherry console is clear and accurate on the left side. Everything, including the flat panel, is supported by the Hooker. I estimate the total weight to be around 500#. Or, maybe it just seems that way to my old back! [] Audio -- thank you! I thought an Avatar must be related to an Android! [] I'll try it later today. The FAQ helped me post the page 2 photo of my system. With the help of your post, I'm hoping to 'get lucky' on the Avatar! I can't say enough about the quality of Classe' amps -- they simply 'loaf along' and create a great listening experience -- all 150+ lbs of it! [] I had to 'seek out' the Canadian-built units. Their new stuff is made in China. I know it shouldn't matter -- but it does, to me. Thanks again! Greg
  5. BTW -- can anyone help my clueless self wrt how to upload a signature pic? Thanks!
  6. My son took this photo capturing this 'high-tech' moment during the Forte' mods.
  7. dtel -- I absolutely agree. Sometimes seldom. Sometimes subtle. But -- It's there. Greg
  8. Thank you for the responses. Frank W -- there will be nothing to 'work out'. [] I've located the Crites midrange boxes. I insist on giving them to you, as well as paying for shipping. Just email me your shipping address at your convenience. My 'busy-ness' is related to a sweet lady who has threatened to allow me to go to jail, if I don't get her my 2011 tax 'stuff' by Monday AM. I've worked in the oilfield since I was 14 -- I'm now an old man. But, frankly, this young lady scares me. [] Believe me, I won't 'call her hand'. Monday at 9, I'll be there. 'Hat in hand'. dtel -- my favorite bass intro is Neil Young's 'Out on the Weekend' -- the first track on his 'Harvest'. I've always wondered what it would sound like if I integrated an REL into the 'picture'. But, for now, no sub. Fish -- "too many microdots" LOL Well done! John Chi-town -- Thank you for the data and Bob's comments. I suspect much of Alison Krauss's beautiful vocals reside in the tweeter/midrange overlap. I've not noticed any effect -- just heavenly audio. [] Mighty Favog -- we will have to agree to disagree on the spikes. But, we're in good company. [] This is the best non-technical (and civil) discussion I've found on the couple/decouple viewpoints: http://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/630091.html My position: most solid base possible over the entire speaker base (sans the little metal buttons on the speaker base [] ) -- and the thinnest possible effective dampening between the flat stable granite/concrete/whatever base and the speaker base. Brad -- I did not mod the crossover. However, to work my way through engineering school, I worked as a 'granny lady' soldering thousands of wire-to-pin connections for prototype military ship-board computers at TI. I shuddered when I saw the spades and screws! [] I rotated the spades to have flat-to-flat-to-flat surfaces and tightened the screws to maximum torque. I also mounted the crossover board vertically below the bottom baffle (not an easy chore) with 'loads' of industrial velcro -- with the wires facing up for easy connection. It is absolutely stable and 'decoupled' [] Regards to all, Greg
  9. Frank W. Email me your mailing address and I'll make sure you get them. However, it will be Tuesday or Wednesday before I can get them in the mail to you. I'll ship them USPS Priority Mail, if that's OK with you.
  10. Brad, To me the Crites tweeter was a no-brainer. That was an undeniable consensus of this forum. The Crites crossover had similar favor. But, I had some of my 'ocd' concerns about the terminal strip connections and the placing of the board on top of the lower baffle -- which had the foam pad on it. So I 'fixed' those concerns purely for my selfish 'peace-of-mind' reasons. The midrange was altogether a different 'animal'. Conversations with Bob convinced me that he thought there was a better Ti midrange 'out there' -- but his experiments led him to offer his phenolic midrange upgrade as the best option. He takes his responsibility to the Klipsch community quite seriously, and I respect him greatly. His 'bottom line' was clear: the midrange could be improved substantially and he offered his best effort for sale to the Klipsch owners -- and it was a phenolic -- nothing wrong with that. But .... I wanted at least one other option. If I was going to explore the 'bowels' of the 2 'ladies', I was going to spend some coin and experiment. A newer Klipsch speaker(s) -- I don't know the model(s) -- had the same size midrange -- but in titanium. Some rave reviews were written about the midrange performance of the speaker(s). I figured 'what the hell -- it can't hurt', so I ordered 'Part # 127122, K-52/53 - TI DIAPH KIT'. Make that 2, please. [] After the complete reassemble and setup, and reacting (and substantially correcting) to the demand of this new system (ie speaker, as modified) -- and it seems, especially the Ti midrange -- for a high quality input signal at its terminals, I never looked back. And I can't find anything that sounds better. Some folks have been downright rude in their reaction to my speakers and my stubborn refusal to go with something better. After all, a 30 year old Klipsch is just 'laughable' as a producer of quality audio! Right? [H] I'm sure the Crites are great midrange phenolics for the speaker, and, no doubt, definite upgrades to the OEM driver. I'm just so 'blown away' by this midrange clarity and detail, that I will unreservedly give my 'new' Crites phenolic midrange drivers to anyone who wants them. Brad, there are so many variables to consider, involving the Forte', the II, the Chorus(?), the newer Klipsch models, etc -- that I would never presume my mods would be relevant to any speaker but mine. It's just one old man's tale. []
  11. It's good to know there are others with similar 'takes' on the Forte'. I 'did my thing' and made several mods at the same time, so it is difficult to get a handle on the ones that may have been the most significant. The Crites crossover board surely made great impact -- I'm confident in that. I vibration-proof-mounted it in the bottom section of the cabinet in a vertical position. In time, however, two additional specific changes revealed noticeable increased detail/clarity in the music: the titanium midrange from Klipsch, as well as the Classe' power. I ordered both the Crites phenolic midrange and the Klipsch titanium. I took a chance with the Klipsch first, and was quite disappointed in the sound initially -- and for several days. Before pulling the titaniums, I tried taking direct digital from my old Sony ES cd directly to the new Rotel dac input. It was night and day. The speaker was absolutely 'clear' -- top to bottom. I evidently modified the Forte' to the point that it revealed the not-so-resolute nature of some of my older electronics. The next surprise was the impact from the Classe' amps. I knew the Klipsch were efficient because I had always managed to drive them well with some fairly 'poor-boy' stuff. But I figured to upgrade the speakers eventually, so, when I found the Classe' gear, used and for a good price, I jumped on it. I managed to get the monsters in the wife-pleasing console, after some serious structural reinforcement. [] When I fired the whole package up, I was surprised to hear another serious incremental increase in definition of the sound. Even though the Forte' design is efficient, it was clearly responding well to equipment that could supply Class A power 'in spades' whenever it was called for. The walnut on the Forte' speakers is still in perfect shape, so the wife likes the 'furniture' look, although she casts questioning looks at my black granite bases. [] The function is now as lovely as the form. What more can 'oilfield trash' like me ask for??!!
  12. I visited this forum a few months ago. You helped me bring my Forte' speakers 'up to speed'. Thank you. I bought them new in the early eighties -- always sounded good. BUT, by 2010 I started to upgrade my system: Rotel CD & Oppo CD, Rotel Pre-pro, Classe' amps. I ordered the Crites crossovers and tweeter, but I decided to go with the Klipsch midrange replacement. I ordered 2 12''X18" blocks of granite from California -- each one 80# and just the right fit for the speaker base. To slightly decouple the Forte' base from the granite, I used six microdots of not-very-compressible material (1/32 or less thickness) for each speaker base. I figured the Forte' mods would work until I could find a 'real' speaker -- you know, a speaker 'worthy' to be matched to my system. Well, I'm still lookin'! [] B&W, Paradigm, etc. -- they just don't give me the full range of the Forte', and now I'm hearing 'stuff' from my speakers that I never knew was on the recordings. Are my 65 year-old ears shot to hell -- or, is it possible this sound is as great as I think? There are guys tellin' me I need $7000/pair speakers, but I just don't hear it. Anyone else out there as clueless as me? [] Hello folks -- I added a photo of my 'finished product at the bottom of page 2. Please take a look. []
  13. Mark, Thanks for all your help on my first thread in the Klipsch family. I know things will work out well for you. You are just entering another phase of your life that is centered in another place. It's an adventure -- grab it and live it moment by moment. It's like Hewey, Dewey. amd Lewey said to Uncle Scrooge in the cartoon: Gee, if we knew we were going to live through it, we would have enjoyed it more! ;?) Best wishes in all you do that's really important, and God bless. I'll try to figure a way to get my phone number to you (I don't know what a PM is -- thought it had to do with a woman ;?) Call, or not. Whatever suits you. Greg
  14. Thanks to everyone for indulging and educating me. I guess the answer to my question may be -- Yes. I will definitely be keeping and upgrading my '86 Forte's per your suggestions. They will continue to be my main music speakers, and music is really my passion. Good ol' stereo. I'm also thinking about a set of either RF-7IIs or RF-83s to use for a family home theater system. It should be fun, and I know I'll learn something. Keep me out of the pool halls. ;?) One more particular that Mark addressed and involves what should I do with the Forte' midrange: "I can only speak from personal experience, but I preferred the stock midrange diaphragm as opposed to Bob's. I do remember reading that speakers with exponential horns (such as your Forte Is) may benefit more from Bob's diaphragms than speakers with tractrix horns (such as Forte IIs). A few members have changed to Klipsch's K-53 titanium diaphragms from the Heresy III and Cornwall III and all have liked them." If I went with the K-53, does that mean I would change out the whole driver/horn assembly? Should I do that? Does my original Forte' set need a new mid-range and/or horn assembly, as opposed to the Forte' II? Can someone with original Forte' experience weigh in, and give me some clear direction to head on this particular issue? Thanks again to everyone. Greg
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