Klipsch Forte I

[Ty_Bower]

So did you get them yet?

...I hope you get the Forte II's.

Well, I was too spooked by the mismatched passive radiators considering the $500 price tag he was asking. I talked him down ten percent, but didn't get any further than that.

Instead, I concocted a scheme to get the Chorus II that were on sale on Audiogon. The passive radiators on them got kicked in, but the sale price was too good to pass. He says the rest of the drivers look like new. I'm planning to cut a fifteen inch circle of MDF, bolt it in place of the PR, and port the thing instead. I should be able to tune the port to the same frequency as the PR and it shouldn't cost much more than the price of a quarter sheet of MDF and some four inch PVC pipe.

The seller is about 350 miles away from me, but I have some friends in the area who were willing to help out. Right now the speakers are sitting in a warehouse in Massachusetts. I should get them on Monday. Shipping won't cost much more than a case of beer...

[JW34]

When you say "kicked in", does thant mean there is a tear in the PR? I would try to save the speakers as much as possible without cutting them up. I'm sure you would do a great job at making them look good but the resale value will go way down. If you were to sell them, they would be like you and pass on them like you did the Forte's. I would strongly suggest looking into the forums on the Klipsch website. I know you will find threads with people having the same issue as you.

Obviously the origanal chorus was ported, so I'm sure you can get away with it on the II's. The replacement part for the Klipsch Passive Radiators are "Klipsch KD-16" (1-800-klipsch).

All I know is that these speakers are great! And they sound awesome with tubes!

Jay

[Ty_Bower]

I could buy a replacement PR, but I've been told they are $126 each. I'm going to cut a circle out of MDF the same size as the diameter of the PR (fifteen inch). I'll unbolt the PR and mount the MDF disc in its place. I'll cut a four inch hole in the MDF and mount the tuned port there. The hole process (hah!) is easily reversible should I ever feel inclined to buy real replacement PRs. There will be no cutting or damage to the rest of the Chorus.

I might try repairing the torn PR, but the rip looks pretty extensive. If it has gone into the spider or the surround, I'm afraid it's a goner.

[Ty_Bower]

When you say "kicked in", does that mean there is a tear in the PR?

This should give you an idea of what I mean:

[JW34]

Ouch ! Maybe ported is a good way to go then .

[nyazzip]

being a lowly "passive radiator" i would first just try out a crude repair and see how it sounds, first. as long as you can make a hermetic seal, and the cone still moves in and out as it is supposed to, and the cone remains lightweight and stiff, i bet not many people would hear the difference, at least at human listening levels.
my latest punture repair was done using a coffee filter, flour, water, and elmers glue. works like a charm!

[Ty_Bower]

Well, here's the prototype. So far, so good. If I like it, I'll build a nicer one. If I really like it, I'll build two nice ones and do both speakers. There's some evidence to suggest ports might outperform PRs (no notch) and there's further evidence to support the stock PRs on the Chorus II may be undersized in the first place.

[JW34]

[quote="Ty_Bower"] and there's further evidence to support the stock PRs on the Chorus II may be undersized in the first place.

I believe you are right. The PR is the same size as the as the active woofer in front. I was under the imprssion that the PR was supposed to be larger or that two smaller woofers (who's sd is larger than the active woofer) was the rule of thumb. Then you have to figure in the weights for the PR's.

If you take a look at the Forte II's they have the 15" PR in back and a 12" active woofer in front.

I will be very intrested to see how this turns out for you as I may copy your plans.

Keep it up!


Jay

[jukingeo]

Could anybody here tell me their impressions on these speakers? They seem fairy sensitive at 99 dB/W/m, but how are they overall. Thanks!

You want a good laugh?

Back in the late 80's and early 90's I was a DJ and I had a friend back then that turned me on to Klipsch. He had a set of Forte II's. One night his Cerwin Vega DJ speakers broke and he comes back with his Forte's. I was totally convinced he was going to totally destroy these speakers considering they were home speakers and not pro speakers. Furthermore I was very scared about the speaker's scant 100watt rating.

Boy can I tell you that I was totally shocked at what came out of these speakers. First off they sounded WAY better than the Cerwin Vegas and used much LESS power. So he ended up buying a small amp and a second set of Forte speakers for a back up system for smaller parties.

It was at about this time I learned of the relationships between SPL and power input. Also the Forte is a of a Passive Radiator design and it does sound somewhat smoother than a typcial ported reflex cabinet.

Would I ever recommend using a speaker like this for a pro application ? Absolutely not. My friend and I did some crazy things in those DJ days. But what I am amazed was that this speaker kept up with a pro-speaker and then some.

So with a resounding "Yes" at 99db SPL, the Forte is fine enough for SET work. In fact I know what this speaker sounds like...and if it wasn't so large, I would buy a set for my tube projects. Sadly I am constrained to using bookshelf speakers right now. But I still want to get a set of Klipsch speakers.

Geo

[SDS-PAGE]

Well, a lot has happened since I posted that message. I now have a pair of Forte I's and a pair of La Scalas. I think those Fortes are pretty small compare to the 'Scalas.

Min

[battradio]

A pair of Lascalas stacked do a good impresion of a refigerator .

Mark

[JW34]

Ty,

How is the Chorus working for you? Thoughts on the sound compared to other speakers?

Jay

[Ty_Bower]

How is the Chorus working for you?

The Chorus are working great.

Prior to these, I had tried a pair of Vandersteen 2ci. The Vandy's had a fantastic top end, probably due to their time aligned phase coherent mumbo jumbo. But, the Vandy's were hungry for power and the lower midrange and upper bass were lacking in the life and excitement I heard from my old Paradigm 7se Mk3. I ran the Vandy's for about a month, then swapped back for my 7se.

The Chorus seem every bit as lively and fun as the Paradigm. The 100 dB sensitivity is a huge blessing for my low powered GetSetGo. The tweeter and squawker horns aren't the least bit "shouty" as I feared they might be. There is a little bit of coarseness or a lack of detail. It might be the old caps in the crossover, which I have not yet replaced. The bass is glorious - full, rich, and plenty deep enough. It isn't the gut wrenching low note on the pipe organ, but it is very satisfying.

I never did manage to finish my port tuning contraption. I've spent much of this summer on assignment at a power plant near Rockdale, TX and haven't had the time to devote to this project. I've left the port long in the meantime, which should make the enclosure tuned a little bit too low. It doesn't seem to be hurting anything right now. When I finally get around to finishing it, I expect I'll port the other speaker as well and ditch the PR entirely. It'll hurt the resale value, but I'm not expecting to unload these speakers any time soon.