Modified Forte 1 Upgrades-Bob Crites Autotransformers and Titanium Tweeters

I know SET has the ultimate Forte crossover. But I'm very, very happy with my Crites upgrades. And you can't beat Bob's support :no:
 
the ALK forte' xovrs are listed only as "finished". I interpret this to mean
not available in kit form.
I wish it were otherwise.
I'll now go with the crites forte' xovers, in kit form.
 
I know SET has the ultimate Forte crossover. But I'm very, very happy with my Crites upgrades. And you can't beat Bob's support :no:

Thank's Shacky, It may not be the Ultimate, but its a far cry from stock. It is such a far cry that people often don't want to listen to the stock network after listening to the very high subjective value replacements. If I start out with a stock Forte in an A-B-A comparison. That last "A" often barely lasts 20 seconds and they want the "B". Its not subtle by a long shot.

Your right about Crites you can't beat his service. And for people that want their Forte's up on its feet running you can't beat the price. You'd have to spend 4-5 times the price of a Crites to get some of what I have and I spent 10 times what a Crites cost.

the ALK forte' xovrs are listed only as "finished". I interpret this to mean
not available in kit form.
I wish it were otherwise.
I'll now go with the crites forte' xovers, in kit form.

Ferninando, there is no reason why you couldn't build an ALK from scratch using ALK's parts values and layout. The schematic is available as well as photo's of the layout.

I honestly feel the ALK will likely sound better with SS. But Tubes will do well with the Crites even better than SS IMO.

SET12
 
well thanks for that SET. Id rather not do parts shopping just now so a crites kit should do me fine. Im running a ST70 dynaco and it does my forte's real good.
 
no, it's an HF-85 preamp, which I tore down to the bare chassis keeping only the sockets, transformer, chassis and front panel. All other electronic parts are new as is the wireing and one socket which I broke a pin off and replaced. The "mode" switch I kept but the selector is replaced with a 6Pos2Pol rotary from the shak. ALPS vol. pot. I made new tone PECs and new RIAA parts on perf bds. Removed all traces of tape use and loudness, just phono and 2 line/CD inputs then 3 coats of duplicolor auto touchup paint dark met red on the enclosure and silver top screen. New knobs from AES. its a beauty. thanks for asking. sounds good too.
 
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no, it's an HF-85 preamp, which I tore down to the bare chassis keeping only the sockets, transformer, chassis and front panel. All other electronic parts are new as is the wireing and one socket which I broke a pin off and replaced. The "mode" switch I kept but the selector is replaced with a 6Pos2Pol rotary from the shak. I made new tone PECs and new RIAA parts on perf bds. Removed all traces of tape use and loudness, just phono and 2 line/CD inputs then 3 coats of duplicolor auto touchup paint dark met red on the enclosure and silver top screen. New knobs from AES. its a beauty. thanks for asking. sounds good too.

Wow I bet it sounds good. I have an HF-81 that Craig from NOSValves went through and love it with my Forte's. But I end up listening to my AR 3a's more often with SS pre and amp. I'd love to add the right tube preamp at some point.

http://s137.photobucket.com/user/shacky1973/library/Eico HF-81
 
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Done - 46 pages!
I recently purchased some Forte's & this thread was very helpful!
Now just need some cash $$$ to fix mine up...
 
Hello all, I recently have had the pleasure of doing some business with Bobs business B&K Sound and had the pleasure of placing an order from his son Michael for their replacement Autotransformer's and Titanium Tweeters.

titaniumtweetersforteyy3.jpg


And these New Mid-range improved diaphragms!!! are added, just arrived today 01-14-2010 see the bottom of page 21 for the start of this new install mod!

k52h2.jpeg



And I got to say this is a very serious upgrade :yes: that is not taken lightly by myself.

I have spent considerable time and money into my Fortes outboard crossovers and have enjoyed the fruits of my labors but these two upgrades are some of the Fortes biggest strides in sound quality. And not that the others are not ground breaking but for the funds for these its a must have. :thmbsp:

sd530015gq2.jpg


I encountered some resistance from a few of my friends and I must admit I was a little apprehensive about Titanium as metal tweeters don't seem to be the most welcome additions to many people!

But Bob has made it clear he has no audiophile notions!


And when he said these Titanium's were smooth! He meant smooth!

And I'm all for that! And more!

I installed the Autotransformer's and gave them a listen first!
sd530041ml9.jpg


I could hear the bandwidth extension right away! And I got to tell you I didn't know if I was keeping them as I thought they seemed bright so I thought! :scratch2: That is until the Titaniums were installed!

The resultant sound has left me stunned! And :scratch2:my head!

So Bob wasn't kidding when he said the Titaniums are smooth and flat! Making the stock units sound ragged and harsh in contrast! And his Autotransformer's have revealed a whole new meaning to midrange effortlessness making the stock units sound compressed at higher levels and lower rez.

For me Mr. Bob Crites is a Klipsch "Godsend"

SET12:thmbsp:

Awesome thread. Thank you for sharing your expereince. I feel more at ease now that I read your comment. I have been debating myself whether to make these modifications as well, but I too was apprehensive, because I didn't want to make a costly mistake. I love the Klipsch sound, however, my Chorus 2's are almost 25 year old, maybe they need these upgrades. Again, thank you.
 
I have heard SET12's speakers as well as a stock set side by side. The difference is unbelievable. He has been quiet lately, probably doing other things right now.
 
He has been quiet lately...
But his thread lives on!

This thread has pointed me in a new direction as I plan my Forte renovation. Now I just need some $$$ for large gauge air core inductors!
 
After listening to SET12's speakers on several occasions I did a similar mod to my RF-25 speakers. Large air core inductors and Mundorf s throughout. If you are interested in further reading some of the thoughts of the time now a few years ago for me, you can follow this link.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=288022
If I ever build or buy another set of speakers they will get the same treatment.
Interesting note on this, if you sort the Klipsch thread by views these were both very popular threads.
 
Hi,

I have Forte II's, but this thread inspired me so much that I am doing much of the same myself.

I have bought Duelund Cast PIO for mids, Mundorf SIO for tweets and german transformers.

Still saving up for coils. But I will get Jantzen 8awg air foil coils instead of North Creek.
I don't think they are any better, but with the crazy Norwegian currency these days they will actually be a lot cheaper for me.

I'm giddy as a schoolboy to test these upgrades.

Cbarth
 
I just picked up a pair of original Forte I speakers to use with Vaughn's Morrison Micro 2A3 SET amp. I've been looking for a pair of efficient speakers to use with this amp for some time and the Fortes were certainly one of the choices I was looking for. I'm still playing with placement in the room but they sound pretty darn good!

Not sure what version these are? They do not have the ID tags. I know they are version 1 but which era had the square terminal cover?

I plan on doing some of the modifications listed in this thread. Man what a long, long read. Anyone want to help me with a summary?

Here is a picture of the current x-over.

IMG_1163%20net_zps6s5yw6g4.jpg
 
Good Luck with your Forte, as Dave C pointed out if the mods are done in what most would undoubtly call extreme are done then one will hear a pretty extrodinary presentation.

As Frank Zappa said- "Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible."

How true!

Just as true is my motto "If you want extrodinary results then you must do extrodinary things"

SET12
 
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