Klipsch Forte I vs Klipsch Chorus I
- Thread starter jsfran1
- Start date
My room is 11X14 8' ceilings. The Forte 1s are perfect in there. Stuffed in the short-wall corners pointed directly at my listening spot about 10 feet away.
I tried the Ti tweeters and mids. The tweeters are an good improvement over OEM. The mids were a no go after the initial (and short) "love them" phase.
Then I went to the LMAHLs. Tremendous improvement, but you do need to install an easy to make LPAD. I went with -9dB, which is also the attenuation set in the autoformer for the mid driver.
Crites sells a replacement mid diaphragm that is not identical to the OEM and I feel it is an improvement. To me the OEM mid was sometimes a little rough / harsh. Whatever the Crirtes replacement is made of blends very nicely with the LMAHL and is never harsh.
I did also recap using Dayton Audio 1% caps. Not a boutique caps guy, the Daytons are all you need IMHO. The NP electrolytic in the bass circuit was replaced with a same spec part.
I tried the Ti tweeters and mids. The tweeters are an good improvement over OEM. The mids were a no go after the initial (and short) "love them" phase.
Then I went to the LMAHLs. Tremendous improvement, but you do need to install an easy to make LPAD. I went with -9dB, which is also the attenuation set in the autoformer for the mid driver.
Crites sells a replacement mid diaphragm that is not identical to the OEM and I feel it is an improvement. To me the OEM mid was sometimes a little rough / harsh. Whatever the Crirtes replacement is made of blends very nicely with the LMAHL and is never harsh.
I did also recap using Dayton Audio 1% caps. Not a boutique caps guy, the Daytons are all you need IMHO. The NP electrolytic in the bass circuit was replaced with a same spec part.
Late to this thread but quite surprised at what I am reading. There is just no way I would take either Forte over either Chorus. Far more presence with the Chorus and better articulation of the sound when recapped and tweeters replaced, which is what I do with any of those four I have had my hands on. In particular I like the Chorus 1 with no passive drone to fiddle with. Put it anywhere and the sound remains the same with no wall needed. I have reworked over 200 sets of vintage Klipsch and of the old homeowner classic speakers the Chorus 1 was my favorite, excluding the K-Horn which I never fiddled with. The right KP-301, based off the Chorus, was really nice also and had much more headroom then the Chorus.
Tell you what. You sit down with a really good quality stringed acoustic recording and the depth and realism of the Chorus is superior to the Forte. I found that true with other genres too where you had files good enough for critical listening.
Tell you what. You sit down with a really good quality stringed acoustic recording and the depth and realism of the Chorus is superior to the Forte. I found that true with other genres too where you had files good enough for critical listening.
jayvis
Addicted Member
It appears that the OP has decided and bought the Forte I. An extended debate would be a waste of time.
But the people who read this thread for the next ten years will see my opinion. It still kind of shocks me when I get fresh comments on posts from my old CAD CAM blog Solidedging from many years ago. Search engines search and dates don't matter unless you get the rare individual that sets his search up to avoid old posts.
See Similar Threads at the bottom of the page and there is one twelve years old that will get hit on because it showed up.
I keep looking at Chorus and Cornwall for the reasons you say, and well, they're bigger! I continue shy away because I am happy with my Fortes (blissful ignorance, I suppose) and I can't find a clear enough answer regarding room size suitability. The decision seems pretty split for smallish room, 11X14 in my case. My space serves as a listening room, bass studio and electronics work shop. In other words, the physical size and wife approval is not a factor. Just suitability. One of these days, I'll take the plunge. For now the Fortes serve well.
DEFTECHY
Well-Known Member
Each person likes & needs different things based on their room/system/taste, I agree with most of what was posted above but owning all 4 of the forte/chorus models I will say, and the specs support this, fortes have much lower bass than the chorus, especially the chorus 1 that only goes down to ~45-50hz then drops like a rock....
So you might prefer the chorus to the forte for stringed acoustic recordings, but the majority of music is not stringed acoustic, most modern or even some older rock has bass below what the chorus can produce, same goes for lascala, belle & heresy, notorious for lacking low bass. Yes chorus will play louder, have stronger midrange etc, but unless all you listen to is recordings with no real low bass, the forte is the more full range speaker and fits the bill better for those that have a smaller room or want good lower bass without a sub... although a good sub will complement almost all klipsch & other speakers. IMO.
Sammythebull
New Member
For the record I think the question wasn’t just a forte v chorus what is better, but rather an evaluation based on room size and other factors AND an extra $750.
Which is one of the reasons I prefer the C-1 which will get down to 39 vs 32 for the Fortes. I found the Fortes a bit muddy in those low note cases though and prefer clarity even if I do miss some composer low note intent with the Chorus. As you say a sub fixes that. If you could see my music library you would find any genre except hip hop and rap and I enjoy them all so don't be misled by my stated preference into thinking my range of music is narrow.
Now I do like low notes and pipe organs and special effects on occasion where the shock of the wave front hitting my victim is always fun to watch. But that does not happen with Klipsch speakers until you get up into larger pro gear which is not a discussion here.
DEFTECHY
Well-Known Member
By C-1 did you mean Chorus1? If so, the C1 doesn't go down to to 39hz, they are rated at only 45hz +/-3db vs forte at 32hz.... similar to heresy & lascala.
Pipe organs & most special effects in movies etc are very low freq, usually well below 30hz... Im not aware of any PRO models that go that low since they are designed for live music or some bigger ones like KPT904 are designed for theater use but with a big sub... Im not familiar with all of them but most the pro models Ive seen are rated about the same at ~45hz... besides the jubilee of course.
As I always say with these types of threads, everyone likes or needs different things, if the forte works better in a smaller room, is lower priced & has more lower bass ability than the chorus, then its the better speaker for that situation. Forte/2 are usually referred to as the most balanced Klipsch speaker of that era, for me, without a sub, I prefer the forte2 over chorus 2 simply because they are easier to listen to at low to medium volume and produce great bass at those volumes... the chorus need some power to get the bass going since they handle so much more power with the big k48 PRO woofers. Both great speakers but each do different things better than the other. IMO.
Chorus 2 mid horn is attenuated a couple db less relative to the woofer and tweeter vs the forte 1/2 as well. To my ears, it makes them seem a bit more shouty and thin at low volumes in my room.
No comparison when you put some power to them though. The chorus sound bigger
No comparison when you put some power to them though. The chorus sound bigger
You are right and in going back to my spec sheets I have no idea where the 39hz number came from.
Chorus1fan
Member
With port mods (flared 7" tube) Mine play a 38-39hz test tone CD cleanly without any problems. Don't feel the need for a sub (& I know you're not a fan of messing with the ports), but I LOVE my C1's
DEFTECHY
Well-Known Member
The Chorus 2 are rated at 39hz.
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DEFTECHY
Well-Known Member
I dont know for sure but without measuring for a +/- 3db freq response you cant accurately hear what freq/decible the speakers are playing on a test tone CD... they may produce some sound below the rated freq but that could be down 5-10 db.... C1 drop off very fast after 50hz.
The guy who originally did/ mentioned the 7" port mod many years ago on the C1, Moray James, said it was only a few hz lower at best, likely not 6-7hz, but its a cheap & easy mod to do.
Chorus1fan
Member
Agreed, but as far as I know (on the "old" forum, or here) nobody with the proper measuring equipment has ever done the mod... (so it's never been properly measured) All I know is "post mod", the test tones have identical loudness 45-39hz, & it only starts to tail off @ the 38hz tone. Prior to the port mods, mine tailed off dramatically around 45hz. I have two pairs of Chorus 1's, so it was easy to compare before/after volume levels.
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DEFTECHY
Well-Known Member
I dont know for sure either since its been 10-15 years or more since this mod was first mentioned.. Im pretty sure though that Moray James has the proper measuring equipment and used it in order to state the mod only lowers the freq by a few hz... he is one of the more experienced mod'ers thats done all kinds of mods/upgrades to numerous speakers, not just playing test tone cds & guessing at what changes happened.
I dont doubt you hear what you say, every person hears different and every room/system is different, and theres is that thing called placebo effect that comes into play on lots of things like this... but its almost impossible to hear accurate measurements with your ear, maybe the speakers are playing some lower notes better than pre-mod, but those slightly lower freq could be 5-10 or more db lower than what most speakers are rated at +/-3db in order to state an accurate response... for this mod at the standard +/-3db rating its most likely only a few (2-3-4hz) lower.
I also recently helped a guy over on the other forum right before mod talk was banned... that was a new Chorus1 owner but had lascalas & heresy, he really wanted to like them and expected the bass to be lower, I explained the port mod and a couple other updates like caps & cabinet damping, he did the port mod & said he didnt notice any perceivable lower bass compared to before the mod or his lascalas that also dont lack bass below about 45-50hz. He ended up selling the chorus & traded in his lascalas for CW4.
I dont doubt you hear what you say, every person hears different and every room/system is different, and theres is that thing called placebo effect that comes into play on lots of things like this... but its almost impossible to hear accurate measurements with your ear, maybe the speakers are playing some lower notes better than pre-mod, but those slightly lower freq could be 5-10 or more db lower than what most speakers are rated at +/-3db in order to state an accurate response... for this mod at the standard +/-3db rating its most likely only a few (2-3-4hz) lower.
I also recently helped a guy over on the other forum right before mod talk was banned... that was a new Chorus1 owner but had lascalas & heresy, he really wanted to like them and expected the bass to be lower, I explained the port mod and a couple other updates like caps & cabinet damping, he did the port mod & said he didnt notice any perceivable lower bass compared to before the mod or his lascalas that also dont lack bass below about 45-50hz. He ended up selling the chorus & traded in his lascalas for CW4.
Gigantic
A big, big love
before I built my three way horns, I was planing on doing a front radiating speaker alignment similar to a Chorus 2, but with a bigger/ better mid horn and L-MAHLS, with a passive in the rear. To get the bass response done to 32Hz, my plan waste increase cabinet volume to somewhere between 8-10cf, by making the cabinet a little wider and about 16-18"taller. this would give it performance in the same ballpark as the Cornwall, but ostensibly better.
fredgarvin
Super Member
That's consistent with what others have reported. It's obviously worth doing and at no meaningful cost.
Thanks for your thoughts.