For sale are my excellent Forte II's, in Oak (but stained a darker color). I'm looking to generate some cash for the purchase of a different set of speakers. Got the "winter itch"...
The Forte II's are in great condition, and sound terrific. The have had many upgrades, including:
* Crites Ti tweeter diaphragms
* Crites phenolic midrange diaphragms
* Recapped crossovers using the Crites rebuild kit
* upgraded 5-way binding posts (replaced the little cheapo Klipsch stock posts)
* 2" brass adjustable spikes with threaded inserts (factory risers were pretty beat up)
* Cabinets fully braced to improve bass response (nice upgrade)
* All cabinet joints sealed with white glue to better seal cabinet
* New foam tape around all driver flanges and terminal cups to better seal cabinet
* Dynamat applied to the backside of all horns and magnets
The cabinets are in great shape. There are a few scuffs and dings but overall they look great. The corners are sharp and the finish is nice. I hit them with Howard's Restor-A-Finish and #0000 steel wool to clean them up, and then Howard's Feed-n-Wax to protect the finish. The worst defect is a veneer chip in the upper rear corner of one of the cabinets. Since it is in the back, it's not really noticeable from the listening position though. The grilles are in great shape. No stains, and the frames are intact, with no frame cracks and all magnets in place. The badges look excellent. In the spirit of full disclosure, there is some veneer damage around the threaded inserts on the bottom of the cabinets. My fault, as I didn't relieve the veneer around the drill hole. So when I threaded in the inserts they raised the veneer. I won't make that mistake again. The good thing is that it's on the bottoms, so you can't see it at all unless you turn the cabinets upside down. The inserts are solid, and the spikes thread in and out without any issues.
The drivers/horns are all in great shape. There is some candle wax on the cone of one of the passive radiators, but it doesn't affect the sound at all. It was there when I bought them (I'm the 2nd owner) and I didn't want to rub the cone too much to try to remove it in fear of damaging it. You can't see it anyway, since it faces the wall. Other than that, there are no issues and the surrounds are all in good shape.
I tried a few tweaks on these to see if I could make them even better, short of a very expensive crossover rebuild. One of the tweaks was to remove the tweeter and put it on top of the cabinet, toward the rear, to try to time align the tweeter and midrange diaphragms. To do this, I built a small box for each tweeter. I also drilled a small hole in the back of each cabinet to allow the speaker wire to exit the cabinet and run to the tweeter. The hole is small, and I've plugged it since returning the tweeter drivers to their stock positions. I also made a black wooden cover plate for the tweeter hole. No additional screw holes were drilled ... I used the stock screw holes, so this mod was completely reversible. I also tried ping pong balls in the tweeter horns, to attempt to diffuse and smooth out the treble. Again, competent reversible. Did either tweak make a difference? I can't say they were hugely apparent, but they certainly didn't make the speakers sound worse! I'll include the tweeter boxes, cover plates and screws, so you can try it yourself if you feel like it. Heck, I'll even include the ping pong balls that I painted black if you want them! I also have a pair of 2" thick hardwood platforms (one oak, one maple) that I had them sitting on. I'd be willing to sell them with the speakers if the buyer is interested. Otherwise I'll keep them and use them as equipment platforms down the road.
I am asking $650 for these Forte II's, which I feel is fair given their condition and the $185 worth of Crites upgrades alone. I'm in SE WI (Lake Geneva). I'd consider meeting somewhere for delivery, within reason (Madison, Chicago, Appleton). I don't think you want them shipped ... It would cost a fortune given their size and weight.
Pictures of the Forte II's are available to view in Photobucket here:
http://s850.photobucket.com/user/tlarwa/library/Klipsch%20Forte%20II?sort=4&evt=email_share_media&page=1I apologize that there are some duplicates. I used the iPad version, and it won't let me delete photos from the album. Stupid interface. There are several pictures showing the speakers set up with the tweeter on top of the cabinet. They are not configured like that now. The pictures showing them in the standard configuration were taken as they are currently. I just wanted to show what I was talking about with the tweaks I tried. I am happy to provide photos of anything else you'd like to see, or answer any questions you might have. PM me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.
Thanks for reading this long description!
One last thing ... I do not have the labels. The original owner assured me they were consecutive serial numbers and I don't have any reason to believe that isnt the case. All drivers match between cabinets.
Tom
