Klipsch Forte III Upgrade with Pictures!

Tyson · « **Reply #220 on:** 3 Mar 2020, 03:26 pm »

Quote from: Jules1 on 3 Mar 2020, 01:52 am

Absolutely Tyson, no better way to spend a Saturday afternoon, a great host, wonderful sounds from both sets of loudspeakers. Not forgetting the wonderful eats.
I hope somebody sends Danny a pair of Klipschorns to fix the issues that they have. Mine are in the two corners of our dining room not connected. They need work to get them to where i would like them to be musically.

Well, it's only a 10 hour drive to Danny's... Just sayin'

Wind Chaser · « **Reply #221 on:** 3 Mar 2020, 03:27 pm »

Quote from: Bmarshall on 3 Mar 2020, 03:25 pm

Last shot, all reassembled.

Looks good, I bet you'll be all smiles.

Bmarshall · « **Reply #222 on:** 3 Mar 2020, 03:38 pm »

Only played 3 songs on it, streaming on my super cheap back ground music amp, but instantly, I mean instantly noticed a difference. Too early for details but the intro on a random EDM track seemed to come from the other side of a wall. Bass, more defined, more rounded.

Like I said, 3 songs in but will fire up the reel to reel, turn table and 845 SET asap.

Tyson · « **Reply #223 on:** 3 Mar 2020, 03:38 pm »

Quote from: Bmarshall on 3 Mar 2020, 03:25 pm

Last shot, all reassembled.

Very nice! When you put the acoustic stuffing in, it should go into the top and bottom of the cabinet, but should not be tightly compressed, it should be a bit 'loose'. If you put in too much stuffing, it'll make the box seem bigger & possibly tune the bass too low. In my room I get strong bass down to 35hz and that seems about right. Some of that is room dependent though, so I'd go more by ear with how it sounds.

Tyson · « **Reply #224 on:** 3 Mar 2020, 03:42 pm »

Quote from: Bmarshall on 3 Mar 2020, 03:38 pm

Only played 3 songs on it, streaming on my super cheap back ground music amp, but instantly, I mean instantly noticed a difference. Too early for details but the intro on a random EDM track seemed to come from the other side of a wall. Bass, more defined, more rounded.

Like I said, 3 songs in but will fire up the reel to reel, turn table and 845 SET asap.

Oh, that's gonna sound nice!

Bmarshall · « **Reply #225 on:** 3 Mar 2020, 03:45 pm »

I've started without the stuffing, going to add bit by bit to my taste.

maty · « **Reply #226 on:** 3 Mar 2020, 05:03 pm »

Clarified and optimized

Click on image -> Huge.

Tyson · « **Reply #227 on:** 3 Mar 2020, 05:33 pm »

Quote from: Bmarshall on 3 Mar 2020, 03:45 pm

I've started without the stuffing, going to add bit by bit to my taste.

Good plan. I'd recommend starting at the bottom first with any stuffing, to cover the crossover which is now reflecting high frequencies. Main advice - don't let the stuffing physically touch any of the moving drivers like the midrange woofer or the passive radiator.

I'm listening to Starboy the The Weeknd right now and it's shaking the room! i'm using my 12 watt EL84 amp from VTA and it's rocking the house

Bmarshall · « **Reply #228 on:** 3 Mar 2020, 06:33 pm »

Quote from: Tyson on 3 Mar 2020, 05:33 pm

Good plan. I'd recommend starting at the bottom first with any stuffing, to cover the crossover which is now reflecting high frequencies. Main advice - don't let the stuffing physically touch any of the moving drivers like the midrange woofer or the passive radiator.

I'm listening to Starboy the The Weeknd right now and it's shaking the room! i'm using my 12 watt EL84 amp from VTA and it's rocking the house

Cool, thanks man. Will do.

WarmColors · « **Reply #229 on:** 5 Mar 2020, 12:19 am »

How much is it for the upgrade? I skimmed read but I think I may have missed it.

Tyson · « **Reply #230 on:** 5 Mar 2020, 12:50 am »

Quote from: WarmColors on 5 Mar 2020, 12:19 am

How much is it for the upgrade? I skimmed read but I think I may have missed it.

A little over $600 I believe.

Danny Richie · « **Reply #231 on:** 5 Mar 2020, 04:58 pm »

$639 for everything.

Danny

Bmarshall · « **Reply #232 on:** 9 Mar 2020, 09:55 am »

Quick update.

I've only listened for about an hour seriously, with a couple of hours of back ground music burnin.

I also haven't stuffed them yet as I thought I had some stuffing left over, but didn't... So just put some foam I've the crossovers. I haven't played with weight on the PR yet either.

Immediately noticed more clarity, much more definition, smoother on the mid and treble. Less harshness on the top end, everything sounds tighter and better in that regard.

However, no bass. Or less bass than before. Little effect moving closer to the wall.

Not too concerned yet due to lack of stuffing and PR weight and burnin as mentioned in a previous post.

Also, playing out of 8ohms. Previously, they sounded best in my room out of 16ohm so... 🤷🏻‍♂️

Will report back when stuffing arrives and more burn in is done.

With the bass sorted, these will be great.

Tyson · « **Reply #233 on:** 9 Mar 2020, 03:51 pm »

Bmarshall, do you have the ability to do a measurement? That might tell us if a driver is wired out of phase.

In fact, reverse the phase coming from the amp & see if bass suddenly appears.

On mine, I actually get too much bass down at 35 hz (room mode) and have to EQ that down about 3db.

If you don't have a separate mic for measuring, the quick and dirty way to do it is go to the App store and look for AudioTools by Studio Digital Six. It's got an RTA and an FFT, both are very, very useful for this type of issue.

They also do a good job compensating for the non-linearity of the built in iPhone mic. It's not as good as my Earthworks M23, but for this application it doesn't need to be. It's plenty accurate for chasing down bass issues.

Just as an FYI, I ended up removing the putty from mine, as using the measurements to find the actual bass modes and EQ them out was more effective at getting good, clean bass in my room.

Bmarshall · « **Reply #234 on:** 9 Mar 2020, 06:43 pm »

Will try swapping the polarity. Not too knowledgeable on measuring, but will have a go. Only have a lapel mic and ipod, will have a go.

Alternatively, I have a good condensor mic for recording with sound card etc for Mac, is there a a program you can recommend if this is a suitable route?

Thanks!

Tyson · « **Reply #235 on:** 9 Mar 2020, 06:58 pm »

My basic method for room measurements is just send full range pink noise to the speakers. There's all kinds of tracks out there with pink noise that'll play like any other track from a CD or streaming. Run that pink noise through the system. I use the FFT function from Studio Digital Six. There's also an RTA function. Either one will work fine. The Studio Digital Six should work on an iPod, I believe.

Re: using a Mac laptop or desktop, I'm going to say that REW is probably your best bet. However I personally have never used REW since I run HolmImpulse on my Windows based server.

corndog71 · « **Reply #236 on:** 9 Mar 2020, 07:11 pm »

Also double check the polarity of your speaker wires. I’ve mixed it up enough times over the years to know when my speakers are out of phase.

Bmarshall · « **Reply #237 on:** 9 Mar 2020, 07:43 pm »

So, I check polarity. It's all fine, except for the high on one speaker seems to be reversed... Odd, but will check internal wires in the morning.

Will investigate a measurement attempt at some point soon.

Bmarshall · « **Reply #238 on:** 11 Mar 2020, 03:34 pm »

Attached are some screen grabs of probably not the best speaker measurement in history. Done with pink noise - not sure what I'm looking for to see if any thing is wrong. The only setting I change was A weighting. Done off an iPod at listening position...so not the best at all.

Tyson · « **Reply #239 on:** 11 Mar 2020, 04:05 pm »

The issue is definitely with the midwoofer. Not sure what would cause that type of drop off, my guess is a wiring issue with the crossover. Almost seems like the midrange rolloff wiring is hooked up to the bass woofer by mistake. Try swapping the wiring from the midwoofer and the midrange horn around & see what happens.