Klipsch Forte III Upgrade with Pictures!

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coverto

Re: Klipsch Forte III Upgrade with Pictures!
« Reply #280 on: 8 Oct 2020, 03:15 am »
Hi all - I'm an old AC member who hasn't been posting much here in the past couple years, partly because I am enjoying my Forte IIIs so much! Switched from the Rethm Maargas, which were wonderful, and have been amazed to find that I actually like the Forte IIIs better. But I do agree with Tyson and others that, their name notwithstanding, the Forte IIIs do sound better at lower and medium volumes. I had been wondering whether to blame it on my Coincident 300B monoblocks. Now I think I am ready to try the GR Research upgrade kit. I am wondering whether folks find that it improves the sound even at lower volumes, and whether the bass output is increased at all volume levels? I like others have also found that the bass of the Forte IIIs is surprisingly light in my setup.

I also want to emphasize -- I think the Forte IIIs sound MUCH better when pulled out at least a foot if not two feet from the wall. Up against the wall, they lose the soundstage and the magic in my experience. I would greatly encourage anybody who feels hamstrung by the 2 to 10 inches that's advised in the manual to try this! And yes - I am fully aware that lightens up the bass. A no-brainer of a tradeoff for me!

And lastly, yes, I do have a question! I feel the screaming weakness of these speakers is the footers. I shudder to think how great these speakers could be on some decent spikes or after-market footers. I am very curious what folks here have been able to do, if anything, to address this. I spoke about the issue this week to a well-known manufacturer of isolation footers and he said he wasn't sure what to recommend. Looks risky drilling into that cabinet, just about anywhere you pick. Thoughts???

Tyson

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Re: Klipsch Forte III Upgrade with Pictures!
« Reply #281 on: 25 Nov 2020, 05:36 pm »
Hi all - I'm an old AC member who hasn't been posting much here in the past couple years, partly because I am enjoying my Forte IIIs so much! Switched from the Rethm Maargas, which were wonderful, and have been amazed to find that I actually like the Forte IIIs better. But I do agree with Tyson and others that, their name notwithstanding, the Forte IIIs do sound better at lower and medium volumes. I had been wondering whether to blame it on my Coincident 300B monoblocks. Now I think I am ready to try the GR Research upgrade kit. I am wondering whether folks find that it improves the sound even at lower volumes, and whether the bass output is increased at all volume levels? I like others have also found that the bass of the Forte IIIs is surprisingly light in my setup.

I also want to emphasize -- I think the Forte IIIs sound MUCH better when pulled out at least a foot if not two feet from the wall. Up against the wall, they lose the soundstage and the magic in my experience. I would greatly encourage anybody who feels hamstrung by the 2 to 10 inches that's advised in the manual to try this! And yes - I am fully aware that lightens up the bass. A no-brainer of a tradeoff for me!

And lastly, yes, I do have a question! I feel the screaming weakness of these speakers is the footers. I shudder to think how great these speakers could be on some decent spikes or after-market footers. I am very curious what folks here have been able to do, if anything, to address this. I spoke about the issue this week to a well-known manufacturer of isolation footers and he said he wasn't sure what to recommend. Looks risky drilling into that cabinet, just about anywhere you pick. Thoughts???

After the upgrade the Forte III is not light in the bass at all.  If you do the upgrade, you'll see a big improvement there.  And not just louder bass, but cleaner and punchier bass, even at low volumes.  Because the box is made more inert, which means the drivers produce a cleaner, clearer sound, at all volume levels. 

Re: your amp's power:  the 300b is not the problem.  I run mine with a Type 45 amp (1.5 watts), a 2a3 amp (4 watts) and a 300b amp (7 watts) all the time and the Type 45 is the only one that I feel can't rock out at extreme levels.  So the issue is definitely not your amp, it's the speakers.  The stock Forte IIIs have this weird characteristic, if you push them they sound harsh and muddy at the same time.  BOTH of those problems are fixed with the upgrade. 

Re: the footers - I use some rubber/cork industrial footers that are used under things like generators to reduce vibrations in a house or business.  I actually use it only under the front of the speaker so that it gives me about a 10 degree tilt back, which I find really lets the mids and highs come alive because the horns are very directional on this speaker (which is something I really like about them).  Here's the link to exactly what I use:

https://www.amazon.com/PneumaticPlus-Anti-Vibration-Rubber-isolation/dp/B073R6KMYK

captainkrunchz

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Re: Klipsch Forte III Upgrade with Pictures!
« Reply #282 on: 28 Dec 2020, 07:32 pm »
Here my first speaker's network build with Danny's kit.  Listening to it now before I move on to the second speaker.  Hearing more detail.  Bass has more punch.  Overall more clarity. 



choff

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Re: Klipsch Forte III Upgrade with Pictures!
« Reply #283 on: 14 Feb 2021, 04:24 am »
Forte III Speaker....owners and seekers

If you have spent even a little time running  thru this thread and getting a sense of what Danny and Tyson found and implemented to improve the stock Klipsch  Forte III's, I will start by saying....... you have spent your time wisely. 

The speakers are wonderful stock,  but one quick look.inside reveals a large box with loads of resonance inducing problems and a very pedestrian but typical factory build crossover. 

From the moment I purchased and hooked the Forte III's into my system (just over a year ago) I loved most everything, accept I had real problems with the low end.  Any bass heavy albums sounded boomy  and flabby.  It was a real disappointment given the money I had spent and time invested thinking I had selected the best speakers for my system, room and taste.

I'll have more to add on my upgrade build soon, but I would just like to say now how I feel very fortunate to have connected with this thread and folks like Danny and Tyson that have made it possible to  significantly upgrade these speakers.   Many thanks to you both....cheers!!!

coverto

Re: Klipsch Forte III Upgrade with Pictures!
« Reply #284 on: 14 Mar 2021, 03:39 am »
Well, I've been edging closer to pulling the trigger on the GR upgrade kit, when lo and behold - the Forte IVs! Interesting review and, apart from the upgraded midrange driver, very interesting about the revamp of the crossover network and seems like they may have incorporated some of Danny's ideas with the steeper slope ... thoughts here???

I wonder how a GR-modded Forte III would compare to these IVs? And I of course wonder whether Danny might develop a Forte IV upgrade kit...

https://www.audioadvice.com/videos-reviews/klipsch-forte-iv-loudspeakers-review/

rotts4u

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Re: Klipsch Forte III Upgrade with Pictures!
« Reply #285 on: 30 Mar 2021, 03:38 am »
Thanks everyone for the posts above. I just bought my first Klipsch Forte III and braced them as shown above. What is the difference in NO REZ and the foam that came in the Forte from Klipsch?

corndog71

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Re: Klipsch Forte III Upgrade with Pictures!
« Reply #286 on: 30 Mar 2021, 03:48 pm »
Thanks everyone for the posts above. I just bought my first Klipsch Forte III and braced them as shown above. What is the difference in NO REZ and the foam that came in the Forte from Klipsch?

No Rez isn't just foam.  It has a heavy layer that sticks to the inside of the cabinet and reduces cabinet vibrations.

choff

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Re: Klipsch Forte III Upgrade with Pictures!
« Reply #287 on: 30 Mar 2021, 04:04 pm »
To me the application of the no-Rez may be the most important part of the upgrade.  The cabinet has no resonance now. Very easy to tell by knocking on the sides of a cabinet before and after.  It takes a lot of work, to do all the damping and bracing, which is why Klipsch skips this critical step, but man does it make a difference when completed.

captainkrunchz

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Re: Klipsch Forte III Upgrade with Pictures!
« Reply #288 on: 10 Jun 2021, 09:06 pm »
I am seeking feedback on my acoustic measurement post performing the GR-Research upgrade.  The speakers sound very good to me, but not sure about what I am seeing in the measurement below.  Here are the specifics:

    • Running REW V5.20 on a Mac feeding a Cambridge Audio DAC via USB
      Mic is a MiniDSP UMIK-1 in vertical position with 90 degree calibration file
      Amp is a Decware SE84UFO2
      Speakers are Forte IIIs with Danny's modded filter and his speaker cables
      Speakers have tweeter diaphragms from simply speakers because 1 Klipsch diaphragm was blown
      Room is 13x15' with 8.5' ceilings, speakers are 2 feet off the wall and 9 feet apart, toed in to listening position
      Listening position is centered 8 feet back from speakers and that is the position of the Mic




Hobbsmeerkat

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Re: Klipsch Forte III Upgrade with Pictures!
« Reply #289 on: 11 Jun 2021, 12:09 am »
Is this one speaker in the middle of the room, or both being measured at once?

captainkrunchz

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Re: Klipsch Forte III Upgrade with Pictures!
« Reply #290 on: 11 Jun 2021, 11:27 am »
Is this one speaker in the middle of the room, or both being measured at once?

Both speakers are being measure at once.  Been watching a lot of YouTube and enjoying the (steep) learning curve for now :).  Am I doing this wrong?

Hobbsmeerkat

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Re: Klipsch Forte III Upgrade with Pictures!
« Reply #291 on: 11 Jun 2021, 12:17 pm »
No worries, In order to measure a speaker, it needs to be one at a time, with the mic roughly one meter (3ft 3in) away in the middle of fhe room.

Otherwise, you're more likely to get lots of peaks and dips from both speakers as well as reflections, like your graph showes, which is more a measurement of your room, rather than the speakers themselves.

genjamon

Re: Klipsch Forte III Upgrade with Pictures!
« Reply #292 on: 11 Jun 2021, 07:08 pm »
Depends on the measurement goals.  If he's trying to measure the speakers to see if his upgrades worked, then yeah, one speaker at a time and eliminating room effects is key. 

But if the goal is proper integration with the room, then measuring as he has done is the better approach.  Now this measurement serves as a baseline, and he can tweak room positioning of the speakers, listening position, room treatments and/or active measures to try and get further smoothing to improve the in-room performance under his circumstances.

But what level of smoothing is applied to this measurement?  Also, did you intentionally leave out the bass frequencies? 

choff

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Re: Klipsch Forte III Upgrade with Pictures!
« Reply #293 on: 11 Jun 2021, 09:23 pm »
I prescribed to the rudimentary theory of “trust thy ears” .....which has informed me after many listening sessions in past few months that this upgrade is absolutely essential if you love the speakers even just a little. The results continue to amaze....thanks again to Richie and Tyson  :thumb:

Danny Richie

Re: Klipsch Forte III Upgrade with Pictures!
« Reply #294 on: 17 Jun 2021, 12:26 pm »
Depends on the measurement goals.  If he's trying to measure the speakers to see if his upgrades worked, then yeah, one speaker at a time and eliminating room effects is key. 

But if the goal is proper integration with the room, then measuring as he has done is the better approach.  Now this measurement serves as a baseline, and he can tweak room positioning of the speakers, listening position, room treatments and/or active measures to try and get further smoothing to improve the in-room performance under his circumstances.

But what level of smoothing is applied to this measurement?  Also, did you intentionally leave out the bass frequencies?

Even when taking a room response measurement you never measure both speakers at the same time with a mono signal. You have to take them on one at a time to get the real signal from each speaker.

genjamon

Re: Klipsch Forte III Upgrade with Pictures!
« Reply #295 on: 17 Jun 2021, 01:04 pm »
Ok, duh, thanks Danny

hkunstmann

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Re: Klipsch Forte III Upgrade with Pictures!
« Reply #296 on: 29 Mar 2022, 04:43 pm »
Looking good man!!

Hello, I just received my kit from GR Research.  I'm not an electronics engineer!  Would you be able to send some Hi-res close-up pics?  I'd really appreciate. I asked Danny for some pics but he doesn't have any.  When I first bought the kit off his website, there was no mention of the kit being DIY. 

hkunstmann

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Re: Klipsch Forte III Upgrade with Pictures!
« Reply #297 on: 29 Mar 2022, 04:47 pm »

Hello, I just received my kit from GR Research.  I'm not an electronics engineer!  Would you be able to send some Hi-res close-up pics?  I'd really appreciate. I asked Danny for some pics but he doesn't have any.  When I first bought the kit off his website, there was no mention of the kit being DIY.  I'll work my way through it,  I just some close up pics.  Thanks.

Hobbsmeerkat

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Re: Klipsch Forte III Upgrade with Pictures!
« Reply #298 on: 29 Mar 2022, 08:08 pm »
You dont need to be an elecrical engineer.

Zigzags are the green resistors Ex: 1R5J is 1.5 ohm

Round bumps are the red coils/inductors values are written on

The sideways Ts are the black or white capacitors.

Here's a video danny just released talking about how to read a schematic
https://youtu.be/XxAqa-8T5oY

https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=205453&size=huge
This is the highest resolution version of the image

hkunstmann

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Re: Klipsch Forte III Upgrade with Pictures!
« Reply #299 on: 1 Apr 2022, 12:06 am »
Thanks for the information!  Very helpful. 
I did my first crossover today, hopefully I made all the connections correct.  If anyone sees an issue, please let me know.  I appreciate it, thanks.