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Craiglist!

I picked up a pair of perfect Klipsch Forte I's and a Sony DVP9000S SACD player. First, I'm going to try them in place of the Emerald Physics EP2.8s and compare $425 used speakers to the silly expensive EPs.

I think they'll end up in the upstairs reading/listening room where I'll drive them with the Harman Kardon Award Festival Citation TA5000x (mouthful of tubes), a Marantz Network Music Player, the Sony SACD player.

I was thinking of adding a turntable to that system, but the twin virtues of expense and inconvenience may kabosh that source.

Pictures to come.

Nice score! Looking forward to your review and some pics.

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The Klipsch Fortes sound great!! Won't compare them to the Emerald Physics EP2.8s until Mark has a chance to come out and tune them up.

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OK, got pictures!

The Emerald Physics EP2.8s outboard, Klipsch Forte I's inboard
and a wonderful Axiom EP600 on the far left.

Antique Sound Labs MG Si 15DT SET tube amp with PSVANE KT88s, Mullard 12ax7s and V-Cap upgrade.

Phonomena II+ phono stage, Sonic Frontiers SFL-1 tube preamp and Marantz NA8005 Network Music Player and on top an MMF 7.1 table with Hana SL mc cartridge.

The Klipsch Fortes are shockingly good speakers!

Very nice setup, 2 x 6! Glad you are enjoying your newest acquisition. Wonder how the Klipsch would sound if raised up a bit higher? Thanks for sharing the pics. Always nice to see folks enjoying music and their equipment.

I've been reading up on stands folks use for the Fortes. Haven't decided how I'm going to get them up 6-10"

I think I want them coupled with the floor. I think that's why the bass is so strong. These are really very exciting speakers.

How tall are the Fortes? I would imagine Klipsch and others from back in the day, designed big woofered speakers for guys sitting in a low chair and just cranking out the tunes.

That's funny!

I thought about that very ad (Teac? Maxxel?) last night while I was listening to the Fortes.

They're 35 3/8" tall (not very).

I lue of there being a like button I feel the need to just post the word like but then my post count would really skyrocket.
Lol.
My next place I'm gonna be sure to have a dedicated room with daylight. Ha.

Hey Ed, ya might be interested in these

https://milwaukee.craigslist.org/ele/6186592523.html

That's a great deal on the Merak towers. Axiom made Meraks were sold by Radio Shack. I picked up a pair from ubid years ago. They were a decent speaker, definitely comparable in sound quality to speakers sold at the big box stores of the time.

The Merak center channel was really interesting. Trapezoid shaped cabinet, twin 6.5" drivers and came with either a horn tweeter or the Axiom 3/4" titanium tweeter. Swap in a pair of Axiom aluminum 6.5" drivers and you have a really nice center channel.

I got 2 Merak centers, swapped Axiom 6.5s into each, and swapped the titanium tweeter in one for the tweeter and cross-over from a reference de capo mm snagged from ebay (with a little help from my trusty dremel), and it sounds great. These 2 are in my garage stereo system.

Looks like a good deal, Rick! Perhaps a different version of the M50?

If I was looking for more speakers, I would definitely go check them out. I have a new in the box H/K 3490 that would drive them quite nicely.

Is that a soft dome tweeter in the pics ?

Hi Bridgman

The Fortes have a horn loaded tweeter. The upgrade tweeter includes a titanium driver. Imagine that!

The EP2.8s have a BMS tweeter mounted coincidentally within the mid driver.

Of course, though the EPs look good from the front, from the rear they resemble the incomplete coverage of a hospital gown open in the back.

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Sorry, my bad... I meant in the picture of the Merak towers...



Thanks for the pic of the EP2.8... I had no idea they were open-back, or that there were drivers behind those two ports. Very interesting...

Merak M66s used the Axiom 0.75" titanium tweeters

So, I dragged the Fortes upstairs and ran them with the Harman Kardon TA5000x Award Festival Citation stereo receiver (one of the first stereo receivers ever made!).

I listened to some Mussorgsky, Kenny Rogers, Krall, and liked them a lot. I switched back to the Axiom M22s.

What do you know ... the Axioms sound better, at least with that amplifier. The M22s are pure. They sound beautiful. The Fortes worked well with the 5 watt per channel tube amp downstairs (an amp the M22s do not like), but with the 20wpc HK, the M22s are the clear winner.

You really need to get the forte's up a bit higher and have them lean back a bit. That was a very popular sized cabinet back in the day. When i bought my HPM900's i picked up a set or U shaped stands that are about 6 inches high and lean the speakers back, this really helped to decouple them from the floor and get the tweets pointing to the listening position. I dont know the vintage of the Forte's are but i remember going to a stereo shop with a freind about 30yrs ago and listening to some Klipsch speakers similar to those and they sounded really good though they did sound as good for rock from what i recall. Still a nice score, i never see anything decent up here in the boonies.

Hi Socketman

I'm refinishing the Fortes and when I get a chance, I'll build some stands. I agree about tilting them back. I'm using some brass hockey pucks for a temporary tilt.

What shocked me the most is how good the M22s sound in that room with the HK tube amp. Really good!!

Yes, but you have all that clean air, sparkling waters, hungry bears, up there in the YT !

Yeah i wouldnt trade it for anywhere else until i retire and then i may move to the interior of BC. be sure to post some pics once you have them refinished.

Any updates on the refinishing of the Fortes? Also, did Mark ever get with you to deal with the 2.8's?

Many years ago, I did a demo of my M80's and the guy brought his M22's. I was amazed at how good they sounded. When I stacked them on top of the M80's and ran the two pairs together, it was quite the wall of sound. Wish I would have purchased a pair back then.

Well, Mark Schifter has not been able to make it yet. I have not given up on him.

I cleaned the Fortes with Howard wood cleaner and 0000 steel wool. I am ready to apply Howard Restor-a-Finish in cherry tomorrow morning. I wish they had it in Rosewood.

I will report!!

How did you drive the M80/M22 Super Towers?

Looking forward to seeing the end results of the restore.

I was driving the speakers with my H/K 3490.

How is the restore coming along, 2x6?

How did your Forte's turn out, 2X6?

I just finished refinishing them. I'll post some pictures soon. They look pretty good!

So, how did the Fortes turn out?

Ola Mr. Merchman
I rubbed them down with 0000 steel wool and Formby's furniture cleaner, wiped it down, then over a period of 5 weeks, 5 coats of Restore Finish (cherry). Then 2 coats of Howard's Bees Wax and 2 coats of Minwax Paste Furniture Wax. The finish is beautiful.

I replaced the $7,000 Emerald Physics speakers in my main 2 channel system ... Conrad Johnson MV60 with KT120s, Sonic Frontiers tube SLF-1 preamp, Musical Surroundings Phonomena II+ phono stage, MMF 7.1 with Hana SL mc cartridge, Marantz NA8005 Network Audio Player.

The sound is wonderful!! I am totally pleased with this rig.

The Fortes are shockingly good!

I'd post pictures but photobucket has crapped out on me.

Glad to hear that they turned out so well and that you are enjoying them so much. Hope you can find another photo hosting site, so you can post some pics. In the meantime, enjoy the sonic bliss.

Update

I put a pair of my 1" by 1.5" diameter brass hockey pucks under the front edge of the fortes and tipped them back a bit. Replaced the cross-overs with Bob Crites' and the tweeter diaphragms with his titanium plug in replacements last night.

I'm listening to Cox cable Music Choice "Sound Scapes" channel (Jim Brickman's "Pure White"). Although not the ideal source material, piano sounds so real. Attack is stunning, timbre sounds like a piano, overall the sound is lush, huge and beautiful. I am so happy with them!

Kick drums are startling! Listened to some Dean Martin LPs, and he never sounded so good in my place.

I am using the Conrad Johnson MV60SE (KT120s) amp, Sonic Frontier's SL F1 hybrid tube preamp, Marantz NA8005 as a DAC, and of course, an Axiom EP600 subwoofer.

All I can say is WOW!

Music is one of mankind's greatest achievements, and this system sure brings beautiful music into my living room.

Very happy.

Excellent! Thanks for the update. Glad they turned out so well. If you ever find a new photo hosting source, I hope you post some pics. Enjoy the Music!

Thank you buddy!

Where is everyone posting their pix these days?

Not sure what others are using. I think flickr, imgur. and tinypic are popular. I use my google chrome drive on other sites and it seems to work. I did find a temporary fix for photobucket, so if you are able to post a pic I think I can view it on here.