Perfection ratings are not absolute. It has everything to do with expectations, preferences, and what is a good fit for our own needs. A Klipsch Forte IV imperfections may be magic.
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Stereophile Reviews New Klipsch Forte, Klipschorn
- Thread starter watchnerd
- Start date
Godataloss
Senior Member
It's like I'm looking at future me in your postAngsty said:
"I guess we all have to choose a set of imperfections we are most comfortable with, like choosing a spouse."
Some of us pick spouses who are a better fit than others.
. Annie and I have been married for 46.5 years, together for 51.View attachment 177353
. We've been with our Klipschorns for 40 years, with:
. A change from a 1,400 cu.ft. room to a 4,257 cu. ft. one, with an average ceiling Ht of 10 feet.
. Klipschorn AK4 stock upgrade (new crossovers with different EQ, different
crossover points, steeper slopes, new tweeters, new mid drivers, and, (purchased separately) a pair of stock upgrades for the midrange horns
("slightly lower distortion").
.Room treatment, including many book shelves (not book cases) with many books, vases, artifacts, absorbers, difussers (built by Annie).
. Painstaking Audyssey room EQ.
. Further "tuning" using REW, calibrated mic in each of the positions formerly occupied by the Audyssey mic, and calibrated ears (as defined by PWK as attending live concerts (in my case, classical and other orchestral, with occasional pipe organ).
. As a matter of preference, not reference, I boosted the bass between 6 and 9 db, depending on the music recording (often), or movie (we use a sub, X over at 40Hz, and we sometimes boost a little more). But the midrange and treble are rather smooth:View attachment 177285 The K77F tweeter, (divisions are 5 dB) post Audyssey, crosses the line at 12.27K, and extends to 17K, about +/- 1.5 dB to about 15K Hz. For a few, especially clean recordings, I can boost the high treble by about 3 dB with a tone control. With the right recordings, it is cortex tingling.
[There are some partly filled pages, so, after clicking on the attachment, please continue to scroll down until you see my sign off signature, "Gary"]
. I liked my khorns stock, but I don't think I would have kept them without going with a 2" midhorn with a proper tractrix flare- the Volti Audio package. Fortunately, much like you, I have a four star wife that encouraged me to go whole-hog and I purchased a pair of Fostex flagship tweeters. They were the proverbial cherry on the top of this banana split. Dirac brought us the rest of the way. I'm now looking at subs (which did you land on btw) just to fill in during low level listening and I don't want to biamp.
Gary, I love your entire surround system, I'm sure it sounds incredible. You couldn't ask for a more perfect room design to install your 5 Heritage speaker rig.
I spotted the Karlson speaker enclosure in the picture immediately, very kool you've kept it.
Was your dad a Hi Fi nut too?
Enjoy that super system.
tuga
Major Contributor
I'm sure it is to some people. That is the nature of audio, different strokes for different folks.
Gary, I love your entire surround system, I'm sure it sounds incredible. You couldn't ask for a more perfect room design to install your 5 Heritage speaker rig.
I spotted the Karlson speaker enclosure in the picture immediately, very kool you've kept it.
Was your dad a Hi Fi nut too?
Enjoy that super system.
Thanks.
No, my dad was a master carpenter. He liked music, and became interested in the Hi Fi designs the high school me showed him, but never really got into it himself. He worked under a contractor who was supervising the construction of a house for a very rich family. It had 9 bathrooms, two reflecting ponds, and a Hi Fi room. My dad told me, "The room isn't up to your standards, speakers are built into flimsy walls that bend if you push on them and probably vibrate like crazy."