Klipsch Quartet: Suggestions for Setup & Pairing

Corners are the best placement for these-moving them away at least 2 ft from the wall will prevent the passive from exciting the rear wall.
Crites tweeter and mid diaphrams IMHO are a must-as the vocals you mentioned will come alive, and will be very accurate as well as extenting the soundstage beyond the speakers.
The original mid diaphram creates some 'bounceback' in the vocal range-reason for replacement.
The TI tweeter diaphrams are very smooth compared to stock, yet supremly detailed.
Rebuilding the crossover @ Crites alos helps with the final tuining.
I would replace mid/tweeter diaphrams first and decide from there on the crossover.
These aren't AMT Heils in the vocall range-but are very close tone-wise- with the mods.

blkadr:
1.actually, the soundstage was wider with the mac tubes than with the pio solid state, though the pio (about 60 old fashioned watts) had better grip on that wild bass;
2. the predecessor to the quartets in the same room (a large, low ceilinged basement with lots of reflecting surfaces) were late 70s pioneer hpm-100s; i'm also running some spica t50s in the same room. neither the hpms or the spicas posed the same challenge of boomy low end (tho in fairness the spicas don't purport to have much low end in the first place); and
3. compared to the quartets, the hpm100s are less refined at the high end, but throw a much larger soundstage and are better integrated throughout the spectrum; the low end on the hpm100s is tighter, though not as deep.
much to ponder. thanks again.

I have heard tubes make Klipsch speakers "open up". The same has been said about t-amps. I have not had my Fortes very long, and now they are put away until after Christmas. Almost all of my listening has been with my Tamp-20. The sound stage is not narrow in my 16' wide room.
I'm curious, is there much of a difference when using the Pioneer and the Mac? Room interface is so important with any speaker. The Fortes do better than some "fullrange" speakers I have used in my room. Have you used other speakers with extended low end in your room? Also, vocals have been pretty good in my case. Don't give up, they can sound darn good.

again, thanks for the input. i will experiment with different amps (i don't have a t-amp, but will try an arcam integrated and/or adcom separates). subject thereto, i have reached some tentative conclusions:
a. placement is critical for the klipsches;
b. type of recording is also critical; jazz and heavy instrumental stuff sounds very natural, while more refined and vocal music doesn't fare as well;
c. soundstage is surprisingly narrow; highs are somewhat constrained and boxy;
d. perhaps as a function of the horns (with which i don't have much experience), driver integration isn't as seamless as conventional speakers; woofer still sounds somewhat disconnected from mids and tweeter.
not sold yet, though I'm still intrigued by 'em and will soldier on. happy xmas to all.

Didn't answer the pairing question. With my similar Forte IIs, have had good results with a few different amps including a Marsh A400 and a Cambridge Azure integrated. Notably, I got very nice results with my HLLY Tamp-20 12wpc t-amp. You don't need much to drive them, and the Tamp-20 even delivers deep bass.
The t-amp is one of the main reasons I was looking for Quartets or Forte IIs. Big fun, (nearly) full range for chicken scratch!

guys, thanks for the good advise. i've toyed with placement/height per your suggestions and found the following:
1. raising 'em off the gorund does indeed tighten the bass--i've got 'em on 18" stands and will try raising 'em further;
2. they really don't work well in the middle of the room (too diffuse)--curiously, they do sound better and more focused near the corners;
3. the grills are least acoustically transparent i've encountered--removing them makes the highs and mids much airier, but also causes the woofers to lose some grip.
I'll experiment further--please keep the suggestions coming.

It can be hard enough to place a pair of subs. With a fullrange speaker, you have to find a placement that works for low bass and the mids and highs. Getting them off the ground maybe the best place to start. You will just have to experiment until you find the best compromise. The passive radiators on the back don't make it any easier. A lot of Klipsch speakers sound best near room corners. Good Luck!

I used to keep mine on a dresser with the horns at ear level. Ran with a McIntosh 7270 then went to a Cary CAD 120s tube amp. Klipsch suggests they are put in corners, but I never ran them that way. I just sold mine after 15years...they were pretty good. Best of luck.

I just picked up a mint pair of oak oil Quartet's yesterday and hooked them up to my early 90's Denon PMA-1080R integrated amp. In my setup the bass is fast, deep and controlled. I have them very near the corners of the room toed in about 8 degrees and with the passives about 8 inches from the front wall.

This is actually my second pair of Quartet's and the other pair fares just as well. Experiment with placement and toe-in. Also check to see if the woofers and passives are sealed well and have no pin holes.

Bill