An update...I've had the Forte IIIs for about three weeks now, driving them with a Pass Labs XP-12 preamp and XA-25 power amp. So far, I love some things about them, but don't love the presentation as a whole. With this set up, the Fortes are very dynamic and clear sounding with simple to moderately complex music. Acoustic and pedal steel guitars sound especially nice. Just listened to a couple albums by Neko Case and by the Avett Brothers, all sound very good. Also simple live albums like Curtis Mayfield's Curtis/Live! sound amazing. I do notice a slight midrange horn coloration on a lot of vocals, a slight resonance like one might hear if one is speaking into a tin can. It's slight, but it starts to bug me after a while. Highs are smooth and sweet. Bass has good tone but is less powerful than I expected, a bit blunted, although some of that could be my room acoustics. Overall the tonal balance is a bit leaner than I like. My biggest complaint is that when the music gets more complex, it sounds smeared and congested to me, especially from bass to mids. It's not music I consider very demanding, stuff like indie rock, 70's power pop/pop rock. Maybe this is a reflection of deficiencies in the XA-25, I don't know, since the Forte III is often recommended as a good rock speaker. The Fortes in this setup definitely reveal bad recordings to be nothing but bad. If it's dull or grainy or compressed, you hear it. I'll continue listening for a few weeks more, but I'm not sure at this point that the Fortes will stay. Not sure about the Pass gear either. Maybe I need to try different amplification with the Fortes. I also haven't used the tube preamp yet. Thanks to all who commented earlier.
