Klipsch Forte ii too bright, or is it my room ?

Zero Fidelity has a review of the Sony STR-DH190 Stereo Receiver.  Price: $170.  He says it is neutral and does not have tipped up treble.  And he said it plays well with Klipsch speakers.  It has tone controls so that you can reduce the treble if needed.  It has Bluetooth but no digital connections, and so if you want to play music from a connected computer with cables you would need an external DAC.

The price is so low that you could get it now, keep it for a few years, and then get something better later.

He also compares it to a $500 integrated amp.

Another consideration for receivers and amps is that the high sensitivity Forte II does not need many watts to play loudly.  That provides more amp/receiver options and can help keep the cost down.

To help make you feel great about your Klipsch speakers, check out the YouTube video by Andrew Robinson about why he loves Klipsch speakers.  Search YouTube for "WHY PERFECTION DOESN'T MATTER - La Scala Review"

Andrew Robinson said that one of the amps/receivers that sounds the best with his Klipsch speakers is a Pioneer that he had restored.  So, that could be an option for your receiver.

Here is the Pioneer receiver I had in 1980, the SX450.  It had only 15 watts per channel, but it could play loudly.  Andrew Robinson on YouTube said it is a good match with Klipsch speakers, with treble rolled off a bit.

He said he only got it professionally cleaned and the bulbs replaced, which cost only $150.  That is all it needed.

So, your Pioneer receiver may be a good match with your Klipsch speakers after all.

Someone in the area could have another amplifier or another set of speakers.


Then if the pioneer was fine on other speakers that points to it “having been” ok. (Sure it could have changed)


If the Pioneer was on those speakers in another room and “all was well” then we know the mechanism that is at play here.

There is a thing called REW that the OP could download onto an iPhone/ipad, and that would give us some measured. info.

The idea of moving the speakers back to tyhe walll was mentioned earlier. I would also try moving them further into the room so one gets a more near field direct sound, and that would diminish the relative level of the reflected sound, and diminish the room brightness.
And like @wilderness eloquent post (a few posts ^above^) mentioned ... “It is free”.

For many Klipsch speakers are all much too bright and voices sound like megaphones.