Horn Speaker Recommendations

Providing the big hall sound does mean a tradeoff. Pinpoint imaging is sacrificed along with the single position ultimate sweet spot. Instead, several listeners get to enjoy the concert sound. So don’t worry about moving about the room or tilting your head. It’s all about enjoying music with others. With the treble and midrange horns one would think that the accordion would be a no-go instrument. Listening to “Check It Out” by John Mellencamp dismisses that theory, as the hand organ places itself nicely within the large soundstage. The upper frequencies are sharp, but never irritating no matter which of the three amplification types powered the Forte III’s. Paired with Nelson Pass designed vintage 60wpc Adcom GFA 535ii, the Forte III’s ooze punch and dynamic power. The famous Maxell tape magazine ad comes to mind with guy in the chair and his hair bowing backwards from the speaker’s output. The best musical match of this pairing was surprisingly the various Indigo Girls ballads, especially “watershed”. Both vocals and instrumentation was stunning, with tonality, instrument separation, and vocal harmonies made for a lean-in experience. A few acoustic and small instrumental recordings did demonstrate the Forte III’s limitations. Sade’s vocals lack the warmth and come across with a bit of a honk, even with tube power. The delicate fingering of Sean Harkness acoustic guitar doesn’t have the inner detail of other speakers. The finite symphonic details of “Neptune” from Holst’s The Planets don’t match the Forte III’s wonderful recreation of the concert hall and the ability to hear quiet passages. It’s the consummation of everything, rather than the individual ingredients that make the Forte III’s so much damn fun. Final ThoughtsThe Klipsch Forte III’s are all about the big sound and enveloping the space and listener. If you’re into the absolute finite instrumental detail, the Forte III’s are not for you. The Klipsch experience is enveloping and reminds the listener of what live music is all about. The fact that very little power can make the Forte III’s fill even an immense space makes the speakers’ price tag far more reasonable. If you have a big room and a hankering for rock or larger ensembles, give the Forte III’s a ride, just bring along a BIC lighter to flick!

Providing the big hall sound does mean a tradeoff. Pinpoint imaging is sacrificed along with the single position ultimate sweet spot.

My system does not seem to have that tradeoff. I get pinpoint imaging along with a huge soundstage- the bigger the room, the better.

I like to play King Crimson's Islands at shows- the string bass in the first track is very natural and the bass drum later in that same track is quite visceral. The shimmer of the cymbals in ELP's self titled first LP is wonderful- I have a Pink Island copy which is a bit smoother and more lively than the US vinyl. The guitar sound on Yes' The Yes Album (plum label UK Atlantic) is just like the amp is sitting right in front of you.

Meanwhile EMI made some impressive classical recordings about the same time- one of them, The Wand of Youth I like to play as a demo of depth, detail and dynamic range (Wild Bears track). So when its a 70s recording, is that just rock or is classical included? Does it matter if its Kraut Rock, British or American?

The fact of the matter is speakers have no taste of their own and a good speaker is equally good at rock or jazz as it is classical or folk. The idea that a speaker is especially suited for a certain period or genre of music seems to be one of the bigger myths that exists in audio.

Mrdecibel1

I would be curious to get your opinion on the Rethm Saadhana (if you have heard them).  They have powered bass built in (obviously not horn) but designed to avoid the disconnect and goes down to 18Hz.  I find their sound wonderful (but obviously that is my opinion).  Did you hear a disconnect?
Obviously,, the Rethm would be pricier than your suggestion, but less 'work' as a plug and play so to say.

Thanks

dseltz

Mrdecibel

Sorry, I am curious as you seem quite knowledgeable and I am relatively new to horns.  I have only heard unmodified Klipsch and I preferred the Rethm to these.  Thanks again

Tannoy Horns should be on your list to audition if you can live with their vintage looks. I currently own Westminster SEs, and had RHRs before. Both excellent speakers. I had Avantgarde Duos approx 10yrs ago. Mids/highs were really good, I just didnt like the factory subwoofers too much. PBN M2!5 is an interesting speaker. I never heard them, but I have a lot of respect for PBN speakers, and have owned many pairs of their speakers in the past. I wouldnt rule out JBL speakers. People always talking crap about them have no idea what they can build.