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Klipsch Forte III--Pleasantly Surprised

First off, I have to say that I always had significant bias against Klipsch speakers. I thought maybe some of the Heritage Series were possibly decent, but in no way audiophile grade.

I recently bought a pair of Forte’s in distressed white oak. They look super vintage and the grills are very tasteful. My impetus for the purchase was I moved to a house this past spring that has a dedicated music room for me, and I wanted to experiment seeking a bigger sound as the room is large (25 long x 15 wide x 10 foot high ceilings). My system is the following:

Winter: Primaluna Dialgoue HP Premium Integrated,
Summer: Schitt Freya, NAD M51
Constant Year Long: Bluesound Node 2, NAD M22 DAC, Manley Chinook Phono Pre, Technics 1200 GAE Turntable, AudioTechnica ART9 Cartridge.

I’m really enjoying the Forte IIIs out of the boxes. I haven’t even tried them out with with tube amps (only tube pre) yet. I thought they would be fatiguing and have tons of bass. The treble spectrum (midrange northbound) is sweet and doesn’t sound cupped. The bass is perfectly integrated but not as prominent as I’d expected. The soundstage is seamless and they are not fussy about positioning.

The other thing that surprised me was how much of the NAD M22 juice I can use. I thought that I’d never move volume much due to the whopping power of the NAD M22--not true. So this is making me curious--what will happen when I hook up my 300B tube integrated? I think it has 8W per side. Will I miss the NAD’s power? That’s going to be fun experiment.

And, it’s going to be super interesting to try the Primaluna integrated with them. I can’t wait to see if I like my KT150s or EL34 variants better.

I’m not going to give some glowing review because it’s too soon and I’ve learned some speakers may sound so so with one system and great with another and even more so with different rooms. There is, however, a big takeaway for me personally: I can use reviews as guides but you have to try stuff out in your room with your stuff to really know. I recently sold a near mint pair of KEF LS50s because my $500 Wharfedale Dentons just sang better with my Creek integrated in the specific room they are in (downstairs system). And that doesn't say anything about the KEFs--they are still amazing boxes.  



128x128jbhiller
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,189 posts
 
One thing I noticed when auditioning Forte III is they do recordings no favors. Big difference between good recordings and bad. That’s probably a positive thing in terms of a speakers ability to correctly render a recording. More so than most I would say. Does not mean they will always sound good though.
Did not get to do any a/b compares.

Streaming, especially streaming newer popular recordings can also be a very mixed bag on any system, I find, due to poor quality of many modern most popular recordings.

ejlif's avatar
ejlif
1,370 posts
 
Ok i wanted to follow up.  I got some Kef LS 50 to replace the Forte III in my garage and they seem a better fit out there.  The room is fairly lively so the more mellow LS50 is a better match possibly. 

I decided to lug the Forte III into my main rig in the house.  OMG I can't believe how good these speakers are.  I feel like I'm having an affair or something as my Kef Blade 2 speakers look on.  These speakers have so much snap and life to them it's going to be hard to give that up.  They really have me questioning my prior sound.  It's so much more refined but is just plain dull with things like rock and roll compared to the Forte III.  It's always fun to hear a new sound and that is what is happening right now.  I have some pretty good gear hooked up to the Forte III compared to the garage system so I'm sure that is a big part of it but I had no idea what these speakers could do until now.  I really understand the lure and what is said about them bringing life to the music they do just that.  
aburnhamuu
51 posts
 
My Klipsch Quartets are still number one in my collection. I have installed titanium domes in tweet and midrange horns. Also added modified Klipsch E2 crossovers and more sound absorbing to the cabinets. I recently purchased a Klipsch RP-150M pair and I’m VERY pleasantly surprised by the sound. Wish I could afford Forte llls but I think I’m close with my Quartets.
jbhiller's avatar
jbhiller OP
1,399 posts
 
@ejlif ,  Yes, your experience is similar to mine.  (I had LS50s--great loudspeaker). 

The Forte IIIs, being a horn speaker, are dynamic.  There are massive differences between the loud and the soft.  This is enhanced with superb recordings.  It's hard to go back from horns. 

So here I am--45 years old and running tubes and horns.  I'm "That Guy" now and I'm very happy. 


roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,977 posts
 
jbhiller,
You make a point worth repeating. All great loudspeaker designs have their strong suits, but if you are one like myself who finds that more realistic dynamics are an indispensable part of what makes reproduced music sound more "real", then horn designs are really attractive choice. I look back on certain attributes of speakers that I've owned in the past fondly, and with respect to their designers, but it wouldn't take me away from the horns that I've been using for over 10 years now.                                        
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