RDK

Many thanks for all the advice! If I can still get the Fortes next week I'll go for them. If not, some other pair of Klipsch.

A follow up question: How much do i need to worry about buying 15 year old speakers - about the woofer cones disintegrating or anything like that? And how hard is it to find replacement drivers after so long?

Hah. Well you guys are no help - I was hoping someone would say that one of them sucks! [] Decision's still out and I may miss out on both of them just because I won't be able to pull the trigger for a couple of weeks. Glad to hear that there's no real tonality differences in the two pair, though, or that neither of them suck. I'm probably leaning toward the Forte's just because they seem a bit "classier" and more vintage-looking, plus more people seem to have them and have expressed positive opinions about them. Meanwhile, I'll keep researching both... and probably come to the conclusion that I *need* expensive K-horns! lol (Sorry, Phil, but I'm out in California!)

Howdy! Newcomer here at the forum, but I can't think of anyone better to help me with some advice.. I'm currently using a 2-watt Decware Zen amp along with a pair of Polk RT800s (about 90 dB) - I know that the amp is either underpowered for the speakers or that the speakers aren't efficient enough for the amp. Hate to give up the amp, so I'm considering higher efficiency speakers and I like the Klipsch for their relatively low cost and high sensitivity. I'm considering a couple of different Klipsch speakers that I may be able to pick up used, both in good shape: a pair of Forte II's (maybe $450-500) or a pair of CF-2's (around $200-250). They both seem fairly comparable re: specs (bass extension, sensitivity, etc,) but I'm smart enough to know that they probably don't sound anything alike. I won't be able to compare the speakers against one another, but I thought that someone here might have some suggestons as to which is "better" and/or which speaker might be better suited to being driven with 2-watt tube amp. Are they, in fact, comparable in terms of sound or are there any concerns that I should be aware of. Many thanks, Ray