lionheart-uk

I have used many amps with my Forte II's and only a few cut the mustard to my ears, sure tubes are great but there are some great matches in the SS world also, I use an ancient low powered Sugden A21 (1968) and it betters most modern amps when used with the Fortes, I have used them with a Marantz 2230 with similarly excellent results. It seems that any amp described as warm suits the Klipch's.

Good evening Mr Goldfinger lol

lol I was going to mention 'John Ambrose Fleming' and the correct pronouncement but I thought I had better not as I didn't want to cause any trouble. She is out of term at the moment but I'm sure she will oblige when she returns to Chichester.

I must learn to replace 'Valve' with 'Tube' when I'm on this site, sorry

Someone wrote and interesting post on impedance matching with tubes and Klipsch gear, True, the early Sugden is always quoted as being very valve like and it is, a couple of the non valve amps that were passable with the Fortes also have been described as being valve like are all low powered, the Marantz 2230 would be a prime example I guess. As soon as you raise the power of the amp you seem to lose everything that is good with these speakers and end up with a squarking hell of a sound. I used a 200w class D Nuforce amp and it was truly the worst combo I have ever heard, although I can't discount all modern class D amps as the cigarette boxed sized 25wpc Temple Audio amp performed admirably.

lol Yes it's still there, my daughter goes to Chichester University and tells me she recommends the smoked ham and English mustard rolls if you're passing that way.

'Take nothing as expected' is the advice I would give anyone mulling over purchasing a pair of Fortes, They are amp fussy, cable fussy and hard to position right but when you do hit upon the right combination you will know about it as the sound will be breathtaking and you will head for the best pressed records in your collection...........and you will probably have a big smile across your face like a flip-top bin for weeks

I'm not au fait with that NAD amp but I did use an AMC 2445 with an Adcom pre with them in a bigger room, I think that the AMC is a NAD clone of some kind, it didn't sound bad at all but as I remember it was a bit shrill at times and a tad too clinical to my ears for prolonged listening with the Fortes, still a good choice though and you can do far worse.

Good call my colonial cousin The phrase 'Pipe and slippers' means a very warm and laid back sound.

I know it flys in the face of most opinions but in a long narrow room I prefer the sound of the Fortes about 5" from the sides and 7" from the rear wall with no toe in, I've tried them off the rear wall more and at various angles but I found that they became more clinical with less of soundstage the more I pulled them away and that's a sound I really don't want as it becomes very fatiguing quickly and I do a lot of listening on this set up.

Fortunately it is in A1 condition and the wooden case matches the Fortes

True, I had the Sugden recapped a few years back and though great sounding with other speakers it was never an amp I would use as I had others that sounded better, I was really surprised in truth at the ability of it when used with the Fortes as I mistakenly thought it might be a little bit too 'Pipe and slippers' for the Klipsch to mate with. it does run hot but that's a good thing considering our usual cold climate here in England, I've used plenty of Class A amps in the past and I wouldn't say it gets anymore hotter but agreed I should imagine in warmer climates it may be a factor.

It was a close thing my friend, honestly I can't ever remember being 100% happy with any set up I have had over the years no matter the price, I feel like I have come to my hi-fi journeys end as I don't think I could get a better sound with vinyl as I can with the Klipsch/Sugden combo.

Just a short story about a pair of Fortes, having been impressed by a pair of RF82's I bought new when they first came out, I decided to buy a pair of second hand Forte II's with Crites upgrades as I 99% listen to vinyl and prefer larger speakers in general, I also liked the wood finish that the RF82's didn't have. The problem I had was finding an amp that suited the speakers for my fairly narrow room, The Nuforce amp and Threshold pre combo I was using sounded way too harsh and clinical so the journey started. I tried eleven different well regarded vintage amps before I was truly happy with the sound of the Klipsch, some of the amps I used have never given me any reason to doubt them before but sounded awful with the Fortes and I was ready to give up and move the speakers on. I won't bore you with the ones that didn't make the grade but to my ears the Marantz 2230 & 1030, Quad 303 & 405 II with passive pre sound really good with the Klipsch as does the Temple Audio Bantam, the Rogers Cadet II is a great match for the Fortes but there is one amp that stands head and shoulders above the rest in my opinion and that is the venerable wooden cased 10 watt Sugden A21 MkI (circa '67), it has such detail and impact that you can't help but be amazed by the sound heard from a 50+ year old that would not look out of place in a Hitchcock film of the era, it's not even a close thing, the amp just sounds right with the Fortes and can still be bought 2nd hand for a fraction of what you would expect to pay for this level of excellence. I've had a lot more expensive amps and speakers over the past 40 years but the Klipsch/Sugden combo really does take some beating.

I've been listening to the Fortes at 45 degree for a few days now and the soundstage has shrunk dramatically and I get that listening in a corridor effect, I guess this is 100% due to the width of the room, toeing them in a few degree but keeping them close to the walls I think is the best way for me to go in this restricted room, they certainly sound at their best in this position.