RTR

C/net review. https://www.cnet.com/news/big-for-a-reason-klipsch-forte-iii-speakers/

Sorry @dtr20 . I shouldn't have taken over your thread. I got more PO'ed as I was thinking about my finish and I typed without thinking. My apologies 😞

Evansville. Couple hour drive. I don't think they'd let me in their headquarters. Would you bail me out @Ceptorman? 😁 Yeah, people used to ask me where they were located when they'd hear them for the first time. I'd proudly say Indiana and Arkansas in the good ole USA🇺🇸

Mine are the same. I wiped them down when I got them. A couple days later they had popped up again. I need to glue them down. Must be a problem with the label. Guess I'm not the only one. They sound so good, just not put together well. Disappointed.

Wow. I was just looking at the front corner. I looked at the other pictures. . Look at the side pictures. It looks like there are pock marks all along one side. The boxes look fine. That was packed like that too. Where's the QC? Mine was packed with the obvious mark on front and now these? I guess I'm not the only one. These were about 10 behind mine looking at the serial number. And I've heard of another one where the poly was peeling off.

I agree. The passion is so much better also. Seeing a kid without as much talent as others , playing his heart out in the game is great to me.

Another picture. Picture doesn't show the depth under the varnish

Agreed, I've tried to get a reply from them, no reply.

Yikes, that was packaged like that? Mine the mark was varnished over to be smooth. I'm saying the varnish or poly is very soft. The smallest touch will appear like that. That's another issue with the cherry. If Kerry, the product manager for the Fortes doesn't want to act on it, I'm sure I will get nowhere. I would think he would have to sign off on a return authorization and exchange. After the experience with this, I don't know if I would want another set in cherry finish. After you get no reply to pictures, I assume he isn't going to do anything. Very disappointed in the customer service. Thrilled with the sound, the quality of the cabinets is not up to the standards of other new speakers I've bought that were Klipsch.

@Ceptorman. I contacted the product manager. This was his last paragraph: "I don’t expect this to change your opinion about the finish, but I wanted you to at least understand where we were coming from. Wood choices and finish options can be a very frustrating task. The color and grain pattern of the wood veneer changes from shipment-to-shipment…And unfortunately, Klipsch can’t control that. The domestic species of the cherry and walnut veneers that we use are actually pretty stable compared to the exotic wood veneers we use in some of the special edition models Klipsch has offered recently. The only thing you can be sure of about that is the next pair of speakers in line will look completely different in color and grain pattern from the first." After describing the finish and his reply, I sent him that picture. He never got back with me. It's disappointing, particularly considering how many new Klipsch products I've bought. From the serial number, mine were number 41 and 42 of the new cherry. I assume they've worked the kinks out of making the cherry finish now. It's the first thing people notice when they see them. Like I've said, I think they sound great. The cabinetry is not what I expect from Klipsch. The softness of the varnish is really strange also.

@jimjimbo they were drop shipped to me. Boxes were perfect. Never had trouble with Klipsch before. Didn't check. The real disappointment was the product manager for Forte's blew me off. Always been impressed with the quality of Klipsch cabinet work and quality control. Not so much now.

@JohnJ @jimjimbo so much for the "experts" saying Clemson would be down this year. They look like the real deal again. Be interesting to see the rankings this week. College football is always like this. Need to play a few games to see who's good. That's why I love college football.

I started up the chain as far as I could go. We exchanged emails. i am more upset about the "softness" of the varnish than anything else. If you look at the picture of the dent on the front, you see a light spot on the right of the mark. That's where I ran my finger over the mark to see if I could feel an indentation. My fingernail caught the varnish and made that mark. I've heard thru the grapevine there was another complaint from someone who said their finish on the cherry was "peeling" The dent looks worse in person when you can see depth of the mark. Once I move, I'll decide if I want to attempt to refinish these. I'm not a particular person, but the softness of this varnish or poly is driving me nuts. Seriously, I'm almost afraid to wipe the dust off these. I would be complaining if I bought furniture or kitchen cabinets with this finish. As I said, I bought a RC-64II at the same time and place my 65" tv on top and nary a mark. The finish has gotten darker already in the time I've had them. Maybe a shade. All my furniture is dark Cherry. My Heresy's matched perfectly. I do love the way these speakers sound.

Looks like my team has some work to do.... Lost too many players on defense so far this year. Roll Tide!

Yeah, I'm not happy with the finish on these. Plus the "dent" in a very noticeable place that was varnished over smooth. Plus the varnish is a very soft varnish that scratches if you look at it wrong. I bought a RC-64II at the same time in cherry. I have my tv on it. Have moved the tv several times on top of the center with no marks left behind. Talked to a guy at Klipsch about how I was unhappy about the finish. He didn't seem to care. Very happy with the sound though....

Here they are beside my cherry Heresy III's

Those Oak clear Forte II's are darker than the cherry on my Forte III's.

When I was talking to Cory before I bought, he said the Forte's sounded better. I think they are the same price too. That being said, I've never heard RF-7's. I trust Cory and I thought I read in the Forte or pilgrimage topics that there were several in agreement....depends on your ears.... Let the debate begin....

I just turned 60. I agree with you that there is no where to audition speakers like there was when I was a lot younger. Now I have the money to spend after the kids are out on their own, there was no where to listen. I went thru a lot of speakers trying to find the ones I liked I had RP-280F's also. Heresy's too. Then I found @MetropolisLakeOutfitters was about 120 miles from me and had some speakers for me to listen to. I heard the Fortes and bought them from Cory. They sound great and I bought a RC-64II from Cory also. I hope you find the additional money and get them. Sound great with music or part of a home theater. With a sub and the Forte's set to high on your AVR, movies sound fantastic with bass coming from everywhere. contact Cory and ask him about them.

I got my Forte's from Cory also. Good choice on speakers and Cory. I really like mine. Let us know what you think. congrats!!!

Thinking of the people in the path of this. Best wishes to everyone in the path of this. I've been watching the path of this with a lot of interest. I am to close on a place about a mile from the beach in Gulf Shores this week. My parents retired to Biloxi. I saw the destruction after Katrina went thru. It's a horrible thing. Biloxi didn't get a lot of the headlines since New Orleans got hit too. I always think of the people that are in the surrounding areas that don't get the publicity of the big name cities. Again, best wishes and prayers to everyone in the path...

I never considered myself to be a fan of "comic book" movies, but decided to get this when I picked up a Sony 4K bluray player. This is awesome. Watched it a couple times already. Bought the 1st one too. I like the 2nd one better. The interaction between the characters and the story is really good. Who would have thought I'd like a movie with a talking raccoon and baby tree? The music from the lead character mom (awesome mix pt 2) was great. Loved the beginning scene from the movie. This is is the first movie I really pushed with the Forte III's and RC-64II. Since the Fortes have a lot of bass to them, I set the AVR settings for left and right speakers to large. Combined with my sub it sounded great. It had the whole room vibrating. Had some friends over during my second viewing and they were impressed by the sound. i saw someone saying the Fortes wouldn't make a good Home Theater speaker. They were way wrong.

Welcome to the forum. I see it's your first post.

I had some RP-280's that got a few dents. It's cosmetic. There was no difference in the sound. I'm like you, always kept the grills on and not sure how they got there. Klipsch does sell replacements, I think for mine it was $52? But there was no difference in the sound I detected, so I never replaced them. Wish I still had the pictures, it looked worse than yours.

Roll Tide!