ScooterMcTavish

Good afternoon friendly and helpful Klipsch community. I had originally joined this forum when I acquired a set of Klipsch Bookshelves, and had questions about placement and sound. Although those did go back to the store, some forum members had suggested that I likely had not listened to the best Klipsch had to offer, and that I should keep an open eye for some heritage models. So recently, I acquired a Jolida tube amp. Although it sounds beautiful, it has made my Monitor Audio Silver 8i speakers unlistenable. These speakers were somewhat mid forward already, and the tubes make them fatiguing and tinnitus inducing. After placing a local "speakers wanted" ad, a very nice local gentleman has offered me a set of the original Forte model, which have reportedly had both the Crites crossover and tweeter upgrades. Price is a reasonable $400 and they are in average cosmetic condition. Output tubes on the amp are currently Tung Sol 6550s, with the front end being JJ ECC803S and some NOS GE 12AT7s. So for those who've used Fortes, do you find them mid forward, and could I be in for a repeat of my MA experience? Or are the mids a bit better balanced off? I have to say I find the idea of the large Klipsch intriguing (efficient, lots of bass) but do not want to waste the gentleman's time if they are straight up the wrong fit. I have also heard the Forte are less holographic than other speakers - the spacious image thrown by the tubes is amazing, and I'd hate to lose that as well. Thank you in advance for your feedback.

Appreciate your responses to the subject Chris, and you are being an excellent ambassador for the Klipsch community, especially to someone new to the brand like myself. Exclusive of the Wharfedales, please note I did prefer the sound of the Mission M72 to the Klipsch, even though the M72 are/were (at least in Canada) roughly 4/7 the original MSRP of the Klipsch. The M72 did need better placement as well (very boomy bass), but again had that laid back and articulate mid/upper mid range I felt was a bit strong in the Klipsch. Unfortunately, the La Scalas were posted at about 8:00 AM and were gone by 11:00 AM, so I will not get a chance to listen to them. My plan was to place them in a different room where the walls and floor are inert, and I have the ability to engage in a larger variety of treatment and placement options. And my wife wouldn't strangle me dead with my own intestines for bringing them home. Regardless, I will keep my eyes open for good used values in Klipsch, and hopefully will get a chance to listen to some classics.

Hey Chris, Vinyl, CD, and decent-res music (bought at the iTunes store) via iPhone. A mix of everything - dance, punk-pop, Zeppelin, classical, organ music, and Dire Straits. The one that settled it for me though was Chris Isaak. I found the natural timbre of his voice was over-enhanced, and again, not in a natural way (i.e. mids too high). Whereas the Wharfedales (and Missions) preserved a nice, laid-back texture to his voice, the Klipsch sounded almost "pushed" where it was more forward, yet on what appeared to be only some of the frequencies (choked is the best term I can use again). So, now a set of La Scalas have shown up in local classifieds - think I'll need to go check them out. Although the RB-600 wasn't my cup of tea, I was impressed at their overall qualities to at least consider additional Klipsch models. Now off to the La Scala thread in the forum.

Well, thanks for the advice all. So last night, I followed the recommended advice, and pulled out the speakers, toed them in a few different ways including aimed directly at my face to just outside my shoulders, and went through a variety of digital and CD tunes. I also threw a few towels down around on the hard surfaces to dampen the reflections. Soundstaging certainly improved, and I lost some of the mid-bass bloat which was likely coming off the panel to the right of the speakers. Although the sound was adequate, and I liked the upper end dynamics, it still sounded "off" to me. Putting my finger on it was difficult, as it wasn't obvious - it was something subtly different than other speakers I've owned. However, I did notice off-axis resolution suffered more with the Klipsch than it did with traditional dome tweeters. For comparison, I brought in a few speakers to A-B the Klipsch. The Mc has a lovely feature where the full signal can be put to one channel or another, so the twist of a knob gives me quick access to compare. First up was the Mission M72. As a 2-way 6.5" woofer design, it is very comparable to the Klipsch, except for it is rear-ported vs front ported. Initially, the difference in bass was most notable, with the Mission producing more, but of a poorer quality. The Klipsch had much tighter, better-defined bass, while the Mission was gross and sloppy. On closer listen however, the "real" differences showed up in the midrange and top end. I believe both speakers are crossed over around 2kHz, so the way the sound is shared between drivers should be similar. Where the Mission was fairly smooth and natural, the Klipsch was a bit more forward. But was was interesting to me was just because more sound seemed to be present in the 2-5 kHz range on the Klipsch (checked via eq) the sound wasn't necessarily better. It almost seemed a bit compressed (I'll use the word "choked" again) to the midrange on the Missions. When we moved up the scale to higher frequencies, there were differences here as well. Guitar and vocal dynamics, cymbals, etc. all had a crisp but smooth sound through the Missions, while the Klipsch also were crisp, but somewhat overbearing. Much like the main range of the vocals, the Klipsch seemed to be resolving more information, but not necessarily in a manner my ear found pleasing. I think the word "strident" is too strong - "muddled" might be a better term, as the additional information did not enhance the listening, it detracted from it. And in the interests of experimentation, I hooked up a set of Wharfedale 10.6 to compare vs. a 3-way system, and to see if possibly these towers might balance the sound I was hoping for in the setup. After about two songs, the other Wharfedale was added to the system, and the Klipsch were boxed up for return to the store today. Appreciate the feedback, and I was much more impressed with the Klipsch listening to it this time versus past experiences. However, the way in which it resolved information, and the harmonics its design produces just does not appear to suit my ears. The off-axis response, needed changes in floor placement, and room treatments needed were likely also going to them unworkable for the space they were in. However, this trial also had value in that if anyone asks me about Klipsch, I can now give them an honest appraisal, and suggest they at least give them a listen. PS: My eldest did notice I had swapped out the Missions, but is well-trained enough to know not to say anything....

The second line is the hard part. LOL. Believe it or not, I used a set of Mission M72s to try out standmounts, and was impressed by how much the additional space helped them out. So when I brought the Klipsch home two days ago (while she was out), I put away the Missions and put out the Klipsch. She has still not noticed, nor have my kids who are usually perceptive. Heehee. Though I have cheated by leaving the grille covers on. We'll see if I get a chance to move them a bit farther out this evening, and I'll play with the toe in to see what difference it will make. Appreciate the tips.

Thanks Chris and Marvel, I'm actually somewhat embarrassed to post a pic as where I've ended up having to place my stereo is about as far from an ideal location as I would have liked to in my space. That being said, here it is - just substitute two RB-600s on 24" stands in the place of the Soliloquys. Issue is the right side of the setup - there is a panel, followed by 4' of open space, followed by another 3' panel (side of kitchen island). Centre has carpet approx 2' in front of the speakers (floor is hardwood), and a glass-top coffee table approx 5' away from the speakers. Carpet is more to the left side of the setup. The left side has a sofa, and a large window with drapery treatments. The room ends 4' behind the main listening position, part of which is an open doorway upstairs, and open doorway downstairs (4-way split), and some wall. Because of being packed back into the corner, I was actually getting my bass stuck behind the unit and towers - the Soliloquy's are rear ported near the bottom, and sound was getting trapped at that end of the room. Standmounts seem to breathe a lot easier.

Hi all, I wrote a long post describing how I ended up with a set of Klipsch after my first foray into "audiophile" grade components, but it unfortunately disappeared when I tried to post it. As a new member, I think I had not signed in properly, or it took me too long to write the post. Here is a very brief summation: - Have enjoyed traditional mid-fil stuff (H/K, NAD, Marantz, Rotel, Mission, JBL, Boston, Wharfedale) with a preference for the "British sound", though I have noticed the general quality level of a number of these brands dropping over the last 30 years or so - Typically have avoided horn and metal dome tweeters, have often found them sizzly, harsh, or tinnitus/headach inducing - Moved, sold stuff I owned to buy my first audiophile grade stuff system after demoing Focal, Monitor Audio (BX series), Bostons, and Definitive Technology, and hearing nothing markedly better than what I already owned - Ended up buying a used Musical Fidelity a3.2 integrated, and barely used Soliloquy 6.2 speakers, sounded great alone, sounded horrible together, serious, uncorrectable room issues - Traded MF for McIntosh MA-6100, better - Circulated other speakers I own (Wharfedale and Mission) through the system, decide a standmount works better in the space - Look for a better standmount than my bargain Mission, and see that Klipsch seem to be in a reasonable position in the market - Decide to go to local retailer to try Klipsch again, see if it was bad as my previous experience. Surprised by the musicality and dynamics of the speakers, enjoy a 30 minute demo with no headaches or tinnutis - Take home a pair of NOS RB-600 for the princely sum of $299 CDN ($230 US) So as much as I always thought Klipsch were not for me, I was surprised by the RB-600, and have had them set up for two days. After giving them a bit more critical listening last night, I had a few questions, as I am unable to replicate the "magic" of the demo at the store. - Positioning: Currently approx 6' apart, 8' from listening area, aimed straight out. Do they do better with toe in? The soundstage is large but somewhat muddled, and I find some of the vocal frequencies sound a little choked off a bit. - Break in: Do they require some? I've had a few speakers require some time to mechanically loosen up, and other that sound the same at hour 1,000 as they did at hour 1. I wonder if the woofer needs to loosen up a bit for the 1-2khz range to open up - Response: Are these speakers actually flat? Or does the tweeter allow higher frequencies to be produced without the roll off we normally see in my traditional favorite, the cloth dome.... - Quality: Last time I listened to some Klipsch was in the 2000s somewhere, and I remember them as being horribly up front, with me only being able to listen to them for 10 minutes or so. Was this a setup issue, or has the quality improved over this time? I'm actually rather excited by the potential of these, as I hugely love high end dynamics in music, yet have rarely found a speaker that can deliver this without bloating in the upper mids. Appreciate the feedback of others, and am glad to be here....