Idontknow

It's good that he can keep audio systems in perspective for most. Keeping it practical for the average audience.

F3 and F8 are my favorite.

I've always known that it's out of the signal path, but there is a pretty overwhelming amount of reviews and claims that rectifiers can change sound.

Does anybody know how a rectifier can do this? I just don't understand it other than what I'm hearing. It's baffling to me.

I agree the forte is more suited for that room

Yea that was a great review in fact the most honest one on the Forte IV I’ve ever seen. It amazes me it has over 2.2k views and only 80 likes. That shows you how unappreciative an audience can be.

I was curious about this too. Erhard makes a special preamp for this. https://www.erhard-audio.com/PAS-NGCT.html

svberger, I've compared the the T5, T7 and T9 all in the same room. The T5i was my favorite of them all . The reason is because the other two are front firing and had to work harder to get the same bass as the T5. The T5 is actively down-firing, but the speed at which it performed was absolutely astonishing. Since it uses the floor as a reflector, it was just noticeably more effortless. Also, because the driver is only 8" it moves extremely fast. It's amazing how much bass they deliver. Even Blade Runner 2049 which has extremely deep lows come through amazingly well, yet it's very musical at the same time. I've also experimented with open the open baffle sub which I also reviewed in the link below if that helps. It too is equally fast and amazing. Good luck. drD E

Thanks for sharing. The current ST70 and ST35 I'm using have provide extremely tight and controlled bass with my Heresy and Forte. Both use solid state rectifier's. I've had a number of solid state amps here but the Dynaco's bass performance are every bit as good if not, even better.

Southern, I just noticed you have the Pioneer receiver. How would you describe its sound signature compared to the Dynakit you have? Very inetersted to get your impressions. Thanks ---daniel drD E

Yea, I think his new PAS is probably the finest preamp with tone controls out there at such an affordable price. I miss those gold plates. I've struggled to fine one in good shape but it's been impossible.

In case you were asking me.

Nice review, thanks for sharing. The F IV's are very nice!

I just ordered a set from here. By far the best badges I've seen to date and very reasonably priced. Some people are asking stupid money for them. Sadly I only ordered a pair and now wish I had ordered a few more because shipping is $10 from Japan but I have a pair and you can get them in silver or gold outline. Really excellent. Shipping took a couple of weeks but well worth it. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1255565957/2pcs-klipsch-triangular-logo?click_key=2cf5e9563271954aa9d7c776dabcbb26f656fbe0%3A1255565957&click_sum=fa8e8ec7&external=1&rec_type=cs&ref=landingpage_similar_listing_top-6 https://www.etsy.com/listing/1325349608/2-pcs-plastic-triangular-badge-with

Denefrips Ares II

That's unfortunate as I have just listened to one at home. Always the best ones to be discontinued.

I've always questioned his use of insulation or whatever it is for walls with that speaker.

Thanks for sharing. I haven't had the pleasure of hearing the HK 430 but I checked it out online after you mentioned it. My audio buddy has an integrated amplifier by HK from the 70's and I can't recall which model it was but it amazed me and it was solid state of all things.

I just acquired one of Kenny Russell's all new ST-70's https://getdynaco.com/products/ready-to-ship-dynaco-st-70-tube-stereo-amplifier based on the original circuit using 6GH8A military grade input tubes and EL34 NessTone output tubes. It's got the latest, best transformers and solid state rectifier which have several advantages. The unit utilizes the best components and after hearing this unit for the first time, I dropped my jaw in disbelief at the performance. The differences between this model and the Bob Latino and Will Vincent ST-70's are incredibly striking. This model Kenny did for me has a noticeably more classic, vintage sound signature as David Hafler intended it to be. It's silky, warm, lush and velvety smooth with jazz while the bass is tight and clean, even at the highest possible volume levels with my Heresy and Forte's with classic rock. There's no doubt that most of today's modern tube amps have lost the vintage sound signature with overly analytical, bright and brittle sound signatures, particularly those pouring in from China that most only seem to talk about. At first, it all sounds exciting, but over time with smooth jazz, I just found it to be a bit too ear fatiguing over longer listening durations and too forward. This ST70 Kenny did is the most amazing amp I've compared to date along with the ST35 and I think it's because both remain as close to the original circuit but with higher quality, more premium components available today. The famous review by David Gillespie here http://www.audioregenesis.com/documents/ST-70 Base Line Testing.pdf was adamant about retaining as much of Hafler's vintage ST70 sound signature as possible and this is the reason he's used it as a reference/benchmark. The issue of original vs modern was also covered here by Alan Acuff here http://santafemusic.blogspot.com/2008/09/tube-be-or-not-tube-be.html and I agree completely. Bob Latino addressed some of the issues with the original ST70 here https://dynacotubeaudio.forumotion.com/t465-traditional-driver-circuit-designs-versus-modern-all-triode-designs against his Triode Circuit that also has Pentode but I never enjoyed the Latino pentode circuit as much. It just sounded too lean for some reason, unlike the dedicated Ultra Linear circuit Kenny uses which simply tromps all over my Latino ST-70. The differences are mind blowing.

Sounds like each series is making us both happy.

There were a few issues I had with the Forte III and BTW the III didn't get the best of reviews by a number of audio listeners. It's the same issue I have with the IV even though I prefer the IV over the III and the Forte I over both. First, is the bass. The bass on the III and the IV doesn't go as deep as the Forte I and it's audible too. It's also evident in their specs even though I'm not into specs all that much. This is probably why we see so many threads with listeners who complain about needing a subwoofer for the Forte III's and IV's. We keep seeing this over and over in the forums. It amazes me how much the newer Forte's cost, not to mention that most feel more bass is still needed, so subs now have to be added which adds additional cost to something that's already overpriced to begin with. I can more than afford a pair of III's or IV's but they're not what the marketing pumps them up to be. The next issue is the top end. Neither the III or the IV has the same sweetness on the top end that the Forte I has. I'm not an engineer so I'm not qualified to say what the real cause is. Maybe it has something to do with the crossovers? My biggest guess is that it may have something to do with the tweeters in the Forte I being phenolic tweeters and the III and IV being titanium tweeters, I'm not sure. All I can tell is that the Forte I has a sweeter and smoother top end so I don't know what the big deal is with titanium in fact I think they use polyamide tweeters on the latest Klipschorn's, I can't remember for sure. The next issue on the Forte III and IV is the midrange combined with the top end. I don't know if it's because of the shape of the mid horn itself, I'm not an expert on it, but I can hear it with various jazz instruments. For those wanting a demonstration of the lack of coherency I'm referring to, put on a pair of headsets or earbuds and listen to this video. At about 6:13 of the video, he will switch from the Heresy IV to the Forte IV. Immediately when the woman's voice kicks in, the upper range sounds dispersed or lost and no longer sounds as coherent. This has also been expressed by a number of individuals. Huff later goes on the say that the Forte IV is a jack of all trades speaker. To my ears, the Forte I already does everything perfectly in my opinion and they cost a 5th the price. To get a better idea of what I'm talking about, imagine a trumpet with a horn shape that's be further opened to something like a bugle. The bell shape on a bugle is opened up further, so it doesn't sound as coherent. I don't mind if someone prefers one speaker over another, but it helps if others would try to describe why.

Even though this is an older thread, I prefer the Forte I's over the Forte III's. The Forte III's are my least favorite in the series. To add further insult to injury, all the newer gear is absurdly overpriced.