Horn-player

Thank you very kindly, @dtel, for your most informative response! I am just a newbie, and certainly should have qualified what I meant by "smaller" (both in terms of room and amplification requirements). Sorry... I am looking for your, dear audiophiles, speaker recommendations for music-only stereo setup: 1. "Cave": 14' x 14' x 8' with a wide opening into 10' x 10' x 8' room behind my listening position (small condo). 2. Amplification: PASS Labs XA30.5 (30 W/ch into 8 Ohm). 3. Music preferences: Organ, opera, orchestral works with big dynamic swings, fortepiano, vocal jazz, pop (a bit eclectic, wouldn't you agree?). In this case Forte III easily wins, since it has much greater than KI-396-SMA-II WAF, and goes deeper (38 Hz vs. 60 Hz)! Would you suggest me considering any of the Behind the Screen Systems speakers, please? Ah-h Jubilee's, the impossible dream... Please chime in!

Dear Audiophiles! What full range PRO speakers suitable for smaller listening spaces would you consider on par with Forte III / Cornwall III in terms of the SOUND? I wish I could afford the Jubilee's many true connoisseurs prize so high... Please chime in!

Thank you very kindly @moray james for the explanation! I see now in critical (at least in my book) BASS department F III and CW III are quite comparable. I wonder if both designs can also provide neutral off-axis response so important for greater accuracy and room-to-room consistency...

I understand F III goes to 38Hz at -3dB, and CW III goes down to 34Hz at -4dB. Could somebody please explain which one reaches deeper at -3dB? Not sure if I am making any sense here... Sorry...

It's very unfortunate indeed if this is the case... I believe @Chief bonehead is one of the F III's designers, and, perhaps, he could help us here?

Thank you dtel! Happy to learn CW III's sound nice even in a small room... ... and they are indeed "corner-friendly".

Thank you very much JohnJ! Hopefully, somebody from the distinguished forum members you kindly mentioned will shade some light for all of us, inquiring minds... I, in turn, will continue my search, and promise to report on my findings for the benefit of all. Please chime in!

Dear Audiophiles! This thread provides a lot of very valuable first-hand accounts on how the new Forte III’s sound. On the other hand, in addition to the above anecdotal evidence, where can we find some objective data on the speakers under discussion: impedance/phase vs. frequency, frequency response, etc. plots? In addition to flat frequency response, the design should also be phase coherent in the crossover regions, resulting, in my understanding, in a speaker that images exceptionally well. I was searching for such objective data, and miserably failed to find any… I have also posted these questions on the other thread and so far got nothing… Please chime in!

Tell me about it, my friend... Anything on the objective measurements data for F III, and/or CW III’s? Anybody?! I cannot believe this would be so hard to find, and yet I found nothing at all…

Thank you very kindly carlthess40! There’s a reason why there are a thousand different speakers you can buy. Different design goals, different tastes, people all hear differently, and sometimes the reason to buy a certain speaker has nothing to do with the sound. So you heard one horn speaker system and you are in heaven, and another one that didn’t impress. One of the things I really like about horn-loaded speakers is that they play music so effortlessly. So little power is needed, and so much music flows from them with such ease. I suppose this is one of the reasons they can reproduce the dynamics of real instruments so well, because they simply aren’t working hard, even at “live” output levels. I think of it this way – if a speaker is working at 80% of it’s capacity to produce music at a “live” output level, there’s very little room left there to handle peaks higher than that level. If a speaker is working at 20% of it’s capacity to play at the same output level, there’s still a lot of headroom there. It’s more than that though. Describing the dynamic range of a loudspeaker is hard to do, but experiencing it by listening is a lot easier. What you hear from Klipsh speakers is a big wide-open and live sound that invites you into the music. I would describe the sound, especially the midrange, as something you can “walk into, shake hands with the performer, and then back out of”. In my mind, it’s a good way to put that sensation into words. The micro-dynamics and the dynamic range of the speaker are especially important for me. The speaker also should sing with one voice. The integration of all drive components needs to be seamless, even sitting up close like in my modest listening room. The speaker should also exhibit great tone. Instruments need to sound exactly as they should. Instruments should be easily separated from one another, and the character of each should be very distinct. Put all this together and it’s very easy to say that the speaker sounds more like real instruments, real bands, real music. On the other hand, in addition to the above anecdotal evidence, where can we find some objective data on the speakers under discussion: impedance/phase vs. frequency, frequency response, etc. plots? In addition to flat frequency response, the design should also be phase coherent in the crossover regions, resulting, in my understanding, in a speaker that images exceptionally well. I was searching for such objective data, and miserably failed to find any… Please chime in!

Dear Audiophiles! My listening arrangement: 7' - 8' between speakers up to 2' from the back and side walls 7' - 9' from the speakers to the listening position 14' x 14' x 8'(H) listening room with a wide opening (behind the listening position) into 10' x 10' x 8'(H) room anything from organ, big orchestral works with large dynamic swings to operas, rock and jazz (pretty eclectic taste, I would say...) PASS Labs XA30.5 What model, F III or CW III, would you recommend for the above setting, please? Has anyone auditioned the F IIIs and/or CW IIIs at fairly low listening levels (say 65-75 db) in a mid-field situation such as the above? dtel, you noted "We have Cornwall lll's in a small room now..." Would you kindly describe your listening arrangement and give your impressions on the SOUND? avguytx, have you had a chance to hear the Forte 3's and Cornwall 3's in direct comparison, please? Please chime in!