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Quad appealed to me. They’re just harder to find over here in the used market. The idea of the Arcam SA20 running in class A for the first 12 watts or whatever was intriguing with the sensitivity of the Fortes. But again, finding the right deal was challenging with the dearth of options in the used market. I’ll run through some test tracks and write something up over the weekend. Maybe post some pics.

I grew up in the late 70s and 80s with my step-dad’s hi-fi system. Yamaha receiver, Phillips turntable, Nakamichi cassette deck, but at the core we’re his Cornwalls. As soon as I’d saved enough money in the 90s, after I’d gotten my own place I went out and bought a pair of black ash Quartets, which I still have. Replaced them with the Forte IIs about 6-7 years ago. But this is the first time I’ve strayed away from an AV receiver. Also, the wife loves the look of the Musical Fidelity, which helps of course. Going from three ugly boxes to one pretty box was a key part of the sales pitch.

So, didn’t get replies here but I thought I’d check in with an update. Settled on a Musical Fidelity M2si integrated amp. It came down to a choice between the M2si and an Arcam SA20. The MF was the better deal, so that’s where I landed. Got a Topping ES30 to handle DAC responsibilities. Anyway, amp arrived today and I had about 15 minutes to play with it before running to the airport to hop on a flight. Thing is sweet! Gigantic improvement over the old system which moves to the bedroom. And it’s a pretty piece of equipment to boot. Won’t be back home until Friday, so I should have some time over the weekend to really delve into it.

I scored a similar deal at a garage sale five years ago. $20 for a pair of Forte IIs with shredded passives (cats…). Ordered KD 15s from Klipsch. As stated, these are newer passives for the III/IV line. Aside from cosmetic and tuning differences, they are also slightly larger. You will need to widen the hole in the back to seat them properly. Good luck, and congrats! They are phenomenal speakers.

Hello all. I currently have a Marantz NR1605 with pre-outs to a pair of bridged mono Rotel RB 951s. Rotels were bought separately at different garage sales and no work has been done on them. They are running a pair of walnut oil Forte IIs that I also scored at a garage sale ($20, woohoo!). I replaced the passive radiators in those, but otherwise they are stock. Source material is almost exclusively from a gen 3 Bluesound Node 2021 (combination Amazon HD Streaming and some flac files from a Mac mini with Roon) using the Node’s built-in DAC. My goal is to simplify down to one box and improve the sound with a more modern integrated amp. The Rotels are getting wonky and I’m ready to make them someone else’s problem. No longer need the AV features in the Marantz. Looking for that $1k sweet spot (but hey, I do love a bargain!). Requirements are built-in DAC, phono capable (for down the road), and a remote. Nothing old. Room is 18x14. I’ve looked at reviews for Rega, Rotel a14, Cambridge cax61, Quad Vena II, and a few others. Quad Vena II seems interesting, but wanted to see if anyone had any experience with it pushing the Heritage line speakers. Thanks in advance for the assistance!

I’ve been running hi rez files (FLAC) through a thumb drive connected to the USB port. Pure direct sounds great, but I lose on screen display when I engage it, so navigation is an issue. Haven’t yet given the manual an in depth look to see how all the controls work. I’m more of a dive right in and try things kind of guy. I do love the look of the Marantz. Anyone ever use pre-out from an AVR to a tube amp powering stereo mains? I see a lot of reverse, with tube pre-amp to a SS power amp. Seems to me it would be better to have tubes pushing sound to the Fortes, with SS pre-amp. Can anyone tell me why I’m wrong in this assumption?

Picked up a Marantz nr1605 for now. Sound is improved and I’ve got the features I was looking for., plus options to pre-out and/or multi-channel down the road. I was worried the Marantz would be a downgrade in sound from the Pioneer Elite. It’s not, and I love the low profile. Plan is to save and eventually invest in a good power amp to run the Forte IIs. My current budget would have resulted in too many compromises trying to get it all done at once. Forte IIs sound amazing. Gonna save my Quartets for home theater rears if my living situation changes and I have a bigger room to work with. Thanks again!

Wow, thanks for all the great responses. I’m checking out the Integra line. Thoughts on the slim line Marantz NR 1607? Gives me some flexibility if down the road I move to a new place and decide to explore HT with the HDMI and pre-out. There are also some NR1605s out there at a great price point that seem pretty similar. Just curious how the sound compares to the Integras and the 10year old Vsx90TXV that I have now if I hold off on buying a power amp. those NAD digital integrated amps are funky looking. I’m intrigued. Anyone have any experience with the B&K ST1430 power amp? Great point on being careful about 25+ year old power amps. I’m not in a huge rush, so I’ll keep researching and keeping my eyes open for deals.

Picked up a pair of Forte IIs at a yard sale ($20!). Passives were torn so I ordered a pair of KD 15s and installed them last week. I have an older Pioneer Elite receiver (VSX 90 TXV), and I’m looking to replace it with something that a. sounds better, and b. has newer features. My idea is to get a used power amp (Rotel, Adcom, NAD, help me decide there), and then either a pre-amp, processor, or a receiver with pre-out that gives me the newest features: usb, Bluetooth, network port, hdmi (nice to have, not critical), network connectivity, etc. Definitely open to pre-owned/eBay. Would ideally spend $150-$250 on the power amp, and about the same on the receiver or preamp. Any suggestions? Mainly I want to get the components that bring out the best in the speakers and deliver some modern functionality. Two channel setup. Thoughts on class D amps for the Forte IIs?

The outer hole is too small. For now I fit them in as snug as they would go and just progressively tightened down the screws. Half is fully seated, the other half has about 2mm of the metal edge sticking up. It’s not permanent. I just wanted to get them in to hear the difference. They sound fantastic. I suppose that cork would work, but I suspect that the gasket already makes it pretty close to airtight even though it’s not fully seated. i picked up the Forte IIs from a yard sale. $20 for the pair. Passives were shredded, probably by cats, but otherwise excellent condition. So now, I happily own a complete set of Forte IIs, which are replacing a pair of Quartets that I bought in the mid-90s. Cost me $180 total. Probably the most enjoyable yard sale deal I ever made.

Just unpacked new KD15s. Can tell you that they are slightly larger than the originals, and they don’t fit flush into the hole. Will require some manual filing to slightly enlarge the hole on each speaker. Apparently no pain, no gain.