Drumsbanger

You guys said the Forte IIIs sounded better after a few weeks. How long do they get played each day, and at what volume? Unfortunately, I don't get to listen for hours at decent volumes every day. Lots of very quiet late night listening, and occasional room-filling volume. The bass is thunderous, but I've got some upper midrange harshness in some recordings going on, and I was wondering how long it will take to tame it.

Deang, the treble cut knobs are very subtle. I don't know that they would have any effect in the frequency range in which I'm hearing the harsh upper mids. I don't currently have a preamp in front of the Torii. It is being fed by my DAC and analog outs of the TV. I have tried Zu Audio Omen MK II Dirty Weekends. They are going back. The amp is still fairly new, and probably still in the burn-in process. Since the Zus are going back, I have just put the old KG 4.5s back in. After several weeks, I will be interested in listening to them to see if anything has changed since last hearing them in the system.

wdecho, the Torii is a class A1 amplifier. Not placing "blame" on speaker or amp, but perhaps an incompatibility/synergy issue. I already have the amp, so I want to be reasonably sure that the F3s do not present the same problem I had with the KG 4.5s. Since the F3s are a 24 years newer design, plus much higher in the Klipsch food chain, I think I may give them a shot. Shakey, I'm glad to hear that your Torii works so well with the Khorns. Are they old or newer? I just wonder if they have changed the crossover design in that speaker in more recent years. Tube fanatic, Steve generally prefers crossoverless full range designs, or simple two way designs, with a cap on the tweeter. That's more than likely the type of speaker he made the measurements with. Those are probably they types of speakers he has in mind when he designs his amps. derrickdj1, I didn't see what amp you used in your signature. Was it the Torii? dbomberger, I've seen that video. I've spoken to Uncle Kevvy about my issue, and he offered me a "great trade in" on my Torii. Ha! I can't see that happening. I'm sure I'll love the amp with the right speakers. I'll probably end up ordering the Forte 3s, since the only way I'll find out if they work in my system is to try them. Crutchfield offers a 60 day trial. I can return them if they don't work for me, with a $75 shipping charge back. If the F3s don't work, I'll probably go to Decware and get one of Steve's speakers.

Skibum and Shakey, I feel like I haven't really heard this amp yet. I have only had it paired with the KG 4.5s and the Zus. Hoping that the third time is the charm!

Thanks for the responses. I think I will order the Forte IIIs. I have a 60 day return window, so if they have the harsh midrange, I will send them back. Apparently, Klipsch is not using autoformers in the newer speakers. The KG 4.5s I used were from the mid '90s, and a much lower line than the Forte, so hopefully I'll be good.

I am using new production Gold Lion KT66 outputs, NOS (Matsushita) 7DJ8 inputs, and NOS RCA 5U4GB rectifiers. This is a dual mono design.

I recently purchased a Decware Torri MK IV push-pull tube amp. I have owned a pair of Klipsch KG 4.5s since 1994. Up until the time I got the Torii they had only been used with an Adcom GFA-535 solid state amp. When I hooked the KG 4.5s up to the Torii, there was an upper midrange glare that had not been there before. I am currently using a pair of Zu Omen MK II Dirty Weekends, but they are going back. I really would like to try the Forte IIIs with the Torii. I'm afraid that they will have that same upper midrange glare that the KG 4.5s had. I've spoken to the owner/engineer of Decware, and he mentioned that the Klipsch have a wild impedance swing that leads to that harsh, shouty upper midrange on non "ultralinear" tube amps. On the Decware forums, someone else posted about having the same issue with old Chorus speakers paired with his Torii. My question is, does anyone know if the new Fortes have the same issue, or has the new crossover addressed this problem of wild impedance swings? 

Hello, This is my first post here. I recently purchased a Decware Torri MK IV push-pull tube amp. I have owned a pair of Klipsch KG 4.5s since 1994. Up until the time I got the Torii they had only been used with an Adcom GFA-535 solid state amp. When I hooked the KG 4.5s up to the Torii, there was an upper midrange glare that had not been there before. I am currently using a pair of Zu Omen MK II Dirty Weekends, but they are going back. I really would like to try the Forte IIIs with the Torii. I'm afraid that they will have that same upper midrange glare that the KG 4.5s had. I've spoken to the owner/engineer of Decware, and he mentioned that the Klipsch have a wild impedance swing that leads to that harsh, shouty upper midrange on non "ultralinear" tube amps. On the Decware forums, someone else posted about having the same issue with old Chorus speakers paired with his Torii. My question is, does anyone know if the new Fortes have the same issue, or has the new crossover addressed this problem of wild impedance swings?