Mark in PA

Thanks for the Crites update. Yes, the midrange on the IVs are recessed, seeming more back than forward of the speaker; several reviewers also noticed this. It's still good, but what I heard from the Sonus Faber was totally different in a good way, but I bet the Cornwall IVs really kick butt, but I can't afford them. Thanks

Really? There's a KIT to make the Forte III into the Forte IV? Cool! You sure? I like the outside look of the III's (the bottom plinth) rather than the "floating" look design on the IV. Yeah, I could get great deals on the III's and 400 per speaker for the upgrade kit isn't bad at all. Thanks

Thanks. That's what I thought: bad recordings are bad, period. There may or may not be something I can do with it, but probably not. The Sonus Faber were at a different dealership than the Faber dealership. But I demoed only LPs and CDs on the Sonus Faber because the owner is blind and doesn't stream at all, so the music I gave the Faber's wasn't the best quality but these speakers really made any song and any music genre really a pleasure to listen to.

Hello fellow Klipsch folk. I always loved the sound of the Heritage line. I am still on the fence to get either the Forte IV, Sonus Faber Lumina 5, or gamble on a no demo Crites Type A Cornscala speaker. Any advice? Especially from anybody who has experience listening to any of the above speakers? In the defense of the Sonus Faber Lumina 5: I really thought I heard it all with many speakers I demoed until I heard these. Many the distortion level is so crazy low on these speakers and they are so darn clear, they remind me of a horn speaker but of course without a horn. These things sing and the midrange in this speaker is way, way, way better than the midrange of the Forte IV by far!!! I am a huge fan of Klipsch, period, but these Sonus' were beautiful. BUT they are NO Klipsch with it's awesome sensitivity. This is such a difficult decision. My price range is topped off at the Forte IV, unless I find a pair of Cornwall IV used or demo sale. The major thing I hate about the Forte IV is the recessed midrange. It's good, but I actually liked the more forward sound of the Forte III's midrange, hence why I really enjoy the Sonus. The Forte has a much mellower tweeter and that bass is Great! I am very curious if anybody have used the Crites speakers. How do they sound? Crites uses a JBL midrange compression driver and I am curious if it has a JBL flare to it. Hey, JBL are also a pretty nice speaker to my ears. Crites seem to do a better job on their crossover network than Klipsch. What do you guys think? BTW. I am probably interested in only a two channel system for music and TV but I like to have the freedom to expand my two channel listening into a 5.2 if I want to in the future, so logically getting a speaker whose manufacturer makes a center channel and the sides will be best. With the Heritage line I am lost, with the Sonus Faber I am good, and with the Crites I am also good. Advice? Last thing about the sound quality. The Forte's suck on badly recorded music. How can I get around this? A better DAC if I am using digital? What if I am playing LPs? The Sonus Faber Lumina 5. They were excellent with poorly recorded music. I played CDs and LPs when I demoed them and it sounded beautiful. I played several Rolling Stones songs on the Forte, and I couldn't get past the first few measures, it was that horrible, and this sucks because they are my favorite rock band, so this a Huge negative for me. How can I get around this? Thanks

Hey, no it's not Klipsch dealers. It was someone else. I forgot what I mentioned earlier, but for me it's either buy the Forte IV and pair it up with my vintage gear or get new front end gear (Atoll IN200) and pair that up to my second runner up speaker, the KLH Model 5, because my vintage gear probably won't be able to handle the low impedance minimal rating of 3.5 ohms on the Model 5. So I called this guy who sells Atoll integrated amps and he's the one who just started to vent about how Klipsch are: bright, non-cohesive, image poorly, etc. Man, I know they aren't the "perfect" "audiophile" speaker and that there is going to be a trade off to getting high efficient speakers, but they have Soul and Character unlike other brands I heard...well, aside from that Model 5, that I personally would take over the likes of Totem, Monitor Audio, KEF, Focal etc. Today's Klipsch to my ears are not bright at all, I don't know where these folks are getting their info. I think the last they heard them was decades ago when, yes they were way too bright. But man, compared to the Focal, Monitor, KEF and even B&W these Klipsch Heritage are not bright. Man, I just don't know what to do. This is probably one of the hardest decisions I had to make, deciding between the Forte IV and Model 5 or maybe the SVS Pinnacle. I am usually a night owl person and I can see any Klipsch meeting the challenge of low listening volumes more so than any other brand.

I can not afford your Klipschorns or Cornwalls. If I see the Cornwalls on sale for half off, sure, and I see them hitting this selling point on the used market now and then from private owners but most require local pickup and are usually out of my state. So in the meantime, I am eyeballing the Forte IV. I like them. I should go with my instinct and get them, but I am often swayed from anti-Klipsch supporters (especially store owners) who's argument always seems to be: they are bright, non-resolving, poor at imaging, and sloppy at cohesiveness. Sure they may be at some of these things but that is what is expected when I place more emphasis on high sensitivity speakers, still I like them and I am willing to sacrifice "sound quality/audiophile sound quality" for "that" sound. But I do have to say in closing that in today's Klipsch Heritage (Forte IV speaking) I hear no brightness, like the ear shattering type I hear on Monitor Audio and Focal. Sorry for the rant. I am just trying to get some clarification for my feelings. Thanks

Those Altec Model 19s look nice, but I do dig the Forte IV. I heard the III's and aside from the plinth I like the IV's a bit better, albeit the midrange seems a bit recessed - depending on front wall placement, I think. In the store I heard them in two different setups: about 6" from the wall and 31" from the wall. At 6" the bass was nice but the midrange seemed recessed, at 31" there was little bass but the midrange opened up but yet seemed to be too midrange focused. In these rooms the floor was hard wood or concrete, I can't recall but it had a very thin carpeted. I think I will get a much better result in my home with paneled walls and thick carpeting and a low 68" ceiling. I have a feeling if I follow the Klipsch suggestion of moving these out from the wall between 2" to 10" I should be just fine...in theory. Off the subject, I am still torn between getting the KLH Model 5 or the Forte IV. I know, they are two different beasts. But based solely on budget I am more confident in the KLH, but I will have to dish some doe into a decent integrated to power them, like the Atoll IN 200. I have a vintage Mitsubishi DAA15DC and DAP10 dual mono amp/dual mono preamp combo that would be fantastic w/ the Forte IV but I may run into problems pairing it up to the KLH Model 5 because of it's low minimum impedance of 3.5 ohms. Yeah so it's either upgrade to a better front gear and a lesser priced speaker, or get the Forte IV and pair it up with my vintage gear and run a Bluesound Node with it while ultimately seeking a phono or CD player later down the line.

Thanks for the suggestion. I also noticed I made an error. I didn't mean a 15 degree tilt but a 5 degree tilt. But still, I understand your view point and it'll just be best to lift them the height I want without any tilt whatsoever. Thanks

Hey. Since you were previously talking about stands and seeing that you are a Heritage member, I thought to ask a question: I am probably going to be getting the Forte IV but I am not that happy with it's plinth, unlike the handsome one on the previous Forte III, this one on the IV's seems less like a plinth and more like just a riser or sorts, or just four 2x2. I would like to raise the Forte IV up a little more, maybe about 2" to 4" and have a slight 15 degree tilt backwards. I like to create a plinth like the Forte III for the IV's any suggestions on how to do this? Should I remove the risers on the IV's all together and secure a 2" to 4" thick base to the speaker? Maybe make the base a little shorter and install four sound isolation feet and just adjust their height forward and back to get the speaker cabinet to have a back tilting 15 degree angle?

Hey. I just demoed both the Klipsch Forte IV and the KLH Models 5. Liked both. Deciding...But I know what you mean about the Forte IV, the mid range seemed "in the cabinet," in other words, a bit too laid back. But the last time I demoed them I had the salesperson hook them up to an integrated with an EQ. I EQed the midrange and it indeed opened up and sounded great. According to it's midrange measurements, there is a a little recess there, but it comes before the crossover so using EQ does help; however, the first time I heard them in the store they were set up about 12" from the wall, and the last time they were a little over 3' away from the wall. At times I put the EQ back to neutral and it still sounded very good. I think the closer you get them to the wall, the excess bass energy dulls the midrange opposed to the last time I heard them they were about 3 feet from the wall and the mids sang and opened up. How far out from the wall? This is where I am at, I don't know how close or far I "should'' place them from the wall. But all rooms and all people's hearing is subjective. The KLH Model 5 is a sealed cabinet design and performed very, very well, but still it's not as big sounding as the Forte IV's. Regarding amps, I have a vintage that should pair very well with them and I'll upgrade later to a class A with a tube preamp.

Hello and Happy Holidays fellow Klipschians This is primarily for Forte owners, but I will also like to hear from Cornwall owners. I am finally in a position to get the Klipsch Forte IV. I demoed them back to back w/ the new KLH Model 5. I like both, but those horns have my soul. My problem is the placement of that rear radiator on the Forte from the wall. I am curious what results you all are getting and please include the decor of your room (hardwood, carpet, wall type, dimensions if you can, etc). Here are the dimensions of my basement: 25'Lx14.5'Wx68"tall (drop ceiling). Listening distance, about 10' to 13' (depending how far I have the speakers from the wall of course). Room is carpeted, paneling, and furnished. Potential Problem/Concern? I have a baseboard radiator made of some sort of metal. I am concerned if I don't get the speakers far enough away from the wall I may get some sound oscillation thereby causing the baseboard to vibrate and make a clanging sound. Maybe I am wrong, and I don't know much about the physics of sound waves, but it seems logical to think such a problem has the probability to occur. The Forte's have a depth of 13" and I am willing to pull them out a whole speaker depth from the wall, in other words 13" to 15" from the wall, any further would put the speakers in the walking path in the room. So enter the KLH Model 5: These guys are a sealed cabinet design with a possible more friendly placement arrangement than the Forte. If I have to go that route then I'll just have to save up for the Cornwall IV with its front ported design. I know this will be all trial and error and I expect that is going to be the majority of advice I get from everyone but I am hoping to get someone that can reply with a mathematical mindset giving me a statistical probability approach that will either yield: "yes I will have a problem" or "no you should be fine" answer. Thanks to you all. Happy Listening. Mark