mfk Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I have never understood why Klipsch discontinued the Forte II and Quartet, both of these speaker have all the power, emotion and clarity Klipsch are famous for. I had Heresy II's and got the Forte II's in trade, the F II's needed some cabinet refinishing, when that was done, I ended up with a really room filling experience. The large midrange horn and powerfull bass line are truly incredible. I was my impression was that the Quartet and Forte II were at price points below the Cornwall, and both spec out as well or better than the Cornwall. The Heresy series are the most amazing little speakers on the face of the planet, but the size of the Heresy series limits their bass ability. A wise man once said, "with the Heresy you want a subwoofer, with the Forte II, you want to turn the bass down..." I had converted my '85 HII's into HIII's via the conversion kit, the difference was remarkable. The tweeter, sqwaker and woofer were all signifiganty improved, and the Heresy has always been a pretty speaker when well taken care of. The Forte II's I got were black ash, not the prettiest finish, but a little sanding, some wipe-on poly and vacumming the grilles made things a bit better. The Forte II's have some serious power, far exceeding much of the Reference line as does the Quartet series. So the queston is why discontinue something really good in place of something ok. Granted PWK never annointed either series, Forte or Quartet, but surely he wouldn't have annointed a good part of the Refernce of Synergy line. My proposal, bring back the Forte II and Quartet II, have a Klipsch family member bless them as Heritage and sell them as Heritage. Surely they have the performance and sonic quality worthy of the Heritage line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H. Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I ask this question to Mr. Klipsch at the last Klipsch gathering. Though they would like to, the labor and source materials are not cost effective , in todays marketing scheme................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormin Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 The correct family would be the Chorus II, Forte II and the Quartet. A great family of speakers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcmusic Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I love my Forte II's. Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RT FAN Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I don't need them nor do I have any room for them, and it has been 20 years since I have heard them but yet, I still want a pair anyway. How do you explain that to the wife when you wheel in the handtruck? What the Heresys aren't good enough for our tiny apartment, where you sit 10 feet from the speakers??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MD1032 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I think the main problem with the Forte II's is that they're too good. I seriously doubt Klipsch could remake the Forte II and sell it at the $1200 a pair they used to sell for. It's also pretty obvious that they aren't easy to make as they have that extra moving part stuck in the back compared to the other heritage speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I agree with you on both counts. The H II to H III conversion kit is well worth the money, and forte II is a fantastic speaker. M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davisindy Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 My Forte II served me well as my fronts for quite a while and are kickin butt as my rears now. I agree they are a great speaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Wait a minute. I believe PWK did have his hand in the Forte II. Rumor was he had a pair in his office. Also, the family all had autotransformers. That hasn't happened since (?). In my suspicious mind, that happened because PWK wanted it that way. I can see the problem about this line causing the rest to blush. OTOH the three-way design with the passive must have run up manufacturing costs. Further, Klipsch seems to have determined that very tall and thin is what the consumer wants. I like to think that the Paladium is the decendent of that line. Unfortunately, with the curved panels, there was no room for a passive. I'd love to hear Forte II and Paladium in a run off. - - - - I like to tell the tale of how I went to Milwaukee on Amtrak to pick up my second hand Forte II units, cash on the barrel head, without listening to them. (I' was a trusting soul, back then.) The seller on the forum made it sound like he might sell them, and they were oak, I wanted walnut. In week or two he really wanted to sell them. (Maybe a job issue.) This happended sooner than I thought, but now I was committed. So I took Amtrak from Chicago up to Milwaukee on a Saturday. The Amtrak people just about insisted they had to be put in the baggage car and would be delivered to the baggage claim in Chicago. For a whopping $10 buck charge. Heck, cheap. I went over to a local department store for lunch waiting for the train to return to Chicago. The store was like something out of "A Christmas Story." It was early December. Ralphie was there someplace. After the trip back to Chicago I found the airport style baggage conveyor. Waiting, waiting, waiting. The two big cardboard boxes didn't appear. Oh gosh. They must be still sitting next to track in Milwaukee or waiting for the same train to shuttle up and back, again. Horrors. The nice Amtrak lady traced them down. They were in the baggage storage room in the bowels of Union Station , and I could get them. Wow, Union Station is a rabbit warren going down six levels. Maybe the boxes were too big for the conveyor. It is a shame this infrastructure is not used anymore. I got the boxes on the folding hand cart I brought along and went up the elevator. Then about five blocks in the light snow including over the Chicago River (it had been snowing since the top of the page). Finally into the office in the shadow of the Chicago El. I tested them with a table radio which really didn't impress me. The next day I bought a Sony mini-system and hooked them up in place of the shoebox speakers. Impossibly good, fantastic. Well, this is just part of the lore of most purchases of second hand Klipsch speakers. The long, sometimes challenging journey is part of the deal and enhances the pride of ownership. The seller was wrong, They were walnut, like I wanted. Wm McD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Great story Gil! Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erniek Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I just picked up a pair of Forte on the side of the road the other day. I was looking at them and the guy selling said they were asking 40.00 but would take 30.00. They do have some moderate veneer damage (split and raised up on top of one of the speakers) and one of the speaker binding posts is broken off but after looking at the drivers which are in nice shape I took them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 but after looking at the drivers which are in nice shape I took them. You didn't take them, you stole them at that price! Incredible deal!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuboy Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 You're probably right, this was not inexpensive to manufacture, in today's world they may be closer to $1200 a piece. As for the Passive Radiator, I put car stereo speaker grills on them, looks cool and it protects the PR's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuboy Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 The crazy part is that I now use a pair of Quartets for the center channel. The Forte II tweeter diaphragms were replaced with crites titanium, the xover caps with Dean Westcott, I am quite fond of them. The Quartets ,made a great center channel, once I get a new woofer for one of the Quartets it'll be back to two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montigue231 Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 To mass produce the Forte II now days would probably cost around 2500 a pair. Althogh I think people would buy..I know I would save up for a new pair of Forte III's BRING ON THE FORTE III's !!!! WE ARE WAITING KLIPSCH.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhing Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 I bought my pair for $425 after this past Thanksgiving, and went with the Bob Crites tweeter and crossover upgrades for an additional $113. These speakers were great in stock form, but now they are awesome. I can play large orchestral, heavy rock, electronica, jazz and folk music, and it all sounds great. I don't know of many speakers that can play a wide range of music like these except other Klipsch Heritage speakers. If I had a larger room, I'd probably go with the Cornwalls or La Scalas, but these are perfect for my man cave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quadklipsh Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 im in love with the fortes wana have one desperately heard a lot about em wud it throw out the klipsch reference if compared that i own and by what margin and wot sonic difference pls tell rf3 owner quadklipsch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 I personally like the 3-way sound of the Forte compared to the 2-way of the Reference series. I owned a pair of RF-7s, found a great deal on a pair of Forte IIs and sold the RF-7s. Fortes have an incredible midrange and tons of bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivernuggets Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 I personally like the 3-way sound of the Forte compared to the 2-way of the Reference series. I owned a pair of RF-7s, found a great deal on a pair of Forte IIs and sold the RF-7s. Fortes have an incredible midrange and tons of bass. Bought a pair of Forte IIs last month and have been listening to my stuff all over again. Been A/B-ing my RF3s with Forte IIs and have been loving the mids in the Forte. That midrange horn shows what the RF3s are lacking. Don't get me wrong, love the RF3s and what they can do given their size. Maybe it's apples to oranges, as each pair was designed with a different goal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbon summit Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 I personally like the 3-way sound of the Forte compared to the 2-way of the Reference series. I owned a pair of RF-7s, found a great deal on a pair of Forte IIs and sold the RF-7s. Fortes have an incredible midrange and tons of bass. Mark I'm glad I found this, I've been thinking I'd like to find a pair of RF-7s. For no other reason than I don't want to pay RF-83 money and comments here seem to lead me to believe that the RF-7s are close to them and seem to sell pretty reasonable in comparison to RF-83. I think I get bored and talk myself into these ideas!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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