KG-4 and Forte

[opteron44]

Hello all,

The other day, I saw a pair of Forte's for sale for $450 within driving range of my house. Given that I have (and love) a pair of KG-4's, does anyone think that this would be a meaningful upgrade?

I listen to primarily classical music with some show music and small combo jazz mixed in. I love the deep 3-dimensional soundstge that I have with the KG-4's and so am wondering if, in order to realize a significant upgrade, I would do better to look further up the line e.g. Cornwall or La Scala?

Thanks.

[Frank1938]

I have used both and preferred the forte in my listening room. Many here consider the forte to be one of Klipsch's better speakers. See if you can listen to them in your home setting. They might need some upgrading to bring them back to spec.

Frank

[BusaDude]

Having owned Forte's & Forte II's for years... but only having heard KG4's briefly on one occasion, I would say either Forte model would be a pretty good upgrade. Better bass extension, more efficient, smoother mid/upper frequencies (Forte is almost a foot taller and puts the mid & tweeter closer to ear level). If you were able to pick up a pair of Forte's or better yet Forte II's or Chorus II's I think you would really enjoy the upgrade. As far as best bang for the buck across most of the Klipsch line, many people would put the Forte in that category.

The Cornwall (a much bigger speaker) is, in my opinion, better than the Forte. But I personally would pick a Chorus II over a Cornwall (having owned both). The Cornwall has better bass extension, compared to the Chorus II, but I think everything from 60Hz on up sounds better on the Chorus II. But at this point you're talking more about individual likes/dislikes when comparing one speaker versus another. The Forte/Forte II, Chorus/Chorus II and Cornwall/Corwall II are all pretty simliar (spec wise), but of course each sounds a bit different... and you would really need to compare them yourself to make that final decision.

The La Scala is just completely different (having owned a pair less than a week) compared to the other speakers I've mentioned above... Extremely efficient/sensitive and dynamic, but nowhere near the lower bass response of those others. And with that big midrange horn, definitely a different sound than the others as well. I haven't really spent enough time listening to say much more than that.

[opteron44]

Thanks very much to both of you for responding.

Perhaps arranging for an audition in my room could be a good way to go. (I did this a couple of months ago with a pair of Ohm F2's - and was glad that I did so: great soundsatge, but not so great presentation of orchestral textures.)

I must say, though, the prospect of having to do work on them, however, is a bit off-putting. If they sound good enough to buy, how can I know whether they are in or out of spec? The closest Heritage dealer is 100 miles outside of Philadelphia and adding the cost of parts and labor could push the total price up sigificantly. To be sure I have no way of knowing whether my KG-4's are anywhere near their specs : - {

In the end, it's hard to know whether and how hard to push beyond the sound I have now and, as you point out, it all comes down to what I hear and like...

Much to think about, which is part of my addiction to music to begin with.

Thanks again, folks.

[willland]

Yes, definitely an upgrade. With that said, the price you can find the KG4's on the used market makes them have a better performance/price ratio. I loved the WO KG4's I had about a year ago but had to sell them to fund OO Forte purchase.

Bill