Differences between Forte l and ll??

[johnstms92]

Hi guys, I'm looking into getting a pair of Forte's next.. I've always wondered how they would sound compared to my quartets. I assume better bass extension and an improvement as many people around here really love their forte's.

Now here's why Im writing.. What are the main differences between the Forte l's and ll's? Any and all opinions on the two comparisons would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Mart

[wuzzzer]

Technical differences are 12" rear passive on Forte I, 15" rear passive on Forte II. Exponential midrange horn on Forte I, Tractrix midrange horn on Forte II. I've only used Forte IIs as my main speakers and I did have a pair of Forte Is as surrounds. I never did an A/B test between them to see if I could hear a difference.

[moray james]

Welcome in advance to the extended Heritage family. The Forte has a 12 inch passive radiator. The Forte uses the K701 mid horn which is the same mid horn used in the Heresy ll. The Forte ll has a 15 inch passive radiator and uses the same mid horn as in your Quartet speakers. Both the Forte and the Forte ll use the K79K tweeter horn which is a little different from the K76K used in your Quartet but very similar. Essentially the Forte ll will sound much like your Quartet except you will have more bass and higher efficiency. There are those who prefer the Forte to the Forte ll and vise versa. Given that you own Quartet`s I would guess that you would find the Forte ll more in line with what you are accustom to. The Forte mid horn is a little bit smaller exponential horn while the Forte ll is a somewhat larger Tractric horn. Both the Forte and the Forte ll will soundand look better with the factory risers removed andthe speakers placed up on 10 inch stands as this will position the horns at ear level when seated.

If you wish to get into the debates between the two designs and how the slightly different crossovers and drivers impact the sound you can search the archives on this forum for many pages to read. The easiest way for you to know is to listen for yourself. In a nut shell if you prefer the midrange, stage and presentation of your Quartets over say a Heresy they you are likely to find many similarities between a Forte and a Heresy ll while as I mentioned the Forte ll will be very similar to your Quartet speakers. I have all three and prefer the Quartet and Forte ll over the Forte but that`s just my preference. I have KLF20`s and prefer them to all the other Klipsch that I own. So as you can see the only opinion that will count is yours. Save yourself a lot of time reading and simply go listen then decide. You can`t go wrong with either but you will have to make a decission but it should be easy for you at this point. Good luck in your search. Best regards Moray James.

[willland]

IMO, sound wise, there is not much difference unless you are sitting off axis. The Forte II is more forgiving when you are not listening at the optimum position.

The Quartet is just a little smaller Forte II.

Bill

[johnstms92]

Thanks for the responses, I do really like the sound of my quartet's and I really like alot of bass in my music so the quartets suit me much better than heresy's. I also prefer the Quartet sound over my KM-6's. Do you find a substantial difference in bass between the Forte's 12" passive compared to the Forte ll's 15"?

I also enjoy my KLF's most over all my other speakers, however I should say, I do just get sunk into listening to my Cornwalls for hours just enjoying the smoothness and clarity.. however I own the 30's rather than the 20's and have not had the chance to listen to the 20's. I've always been curious to compare my KM-6's to KLF-10's... I feel I would prefer the Legends but only time will tell if the opportunity comes up for me to take a listen. Anyways thanks for your comments.

[moray james]

In terms of bass extension there is no difference between the Forte and the Forte ll. The larger passive in the Forte ll will generate less distortion at level when compared to the 12 inch passive of the Forte but we are takling very loud so it is not likely to be an issue fo you either way unless you like to play very loud.

You need to know that while your KLF 30 has a K79K tweeter that it is fitted stock with a poly diaphragm which is imo the poorest diaphragm material that Klipsch ever used. You should at the very least upgrade the KLF tweeter to a phenolic diaphragm as used in your Cornwall or much better yet to the Titanium diaphragm which will only cost yu $30.00 each and which are light years better than the phenolic. That done I think that you will feel very differently about your KLF 30 speakers. You can also upgrade your KLF 30 mid diaphragm to the Klipsch Titanium mid diaphragm for an ever bigger improvement. Switching to Ti diaphragms takes the speakers into a whole other league. There is much else that you can do with your speakers to extract even more performance if you feel the need. Enjoy your speakers. Best regards Moray James.

[johnstms92]

Good to know, I often times do play my music very loudly, but I believe a part of that is because I'm a bass freak and want to feel my music playing at me, but that's what my Infinity RSW 1000*** is for and hopefully I can find myself a VMPS New Larger Subwoofer someplace in the Milwaukee/Madison area for a good price that I could add into my second system... Or perhaps move the Cornwalls in with the KLF's, along with both the Infinity/Klipsch 1000 sub AND the VMPS new Larger Subwoofer. Then we're really talking.... ahh someday.

As for the KLF's and the new Ti diaphrams, I have heard that from several people on here now and am really considering it in my next paycheck... It really makes sense to me too. like I said before, I can listen to the Cornwalls for hours in awe song after song, but I think I miss that smooth sound in my KLF's. The 30's are a more hit you in your face kind of speaker, which is what I love.. So I can only imagine that upgrading the midrange and tweeters would be exactly what I'm missing in the KLF's.

[dexterh2o]

I own Forte's and Forte II's. I find the bass volume more satisfying on the II's. With the Forte's, I kept wanting to hook up a sub to get more low-end. Not so with the II's. They are the best all-around speakers I've heard for under $1000.