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Forte II vs. T-5000 - which would you choose?


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I'm primarily looking for 2-channel and don't crank the volume. Finesse, detail, clarity are what I'm looking for.

 

Currently up for consideration are a pair of Forte II's for $450 vs. Tangent 5000's for $400. :unsure2: Which would you choose and why; what do you think are the strengths & weaknesses of each pair?

 

Would you choose differently if these were for home theater instead of 2-channel?

 

 

 

 

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Forte II hands down.  Nicer and better built cabs, better mid horn, higher resale. On a component list Fortes have a larger tweeter magnet and the larger (15 in) passive plays deeper. The tractrix horn has much less distortion than the older horn in the T-5000.

I am the original owner of tangent 400s and love them, and have done a whole list of mods even sold Forte 1s and kept the tangents. But would grab Forte 2s or Chorus 2 in a heart beat if I can find them close enough.

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That's easy, forte II. The T-5000 is a good alternative though if the rear passives on the forte's are an issue for placement but expect significantly less bass output.

What sort of placement requirements do the Forte II's have? I hadn't considered the rear passives since I haven't ever owned a speaker with passives.

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I'm a fan of the RF-3, but Forte II wins that battle too.

RF-3 sounds tighter and faster with less cabinet noise, but the Forte wins with that giant tractrix midrange horn.

Would the RF-3 win out in home theater, or would you need the RF-5 to beat the Forte II?

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I'm a fan of the RF-3, but Forte II wins that battle too.

RF-3 sounds tighter and faster with less cabinet noise, but the Forte wins with that giant tractrix midrange horn.

Would the RF-3 win out in home theater, or would you need the RF-5 to beat the Forte II?

 

you keep choosing speakers with smaller horns. Larger is better with horns. Have you looked at John Inlow's site you can build a good horn if you want but it's lots of work. He will sell you a set at a good price. You could also consider a Karlson K-Tube if you don't really want the large size. If you don't want to build the CF3 or the CF4 have the largest wide band horns of any domestic Klipsch loudspeaker. Go pro and you can go large but you have to make the jump to large format drives which by the way is no hardship.

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I own and use a range of Klipsch, my Fort'e speakers are in use constantly serving duty as media speakers in our TV room. They are awesome and they sit angled into the viewing space, about 8 inches from the wall to the center of the passive. They were my first Klipsch and they have further fueled my acquisitions

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In the past I have owned Forte, ForteII and RF35. I now have RF7 in the bedroom and although it is overkill I like the sound better than all the rest. This is just my opinion for my particular room and system, which is Marantz 2275 and Oppo DV-981HD.

Trial and error is the way to go.

Tom

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  • 2 weeks later...

Forte II over the Tangent. As said, better cabs, better mid horn. RF-3 vs Forte is tough and depends on what kind of sound you like. Best I can say is the Forte will have a "woody" sound, the RF-3 will be more modern, but most likely brighter.

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Forte II over most everything in the RF line except maybe RF7 II.  Tangent, not unless others are not available or you want to use it's core parts and build a speaker, especially if the prices is right.  

There's nothing wrong with any of them.  It will be taste.  A lot of folks will like the brighter sound though I am one for a very moderate roll off of highs vs. tilt up that a lot of newer speakers do.

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