Forte III

[CECAA850]

28 minutes ago, jwc said:

I'm still torn with the idea of Fort III vs the KI-396 and assume we may here them both at the Pilgrimage.  I'm highly motivated to buy the Forte III.....but I hope it isn't easily bested by the 396.

Sheer output will go to the 396's.  Aesthetics will clearly go to the Forte's although the raw birch 396's aren't bad.  I'm interested in sound quality as the 510 with the B&C driver is no joke.

[jwc]

9 minutes ago, CECAA850 said:

sound quality

I'm not concerned with output or just sheer impact as I'm assuming the 396 will be the winner.  The Forte II, I considered to be effortless and smooth across the spectrum.

 

So in a room with non-HT reproduction playing at SPL in 80s-90s without a sub....and disregarding the cosmetics...... I would like to know the winner. 

[CECAA850]

17 minutes ago, jwc said:

I would like to know the winner. 

I would think it would be close but wouldn't be surprised which one won.  There also may not be a clear cut winner as some prefer 2 ways and others favor 3 ways.

[RRR]

Hope somebody chimes in with a comparison using a stock Forte II so others can get an idea if its worth shelling out the cash or not.

[Paducah Home Theater]

2 hours ago, CECAA850 said:

Sheer output will go to the 396's.  Aesthetics will clearly go to the Forte's

 

It's actually entirely possible to put a matte black forte III finish on a 396 and leave off the fly points.  I'm about to order some I think.  Still a strange shape for home use but if just looking at the front it would actually look pretty similar to a Forte if you got the nice finish then put a custom grill on it.  Personally I like the sound of the 396, it is totally non-fatiguing which is hard to find.  

[Paducah Home Theater]

1 hour ago, jason str said:

Hope somebody chimes in with a comparison using a stock Forte II so others can get an idea if its worth shelling out the cash or not.

 

@dtel's wife has some Forte II's, has heard the 396's many times, and has heard the new Forte III, the latter being her favorite.  

[adam2434]

4 hours ago, jason str said:

Hope somebody chimes in with a comparison using a stock Forte II so others can get an idea if its worth shelling out the cash or not.

 

I've been hopefully assuming that the III is a major improvement over the I and II, given that the III's estimated $3,600/pair price is about 50% higher than the I's price adjusted for inflation (which would be around $2,400/pair).

 

I'll be curious to see photos of the III's drivers and crossover for comparison to the I and II versions.

[EJC]

4 minutes ago, adam2434 said:

 

I've been hopefully assuming that the III is a major improvement over the I and II, given that the III's estimated $3,600/pair price is about 50% higher than the I's price adjusted for inflation (which would be around $2,400/pair).

 

I'll be curious to see photos of the III's drivers and crossover for comparison to the I and II versions.

 

 

That's why I decided on a rebuild of the 1's. It was more expensive than a used pair but I'd have a pair with all new updated drivers and x-overs from Crites for roughly half the price of a new pair. And Hell, who am i kidding if I had gotten the used pair I would have modified them anyway.

[dtel]

11 hours ago, MetropolisLakeOutfitters said:

 

@dtel's wife has some Forte II's, has heard the 396's many times, and has heard the new Forte III, the latter being her favorite.  

That's true, if I had the money I would get rid of both pair of forte ll's and original fortes and go with either 396's or forte lll. If money was no object it would be 396's but they are a little bigger than the f lll. Either would be an improvement on our Forte ll's, but I'm not complaining, very happy with them for Ht.

 

At one time I wanted to sell off all the forte's and add some kind of center channel to match the mwm's used for 2 ch, she said she didn't care, but were not selling the fortes either way. So nothing changed, I'm good, to many other priorities anyway. 

 

 

[EJC]

7 hours ago, dtel said:

That's true, if I had the money I would get rid of both pair of forte ll's and original fortes and go with either 396's or forte lll. If money was no object it would be 396's but they are a little bigger than the f lll. Either would be an improvement on our Forte ll's, but I'm not complaining, very happy with them for Ht.

 

At one time I wanted to sell off all the forte's and add some kind of center channel to match the mwm's used for 2 ch, she said she didn't care, but were not selling the fortes either way. So nothing changed, I'm good, to many other priorities anyway. 

 

 

 

 

Please don't misunderstand my question. I'm the last to question someone since I love gear as well. So please take this as for my informational purposes.

1- I love Klipsch. I've loved Klipsch since I first heard a pair of K-Horns in a showroom in Cleveland in '72, when I was in Dental school, But I didn't have room to park to VW's in my living room (forget the financials for the moment)

 

2- You already have Forte IIs. Although these are a 30yr old design, they are still a great speaker and can be upgraded thanks to Crites and remain a great speaker for the next 30yrs. I have not seen a spec sheet for the IIIs but can their performance be that much greater than the IIs to warrant the expense of $3600? I see the IIIs can bee bi-wired or bi-amped, Crites did this for me when I upgraded the x-overs on my IIs. The new diaphragm helped the tweeter response. So for A couple hundred $ the performance of the IIs can be upgraded. Is the performance of the IIIs that much better than modified IIs?

I don't know about your wife, but my apologies for sounding like my wife.

 

3- The 396's may be a different story. But again is there enough to be gained to warrant the $3800? Personally, I prefer the 3-way design and can live without the electronics and remote.

 

4- In a Live performance in the 60's on of the Kingston Trio ( I don't recall if it was Nick, Bob or John) commented: "Did you ever want something bad that when you finally got it all you could do was look at it". I just installed a system in a vacation home ( I think you've seen the pics, so I'll spare you). I A/B'd speakers for the room at the dealer, I wanted to try to avoid floor standing speakers for the wife. I decided on a pair of M-L Edge in the walls for my mains. At $3200, they were more than I wanted to spend. They were a disaster for A/V. I went with the Heresy 1 rebuild with all new drivers and x-overs (again I'll spare you the pics) as my mains, adjusted the receiver lo-pass filters and the system took on a new life. The Heresys and M-Ls actually compliment each other very nicely for music in 7ch mode.

I mention this because had I gone with what I knew would work, Klipsch floor standing speakers, all would have been fine. And I could have saved some green.
 

[CECAA850]

6 minutes ago, EJC said:

The 396's may be a different story. But again is there enough to be gained to warrant the $3800? Personally, I prefer the 3-way design and can live without the electronics and remote.

Electronics and remote?  The 396's are passive.

 

I always liked the 3 ways better till I heard the 396's. 

[EJC]

8 minutes ago, CECAA850 said:

Electronics and remote?  The 396's are passive.

 

I always liked the 3 ways better till I heard the 396's. 

 

 

Now I'm trying to figure out what the hell i was looking at, I thought it was the 396. LOL

[CECAA850]

3 minutes ago, EJC said:

 

Now I'm trying to figure out what the hell i was looking at, I thought it was the 396. LOL

Probably the "15's".

[EJC]

13 minutes ago, CECAA850 said:

Probably the "15's".

 

Maybe, I guess i accidentally scrolled down the page too far but now I can't find the page again

Finally, had a brain fart and checked my History, yes it was the 15's. Sorry for the screw up

[Speed]

Sometimes it's fun and exhilarating to buy new. Especially when your favorite brand introduces an exciting new product. If you want them, but em...

[jwc]

1 hour ago, EJC said:

You already have Forte IIs. Although these are a 30yr old design, they are still a great speaker and can be upgraded thanks to Crites and remain a great speaker for the next 30yrs. I have not seen a spec sheet for the IIIs but can their performance be that much greater than the IIs to warrant the expense of $3600? I see the IIIs can bee bi-wired or bi-amped, Crites did this for me when I upgraded the x-overs on my IIs. The new diaphragm helped the tweeter response. So for A couple hundred $ the performance of the IIs can be upgraded. Is the performance of the IIIs that much better than modified IIs?

Roy got his hands back on FIII.  The midrange driver and horn taken off the current proline.  The aesthetics look better than FIII.

 

All selling points for me.

 

I have FII already.  FWIW, my concern is not the comparison FII vs FIII.....but rather VS 396.

[dtel's wife]

3 minutes ago, jwc said:

Roy got his hands back on FIII.  The midrange driver and horn taken off the current proline.  The aesthetics look better than FIII.

 

All selling points for me.

 

I have FII already.  FWIW, my concern is not the comparison FII vs FIII.....but rather VS 396.

I'm thinking I will ask Roy if we can have a pair of Forte IIIs and a pair of the 396s added to the Listening Room at Klipsch for the Pilgrimage. 

 

@jwc, I will say this...I've heard both. As you know I'm a huge fan of the Fortes, but...Roy knocked it out of the park with the 396s!  

 

I would love to hear an A/B test in the Listening Room when we are in Hope, AR for the Pilgrimage. 

@Chief bonehead

[jwc]

2 minutes ago, dtel's wife said:

I'm thinking I will ask Roy if we can have a pair of Forte IIIs and a pair of the 396s added to the Listening Room at Klipsch for the Pilgrimage. 

 

I will say this...I've heard both. As you know I'm a huge fan of the Fortes, but...Roy knocked it out of the park with the 396s!  

 

I would love to hear an A/B test in the Listening Room when we are in Hope, AR for the Pilgrimage. 

@Chief bonehead

Well, I've drooled all over myself about this FIII and want a pair....but I'm owning up to my ignorance of not making myself aware of the 396 and the overwhelming excitement when folks talk about it.

 

So, I yes....I would like to here this challenge.  Is it common for Klipsch to display and have for audition a Pro line speaker in their "Listening Room"?

[CECAA850]

2 minutes ago, jwc said:

....but I'm owning up to my ignorance of not making myself aware of the 396 and the overwhelming excitement when folks talk about it.

Like I said, nothing to own up to.  Unless you've been to the last couple gatherings there's no way you could know about them.  Truth be told, I'm probably mostly responsible for the buzz about them but it's certainly not unjustified.

[dtel's wife]

Just now, jwc said:

Well, I've drooled all over myself about this FIII and want a pair....but I'm owning up to my ignorance of not making myself aware of the 396 and the overwhelming excitement when folks talk about it.

 

So, I yes....I would like to here this challenge.  Is it common for Klipsch to display and have for audition a Pro line speaker in their "Listening Room"?

I don't think "it is common", but then again, as we all know it's not really common for most companies to open their factories for tours to their fans once a year. 

 

That being said, I know @Chief bonehead wants to showcase speakers made in Hope, AR. He knows we are all a bunch of crazed fanatics that have no problems buying Pro gear for our homes if it suits our listening tastes and budget!