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What can you tell me about Fortes


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Good afternoon friendly and helpful Klipsch community.

 

I had originally joined this forum when I acquired a set of Klipsch Bookshelves, and had questions about placement and sound.

 

Although those did go back to the store, some forum members had suggested that I likely had not listened to the best Klipsch had to offer, and that I should keep an open eye for some heritage models.

 

So recently, I acquired a Jolida tube amp.  Although it sounds beautiful, it has made my Monitor Audio Silver 8i speakers unlistenable.  These speakers were somewhat mid forward already, and the tubes make them fatiguing and tinnitus inducing.

 

After placing a local "speakers wanted" ad, a very nice local gentleman has offered me a set of the original Forte model, which have reportedly had both the Crites crossover and tweeter upgrades.  Price is a reasonable $400 and they are in average cosmetic condition.

 

Output tubes on the amp are currently Tung Sol 6550s, with the front end being JJ ECC803S and some NOS GE 12AT7s.

 

So for those who've used Fortes, do you find them mid forward, and could I be in for a repeat of my MA experience?  Or are the mids a bit better balanced off?  

 

I have to say I find the idea of the large Klipsch intriguing (efficient, lots of bass) but do not want to waste the gentleman's time if they are straight up the wrong fit.

 

I have also heard the Forte are less holographic than other speakers - the spacious image thrown by the tubes is amazing, and I'd hate to lose that as well.

 

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

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50 minutes ago, ScooterMcTavish said:

So for those who've used Fortes, do you find them mid forward, and could I be in for a repeat of my MA experience?  Or are the mids a bit better balanced off?

As stated the Forte is a balance speaker.  Having the Crites XO is a plus and makes them plug N play.  Placement has been mentioned and this is going to affect how you like the sound.  If the room is small and they need to be push up on a wall, they will not sound the best.  Are they a bit forward, not in my opinion.  I had a pair of the Forte1 with the Crites XO and loved them.  I would not hesitate to own them again.  Since they are made of wood, cleaning them up is fairly easy and the wood finish is beautiful.

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4 hours ago, derrickdj1 said:

As stated the Forte is a balance speaker.  Having the Crites XO is a plus and makes them plug N play.  Placement has been mentioned and this is going to affect how you like the sound.  If the room is small and they need to be push up on a wall, they will not sound the best.  Are they a bit forward, not in my opinion.  I had a pair of the Forte1 with the Crites XO and loved them.  I would not hesitate to own them again.  Since they are made of wood, cleaning them up is fairly easy and the wood finish is beautiful.

Thanks for the feedback so far all.

 

The room they are going to go in is on the small side (10' x 12') and they will need to be approx 6" from the wall behind them.  They will be on the long wall, with the listening position in an  equilateral triangle between the two speakers and me, with each side of the triangle being approximately 8'.

 

Placement options are limited.  Pretty much toe in or no toe in.

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Distance to wall will affect bass.  You are in a small room and although 12-18 in. is recommended, you may be fine in a small room.  You can get creative and squeeze out a few more inches if need.  Buying them is not a problem because you can easily flip them for the same price if they are not a fit for you.

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Fortes can image beautifully.  Try them with extreme toe in, where the axis cross well in front of your chair...sit back and marvel at the sonic image they throw...it will be deep, wide, and, perhaps most curiously, stable as you move around with a sweet spot that covers a much wider area.

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I have a pair of Forte 1 with the Crites XO that I bought last year, and I love them. They are the first pair of Klipsch I've ever owned. They are set up in my unfinished basement, not an ideal listening environment, but they sound phenomenal.

I agree with everyone else that $400 is a really good price for the Fortes. If you ever wanted to upgrade the tweeters and/or midrange drivers down the road, the cost won't break the bank either.


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On 4/15/2017 at 2:34 PM, ScooterMcTavish said:

Good afternoon friendly and helpful Klipsch community.

 

I had originally joined this forum when I acquired a set of Klipsch Bookshelves, and had questions about placement and sound.

 

Although those did go back to the store, some forum members had suggested that I likely had not listened to the best Klipsch had to offer, and that I should keep an open eye for some heritage models.

 

So recently, I acquired a Jolida tube amp.  Although it sounds beautiful, it has made my Monitor Audio Silver 8i speakers unlistenable.  These speakers were somewhat mid forward already, and the tubes make them fatiguing and tinnitus inducing.

 

After placing a local "speakers wanted" ad, a very nice local gentleman has offered me a set of the original Forte model, which have reportedly had both the Crites crossover and tweeter upgrades.  Price is a reasonable $400 and they are in average cosmetic condition.

 

Output tubes on the amp are currently Tung Sol 6550s, with the front end being JJ ECC803S and some NOS GE 12AT7s.

 

So for those who've used Fortes, do you find them mid forward, and could I be in for a repeat of my MA experience?  Or are the mids a bit better balanced off?  

 

I have to say I find the idea of the large Klipsch intriguing (efficient, lots of bass) but do not want to waste the gentleman's time if they are straight up the wrong fit.

 

I have also heard the Forte are less holographic than other speakers - the spacious image thrown by the tubes is amazing, and I'd hate to lose that as well.

 

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

 

 

I've owned a pair of Forte IIs since 1989, purchased new. About 5 years abo I did the Crites X-Overs and titanium diaphragms.

Short of becoming homeless these speakers will be in a system in my home. The are simply fanatastic

They are in an AV system as the Main L&Rs 

They function in the AV setup and are great if I switch to stereo to listen the TT.
 

As far as I'm concerned, Fortes are a buy and never look back. 

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IMHO - Forte 2's are bass heavy and they sound a bit boomy.

Choruses would be almost the perfect speaker for tubes, or heck anything really, the most even keel speaker made by klipsch.

Price vs value etc etc you have to decide that. After getting the forte's you'd likely be looking for choruses.

 

Cool.

Srinath.

 

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IMHO, these various Klipsch speakers have very good bass performance down to the mid-30 Hz.  Speakers from other manufacturers often don't go that low.

 

 They are not boomy, chesty, bass heavy, or unbalanced in themselves.  OTOH, because of their good performance they can excite room modes which might make them sound boomy, etc.  Other speakers might not sound boomy but it is because they just don't have performance "down there."

 

I suggest it is necessary to play with placement to even out the room-induced peaks.  Corner placement is a good starting point.  If not satisfactory you can move them laterally a foot or so, or into the room by a foot or so.  Perhaps a bit more will be necessary.

 

WMcD

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  • 3 weeks later...

I just bought a pair of Forte I and will be setting them up in a small space. I have room to get them off the front wall - approx. 30". 24" from the sidewalls and 7' apart. Listening position about 7' away. As a starting point, similar to my old speakers position.

 

I'll be driving them with a low watt tube amp. 

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My Forte Is are in a 12 x 15 x 8 room and about 12" from the wall: I am using them for computer speakers, which is probably not ideal but there is something to be said for having Edgar Winter sitting in your lap during "Frankenstein."  I put in Crites crossovers, installed titanium diaphragms in the tweeter and midrange, and built and installed a low pass filter on the midrange to make up for the titanium's extended range.  For about $850 total investment I would put them up against speakers costing 4 or 5 times as much.  The only way they are leaving my living room is if I decide to upgrade to Cornwalls or La Scalas  -- or I move to a place where KHorns would be feasible.  In their current location the Fortes hit 32hz with ease, and have an amazing presence (for lack of a better word) that on good recordings can bring the performers right into your listening space.  Congratulations on an excellent purchase that will provide you with much listening enjoyment.

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  • 1 month later...

Well, almost two months since I asked the question, and now I'm trying to track the gentleman back down who offered me the Fortes.

 

I decided to pass on them, as I had finished cosmetically refurbishing my set of Soliloquy 6.2, and truly enjoyed how well they worked with my Jolida tube amp.  The MAs were sold to another audio enthusiast.  

 

Instead of taking my cash and getting yet another set of speakers, I invested in a good preamp, some different output tubes, and a classic Denon MC cartridge.  All have been positive towards the sound of my system, but although rated to go low, the Soliloquy just can't seem to fill the bottom end the way I need a speaker to fill the bottom end.  And although I have a sub paired with the system, sub bass just sounds different to me than true three-way bass.

 

Then I spent a few hours going through the Forte III thread this afternoon.

 

So now I'm trying to find the gentleman again to see if he still has the Fortes.  Worst case scenario, I can go to his place, listen to some tunes, and have a Coke.

Edited by ScooterMcTavish
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Or you could pony up another $100 or so and have a larger selection of Klipsches to mull over.

As stated across many threads, used Klipsches are generally great deals. Especially when comparing to similar new models.

Great deals do pop up often.


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1 hour ago, ScooterMcTavish said:

Very few used Klipsch classic models available locally.  Closest thing is a set of Tangent 400 for sale.  Missed a set of LaScalas once by about 15 minutes.

 

I found the CL ad for my KP-201s (Heresy II) about three hours from when it was posted, and if I had responded an hour later, I would probably have missed them. The seller wanted $200 and they were in great shape, and when I went by the next morning to get them he said he'd heard from three other people since we first talked.

 

Just recently I almost did the same with a pair of LS! But the seller decided he wanted to keep them. Must have set them back up for one last listen and enjoyed it too much. (I was afraid the guy selling the KP would do the same, he started to get nostalgic when I tested them with him and I paid out the money and ran)

 

They're out there, you just have to check frequently. It's definitely worth it.

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