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Forte III V. Quartet


rn701

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Hello. I am lusting after a pair of Forte III.

 

I have a pair of 25+ year old Quartets with Crites crossover and titanium tweeter updates. I love the "live concert" sound. I prefer a three-way design.

 

They are in a medium/large open living room with carpet. Also have a sub. Use as front mains for 5.1 home theatre, but don't care about that. Mainly care about music playback. Amp is Denon X3300 AVR, source is FLAC files via PC and JRiver. Mostly rock, pop, motown, funk, horn bands, singer/songwriter, some country, occasional jazz.

 

Main listening position is about 8 feet, speakers are about 8 feet apart and about 12" from the wall. Rarely play louder 85-90 dB as measured by a trusty Radio Shack spl meter, usually more moderate.

 

My question is, will Forte IIIs deliver a $3600 improvement in sound? Klipsch and one other trusted dealer have 30 to 60 day complete satisfaction return policy with minor return shipping charges so auditioning would be feasible, but a hassle.

 

It is very tempting, but having trouble justifying. On the other hand, it would probably be my last pair of speakers (old geezer).

 

Anyone listened to both? What do you think?

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The only thing I can relay to you is that I've had Quartets with updated Crites crossovers and titanium tweeter diaphragms for many years...And I love the sound they reproduce be they hooked to tubes, SS or digital power...

 

that said, I also have a pair of Chorus lls that have had the same Crites updates...they sound larger and better than the Quartets...

 

if if all you have are your Quartets...you have an excellent set of speakers...but there is more out there...is it worth the price to step up???...only you can answer that...

 

good of luck with your choice,

 

Bill

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19 minutes ago, silversport said:

that said, I also have a pair of Chorus lls that have had the same Crites updates...they sound larger and better than the Quartets...

 

if if all you have are your Quartets...you have an excellent set of speakers...but there is more out there...

 

Thanks. Good points to ponder. The Chorus comparison is helpful.

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rn701,

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

48 minutes ago, rn701 said:

My question is, will Forte IIIs deliver a $3600 improvement in sound? Klipsch and one other trusted dealer have 30 to 60 day complete satisfaction return policy with minor return shipping charges so auditioning would be feasible, but a hassle.

I am sure the Forte III's are excellent speakers and are "worth" the price of entry for new.  I know Quartets are excellent speakers and are "worth" the price of entry on the used market.  If price/performance ratio is an accurate measuring stick, then the Quartets win hands down, no question.  Coolness factor, exclusiveness, newer technology/engineering, then the edge must go to the Forte III's.  Do they sound $3200.00 better than Quartets(+/-$400.00 used), only you can decide that.

 

Bill

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31 minutes ago, willland said:

If price/performance ratio is an accurate measuring stick, then the Quartets win hands down, no question.  Coolness factor, exclusiveness, newer technology/engineering, then the edge must go to the Forte III's.  Do they sound $3200.00 better than Quartets(+/-$400.00 used), only you can decide that.

 

Bill

 

Thanks. Good observation about price/performance v. other factors.

 

I think I paid about $800 for the pair of Quartets sometime around 1992. That's about $1400 now, adjusted for inflation. Plus about $350 for the Crites updates, don't remember exactly.

 

So looking at it that way, it's $1750 speakers v. $3600 speakers. Maybe a more fair comparison in my case.

 

I was mainly interested in engineering and design  advancements over the past 25 years, plus bigger/louder and slightly more efficient.

 

Plus there's the coolness factor you mention. 

 

All that could be worth it, according to my rationalizations. :)

 

Plus it seems like every extra inch of audio improvement seems to cost exponentially more.

 

Just wondering, for people who have hard both, if it is an inch or a foot of improvement.

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...so add in the engineering updates done by someone who has been at Klipsch since the days of PWK and the fact that you (as well as I) "updated/upgraded" out quartets with Titanium tweeter diaphragms ( in itself an engineering upgrade and I think the Forte lll has them in the tweeter AND the midrange) and the probable larger soundstage of the Forte lll over even our quartets or my Chorus lls and that may tip the balance in favor of the Forte llls...

 

...pics and your take on them when you get them please!

 

Bill

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The frequency response and efficiency of the Quartet is so close to the Forte that it's not worth shelling out $3600, unless you plan to repurpose the Quartets somewhere else.

 

Also, the Forte's claim a slightly larger footprint than the Quartets. Just a few inches for sure, but sometimes they just won't fit.

 

Lastly, you're running a subwoofer with the Quartets; that makes up the final difference.

 

Save your money unless it's burning a hole in your pocket.

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The Quartets are one on my favorites. I am still waiting to hear a pair of Forte III's.

I thought for sure I would have bought a set by now.... to through into the rotation....but I just haven't pulled the trigger.

In my opinion Forte II are better than the Quartets....I think of the Quartets as a Forte 1 with a smaller cabinet.

 

 

George,

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1 hour ago, Peter P. said:

The frequency response and efficiency of the Quartet is so close to the Forte that it's not worth shelling out $3600, unless you plan to repurpose the Quartets somewhere else.

 

Also, the Forte's claim a slightly larger footprint than the Quartets. Just a few inches for sure, but sometimes they just won't fit.

 

Lastly, you're running a subwoofer with the Quartets; that makes up the final difference.

 

Save your money unless it's burning a hole in your pocket.

 

Thanks. Good points. The Mrs. would probably agree with the money part. But at the end of the day she'd just roll her eyes and be OK with whatever. 

 

I'm just looking for impressions on the sound quality differences. Voicing, imaging, "presence", "boxiness" and stuff like that. Specs (which I've compared) don't tell the whole story. I'm particurlarly curious about the midrange redesign, because, for me, that's where most of the music lives.

 

 

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6 minutes ago, oldred said:

The Quartets are one on my favorites. I am still waiting to hear a pair of Forte III's.

I thought for sure I would have bought a set by know to through into the rotation....but I just haven't pulled the trigger.

In my opinion Forte II are better than the Quartets....I think of the Quartets as a Forte 1 with a smaller cabinet.

 

 

George,

 

Thanks. Yes, I always thought of the Quartets as the little brother/sister to the Forte. 

 

Because it was so long ago, don't remember how I settled on the Quartets to replace our Advents.

 

The hi-fi store (remember those?) where we bought them may have had Forte. But I seem to recall that the Quartets sounded pretty good for what I could afford at the time. No regrets at all.

 

 

 

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Welcome to the forum, My son had a pair of forte 2s and I have a pair of chorus 2s. We A/B them , the fortes are a great speaker coming in a very close 2nd to the chorus. The chorus sounded the same just fuller. I havent heard the forte 3 but I bet it would come very close to the chorus .

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6 hours ago, rn701 said:

Hello. I am lusting after a pair of Forte III.

 

I have a pair of 25+ year old Quartets with Crites crossover and titanium tweeter updates. I love the "live concert" sound. I prefer a three-way design.

 

They are in a medium/large open living room with carpet. Also have a sub. Use as front mains for 5.1 home theatre, but don't care about that. Mainly care about music playback. Amp is Denon X3300 AVR, source is FLAC files via PC and JRiver. Mostly rock, pop, motown, funk, horn bands, singer/songwriter, some country, occasional jazz.

 

Main listening position is about 8 feet, speakers are about 8 feet apart and about 12" from the wall. Rarely play louder 85-90 dB as measured by a trusty Radio Shack spl meter, usually more moderate.

 

My question is, will Forte IIIs deliver a $3600 improvement in sound? Klipsch and one other trusted dealer have 30 to 60 day complete satisfaction return policy with minor return shipping charges so auditioning would be feasible, but a hassle.

 

It is very tempting, but having trouble justifying. On the other hand, it would probably be my last pair of speakers (old geezer).

 

Anyone listened to both? What do you think?

 

INMHO get a nice set of used forte II for around 400-600 depending on location and condition, then do the same mods you did to your Quartets plus titanium diaphragms in the squawkers, I think you will be more than happy with the results.

Best regards,

John

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If you have the money you can try the Forte 3s and return them if they are not a improvement.  

 

I have Chorus 2s 

 

I think we want to get new toys when the toys we have are perfectly fine.  

 

Now if money is not a issue and there is a return policy with F3 then go for it.  

 

 

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