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Klipsch Forte III vs RF-7 II Audio Demo Comparison


Youthman

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We had the opportunity to compare these same speakers in the Hope listening room last April. The F3's were built just the day before and a quick breaking in overnight. Position was side by side, much as you have done. And as you stated evaluating speakers through an iPad is hardly optimal but the video seems to prove what I heard at Hope. The F3 was fuller, better mid-range, less tipped up high freq.and better balanced throughout.The overall top to bottom balance stands out most.  My wife agreed as did most others in the room. I believe Klipsch is no different from other manufacturers for engineering a "house sound". The F3 is closer to the Heritage house sound possibly because of the three way design?

Appreciate the effort. Thanks 

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1 hour ago, richieb said:

The F3 was fuller, better mid-range, less tipped up high freq.and better balanced throughout.

I made the same comment on the Youtube vid as you just did, almost word-for-word but I didn't read your comments until after my listening session.  Obviously I agree with your analysis as listened to via an old Pioneer AVR and my Klipsch CF-4.

 

I would really have to listen to more content and live! before I think I could say which one I liked better.  For now it is splitting hairs between two fantastic speakers and personal preference will rule the day.

 

Great job on the production @Youthman.  I loved the arrows and the length and music choice was just right.

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3 minutes ago, wvu80 said:

I would really have to listen to more content and live! before I think I could say which one I liked better

Oh absolutely.  And your ears might prefer the more laid back sound of the Forte III or you might be like me and prefer the brighter sound of the RF-7 II.  They both are fantastic speakers but for my living room, the RF-7 II with Deang crossovers are a better fit, especially since the wife doesn't want a sub in the living room.  Also, they fit my style of music better too.  I don't ever listen to Jazz or Classical (which the Forte III sound amazing with). 

 

5 minutes ago, wvu80 said:

Great job on the production @Youthman.  I loved the arrows and the length and music choice was just right.

Thank you kindly Dave.

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Michael,

 

The only real difference I noticed is a slightly warmer/fuller midrange from the Forte III.  Not necessarily better but different tonal presentation.  Both pairs sounded pretty nice even through a computer.

 

Funny thing is many of us want to say which sounds "better" when comparisons are done instead of just loving the sound of both or many models of our beloved Klipsch speakers.  If I had a current favorite pair, then I would have the same speakers in every system throughout the house.;):D

 

Bill

 

 

 

 

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I agree completely Bill.  I’ve said that for years.  Each speaker I’ve owned have had different characteristics and sound signatures.  Each unique, with different strengths and weaknesses but still sound great.

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7 hours ago, Youthman said:
7 hours ago, wvu80 said:

Great job on the production @YouthmanI loved the arrows and the length and music choice was just right.

Thank you kindly Dave.

To expand on this, I've listened to other Youtube vids which plays musical sections and switch back and forth between speakers.  Those videos are usually static and therefore visually boring, and you can't tell which speaker is playing, so you  can't tell which speaker has which sound.

 

I also don't want to listen to metal screeching for a half-hour in a listening test as I've heard in some other reviewers speaker vids.  I'm sure that's the musical genre the reviewer may like but you can't listen for accuracy.  Any speaker can play loud.

 

Your selection featured a female vocalist which exposes the HF range, and had enough guitar and drums to articulate the mid-range and some bass. Three minutes long was long enough to cover the subject and still short enough to be interesting.

 

This should be a model for other reviewers to follow.

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Very good video Yute.  I like the looks of the RFs but have to give a nod to sound to the Fortes and their relaxed presentation. I wish you had access to RF7-llls to A-B with the Forte llls. 

I haven't read any comments about bass but would guess the Fortes go lower?

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On my laptop the 7's actually sound better but both sound bad. I'll fire up the video later today on my system and see if it sounds any better. One side note when I switched from my RF-5's to forte II's awhile back I was struck by how less "bright" (for lack of a better word) and seemingly less detailed the forte's presented themselves in comparison until I realized the horns on the forte's were not at optimum height. Once I corrected the positioning (angled back and toed in) the forte's were noticeably improved but still not as "bright" as the 5's. 

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You have a real knack for these videos. The indicator arrows are a great touch. I listened last night and was leaning towards the 7s, this morning I’m leaning towards the Fortes. Fence sitting at its finest. Going to run it through my system - with the aid of the Apple TV IPad mirroring feature. I’m pretty impressed with both actually. The mids seem to have a little more depth on the Fortes, the bass seems tighter with the 7s although the tweeter seems a little sharper. Having a pair of each in the house is an enviable position to find ones self.

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I think all of us may like one over the other based on our personal taste and the type of music we like.  Some of us like the sparkling highs and others like the mid-range more.The 7's are a tighter speaker IMHO and the Forte is a bit more relaxed.  Both speakers are great and I would not mind owning both.  I loved my Forte I with the Crites XO.

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Just re-watched and listened to it through my system. Your room looks great on a 60” TV by the way. Funny enough my wife’s take away from the video is that she would like to get a similar carpet lol. I lean slightly towards the RF7s in that room (and my own). Unlike what I heard through my headphones, the mids on the Forte seem a little recessed. Razor close though, I would be very pleased with either set.

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