lionheart-uk Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 Just a short story about a pair of Fortes, having been impressed by a pair of RF82's I bought new when they first came out, I decided to buy a pair of second hand Forte II's with Crites upgrades as I 99% listen to vinyl and prefer larger speakers in general, I also liked the wood finish that the RF82's didn't have. The problem I had was finding an amp that suited the speakers for my fairly narrow room, The Nuforce amp and Threshold pre combo I was using sounded way too harsh and clinical so the journey started. I tried eleven different well regarded vintage amps before I was truly happy with the sound of the Klipsch, some of the amps I used have never given me any reason to doubt them before but sounded awful with the Fortes and I was ready to give up and move the speakers on. I won't bore you with the ones that didn't make the grade but to my ears the Marantz 2230 & 1030, Quad 303 & 405 II with passive pre sound really good with the Klipsch as does the Temple Audio Bantam, the Rogers Cadet II is a great match for the Fortes but there is one amp that stands head and shoulders above the rest in my opinion and that is the venerable wooden cased 10 watt Sugden A21 MkI (circa '67), it has such detail and impact that you can't help but be amazed by the sound heard from a 50+ year old that would not look out of place in a Hitchcock film of the era, it's not even a close thing, the amp just sounds right with the Fortes and can still be bought 2nd hand for a fraction of what you would expect to pay for this level of excellence. I've had a lot more expensive amps and speakers over the past 40 years but the Klipsch/Sugden combo really does take some beating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 Awesome review. It's nice when we finally find a combo that sounds good. Glad you didn't give up on the Fortes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionheart-uk Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 It was a close thing my friend, honestly I can't ever remember being 100% happy with any set up I have had over the years no matter the price, I feel like I have come to my hi-fi journeys end as I don't think I could get a better sound with vinyl as I can with the Klipsch/Sugden combo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionheart-uk Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 True, I had the Sugden recapped a few years back and though great sounding with other speakers it was never an amp I would use as I had others that sounded better, I was really surprised in truth at the ability of it when used with the Fortes as I mistakenly thought it might be a little bit too 'Pipe and slippers' for the Klipsch to mate with. it does run hot but that's a good thing considering our usual cold climate here in England, I've used plenty of Class A amps in the past and I wouldn't say it gets anymore hotter but agreed I should imagine in warmer climates it may be a factor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjptkd Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 Glad you found a combo that works! I went through kind of the same thing years back with my Chorus II's before I finally settled on my Sunfire set up. I had a few Class "A" amps, almost kept an Adcom 5800 but when summer rolled around it was just too hot for my room that was already too hot a few months out of the year so it had to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted February 7, 2018 Moderators Share Posted February 7, 2018 Glad you found a combination you like, sometimes it just comes down to synergy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtmudd Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 5 hours ago, lionheart-uk said: Just a short story about a pair of Fortes, having been impressed by a pair of RF82's I bought new when they first came out, I decided to buy a pair of second hand Forte II's with Crites upgrades as I 99% listen to vinyl and prefer larger speakers in general, I also liked the wood finish that the RF82's didn't have. The problem I had was finding an amp that suited the speakers for my fairly narrow room, The Nuforce amp and Threshold pre combo I was using sounded way too harsh and clinical so the journey started. I tried eleven different well regarded vintage amps before I was truly happy with the sound of the Klipsch, some of the amps I used have never given me any reason to doubt them before but sounded awful with the Fortes and I was ready to give up and move the speakers on. I won't bore you with the ones that didn't make the grade but to my ears the Marantz 2230 & 1030, Quad 303 & 405 II with passive pre sound really good with the Klipsch as does the Temple Audio Bantam, the Rogers Cadet II is a great match for the Fortes but there is one amp that stands head and shoulders above the rest in my opinion and that is the venerable wooden cased 10 watt Sugden A21 MkI (circa '67), it has such detail and impact that you can't help but be amazed by the sound heard from a 50+ year old that would not look out of place in a Hitchcock film of the era, it's not even a close thing, the amp just sounds right with the Fortes and can still be bought 2nd hand for a fraction of what you would expect to pay for this level of excellence. I've had a lot more expensive amps and speakers over the past 40 years but the Klipsch/Sugden combo really does take some beating. that's a nice looking amp ! http://neophonics.com/?page_id=377 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionheart-uk Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 Fortunately it is in A1 condition and the wooden case matches the Fortes 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionheart-uk Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 I know it flys in the face of most opinions but in a long narrow room I prefer the sound of the Fortes about 5" from the sides and 7" from the rear wall with no toe in, I've tried them off the rear wall more and at various angles but I found that they became more clinical with less of soundstage the more I pulled them away and that's a sound I really don't want as it becomes very fatiguing quickly and I do a lot of listening on this set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 4 hours ago, lionheart-uk said: I was really surprised in truth at the ability of it when used with the Fortes as I mistakenly thought it might be a little bit too 'Pipe and slippers' for the Klipsch to mate with. Can you interpret please. mate? Most of us in the colonies don't speak British anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionheart-uk Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 Good call my colonial cousin The phrase 'Pipe and slippers' means a very warm and laid back sound. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted February 7, 2018 Moderators Share Posted February 7, 2018 47 minutes ago, lionheart-uk said: I prefer the sound of the Fortes about 5" from the sides and 7" from the rear wall with no toe in Every room is different, whatever sounds best to You is best. No one knows what your room sounds like better than you, cool looking setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richieb Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 48 minutes ago, lionheart-uk said: Good call my colonial cousin The phrase 'Pipe and slippers' means a very warm and laid back sound. "Pipe and slippers" in the good 'ol USA might well be associated with Hugh Hefner and his little bunnies "bouncing" about ?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted February 7, 2018 Moderators Share Posted February 7, 2018 3 minutes ago, richieb said: 54 minutes ago, lionheart-uk said: Good call my colonial cousin The phrase 'Pipe and slippers' means a very warm and laid back sound. "Pipe and slippers" in the good 'ol USA might well be associated with Hugh Hefner and his little bunnies "bouncing" about ?! I now understand both ideas, but for some reason prefer the second........even at my age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkevind Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 grr. getting amp envy right now I'm enjoying my Forte II with what I have, NAD C372. But I have that nagging need to hear other amp pairings. Would like to have a nice warm sound for their use. I'm not dissatisfied with the NAD, but... I "got" the pipe and slippers reference, it brought to mind sitting in a nice warm den, and the kind of sound you'd want in that environment with a nice single malt scotch on hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 3 hours ago, lionheart-uk said: Good call my colonial cousin The phrase 'Pipe and slippers' means a very warm and laid back sound. That's awesome. I have a new phrase! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richieb Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 29 minutes ago, Ceptorman said: That's awesome. I have a new phrase! When you finally give up the sport bike phase in your life you can graduate to a "pipe and slippers" model. Brand name(s) withheld! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionheart-uk Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 I'm not au fait with that NAD amp but I did use an AMC 2445 with an Adcom pre with them in a bigger room, I think that the AMC is a NAD clone of some kind, it didn't sound bad at all but as I remember it was a bit shrill at times and a tad too clinical to my ears for prolonged listening with the Fortes, still a good choice though and you can do far worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionheart-uk Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 'Take nothing as expected' is the advice I would give anyone mulling over purchasing a pair of Fortes, They are amp fussy, cable fussy and hard to position right but when you do hit upon the right combination you will know about it as the sound will be breathtaking and you will head for the best pressed records in your collection...........and you will probably have a big smile across your face like a flip-top bin for weeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 52 minutes ago, richieb said: When you finally give up the sport bike phase in your life you can graduate to a "pipe and slippers" model. Brand name(s) withheld! I have been looking at sport tourers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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