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Forte II vs RF-83 ??


Carlosrs

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Hello community, I currently have a 2 channel setup with RF-83s, Sunfire Vacuum Tube Controller and a Sunfire 300 Two amp. Just purchased an RSW-15 subwoofer for it and waiting for it to arrive.  A pair of almost mint Forte II with Crites upgrade caps just popped up locally, and here lies the dilema.

 

Should I stick with the RF-83s which I love, or do I get the Forte II??? In my country a Klipsch Heritage  is not very common and I have never heard any, this opportunity is pretty unique.

 

Thank you for your help!

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I had RF-63s at the same time as Forte 1's and Quartets and I still have the 63s.  Enough said. 

Seriously, all three sound incredible.  I sold the Fortes to a great forum member who lives in the Ukraine and sold the Quartets for gas money to a forum member in Indiana.

 

Get the Forte IIs and enjoy them as well.

 

Bill

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2 hours ago, jjptkd said:

Grab them and try them out,

I was thinking the same thing.

 

If you get a good price on the Forte II's, buy them.  Then if you don't like them, hopefully you can sell them for what you have in them.

 

In the US the Forte II's average $533 on the used market, from a low of about $300 to a high of $750.  The most seen price for Forte II's in good condition is about $500-600.  @CarlosrsI don't know your country so you will have to do the currency conversion.

 

The Forte II is a 3-way speaker, the RF-83 is a high quality 2-way. When the RF-83 came out it was $2500, so more expensive than the Forte II when new.  I am a fan of 2-way speakers and I also own the RF-83's.

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The Forte II have the Crites upgraded cap kit, but not installed. They are selling for around US$800, which for my country is not bad since it is here already, no shipping and no import tax.

 

I think I might just go ahead and get them and try them out. The RF-83s make for a monster 2 channel system, and I am used to that power and presence, almost visceral quality.  Would the Fortes be similar, or would I miss that presence??

 

 

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4 minutes ago, Carlosrs said:

I think I might just go ahead and get them and try them out. The RF-83s make for a monster 2 channel system, and I am used to that power and presence, almost visceral quality.  Would the Fortes be similar, or would I miss that presence??

It's hard for me to say.  You are using a tube amp on your RF-83 and I use a Marantz 6011 AVR.  I've never heard the Forte II.

 

I've read the Forte II works well with tube amps.  I would think the sound might be more dynamic with more sizzle on the top.  By comparison, I'm guessing the overall balance being more solid with the RF-83.  My RF-83's have a very accurate sound top to bottom.

 

 

 

 

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I am actually using a tube preamp and a solid state amp.  The amp has a current source and a voltage source, so I connect the LF to the voltage source and the HF to the current source, which simulates tubes.  My highs are tube like while my lows are very controlled and thunderous, as one would expect from 300 watts of solid state amp.  Great combo!!!

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I'm in a sort of, similar, dilemma myself right now.  I just bought a pair of Heresy II's.  They sound good with the Crites diaphragm upgrades, but I've been listening to my KG 5.5's for over 20 years now.  I don't have as nice of upstream gear, just using a Marantz AVR, but the sound between the two is definitely different.  I say buy them, listen for a week, or two, then go back to the 83's and make your decision.  It's what I'm going to do.  One pair is going to go....

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Agreed!!! I'm just afraid that instead of getting rid of one of them I just end up buying more electronics and figuring out where to place this additional system!!

 

At this rate one could run out of rooms very quickly!!! hahahaha

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I know what you mean.  I'd love to keep them both, but I don't have the room in my listening space.  Sure, I could store one or the other in another room, but what's the point?  I'm not in to switching out mains all the time, etc.  Audio reproduction is a disease.  Once you get it, it's incurable.  At least it's a happy disease, well, most of the time.

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7 hours ago, wvu80 said:

The Forte II is a 3-way speaker, the RF-83 is a high quality 2-way. When the RF-83 came out it was $2500, so more expensive than the Forte II when new.  I am a fan of 2-way speakers and I also own the RF-83's.

Price is relevant to the year.  Forte II was back quite a few years (ended in 1996) from the RF-83 to inflation and margin creep kicks in.  Forte III (not drastically different from the II) is $3600.

 

If you can find any of the Klipsch Heritage at a good price, if you want the experience you can buy it.  If you really did get them at a good price you can always sell them and not loose any money.  It's just your time.

 

To me both would be keepers.

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On ‎6‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 5:35 PM, Carlosrs said:

I know you've had RF-63s, have you heard the Forte II??

 

I've never owned the 63's but did audition a pair a little while back. Over the years I have owned several sets of the forte II though and know several people that still do, they really are an incredible set of speakers. I think with your Sunfire setup you'd be very pleased by what they are capable of.

 

I really have no idea how they would compare head to head with your 83's but I've always found the Klipsch 2-way speakers to be lacking a bit in inner detail when compared side by side with the upper end 3-way Klipsches, especially after they've been updated with Crites parts.

 

I cannot stress enough the value of doing your own comparison and as long as you don't drastically over pay you should be able to get your money back out of them if they turn out to be not for you. Good luck and keep us posted! 

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