Forte w/ SS or Heresy w/ tubes?

[JackStraw421]

Greetings fellow Klipsch owners, fans,

 

First time posting, although I am grateful for the education I've received by reading through this site over the past few weeks.  I have a total budget of +/- $5k, and appreciate any thoughts/opinions on whether I should be zeroing in on the Forte III with an "average" solid state integrated OR the Heresy III with a "good" tube integrated?  Specifically, my research has led me to consider the following options for a 12' x 12' dedicated listening room:

 

Forte III w/ -

 

PS Audio Sprout

NAD C 316BEE

Rega Brio

 

OR

 

Heresy III w/ -

 

Quad VA-ONE

Quicksilver Audio Integrated

Icon Audio Stereo 25 mkII

 

My source material will be digital .AIFF files for the time being (I understand a dedicated DAC will be required if the integrated doesn't have one already built-in).  My music interests are fairly vast and include Miles Davis, The Milk Carton Kids, Drive-By Truckers, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Art Pepper, The Band, Wilco, Brad Mehldau, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Traffic/Steve Winwood, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Dawes, Gillian Welch, etc.

 

Despite the relatively small room size I am leaning towards the Forte III, particularly since an amplifier upgrade may be a more convenient and cost effective upgrade path in the future vs. an upgrade from the Heresy to the Forte.  At 37 years old, I'd love to settle in on something that will last for many years.

 

Thoughts?  Any glaring fallacies with this line of thinking?  Could I be missing something here?

 

Thanks in advance y'all and cheers!

 

 

 

 

 

[CECAA850]

Welcome to the forum.

 

If you have no plans on integrating a subwoofer then go with the Forte III's.  They dig deeper and have a superior mid horn (IMO).

[avguytx]

How about tubes for fall/winter and S/S for spring summer? Or is that just me that does it that way? 

 

Welcome to the Community!

[JackStraw421]

Thanks for the replies CECAA850 and avguytx.  I should've mentioned that I'm not interested in adding a sub to this config.  And I knew I left something else out... the seasons! 

 

SS with Belgian blondes, lambics, and IPA in the spring/summer and Belgian quads, stouts, and porters in the fall/winter.  🙂

 

Seriously though thanks for the welcoming words.

[avguytx]

You might stumble on some used Heresy III's or Forte III's in your neck of the woods if you search around.  Nothing wrong with saving a few ducks here and there.  Heresy's are quite surprising when set up right....which is pretty easy.  Forte III's I believe need to come out from the wall a ways to let the PR breathe which will augment or restrict bass response.  I've not personally heard either pair but have heard, and owned both versions in the I's and II's.

 

Nice choices in music.  How far back will your listening spot be?  What's the room like?  Carpet or hard floors?  Windows?  Drapes?  Leather or cloth upholstery?  Slab floor or on pier and beam/upstairs?  Those things come into the equation, too, as I'm sure you know.  As far as those equipment choices go, the NAD is the only line I am familiar with as I was a rep for Lenbrook (NAD/PSB) years ago and really loved selling the lines.  I was good friends with Steve DeFuria, who was the Nat'l Sales Manager for NAD for many years, and was very sad hearing that he passed away a couple years back at 61.  He was one of the smartest and most intelligent people I knew in the business and always enjoyed when he came into my territory to travel.  But that's beside the point...  

[jimjimbo]

Hello and welcome.

 

You stated your room is 12x12 but what is your actual listening space size?  How far away from the speakers will you sit, how far apart are they?  Is the room carpeted, upholstered furniture, windows, etc.  Makes a difference.

[JackStraw421]

Good points avguytx and jimjimbo... the room is a dedicated listening space and is void of anything unrelated to the hobby.  The actual listening space size allows for a 6' x 6' x 6' triangle; the speakers can be up to 6 feet apart and 1 foot away from the wall with my upholstered listening chair approx 6 feet back.  Not very big, I know.

 

Flooring is hard wood, on a slab (bottom floor), with a 5' x 8' rug in the middle.  There are two fairly large windows (with curtains) to the left of my listening chair.  

 

avguytx - I've had NAD electronics in the past and really enjoyed their sound and price-to-quality/enjoyment ratio.  And I'm sorry to hear about Steve's passing at such a young age... appreciate you sharing that.

 

 

[avguytx]

If you're not going to do any vinyl, this NAD piece is quite the gem at 150 x 2.  Others will be along soon, or over the weekend, with all sorts of opinions and ideas.  

 

https://nadelectronics.com/product/c-388-hybrid-digital-dac-amplifier/

 

And the smaller one at 80 x 2.

 

https://nadelectronics.com/product/c-368-hybrid-digital-dac-amplifier/

[Emile]

1 hour ago, JackStraw421 said:

Forte III with an "average" solid state integrated OR the Heresy III with a "good" tube integrated?

Hi Jack,

 

Welcome to the forum   Have the same size (12x12x8) stereo room and have tried Forte's, Heresy's, tubes and SS amps.

 

OK; tried Forte I's with both 35wpc tubes and with a 30wpc Marantz 1060. Actually preferred the sound with the vintage Marantz. But ... then tried adding a K-510 horn to the Forte's. Unsuccessful as the horns completely outclassed the Forte's. So; frustrated with the Forte's, I sold them and replaced them with a set of CF-3's ... much, much better   (OK; upped the amp to a 220wpc SS.) So, while many are very satisfied with Forte's, I am not.  Think the bass is pretty poor ... mids and high's are "decent," but do not compare to Pro speakers. 

 

Next, heresy's. Using L/R/C Heresy's in our main area. Very nice and refined at low to medium listening levels ... when I want to go loud, I add my Pro KPT-904's (L/R), a 15" sub, and Cornwall's as rears.  

 

So; really think it depends on your listening level. If you want it loud, look for something else.  If low/medium, I vote for the Heresy's ... maybe with a small 12" sub.

 

Good luck!

 

 

[jimjimbo]

24 minutes ago, JackStraw421 said:

Good points avguytx and jimjimbo... the room is a dedicated listening space and is void of anything unrelated to the hobby.  The actual listening space size allows for a 6' x 6' x 6' triangle; the speakers can be up to 6 feet apart and 1 foot away from the wall with my upholstered listening chair approx 6 feet back.  Not very big, I know.

 

Flooring is hard wood, on a slab (bottom floor), with a 5' x 8' rug in the middle.  There are two fairly large windows (with curtains) to the left of my listening chair.  

 

avguytx - I've had NAD electronics in the past and really enjoyed their sound and price-to-quality/enjoyment ratio.  And I'm sorry to hear about Steve's passing at such a young age... appreciate you sharing that.

 

 

Considering this, personally I would go with Heresy.  Fortes will overwhelm you and the room.

[rockhound]

I have a similar sized listening room. I have a pair of H3's but to me they don't sound right in that space and they do need a sub they sound much better in the living room. I did have a pair of Forte 2's and liked the way they sounded so much in my small space that I bought Chorus 2's and then kept upgrading. I have heard the Forte 3 in Hope and it sounds spectacular for its footprint size. If you like a little more low end I would lean towards the Forte's since you don't want to use a sub.

 

Is there anywhere near you that you can have a listen to both?

[oldtimer]

Forte no doubt.  Full stop.

[MEH Synergy]

21 minutes ago, jimjimbo said:

Considering this, personally I would go with Heresy.  Fortes will overwhelm you and the room.

I can understand and agree with the based on my experience with both in the same room. Seemed to me that if the Forte IIIs could have been spaced apart further than 6 or 7 feet, perhaps they would have been more to my liking. They had an upper mid/low treble glare to them that bothered me. I took @Shakeydeal advice and fired straight ahead and it helped, but alas I went down thd pro route myself.   Heresys were super smooth to me.   You may like them without a sub depending on what you listen to.   I found their bass very satisfying.  

[glens]

I'm not qualified to provide a recommendation in this matter.  The last time I heard Heresys was prior to there being a "II" and my room is larger than 12x12 (though the ceiling is ~7').

 

I do, however, happily drive a pair of Forte III with a NAD C338, which combo I can heartily recommend.  Since the current model Heresy and Forte footprints and sensitivities are comparable, I can't see one being very different  from the other in terms of "overpowerment."

[angelaudio]

IMO, the Heresy has smoother, more refined highs and mids than the Forte. Voices and horn instruments sound tighter, controlled and more coherent. 

[CECAA850]

39 minutes ago, angelaudio said:

IMO, the Heresy has smoother, more refined highs and mids than the Forte. Voices and horn instruments sound tighter, controlled and more coherent. 

Have you heard the Forte 3s?

[dtel]

As much as I love the Heresy I would have to say Forte lll, especially if you do not want a sub. The Forte lll will give you more on the lower end than the Heresy.

[JackStraw421]

I appreciate everyone's input.  I live in Southern Oregon, and unfortunately, haven't been able to track down a dealer with these setup; my purchase will have to be made sight unseen (unheard?).

 

The vote so far seems split between the Heresy III and Forte III.

 

I am very much a "night owl" and dig a speaker that remains coherent at low volumes.  Guttenberg raves about how well the Forte III sounds at low volumes.  Since the efficiency rating is very close between the two speakers, could I safely assume the Heresy III is also good at low volumes?

 

Thanks again to everyone that has replied.  I am taking all of this input to heart.

 

[moray james]

9 minutes ago, JackStraw421 said:

I appreciate everyone's input.  I live in Southern Oregon, and unfortunately, haven't been able to track down a dealer with these setup; my purchase will have to be made sight unseen (unheard?).

 

The vote so far seems split between the Heresy III and Forte III.

 

I am very much a "night owl" and dig a speaker that remains coherent at low volumes.  Guttenberg raves about how well the Forte III sounds at low volumes.  Since the efficiency rating is very close between the two speakers, could I safely assume the Heresy III is also good at low volumes?

 

Thanks again to everyone that has replied.  I am taking all of this input to heart.

 

just my opinion having had a late model Heresy and two sets of Heresy 3 along with a set of Forte and a set of Forte 2Heresy three sets of KLF20 and a pair of CF3. Heresy in all their versions tale some power and level to get them sounding well balanced in the low registrar. Forte Forte 2 and KLF20are very much better balanced at low levels due to the size of the cabinet they have deeper bass extension. If you purchased a set of Heresy and made the cabinet twice as tall (doubled the cabinet volume) you would then have a Forte you could either reflex load it with some vents or you could run it sealed and fully damped which would be the way I would build it. As a sealed box that will yield deeper bass extension compared to a vented version.

If you do go with a Forte or a Forte 2 which would be my recommendation as it has a larger passive and a larger better modern mid horn you can tune either Forte version a little lower to extend the bass response downward. Good luck in your process.

[dtel]

1 hour ago, JackStraw421 said:

The vote so far seems split between the Heresy III and Forte III.

One thing to consider since the vote is very close is spec's. If people like and suggest both look at what the specs are as far as what frequency range is covered.

I would normally never suggest deciding on a speaker by using the spec's but when both are suggested equally as answers the basic difference is what each can do and it is clearly different.

Both are very good, you can not lose with either, except for some bass with the Heresy. 

 

Do not listen to comparisons with different versions, they are not the same as the lll version, different speaker by far. 

I have  the Forte 1,2 and 3 with the 3 being a biggest difference to the others. Have the Heresy 1 and 2, to me the 3rd version was not enough difference for me considering other options. 

 

I would say the Heresy 1,2 and 3 are closer to each other by far compared to the difference in the third version of the Forte compared to the other previous versions, easily better overall. 

 

Just another opinion.