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Shopping for Klipsch Forte


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I'm new to this site and new to Klipsch, although I've been in the hobby for years.  I'm in a new house and thinking of a second system for music and movies in the large rec room, 27 x 20 x 9.  I started reading about the new Forte III which seems interesting.  Unfortunately there are no dealers within 100 miles for an audition.  Then I read about earlier versions and a couple of people claim the original version was a better speaker (?) than the II.  At least more realistic and tighter bass.  I also read a couple of favorable comments on the Bob Crites mods, but they are only offered for the I and II.

 

Buying used version I or II and adding the Crites updates would obviously cost less, but that would be based upon finding a decent pair close by.

 

With all that, my question -- has anyone heard the current III who is familiar with the I or II with Crites updates?  How would you describe the differences?  The Klipsch website describes new designs implemented with the III which would suggest they offer big improvements.  But what else would a manufacturer say? ;^)

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2 hours ago, M3 lover said:

 The Klipsch website describes new designs implemented with the III which would suggest they offer big improvements.  But what else would a manufacturer say? ;^)

 

Welcome to the forum!

 

I haven't heard the III, but the Klipsch chief engineer who redesigned it, Roy Delgado, is someone for whom we have great respect.  He worked with Paul W. Klipsch during Paul's last years, and co-designed the Klipsch Jubilee, widely regarded as one of the best speakers, ever.   

 

That being said, most improvements in most speakers, IMO, are rather subtle.  The Forte I, when it came out in 1985, got one of the most positive reviews in the history in High Fidelity magazine.  

 

Reaction by owners of the new Forte III here on the forum have been quite positive except for one, who thought it was a little too bright.  That's a common complaint with Klipsch speakers, but, in my experience with other Klipsches, it can usually be attributed to over bright recordings (see Chris A's many posts on this modern practice).  With good recordings, Klipsch is well balanced.  For those that are not, my favorite cure for this is to turn up the bass by 3 to 6 dB to restore the balance.   We have various Klipsch speakers in the room we use for both music listening and Home Theater.  Virtually all Blu-rays, SACDs, and most CDs sound fine.

 

Among Klipsch's strong points are dynamics, detail, clarity, etc.

 

 

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I'm not going to help much other than any of those, first version to third, are great speakers for that size space.  Unfortunately it will all come down to preference.

 

If you don't mind looks of used (hard to come by in pristine shape) and mind updating, you can't go wrong if the price is right.  If you want guaranteed beautiful wood work and grills along with great sound, look at a new set.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

The forte II, beats out the 1st version INMHO.  The 2nd version has the tractrix mid horn, and larger 15 passive radiator.  The mid on the 2nd generation is much more open and live INMHO.  You can get a mint used pair in most markets for $750-$1,000

 

You can do some additional reversible upgrades as I have done to mine, and you are pretty darn close to a forte III.

 

Regards,

John

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On 5/1/2020 at 5:52 PM, M3 lover said:

I'm new to this site and new to Klipsch, although I've been in the hobby for years.  I'm in a new house and thinking of a second system for music and movies in the large rec room, 27 x 20 x 9.  I started reading about the new Forte III which seems interesting.

Forte speakers are all good , in any version , but the II has a better mids horn , and so are the Heresy 12 inch woofer driven ------Forte has more bass , the Heresy better vocals -----and most owners would have modified them somewhat , the only thing to consider is recapping the crossover , the rest is not that important , some people go for Titanium diaphragms for the mids ,  but overall the changes are minimal -

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