Forte I vs Chorus II

[OO1]

cool video by  @Youthman

[Alex Defender]

5 hours ago, moray james said:

small toe in or out adjustments will deal with top end level one way or the other so that is not an issue. The Chorus uses the exact same drivers and horns but the Chorus ll runs the mid horn lower and this results is it holding its polar pattern to a lower frequency. aside from low end extension the Chorus ll is a better loudspeaker than the Forte ll in my opinion it is more efficient more exciting and more fun to listen to. You are going to have to listen to a pair if you want to know for yourself.

PS: you can adjust the tuning of the passive on a Chorus ll to lower it a number of Hz by adding 2.5 oz. of dead weight in the form of some large steel flat washers. You are looking at 3 - 4 Hz does not sound like much but it is a big deal to hear.

I understand that Chorus II is a technically better speaker since is more efficient, but I'm also looking for a pleasant tonal balance, the sound should be organic, I don't want mid-highs emphasized along with shy mid-lows recessed. You know what I mean?

What exactly do you mean by "small toe in or out adjustments will deal with top end level one way or the other so that is not an issue"? Are you talking about crossover, wiring or diaphragm upgrades?

 

Anyway thanks for the tip about the tuning of the passive.

 

Edited December 27, 2020 by Alex Defender

[Alex Defender]

On 12/24/2020 at 12:14 PM, Dave A said:

That's a big price difference but the Chorus is much more musical and the definition of the bass much more precise than the Forte. I have had a few Forte 1's and 2's and numerous Chorus 1's and 2's for a reason. Fortes are OK but the Chorus speakers move me when I listen to them. Somewhat muddy bass that goes lower is not exciting to me and I would rather have the fidelity of the Chorus.

Do you remember about tonal balance differences beetwen your ex Chorus 2 and Forte 1? Did Chorus 2 sound somewhat brighter, harsher or less balanced than Forte 1?  What about their differences in bass response (depth, punch, resolution)? Thanks Dave.

Edited December 27, 2020 by Alex Defender

[Alex Defender]

7 hours ago, EpicKlipschFan said:

 

generally speaking, the fortes go lower in the bass freq & at "normal" volumes that will mean the bass will be deeper & sound a little fuller, 32hz forte vs 39hz chorus is not much but is noticeable. the forte is also more balanced in the mids & highs meaning they dont have an overly pronounced mid range & everything sounds more even... at least to me in my room with my equipment.  thats not to say the chorus are harsh in the mids or totally unbalanced, just that they have a stronger sounding mid range as others have mentioned, & at higher volumes with more power they do produce a stronger upper bass "punch" from the 15" pro series woofer, but the low bass falls off a litte faster with the 7hz difference which is not very noticeable to most people in most scenarios.  

 

& you do NOT need to be 4-5 feet away from fortes in your room... they will sound great at the more average distance of 8-10ft away if they are positioned properly, usually in a corner about a foot or so away from the back wall towed in a bit & ~6-8ft apart.  i dont know of too many people that sit 4 feet away from their large speakers unless they are in a very small room & have no choice.

 

it would be better to post the basic dimensions of the room since total volume can be affected by ceiling height that wont change the near field sound of the speakers too much, granted if youre sitting all the way on the other end of the room that will matter, but for most people they dont sit that far away.  i have my chorus in a ~21x13ft basement room with 7.5ft ceilings & i sit about 10 ft away from them & they sound excellent & i have had the fortes down there too with good results. but the fortes are now upstairs in a 16x14ft living room with 8ft ceilings that is open to a kitchen on one side & i sit about 10ft away & they also sound great. fortes are on a 100watt/ch surround receiver & chorus are on a 200watt/ch separate amp, fortes were on the same amp when in the basement.  

 

thats just my results with these speakers, everyone hears different & has different equipment, rooms & goals, so what one person likes will be different than the next. all depends on your budget & goals for the speakers, fortes can go loud but chorus can go louder, both will sound excellent with any average room/system.  most consider the fortes the best bang for the buck speaker klipsch offers,  if you want more you gotta pay more.             

That's interesting when you say "the forte is also more balanced in the mids & highs meaning they dont have an overly pronounced mid range & everything sounds more even... at least to me in my room with my equipment.  thats not to say the chorus are harsh in the mids or totally unbalanced, just that they have a stronger sounding mid range as others have mentioned" 

I'd like to know how many other people have found this same difference in tonal balance beetwen the two models, and on the contrary how many others maybe have found just the opposite.

Edited December 27, 2020 by Alex Defender

[nickyboy6100]

1 hour ago, Alex Defender said:

That's interesting when you say "the forte is also more balanced in the mids & highs meaning they dont have an overly pronounced mid range & everything sounds more even... at least to me in my room with my equipment.  thats not to say the chorus are harsh in the mids or totally unbalanced, just that they have a stronger sounding mid range as others have mentioned" 

I'd like to know how many other people have found this same difference in tonal balance beetwen the two models, and on the contrary how many others maybe have found just the opposite.

Most of what has been stated in the previous posts is very accurate regarding the two models. Tonal difference between the two is a very subjective matter. You really need to hear both to make a judgement for yourself. In my opinion, Klipsch speakers in general are more pronounced in the mid/high frequencies. That’s why most here are attracted to them. Not that they are void of low end, but more accurate. My experience with the Forte is that it plays well and sounds good at low to high volume with a slight change in presence compared to the Chorus 2. If you call that balance, than that’s what you get with the Forte. The Chorus 2’s play well and sounds good at low volumes, but don’t really come alive until you put some watts to them. That’s when they really distinguish themselves as the better speaker. This is just my opinion. I owned my Chorus 2 for many years and really enjoyed them. 

[moray james]

17 hours ago, Alex Defender said:

I understand that Chorus II is a technically better speaker since is more efficient, but I'm also looking for a pleasant tonal balance, the sound should be organic, I don't want mid-highs emphasized along with shy mid-lows recessed. You know what I mean?

What exactly do you mean by "small toe in or out adjustments will deal with top end level one way or the other so that is not an issue"? Are you talking about crossover, wiring or diaphragm upgrades?

 

Anyway thanks for the tip about the tuning of the passive.

 

"toe in or out" refers to the position of the loudspeaker and exactly where you aim them. Loudspeakers have dropping high end response off axis so if a loudspeaker sounds too bright directly on axis to your seating location simply turn them so they cross either in front of you a little or just behind you a little choose by listening preference. You cannot move forward with this until you do some listening of your own. If you don't you are wasting the time of everyone including yourself.

[Ceptorman]

19 minutes ago, moray james said:

"toe in or out" refers to the position of the loudspeaker and exactly where you aim it. Loudspeakers have dropping response off axis so if a loudspeaker sound too bright directly on axis to your seating location simply turn them so they cross either in front of you a little or just behind you a little choose by listening preference. You cannot move forward with this until you do some listening of your own. If you don't you are wasting the time of everyone including yourself.

This is the best recommendation for anyone with any speaker. That last little % gained when you finally find the sweet spot.We spend a lot of time, money, and research on gear, rooms, treatments, etc, but some don't spend a lot of time playing with speaker placement inside your room.

 

A couple years ago I remodeled my home, turned a carpeted 15'x24' room, into a 28'x24' room open into a kitchen, with 800' of wood flooring....hurt my sound. It became more important for me to play with speaker placement. Tonight, I realized that crossing my speakers in front, or behind me, doesn't sound as good as staring straight into the horns!

[Shakeydeal]

Open floor plans are the death knell of good audio.

[billybob]

You need to read the review of the forte from 1985. It is around here.

When you get them, listen for awhile so that when you refresh the capacitors, you will know the difference and which you preferred.

Congrats on the forte' and enjoy!

[wetowne]

 

[Shakeydeal]

Of all the amplifiers I’ve heard, this is definitely one of them - Julian Hirsch 

[Ceptorman]

3 hours ago, Shakeydeal said:

Open floor plans are the death knell of good audio.

I knew it was going to hurt the sound from doubling the size of the room, the wood floors didn't help.

[billybob]

Thanks @wetowne for posting it.

Reread it again just to refresh. On second thought, may have undue influence of biasing his choice.

Enjoy...

[wetowne]

29 minutes ago, billybob said:

Thanks @wetowne for posting it.

Reread it again just to refresh. On second thought, may have undue influence of biasing his choice.

Enjoy...

I have Fortes myself so I read the review with some interest. I had seen it before but it's been a long time.

[Fido]

On 12/26/2020 at 10:31 AM, ClaudeJ1 said:

You know, Dave..............it cracks me up to see these guys worry about a LOUSY $600 when, in fact, you are buying a lifetime of musical enjoyment............or at least, let's day, a full decade. When I go to a high end HiFi show and see $15,000 bookshelf speakers with an 8" woofer and 1" tweeter with a pretty veneer, I KNOW that either choice presented here would stomp those into the ground for anyone with a dime's worth of common sense about Sound INVESTMENTS, which is really what this is about. Bigger is usually better, so it there's room, the choice should be clear.

“Bigger is usually better” - that’s what she said 😂😂😂

[ClaudeJ1]

22 hours ago, billybob said:

That is the comparison between the one and two forte'. If it were the two, would still choose the Chorus II over.

 

 

 

 

I totally agree with this. In my case, the Forte 1 was chosen because of price, local availability (no shipping), made a better R and L side channel than a Cornwall (too big), or a Super Heresy (too short) because with a slight riser, put the DaveA LMAHLs at ear level where they belong for Dolby Atmos sound. I would have preferred the Forte II, but good luck finding one at any price these days.

[ClaudeJ1]

11 minutes ago, Fido said:

“Bigger is usually better” - that’s what she said 😂😂😂

Funneeee! Compatibility is more important than size, unless she's got above average tolerance for real world discomfort, or for making fake world XXX movies. So yes "she" sometimes says that, but not always! LOL.

[Fido]

Back in 1986 when my dad and I went to buy his dream speaker system we went to a local high end dealer and listened to a number of klipsch offerings.Even though my father had a large penthouse living room with space for big speakers for some reason the Forte 1s hit the sweet spot for both of us. Not that the full klipsch line at the time didn’t sound fantastic but for some reason the fortes sound just grabbed us. My father was wealthy so he could have afforded Chorus or Cornwalls or Lascalas but for whatever reason we brought the fortes home. He enjoyed them for the next 15 years of his life and listened to them every day and never gave a second thought of upgrading or changing them out. 
 

They now reside in my house and fit nicely size wise and sound wise is my smaller sized townhome. I have changed out to Crites crossovers and changed the tweeters to Dave a Lmahls and have a large Hsu sub and now 20 years since my father passed I still enjoy them many hours every day. To my ears they sound fantastic even though they are not larger. Large speakers are needed in large rooms but the Fortes more than fill my house with music.

[billybob]

1 hour ago, ClaudeJ1 said:

I totally agree with this. In my case, the Forte 1 was chosen because of price, local availability (no shipping), made a better R and L side channel than a Cornwall (too big), or a Super Heresy (too short) because with a slight riser, put the DaveA LMAHLs at ear level where they belong for Dolby Atmos sound. I would have preferred the Forte II, but good luck finding one at any price these days.

A pair or the 2s will pop up near you now for saying that. Just one of those things...

[Dave A]

20 hours ago, Alex Defender said:

Do you remember about tonal balance differences beetwen your ex Chorus 2 and Forte 1? Did Chorus 2 sound somewhat brighter, harsher or less balanced than Forte 1?  What about their differences in bass response (depth, punch, resolution)? Thanks Dave.

Been knocked off the internet for some time now and catching up. To me the Chorus is just more precise and musical in playback and the bass has better definition. If that equates to balanced then yes more balanced and with better sound all the way around and any genre, to me of course.  The Forte is like a lesser version of the Chorus. It has been a long time since I have had both types here in the shop at the same time but here is what happened when I did. The Chorus speakers got played for days at a time until sold and the Fortes were played only for possible buyers and to make sure they were working right.