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New Speakers - Klipsch Forte III or IV ok for room size shape?


Maverick_pw

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Maverick:

 

As I look at your picture, I wonder if it might be helpful to post another picture of (as I'm looking straight at the fireplace from the living room) what is to the right and left, and behind. I assume that there is a seating area behind where the TV is now. My recommendation would be to move the TV either to the wall (if there is one) to the right or left, as I'm looking at the fireplace in your picture. Likely the only option here would be the right because it looks like there are windows/outside wall on the left. If that's possible (and makes sense), the TV and corresponding 2-channel set up would be on the right wall or right side, and your seating area would get moved out perpendicular to the fireplace. You wouldn't want to move the equipment to the wall straight behind the fireplace because you'd cover up the view of the fireplace. Perpendicular would still allow you to see the fireplace (and kitchen), and straight toward your set-up. That might also give you a wall to work with where you could do Forte (III or IV, whatever), or even Heresy's. Basically anything you put on either side of that fireplace is going to impede the passage to/from the kitchen and (I think) dining area.

 

And you are on the right track with not putting any of this stuff in the basement, if the kids are down there unsupervised. Too much stress on you, AND them. Final thought: Look into some room treatments there --- e.g. rugs. I'd imagine that might help.

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More pictures would help, since that one picture shows only the middle of the room.  It would be useful to be able to see all four walls of the room, showing where any windows or doors may be. 

 

It may be necessary to place your speakers in a different part of the room.  When I first got my La Scalas, I had them placed on either side of the TV, only 5 feet apart and about 6 feet from me, with the right one nearest the wood stove, with a wall close behind it,  and the left one in open space, similar to your left speaker.  Luckily, a Forum member from Rimouski was in town for work, and was able to stop by for a short visit.

 

He took one look and said that the speakers’ location was about as bad as it could be, and that the speakers and the TV should be moved to the wall on the left.  That day, I didn’t have the time or the longer speaker cables required.  However, a couple of weeks later, a buddy came over and we re-oriented the system on the long wall to the left.

 

WOW!  That was how amazing the improvements were.  Thanks, psg!  He was the Forum member.  Now the speakers were 12 feet apart and 6 inches from the wall behind them (La Scalas don’t have any rear ports or passive radiators, and like to be close to a wall.), with the TV between them.  That’s how the system remains, 14 years later!  Now I sit around 12 feet from the TV, and the speakers are 12 feet from each other, measured centre-to-centre.  They’re able to work to their potentials, and the layout of the room is better in every way.

 

This is not to say that your situation is exactly the same, needing the exact same remedy.  I’m just suggesting that you post some more pictures, or a floor plan diagram, showing any windows or doors, so it would be possible to get a realistic view of your room, so that really helpful suggestions could be made.  Even the best speakers need to be properly positioned to perform at their best.

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20 hours ago, Brian Tambe said:

I have the Forte III’s and I’ll give my testimony to the bass produced by the rear passive radiator. I have mine 8” from the rear wall and listening to music that I’ve had for years when listened to on the Forte III’s I thought my KLIPSCH R-120 SW Subwoofer was on!! Holy cow!  My AVR has Direct and Pure direct mode and while in this mode the sub will not be allowed to come on and still swore it was on , that’s how phenomenal the low frequency is with the combination of the 12” Active woofer and that woofer moves enough air to make the passive move and bounce off the rear wall and BAM , smooth deep rich clean bass. Yes , the rear passive is important and makes the Forte ROCK!! 

 

I've had Forte III's sustaining 110 db with only a 45 watt half sized Marantz receiver, playing bass boosted Eminem.  So yeah they thump.  But the Eminem songs I was playing was pretty low, most of his stuff is low 30 hz, Killshot for example is 27 hz.  The problem is that passive radiators work like ports, and if we consider what ports do, well they stop doing much of anything once you get to an octave above the tuning frequency.  I suspect that by the time you get to about 70 hz they're just not doing much.  That's not to say that they don't produce bass or that they can't thump but rock music in particularly with the kick drums is all about the punchy 60-80 hz area and I'm just saying that I don't think the radiator is doing quite as much as people think it is once you get up that high.  Even without a rear firing radiator you still ideally need a wall behind you for it to sound punchy though.  It's not ideal either way.  

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If OP responds, thinking am going to recommend putting foldable hinges with wings like small swinging solid doors, mounted down to cover rear passive radiator. Put the Forte 3/4 on either side of fireplace with the doors attached behind to fireplace as a backstop after discovery of best bass for his 

room to position them.

 

 

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Hi all!

 

Just want to start off by thanking everyone for their input. I never thought that my post would be able to get the traction that it has.  It shows to the quality and passion of the board members here.  I have been quite busy and have not had the time to follow this thread, and simply put you guys have impressed me!

 

With all of the (brutally honest!) comments about my living room, I realized I had to educate myself a little more, and now realize what a NOOB I am when it comes to HIFI.  I am really just a music lover at heart and am just starting to dabble in what is the HIFI world.

 

I will try to respond as best as I can to the suggestions that you all put forth.

 

Headphones:  I already have a good setup that is satisfactory to me, and use it during the evening time when the kids go to sleep.  Unfortunately, I'm really only looking for loudspeakers.  Thanks!

 

Heresy's:  It is actually what attracted me to the the Heritage line, but I don't appreciate the shape of the speaker, I find it a little too stubby.  Also, it has a rear firing port, so I assume that I will be fighting the same battle as with the fortes rear passive radiator?

 

Subwoofer:  No thanks, due to the room orientation, will be difficult to put it  anywhere that it doesn't look out of place...this is all code speak for WAF.....but true at the same time hahaha.

 

I will post more pics of my living room so that you can all have a better idea of what I am dealing with.  I wont be able to do that for a little but, so thank you all for the patience with my NOOB questions and timing.

 

 

I have a question:  If I understand correctly, my room is difficult for two reasons: 

  1. No backing wall.
  2. Size of the room as well? Or will the fortes not have enough volume?

 

I will check in in a day or two.  Thanks so much to all

 

 

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1 hour ago, Paducah Home Theater said:

 

I've had Forte III's sustaining 110 db with only a 45 watt half sized Marantz receiver, playing bass boosted Eminem.  So yeah they thump.  But the Eminem songs I was playing was pretty low, most of his stuff is low 30 hz, Killshot for example is 27 hz.  The problem is that passive radiators work like ports, and if we consider what ports do, well they stop doing much of anything once you get to an octave above the tuning frequency.  I suspect that by the time you get to about 70 hz they're just not doing much.  That's not to say that they don't produce bass or that they can't thump but rock music in particularly with the kick drums is all about the punchy 60-80 hz area and I'm just saying that I don't think the radiator is doing quite as much as people think it is once you get up that high.  Even without a rear firing radiator you still ideally need a wall behind you for it to sound punchy though.  It's not ideal either way.  

Well now that you have explained in more detail what you meant regarding the passive not doing much I agree 100% Frequency levels are crucial when achieving levels of sound , in this case , BASS frequency! When I set up my Forte III’s in my listening room I was having somewhat of a difficult time getting my sub to produce a nice low frequency sound!! I’ve learned a lot since then ( 1 yr 3 months ) ago and had the frequency set too high and zero bass - low frequency output and then remembered the term “ roll off “ and turned the frequency knob on my KLIPSCH R-120SW down to around 48hz and there it was , nice deep “ NOT BOOMY “ smooth low frequency. The higher the frequency setting doesn’t mean more bass!! Then I set the “ Gain “ where it delivered the sound I wanted and whoola..

I ONLY use my sub for movies , Home Theatre , and when listening to some of my vinyl. The low frequency isn’t there on the Forte III’s when listening to some of my LP’s and so I set my AVR to stereo and that setting allows the sub to come on and it sounds good. My previous speakers were KG4’s and they needed the sub for everything I listened to CD , vinyl or cassette. After getting the Forte III’s I purchased a new AVR - Denon X4500H. I now stream Pandora and don’t need the sub with the Forte III’s , only when listening to certain vinyl. I packaged up my cassette deck in its original packaging and put it away for good. 

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Quote

 

I have a question:  If I understand correctly, my room is difficult for two reasons: 

  1. No backing wall.
  2. Size of the room as well? Or will the fortes not have enough volume?

 

 

Any speaker will sound better with some reinforcement behind it. Some need to be farther away from a wall than others, but all of them need some assistance.

 

It's not so much the size of your room, but the open floor plan with high ceilings that is the issue. Throw in lots of hard, reflective surfaces and you have a recipe for disaster.

 

Shakey

 

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I have a pair of Forte 2s. I have had them in big rooms, small rooms and a room with high ceilings. They sounded great in all of them. I do think you need a wall behind to take full advantage of the passive radiator. 8/12 inches from a wall seem to be the sweet spot. If it were me In your situation I would probably have to add a sub. 

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All right guys, here are the additional photos.  The a/v receiver and turntable are to the left and the wiring goes underneath the floor.

 

You all made me realize that I was going way too fast with everything and will need to do some testing....I think I will do some testing with my own speakers to see my own perceived differences with speakers near the wall in my basement.  If any of you have any tracks to suggest to verify speaker response in the lower frequencies, I am very interested to see what you kind of music you all use.

 

You also made me realize that I am most likely fighting a losing battle with this room...so maybe I will get a used set of loudspeakers that I could put downstairs instead, and not be too worried about what the kids are doing..

 

Also, I checked out the cornwall and every review I see says....get the cornwalls if you can afford the price and have the space.  Thing is, down here on the used market I never see the fortes on the used market, but I often see the cornwall IV and the common theme when selling seems to be...just to big for my house.  Dilemmas...

 

Have a great day everyone....ROCK ON!

living room 2.jpg

living room 3.jpg

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I would put whatever speakers you end up with on the wall flanking the equipment. Just buy a sound bar for the TV and be done. Yes, Cornwalls will work fine in that room.

 

That said. My first recommendation is moving the entire system downstairs into a better room. Being the good father that I'm sure you are, you will figure out a way to make this work with kids. And besides, they will have to learn the value and importance of certain things as they get older. Maybe it's a good time to start now.

 

Shakey

 

 

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Curious--do you have a photo of the wall where the cookie monster in the chair is, or is that all open? While I realize that where your equipment is now seems like the best option for it in the future, I wonder if you might be happier with your sofa along that wall (where the equipment is now), and your 2 channel setup along the back wall where the sofa is now, or the other wall that isn't in the photos. The corners on the back wall look like they would fit the speakers you are considering, and the sound would open to the rest of the room, kitchen area, etc. Of course, your TV is in that mix also so that's something to consider if you want to keep that up there. Or, as Shakey recommends, or the wall opposite of that, if there is one. Personally, I'm in the camp of not liking TV's above fireplaces, especially one as nice as yours. Good luck.

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CWIVs would work in that spot. If you use the area to the left as a walkway into the room behind it, that speaker might get touched though, as wide as a CW is. Place something there the size of a CW and see what you think about their size.

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