Pairing a sub with Klipsch Forte IVs

[MEH Synergy]

10 hours ago, Fido said:

I listen to a lot of David Guietta, Tao Cruz, Lady Gaga, Ariana etc but even Gordon Lightfoot, Jackson Brown, and James Taylor have some great underlying and very solid low end sub bass lines. Rihanna has so many songs with deep bass that just rock my living room and yes - I need subs to enjoy her music.

 

I don't understand the posters on this forum that argue that subwoofers are not a positive addition to ones system synergy. I get that if they are setup wrong they are not an add but why not set them up correctly????

Yup

[Dhlerner]

On 4/12/2022 at 9:21 PM, Onepocket Bigfoot said:

I just ordered 2 Rel T9x to go with my Forte IV’s. My room orientation is non optimal for getting the most bass out of anything, the idea is to just supplement up to about 40-50hz. This is all connected to an ma352. Will update once I get them next week. 

I know it has been awhile, but how did/do you like the addition of the Rel subs to the MA-352 and Fortes?

[k-banger]

I paired my Forte IIs with a Klipsch RP-1600SW.  It is necessary- look at the Forte II frequency response: https://assets.klipsch.com/product-specsheets/forte-II-brochure.pdf.  If you don't have a sub you are missing out.  I don't understand the people on boards who say they don't need them because they're doing music not movies.  I guess that may be true if you have a very narrow musical taste from a specific era.  Most current (and I'd argue well produced) music hits low across various genres.  

[derrickdj1]

On 1/21/2025 at 6:51 PM, k-banger said:

 I don't understand the people on boards who say they don't need them because they're doing music not movies.  I guess that may be true if you have a very narrow musical taste from a specific era

I am a subwoofer person and have predominately used them in all my 2 Ch systems.  They can offer a bit to the lower end.  Human hearing is most sensitive much higher in the frequency spectrum.  People favor midrange. Hmmm. FR vs personal enjoyment?

Edited January 23 by derrickdj1

[Marko290]

good read. have been curious about a sub with Forte IVs

[Tom05]

On 5/15/2022 at 1:06 AM, Idontknow said:

Just curious. I'm baffled by the need for subs with a pair of Forte's. Is this for two channel audio or movies? I can't even fathom listeners still wanting more bass with Forte's. Maybe for movies but two channel? 

To a large extent I agree , to my ears recorded music  sounds full on a speaker that plays flat  to 38hz , sure there is some recorded music that has a bit more to offer below this point but it gets  harder to discern ,it does depend on the music being played , but 38hz isn’t bad . I’ve found that the biggest advantage to using a subwoofer for music , when matched to something like Forte , is that you can easily run the low frequency range a fair amount hotter than flat , and that’s what many people prefer . Some music  can’t tolerate the boost  , some music can . Bass tone controls unfortunately affect the sound all the way to the middle frequencies , limiting its usefulness. 

[Mauzz]

I use the SVS SB16 with my Forte IVs and it does a really nice job of adding energy to the room.  I have a very large space, so I think about the sub as restoring the intent of the music as opposed to just extra oomph down low.  It's awesome for movies as well but I was most surprised how easily it fits in on music.  I have my cross over set at 55hz and it measured really nicely once I got the subwoofers phase aligned with the fronts.  A sub with app control makes this process much simpler. Just run the sweep, adjust phase by ten degrees and run it again until you get the cleanest response.  Getting the bass dialed-in increased the overall clarity significantly.