jp_nh Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 As the title says I made my first foray into Klipsch with a pair of Forte III. I am stunned at how nice they sound paired with my Jolida tube amplifier running 6550s and a Conrad Johnson preamp. I'm hearing recorded music in a whole new light. The clarity is stunning! Horn instruments, stringed instruments, woodwinds, pianos and voices sound so incredibly realistic. Not like anything I've heard. The midrange is incredible for overdriven guitar. Bass can get get deep and thump. I'm noticing little things I've never heard before like picks hitting strings, Lee Morgan taking a breath during a solo, different layers in recordings, etc. I've always had "East Coast" speakers in the past, which can be a little laid back, and these are so uniquely different it took a little getting used to and dialing them in. I was kind of disappointed at first. Once I got placement correct the bass improved dramatically and the soundstage improved 10 fold. Now they are incredible! Thanks to everyone on this forum for sharing tips etc. Your posts were immensely helpful when I first received the speakers! Looking forward to experimenting with different speaker upgrades and equipment in future! 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 Congrats and welcome to the forum. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter P. Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 6 hours ago, jp_nh said: .... I'm hearing recorded music in a whole new light. The clarity is stunning! Horn instruments, stringed instruments, woodwinds, pianos and voices sound so incredibly realistic. Not like anything I've heard. The midrange is incredible for overdriven guitar. Bass can get get deep and thump. I'm noticing little things I've never heard before like picks hitting strings, Lee Morgan taking a breath during a solo, different layers in recordings, etc... It's the horns, I'm tellin' ya'! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp_nh Posted March 11 Author Share Posted March 11 41 minutes ago, Peter P. said: It's the horns, I'm tellin' ya'! Yeah wow what a difference! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 Welcome and enjoy! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp_nh Posted March 11 Author Share Posted March 11 5 hours ago, billybob said: Welcome and enjoy! Thanks! Can't wait to get off work and throw a few more albums on! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWelsh Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 Welcome to the club! I am also a Forte III owner (also my first ever Klipsch), and share your enthusiasm. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khornukopia Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 On 3/10/2024 at 10:15 PM, jp_nh said: As the title says I made my first foray into Klipsch with a pair of Forte III. I am stunned at how nice they sound ... They do have a really good sound. Congratulations and welcome to the forum. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swanny88 Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 Congratulations. Like you, I am relatively new to Klipsch ownership. My Forte IIs are paired with a Marantz 2285b and sounds amazing either with the Teac RTR or our Turntable. Love the sound 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 What a great story... I remember those days of being blown away. curious... what are 'east coast' speakers? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWOReilly Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 2 hours ago, Schu said: What a great story... I remember those days of being blown away. curious... what are 'east coast' speakers? Boston, AR, etc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SME10 Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 (edited) I just got my first pair Klipsch at 59 years old the Forte III SE delivered about 45 minutes ago. They are in perfect condition using a PrimaLuna Evo 300i with EL 34’s. My sources are SME10 TT and a streamer with a Schiit Bifrost 2 dac and a Nakamichi RX- 505 cassette deck. Also solid state Ayre V-3 newly restored and a Classe Cp-60 newly restored. I can’t wait to hear high powered solid state on these guys. I’m blown away by the huge soundstage the speakers make and they completely disappeared and I just plopped them down! And I was always told stay away from Klipsch because they are to bright and fatiguing and honky sounding. They are not anything like that whatsoever smooth open punchy and incredibly realistic. I still love my Hales Design Group speakers and my Sonus Faber Extremas. These two speakers I mentioned are a lot more money than the Forte III’s but the Forte’s are 90% or more of said speakers. It’s a totally different listening experience. I’m just thrilled to death over the build quality and the sound of these speakers. Klipsch has a new fan. These guys are incredible for the money, as far as value better than my more expensive speakers. Too bad it took 59 years to get some. And I was told the Forte IV’s are better than these, wow. Anyway nice to join the group, it’s going to be a long fun night. Already lining up records I want to hear on these beast. This is like having a band in your room. I feel like I’m 18 again when I bought my first stereo. Sorry for the high school reply, I’m just ecstatic over these guys. INCREDIBLE SPEAKERS!!!!🤘🏼🤘🤘🏾 Edited March 28 by SME10 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted March 28 Moderators Share Posted March 28 13 hours ago, SME10 said: I just got my first pair Klipsch at 59 years old the Forte III SE delivered about 45 minutes ago. They are in perfect condition using a PrimaLuna Evo 300i with EL 34’s. My sources are SME10 TT and a streamer with a Schiit Bifrost 2 dac and a Nakamichi RX- 505 cassette deck. Also solid state Ayre V-3 newly restored and a Classe Cp-60 newly restored. I can’t wait to hear high powered solid state on these guys. I’m blown away by the huge soundstage the speakers make and they completely disappeared and I just plopped them down! And I was always told stay away from Klipsch because they are to bright and fatiguing and honky sounding. They are not anything like that whatsoever smooth open punchy and incredibly realistic. I still love my Hales Design Group speakers and my Sonus Faber Extremas. These two speakers I mentioned are a lot more money than the Forte III’s but the Forte’s are 90% or more of said speakers. It’s a totally different listening experience. I’m just thrilled to death over the build quality and the sound of these speakers. Klipsch has a new fan. These guys are incredible for the money, as far as value better than my more expensive speakers. Too bad it took 59 years to get some. And I was told the Forte IV’s are better than these, wow. Anyway nice to join the group, it’s going to be a long fun night. Already lining up records I want to hear on these beast. This is like having a band in your room. I feel like I’m 18 again when I bought my first stereo. Sorry for the high school reply, I’m just ecstatic over these guys. INCREDIBLE SPEAKERS!!!!🤘🏼🤘🤘🏾 And they will grown on you from there. Liked that write up, been there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Chi-town Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 JP_NH perhaps it is the angle of the photo, but your fortes appear to be awfully close to the rear wall. Those passive radiators need some room to breathe. I have found that a minimum of 8 inches provides the best sound in my various listening areas. Glad you are happy with your purchase. The forte INMHO is the Goldilocks of the Heritage lineup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp_nh Posted April 2 Author Share Posted April 2 On 3/28/2024 at 12:49 PM, John Chi-town said: JP_NH perhaps it is the angle of the photo, but your fortes appear to be awfully close to the rear wall. Those passive radiators need some room to breathe. I have found that a minimum of 8 inches provides the best sound in my various listening areas. Glad you are happy with your purchase. The forte INMHO is the Goldilocks of the Heritage lineup. Thanks yes you're right. I move them in towards the walls so the cats can't get behind while I'm at work and put a claw through the passive. I had just finished listening to them for the night and snapped the photo. When listening they come out into the room so they're ~12 inches from the wall. I've found that bass response is about best there. So far super happy! Just received the III to IV upgrade and plan on installing everything this week. Looking forward to hearing them with the updated drivers/crossovers! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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