forte vs. heresy

[Later Peter]

What's the main diff? I used (& will again) own Heresy (original) & before I get the II's are the original Forte's any clearer or cleaner in sound? Heavier in the bass or brighter treble????

any input is always greatly appreciated.

Later,

Peter

[Bill H.]

Fortes:

FREQUENCY RESPONSE:

32Hz-20kHz±3dB

SENSITIVITY:

98dB @ 1watt/1meter

POWER HANDLING:

100 watts maximum continuous (500 watts peak)

NOMINAL IMPEDANCE:

8 ohms

ENCLOSURE TYPE:

Bass reflex via passive radiator

DRIVE COMPONENTS:

Three-way design using one 1" (2.54cm) phenolic diaphragm compression driver tweeter with a 90°x40° Exponential horn, one 1.5" (3.81cm) phenolic diaphragm compression driver midrange with a 90°x40° Exponential horn, one 12" (30.48cm) front-firing, fiber-composite cone woofer and one 12" (30.48cm) rear-firing, fiber-composite cone passive radiator

TWEETER:

K-75-K 1" (2.54cm) Phenolic diaphragm compression driver

HIGH FREQUENCY HORN:

90°x40° Exponential Horn

HF CROSSOVER:

6000Hz

MIDRANGE:

K-53-K 1.5" (3.81cm) Phenolic diaphragm compression driver

MID FREQUENCY HORN:

90°x40° Exponential Horn

MF CROSSOVER:

700Hz

WOOFER:

K-23 12" (30.48cm) Fiber-composite cone active / KD-13 12" (30.48cm) Fiber-composite cone passive

DIMENSIONS:

35.4" (89.92cm) x 16.5" (41.91cm) x 12" (30.48cm)

WEIGHT:

56 lbs. (25.4kg)

ENCLOSURE MATERIAL:

Medium density fiberboard construction (MDF)

FINISHES:

Walnut Oil, Walnut Lacquer, Oak Oil, Oak Lacquer, Finished Black

YEARS BUILT:

1985 - 1989

[jerohm]

----------------

On 5/9/2004 11:00:26 AM Bill H. wrote:

Fortes go from 32-17hrz with 98db freq.

----------------

The Forte uses the K-75-K so I am pretty sure it is spec'd to 20KHz plus/minus 3db

[Olorin]

I own both. I've had Heresies for twelve or thirteen years, and I've had Fortes for a day.

The Heresies are brighter. They have a stronger midrange more aggressive highs. If you like that -- I do -- the Heresies are hard to beat. I'd venture to say that if the Heresy sound is THE one you like, anything other than its bigger brothers sort of a lateral move.

The Fortes are smoother. Their mid and high end sound is not as in-your-face. I wouldn't call them mellow, though, and while it's dangerous to guess what "most people" would say, I'd expect most people to think they're still pretty bright. Again, though, not so hot as the Heresies, but so cool as (say) Polks.

Fortes have bass. Fortes have lots of bass. Fortes have so much bass that I don't notice if the subwoofer is off for music CDs. DVDs will bring that fact to light, but some pretty heavy bass stuff -- Smashing Pumpkins "Mellon Collie" and Tool "Undertow" -- doesn't miss the sub at all. My windows shake and things threaten to abandon the mantle for more stable ground.

Importantly for me, my wife is in love with the Fortes. The Fortes are staying on for main duty, and the Heresies are going to the back room. If I miss the Heresy highs, I'll turn up the treble until it's close enough. :-) Unless you HAVE to have THE Heritage sound, if you opt for the Fortes, I wouldn't expect you to feel you'd made a mistake.

Ed

[popbumper]

Ed:

Interesting - I also own both, but in reverse; Forte's are courtesy of the wife (11 years married); my Hersy II's have been hooked up for THREE DAYS! Almost exact opposites......

The Heresies are INDEED brighter! I noticed this right off the bat, I am currently using them as surrounds and they "speak up" quite noticeably! Interstingly, the Heresy II's and the Forte's share the same midranges, but the tweets are OBVIOUSLY different!

Agreed on the Forte's being smoother as well; the mids and highs BLEND very nicely. The Forte is well balanced, AND has lovely amounts of bass, which gives a beautiful seamless transition to my sub. These speakers, when auditioned by my wife several years back, were a CLEAR choice over Heresies, given their bass predominance (which she loved at the time, and still does). I think they make EXCELLENT front speakers.

While I also realize that the original Heresies and Heresy II are different from one another as well, all of these are great speakers in their own respects, you just can't go wrong.

Popbumper

[WMcD]

It seems pretty well agreed that the Forte has superior bass to the Heresy series. Actually they have better bass than just about any other direct driver unit. The passive radiator is the reason.

People generally report that the Forte has a less agressive midrange than the Heresy or Cornwall, at least the original ones.

I have Quartets and Forte II, and some home made units with the T-35 tweeter (like the Heresy). To my ear the tweeters in the Quartets and Forte II are better. They seem to have the sparkle and still are not "hot".

No matter the relative merits of any given model, you should consider whether you'll be eventually mixing different families of speakers in the long run. It may be better to stick with Heresy II and Forte I, for example.

Gil

[cc1091]

I owned the Heresys (not Heresy IIs), The guy next to me in the dorm owned the Fortes. Mine were louder and more forceful. His were more refined sounding, had better bass but were less forceful. At parties, we would pair the Fortes and the Heresys together with a Carver Amp. Nivana (and I don't mean the group).

[Olorin]

You know, I should have asked -- what's your plan for them? Music, HT, or both? If I were going strictly for music, I'd probably get the Fortes. If I were assembling an HT, I'd get the Heresies. They're (generally) less expensive, and you'd be using a sub for the bass anyway.

FWIW,

Ed