Why do I do this to myself? (Forte II vs. RF-7)

[Bubo]

You could go through a big listening bake off, or just keep and use both sets of speakers.

 

I would set up a 5.1 surround system with the RF7s and same series gear, then locate the Forte2s inside of the corner speakers a couple of feet off the wall and set up a completely separate 2.0 system.

Forte 2 is an incredibly good sleeper speaker.

[John Chi-town]

On 11/4/2006 at 6:00 PM, wuzzzer said:

 

Well folks, thanks to Klipsch I find myself in a dilemma. Actually, its more thanks to craigslist (again).

 

Here's what the ad said: "Klipsch Forte II speakers. Perfect condition, medium oak finish, $400."

 

Hmm, not a bad deal considering that on eBay most of the Forte speakers have sold in the $500-700 range. So, I considering emailing the seller and then forget about them. About a week later I do a search on craigslist for speakers and...what's this?...the same ad but this time they're listed for $275!!

 

I immediately emailed the seller and asked about them. He said they were still available. I asked when I could pick them up. Saturday at 12:30pm. Ok, sounds good.

 

So my best friend and I drove to the guy's house which was about an hour and a half from where I live. He had them sitting outside on his wood porch. They were a little bigger than I thought they'd be. They weren't exactly what I'd call perfect, but I would call them excellent. They looked really, really nice.

 

The gentleman said that he used to own Klipschorns also and has only listened to classical music through tube amps on all his Klipsch speakers. I asked him why he got rid of the Khorns and he said he's joining the priesthood. As I left he had a very sad look on his face as he said "Take care of them, ok?"

 

Unfortunately I wasn't able to listen to them at his place but I could tell that considering how nice the cabinets looked, they would probably sound perfect.

 

So, I hooked them up and placed them in between my RF-7s and my TV. I just wanted to make 100% sure they worked. BIG MISTAKE. The Fortes sounded good. Really good. REALLY good. REALLY REALLY GOOD.

 

It was impossible to do a good A/B test as you'll see in the attached pic. The Fortes were way too close to each other to get a good idea of imaging and stereo separation. I had my friend switch back and forth between the two. The RF-7s definitely played louder, the 3dB difference in sensitivity was easy to hear. There was just something about the midrange on the Fortes though. On some drums it had just a certain 'smack' that the RF-7s don't have.

 

I put in about 15 different CDs, 5 music concert DVDs and also Star Wars III which we ended up watching in its entirety (mainly to show off the SVS to my friend).

 

Am I crazy to actually consider getting rid of the RF-7s and keeping the Forte IIs?? I can't keep both pairs, one of them has to go. I was really worried that this might be the outcome.

 

Oh, BTW, the serial #s on the backs of the speakers are 098292147 and 098292150. Any idea when they were made? 98?

 

The forte II is hard to beat, especially in an all around 2 channel environment.  I replaced my phenolic diaphragms in the squawker and tweeter on my pair with titanium, even more amazing than stock.

 

Best regards,

John

[Rivernuggets]

On 1/15/2018 at 8:28 PM, Bubo said:

You could go through a big listening bake off, or just keep and use both sets of speakers.

 

I would set up a 5.1 surround system with the RF7s and same series gear, then locate the Forte2s inside of the corner speakers a couple of feet off the wall and set up a completely separate 2.0 system.

Forte 2 is an incredibly good sleeper speaker.

Yes, yes, and yes.

[Terry Palmer]

Doing more listening today. I have a live CD from a local central MN band that's extremely well recorded that I've used as a reference disc. Sounds incredible.



Last night my best friend made the comment when listening to a live concert DVD that the Fortes sound more like a live band playing right in the room and the RF-7s sound like speakers playing recorded music.



If these are from '89 as someone said they are in incredible shape for being almost 20 years old!

You mean almost 30 years old I have a pair of Forte I’s they were made in ‘87 so the are 30 years old and they are in excellent shape.


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[Terry Palmer]

Interesting comparison between 2 actually rather different speakers.

IMHO the strengths of the RF7 are in the imaging, soundstaging and focus whilst the strength of the Forte is in its midrange (arguably the best of all the heritage speakers - this was the Klipsch built for Rock music after all).

The choice comes down to what you listen to (and your personal taste of course). For me - classical demands the RF7 and Rock the Forte. I could see Jazz lovers going either way.

YMMV and all that.....

Jazz lovers should go CW or stay home!


So do you feel that the major difference between the Forte I’s and Forte II’s would be the midrange and maybe bass?


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[wuzzzer]

4 hours ago, Terry Palmer said:

You mean almost 30 years old I have a pair of Forte I’s they were made in ‘87 so the are 30 years old and they are in excellent shape.


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This thread was started in 2006 so the dates were correct back then. 

[jjptkd]

9 hours ago, Terry Palmer said:

So do you feel that the major difference between the Forte I’s and Forte II’s would be the midrange and maybe bass?

 

 

 

 

I spent a couple hours one night some years ago comparing the two and they are very, very close in sound to one another. At the end of it all the forte II seemed it had a slight advantage in the mid range being just a bit more open. Bass pretty much seemed the exact same to me.