There are a few points that nobody has brought up: First, you can get a pair of Fortes for $400 or even less, if you're patient (as I did just a few months ago). This is simply not true for the other brands you mentioned - and if you want a floorstanding speaker, not monitors, the delta only increases.
Second, the Klipch Forte is 98db efficient, making it a great match for low-powered tube amps - AND bass goes down to 32 Hz.
To me, this is an important point: If you are looking for an efficient speaker (let's say over 96db, just for the sake of argument), and you don't want to spend more than $500 on speakers, your opportunity set is quite limited to begin with. If you want bass, it shrinks even faster: while there are full-range, single driver speakers in that range that supposedly have plenty of bass, I have not been satisfied with the ones I've heard with my gear in my room.
You can always add a subwoofer (as many of the manufacturers actually recommend) but that'll put you over $500 pretty quick! I have not seen anyone ever recommend adding a subwoofer to enhance the bass of the Forte - it doesn't need it! Additionally, many sub-$500 speakers can take a while to sell, whereas if you look at historic prices on Audiogon and ebay, you'll see that Fortes tend to hold their value and sell reasonably quickly.
I love the midrange of 300b tubes and I love rock music. With the Fortes I have absolutely no complaints - I can listen to the White Album and hear Paul just fine. The midrange is great, especially with vinyl. I don't hear the brashness some people complain about when they talk about horns. Both Miles Smiles and Paranoid are fun to listen to, although I absolutely agree that they need to be positioned away from the wall to sound good.
As for whether it's hi fi vs. mid fi, I frankly don't care. To my ears, they sound great with the music I listen to and the equipment I have. If you like tubes, rock, and bass, and you like owning a speaker that's easy to sell if you want to try something different, it is unlikely that there is a better speaker for a similar price.
Second, the Klipch Forte is 98db efficient, making it a great match for low-powered tube amps - AND bass goes down to 32 Hz.
To me, this is an important point: If you are looking for an efficient speaker (let's say over 96db, just for the sake of argument), and you don't want to spend more than $500 on speakers, your opportunity set is quite limited to begin with. If you want bass, it shrinks even faster: while there are full-range, single driver speakers in that range that supposedly have plenty of bass, I have not been satisfied with the ones I've heard with my gear in my room.
You can always add a subwoofer (as many of the manufacturers actually recommend) but that'll put you over $500 pretty quick! I have not seen anyone ever recommend adding a subwoofer to enhance the bass of the Forte - it doesn't need it! Additionally, many sub-$500 speakers can take a while to sell, whereas if you look at historic prices on Audiogon and ebay, you'll see that Fortes tend to hold their value and sell reasonably quickly.
I love the midrange of 300b tubes and I love rock music. With the Fortes I have absolutely no complaints - I can listen to the White Album and hear Paul just fine. The midrange is great, especially with vinyl. I don't hear the brashness some people complain about when they talk about horns. Both Miles Smiles and Paranoid are fun to listen to, although I absolutely agree that they need to be positioned away from the wall to sound good.
As for whether it's hi fi vs. mid fi, I frankly don't care. To my ears, they sound great with the music I listen to and the equipment I have. If you like tubes, rock, and bass, and you like owning a speaker that's easy to sell if you want to try something different, it is unlikely that there is a better speaker for a similar price.