@ejlif , Yes, your experience is similar to mine. (I had LS50s--great loudspeaker).
The Forte IIIs, being a horn speaker, are dynamic. There are massive differences between the loud and the soft. This is enhanced with superb recordings. It's hard to go back from horns.
So here I am--45 years old and running tubes and horns. I'm "That Guy" now and I'm very happy.
|
@mapman , as always, you are spot on. |
@drumnman2,
Placement affects imaging with these speakers less than average in my opinion. While I don't think they image as good as other speakers, they do image well. I'd say a B+. When stuff is mixed with something hard left or hard right, they do it properly and holographically. Disclaimer--in my system in my room. |
I thought that I’d drop a note about my first weekend with these guys.
Vinyl sounded better than Tidal/MQA. I have a great phono pre in the Manley Chinook. My DAC is no slouch. I’m not sure if a better DAC would help narrow the gap, but vinyl had more air, better midrange and more believable bass. There is a clarity with vinyl with these in my rig. With my PSB Imagine T2s, vinyl v. Tidal/MQA challenge each other and the victor was decided album to album. Here, the Forte IIIs just sound better with vinyl.
I had a good listening night with 75% vinyl and 25% digital. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to all sorts of music. Voices, horns, and certain percussion stuff sounds fantastic with the Fortes. With digital, I felt like I was sitting 25 rows back and looking into a diorama of the show. Everything was there but in a tight box that I had to look into through a view finder.
With vinyl, I was sitting in the same room as opposed to at a larger venue or through that viewfinder. The sound was taller, wider and more ethereal. My mind’s eye seemed to be viewing a large screen as opposed to looking into the diorama or framed picture of the performance. The Fortes did a great job in displaying massive amounts of air and space in the performance. But why such a difference between vinyl and digital? Again, when the PSB Imagine T2s were in my system, vinyl would best digital more times than not yet digital was much more palatable than with the Fortes.
I closed the 4 hour session thinking these were fun, listenable speakers that keep music the priority. Then my curiosity got me...how would these sound with my Primaluna Dialogue HP Premium?
I fired up the Primaluna today and my first reaction was there is much more texture with the Primaluna. With the NAD M22 everything is clean and clear--so much so that I’d describe the overall color like a daylight lumen colored lightbulb whereas the PL was a warmer, lower lumen bulb.
I'm glad the weather is cooler because I want to keep the PL in the chain now. Everything is so smooth, warm and still tight with the PL. And the texture seals the decision.
|
The Forte iiis sound every bit detailed, image well and have smoothness top to Bottom-with my tube amp. With the NAD masters amp they sounded super dry and clean They almost sound like different speakers with the two different amps.
|
After about 36 hours of break in I've noticed the bass has come alive. The midrange and treble haven't changed to what I can tell.
I was thinking that I was going to be contemplating a sub-bass addition--e.g. REL unit--until Sunday night. I kept playing the same songs from a playlist when I took notes and evaluated where sonics were at. The bass has gone from fair but weak to strong. |
@maccamera,
Your experience is similar to mine.
I was using PSB Imagine T2s. I loved them in my old house (just moved this past spring), but I couldn’t get them to sound as good in a much larger room. I tried upping watts, moving from tube to solid state, tons of positioning, etc. They still sounded really good, but I was missing warmth and they weren’t filling the larger space right. I think a sub bass system (REL) would have been the next step had I not taken the plunge on Forte IIIs.
I always had a bias against Klipsch as non-audiophile. I loved British and Candadian speakers (used Totems, Monitor Audio, B&W, Epos, and wanted Spendors). I always thought of Klipsch as similar to Cerwin Vega and not high end, placing JBL way ahead of them.
The Forte IIIs are superb. If someone out there is on the fence or just curious (and can afford to play around a bit) I’d urge a test drive in your room. My experience was really great with solid state, but maybe shy of amazing with tubes (Primaluna integrated).
I was also previously thinking of moving to Spendor D7s or PSB Imagine T3s. Maybe that’s a curiousity I’ll have to explore someday. But I’m very pleased with the Forte IIIs and, like you, only want to buy more vinyl.
What really impresses me with the Fortes is the height and width of the musical picture. It’s just huge. Music fills the space like air would let out of a tank. The music does not come at me from the direction of the speakers.
If anyone is in the Chicagoland area and wanted to hear them in my dedicated room I’d love to do it. You should bring me a six pack of beer though. :) I’d love to hear someone else’s view of them and whether they had similar thoughts before and after hearing them.
|
@oldschoolsound,
Vinyl is unquestionably smoother and more ethereal regardless of solid state v tubes. But, my sense (and I'm not sure) is that my phono preamp is doing a great job. It's also tube based and of any upgrade I've done it made the most difference. I know a phono preamp seems like the least sexy thing to buy; it was. It's one of the most valuable pieces in my system.
Tidal using MQA masters is really, really good. In fact, with the right recordings it's near spectacular. I do, however, still prefer vinyl.
On my older rig, the NAD/Tidal masters edged out vinyl at even rate (say 1 in 2 recordings). The phono pre made the difference. Some guy on here told me that was my weak link. He was right. |
To update, I have now engaged in tube rolling to tune my tube amp and the Forte IIIs. I moved out Tung Sol 7581a's and put in KT150s. Strangely, the KT150s do not sound bright or harsh. They have really upped the bass--tighter and glowing. My guess is the extra wattage generated by the KT150s is adding more control and headroom so they aren't coming across as harsh.
|
Oldschoolsound,
For streaming, I use the Bluesound Node2, feeding and NAD M22 DAC. If I were you, I would try the Bluesound. It's internal DAC is really splendid and there's nothing wrong with it. I'm not aware (it may exist) of a product that does what the Bluesound does for the price. It's a highly musical piece.
For vinyl, I have an AudioTechnica ART9 moving coil cartridge (about $900) and a Manley Chinook phono preamp.
Of all the audio that I've owned, I think the biggest leaps have come from a great phono pre and in better cartridges (note--I have not gotten into the super price carts yet...let's say >$1500).
I should tell you that I heard a couple of things today on Tidal/MQA that did clearly beat out vinyl. If, however, I have a good pressing of something that's well recorded, vinyl typically wins. More holographic sound and an easier sounding room filling nature.
I should also note that while the Forte IIIs are just the ticket for my room and system right now, they don't do super detail. For example, I auditioned PSB Imgaine T3s (I own T2s) and they carved out instruments in isolation way more. Someone would play a four note guitar motif and drop it in after a lyric and it just hung in the air. That doesn't happen with the Klipsch Forte III. Instead, the Forte III just keeps moving right along churning out one big, giant picture of sound. It's very different and I like both approaches. Right now, I want to be bathed and washed over in sound, rather than analyze nuances.
This isn't to say the Forte IIIs aren't detailed. They are. They just don't highlight things in isolation. The are certainly super cohesive and have much texture/timbre.
|
@wolf_garcia
Did you dampen your Heresy IIIs? It looks like you said you did but I couldn't tell with all of your humor!
I'd be open to dampening my Forte IIIs but I'd like to hear and see about it first. I've never cracked them open.
Tonight, if I get time, I'm going to run a homemade 300b amp into the Forte IIIs. I put high end parts into the amp (Mundorf premium caps, Takman resistors) and it has a really nice layout internally with massive transformers (power and output). I'm curious to see if I get some magic going. |
Tomcar,
arebyou blose to chicago? You can borrow mine. It’s gonna sit until May. |
Thanks for the tips all. I'm a happy DIY'er |
tomcarr,
Yes, I have one. I just got it based on a member's recommendation. He (assuming he was a he--we need more women audiophiles!) was right-- The Freya is really great especially for the money. I haven't compared it to a bunch of other dedicated preamps, at least those in recent memory, so it's hard to say it plays in the $4-5k league.
It is, however great. I think I posted a little review of it. Let me go look.
I may sell it if I figure out how to do a built in where I vent my tube amp through a damper in the summer to release heat into the attic above my third floor listening room. I bought it just to use it in a summer system where I move out a tube amp and use a NAD M22 power amp.
I found the Freya to be very quiet. To me the tube stage was best, then FET stage, then passive--yet there are others who find the opposite. I liked the stock Russian tubes.
Th only thing I didn't like was the clicking steps in the volume control (note the actual volume pot is a great one that stays out of the sound). It's just that when the volume knob is moved it intentionally by design makes noise. I also didn't like that the main power switch was on the rear of the unit. It's not too hard to grab but not ideal.
The Freya was a great introduction to the Schitt brand. Oh, and I experienced none of the microphics some say they did when touching the unit during playback. Mine is dead silent. It's really nice looking too. |
Can’t agree more with Wolf.
Some member noted on a different thread that if Schitt used a front switch, better remote, and slicker chassis the unit would easily exceed $1k or $1.2k. I think that’s a good point.
I cant find fault with it on substance. I really like all the inputs. |
No problem tomcarr!
I can certainly ship it to you to try, but with Schitt's trial program it would be cheaper for you to go that route--unless you have a means of free shipping for you and I to use. |
You are very welcome. I really try to remember this is our hobby of love. I've made friends here by extending a passionate hand.
I will add, an echo Wolf, that the Frey is dead quiet. I hooked it to 98 dB efficient horns and to 90 dB modern loudspeakers. It never made a peep. |
The Creek should mate well with the Fortes. They do sound great with low powered amps but I found they sound better with a bit more power in my room. |
Hi Mrdecibel! Always good to see you around these parts.
I did damp my mid horn. I’m curious about dampening the interior cabinet but I didn’t want to upset the magic that’s there.
Do you think swapping out crossovers for “better” parts would be of benefit? I didn’t look for the board inside so I don’t know how hard it is to access, remove and what its layout consists of. |
