Klipsch speaker choices

The Klipsch RF-3 are OK speakers, but really more home theater speakers than "audiophile" speakers.  The RF-7 are better, but still not in the same league with the Heritage series.  The Heritage series are a 3 driver design and have a richer sound and better constructed cabinets.  There's definitely a difference in sound quality. 

If you are looking for something more laid back, the Heritage series will be the opposite of that.  They will have better integration of the bass, mid, and treble, but will also be more dynamic, which to some ears equals "edgy".  

Your room and amplification will have a lot to do with how the Klipsch sound to you.  If you go listen to them at a dealer they are probably going to have a nice sound damped room and they will sound more laid back than they will in your room if you don't have any sound treatments.

The KLF Legend speakers are somewhat in between and if you can find a decent used pair of KLF-20 or KLF-30 would be a big improvement over the RF-3.  The cabinets on the Heritage series are a little sketchy and you may need to deal with loose panels on the back as well as consider some internal bracing if you plan to play them loud.  There are a lot of affordable upgrades available for crossovers and drivers from Bob Crites and others.  

I love Klipsch speakers and have owned RF-7, KLF-30, CF-3, CF-2, Heresy, RF-3, RF-5, and more, but if you think the RF-3 is too edgy, you might want to look at different brands.  Vienna Acoustics, Canton, and Harbeth (which are in a completely different league) all come to mind.

Klipsch are great for low wattage systems.  Go check out the Heresy and see what you think.

MrD, I meant to say Legend series, not Heritage. My bad.

I did say the Heritage line has better constructed cabinets.

The panels on my KLF-30s were loose and rattled at high volumes. I used some Titebond III to seal them up. I recently put some Dynamat on the tweeter and mid horns in my Heresy I speakers and that improved sound quality. 

If you're referring to the height of the Heresy cabinet when you use the word "shortness", they are designed to be on the floor.  They are on risers that are tilted up, so yes, they can create a great soundstage.  I tried mine out in my main system recently after damping the horns and they created a more immersive sound stage than my Harbeth Super HL5 Plus.  They aren't in the same league as the Harbeths in many other important ways, but don't fall short by a huge margin either.

The RF series are good for home theater and occasional two channel listening.  The RF7s and RF83 will play loud and will rock, but there are much better speakers out there for not much more.  If you want speakers that will play loud and be more laid back and sound better than the RF-3, try to get your hands on some used Legacy Audio speakers.  You can sometimes find Focus 20/20 speakers for around $2000-$2500.  I have not heard the Legacy Audio Classics, but those can be had for less.

I haven't heard the new Forte speakers, so can't speak to them, but in my experience, Klipsch Heritage, Legend, and Epic speakers sound good at lower volumes. 

I had my Crites modded Heresy I in my office for quite a while and listened mostly to jazz on the local NPR station.  They sounded great at low volume.  I have a pair of KLF-30 in my bedroom currently and the volume on my ARC LS26 rarely goes past 2 or 3 (on a scale of 1-103). 

Personally, I think many Klipsch speakers sound their worst at high volumes.  That's when some of their worst characteristics are accentuated and they hurt my ears.  Some of that depends of course on the room, the rest of the system, and listening distance, and personal taste. 

My KLF-30s are very smooth and can be played very loud without sounding "bright" and don't hurt my ears, even at fairly close listening distance.  In contrast, we have a local music meetup group and we have listened to La Scalas a number of times at a local audio store.  When played loud, they started to hurt my ears and I wanted to leave the room.  The other 5 or 6 guys there all thought they sounded great however, and most of them have better systems than mine.