The forte iii I own need to be placed within a foot from wall and will give you tight feelings your body bass I ha e them on 8 inch base make a huge difference
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Some of these horn speakers are not kind to older or poorer recordings. I have lots in my collection, and prefer more forgiving speakers. However, for the right kind of music, I bet they sound great. They look nice too. The loose binding posts is more common occurrence than you think. Had to do the same on my wharfedale 225's...on the Tannoys, no such issue, you can crank on them all day long and they do not loosen. |
I’d like to share my recent experience. The binding posts on my Klipsch Forte 4 are always coming loose. As I was planning to replace the cheesy pound-in metal caps (like you find on a chair leg) with spikes, I decided to open the binding post panel and tighten things up as long as the speaker was off its base. This is what I found: 1. speaker wires were reversed on one of the woofer’s binding posts (positive on negative and vice versa). 2. Discovered that Klipsch is using .002 inch/thick stainless steel strips as "extenders", that bridge the distance from the binding post to the wire that goes to the crossover. These strips are approximately 3/4 X 1/4 inch (and .002, two thousands inch thick). I replaced these (8) strips with beefier solid copper copies. To my ears, the copper extenders made a world of difference. Sound is much less strident at volume, soundstage width and depth increased dramatically, sound is more natural and organic, and instrumental identity and imaging has improved. As far as the always-loose binding posts, the easiest solution is to use banana plugs on your wire. For spades, the most you can do is drop the BP panel (six screws) and tighten the inside nut of each post, with a small screw driver inserted in the hole of the outside post. This is as tight as it will ever be. I’d advise against Locktight as it may hamper contact and reduce the audio signal. Once the binding post assembly is tight, reassemble everything and NEVER tighten the large nuts more than finger tight when you connect your speaker wire (any tighter will just re-loosen the assembly). IMO, this binding post design is, to be polite, bad engineering. Please note: These improvements while using a 14 year old Onkyo HT receiver. I can't wait to hear what a good tube amp will sound like! The good news is that the Forte 4s are much better speakers than I thought! |
Heard the Cornwall Iv vs Heresy IV in the showroom. Was blown away. I was auditioning speakers in the $4-8k range vs. my historical $1-2k budget. I didn't hear the Forte IV's that day, but the store owner would only play high res jazz. I had to depend on online reviews to evaluate the bass characteristics of the heritage line, and in an unprecedented move (for me) ordered the Fortes without hearing them. I was afraid the Heresy's would fall short in the bass department, but they were so similar to the Cornwalls (compared to other lines he carried) I was confident that the Fortes would have the same open live sound they I liked. indeed, the Fortes liven up my room compared to my Paradigm 800F's that sounded so good in the store but got swallowed by my room characteristics (although they are amazing in their new home, my recording studio). I can't comment on the III's, I've never heard them. So the Fortes are doing quite well, and provide an experience that is new to me and way better than the $1-2k speakers that preceded them. That being said, since I have had numerous speakers in this room and their respective room correction measurements I can say without a doubt that the Fortes roll off the high end quite aggressively. Not sure how that is possible with horn tweeters, but it is what it is. It's completely opposite the Klipsch Reference Premiere center channel that I bought to go with them. Otherwise, they sound amazing with all types of music and in all listening positions. I'm not sure if the Heresys would have made me happy, but I have a hard time saying that the Cornwalls I heard would be all that much of an improvement |
One thing that I forgot to mention. If you are listening to a well produced piece, these sound unreal! If you are listening to something not so well produced-The Fortes will make you well aware of it....There are some 1960's Blues records that were very well recorded back in the day that make my jaw drop. There are pop records recorded last year that make me cringe. So there is that to factor in... |
I've had my Forte 4s for 6 months and I love them. The Cornwalls sound a bit 'boxy' to me. But that was 1st version of them. Plus, I didn't have the room. I'm running Moon 340i with the Fortes-so I don't need to crank them. They are pretty happy at 9 oclock. I formerly owned a pair of KG4s and loved them for 30 years. The Fortes are very detailed-a bit bright out of the box, but they settled down within the first week. The bass is really good too. Big enough and smooth. I like the passive radiator idea over ports. Midrange is where these excel. I prize dynamics over everything. The Fortes are very dynamic and very musical. Non analytic. Fun! I compared them to the B&W 702 ( which the Store didn't do them any favors in setup). They sounded blase to me. The Focal Aria 926- of which I thought I could adapt. I listened to the Revel F228e which sounded precise, but too analytical for me... I really wanted to hear Magnepan 1.7s and the Volti Razz as well, but I'd need a Sub for the Maggies and another $1k for the Razz, so I stuck with what I knew. I simply love the live Klipsch sound over more precise offerings. Everyone has their own tastes in music and sound. If I won powerball-I'd give the 802's a shot... |
If you can step, or find a good price on a used pair, the Cornwall IV is a Much better speaker than the previous iterations of the Cornwall in their Heritage line up. It’s general consensus that the Cornwall IV is the most improved Heritage speaker in the Series IV line up of Heritage speakers. Cheers... |
Hey All, Brand new member here but a frequent lurker and frequent AK poster. Had to jump in on this conversation as I picked up a lovely pair of Forte III about a year ago for a great price used, locally. Mint condition. I upgraded from my Heresy 1 which I really loved. So, here’s the kicker. A friend heard my III and decided he HAD to have a pair so I accompanied him to a local dealer for an audition. We were able to A/B/C between the Forte III, IV and the Heresy IV. I felt the Fortes were very similar. So much so that I didn’t feel compelled to run out and upgrade. To be fair, the store had less than optimal acoustics for critical listening. Now, here’s the kicker: I was absolutely stunned at how great the Heresy IV were. I know it’s a subjective thing but they just “grabbed” me more. Now, I’m not ready to run out and look for a pair but if a great price presented itself I might just do it. I will note that my Heresy I were pretty painful at higher volume using a solid state amp but sounded perfect using tubes (Pilot 240 EL84). The Forte III DEFINITELY present with a slightly subdued “sharpness”. I’ve found I can now use solid state with the III pretty comfortably. I had a pair of Cornwall II for a very short time and didn’t like them. I was (am) shocked because of their stellar reputation. I still wonder if it was me or that there was something wrong with them. Sorry for the long post but I love talking about and hearing opinions on these fantastic speakers. So, if a pair of Forte IV dropped in my lap I’d take ‘em but, if I were to add a second pair of speakers if they came up locally for a steal, I’d love to have another pair of Heresy. Preferably the IV! Thanks! |
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Really!!! I’m so shattered.😵
Especially from a fuser https://forum.audiogon.com/posts/488334?highlight=amr%2Bfuses |
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Can’t leave the comments with just the subject at hand, instead of getting personal. Only one thing left for yet another 2nd personal slur. https://youtu.be/MMzd40i8TfA |
Ooops sorry Forte 2 And what, I’m not allowed to have both⁉ Also have Elac floor standers with ribbon tweeters, a pair of Yamaha Soavo. But nothing touches the Monolith 3 esl’s with Neolith panels/ MP-02 plasma tweeters and ACI SV12 bass from <150hz Like I said Klipsch shout at you like JBL’s and the most musical one was the Forte for me |
@cfluxa - Still breaking in my Forte 4s. They're in a temporary system, position not optimized, using "non premium" speaker wire and close to the back wall. They still sound good being used with HT receiver. Upper mids are enchantingly sweet and musical. I will say the tweeter is much better than in the La Scalla IIs I briefly owned. Purchased the Forte to use with future tube amps and "specialty" SS (Pass XA25, Benchmark, etc.). Regarding your Klipsch VS Volti question, It's a tough call. My impression toward Klipsch is that they are "bean counter" driven in their corporate mentality whereas Volti is more perfectionist, designer-centric. I've never heard the Volti's. As for the Forte 4s, my only complaints are the 15 inch passive on the back (would rather have forward firing ports) and the cabinet is 12" deep (I think a 16" cabinet would be better on several levels). Can't wait to move the Klipsch into my main system. Have high-hopes. |
I love my Forte IV, having only auditioned the III . I bought them sight unseen but have no regrets. I wasn’t looking for a speaker, I got a generous trade in on mine so it made it possible . I heard Volti’s larger speaker a few years back and it was pretty impressive. So If it were me and I was doing it from scratch I would definitely want to hear the RAzz They look to be of high quality |