Opinions needed on some Klipsch for 2 channel

I recently acquired a pair of KLF 20 and was impressed in stock form.  A Marantz 2216 really took the edge off of them and was more than enough power to make them sing.

Yeah the legends are a little out of my budget. I'm looking to image to just one recliner in my music room so large towers are a bit overkill. I like the look of the heresys but I hear they lack bass. I like the KG4s too because I have heard a pair. But not in a room close to the room I have size wise. I listen to lots of Fleetwood Mac to Bad Company and Deep Purple. Wondering which of the 2 would be best for that sound?

@gavinja70..How will the speakers be set up in this spare bedroom ? Is the spare bedroom a dedicated listening room, or is it a bedroom with the addition of a good stereo ? How large is this room ? MrD.

The room was a guest room and will be empty. It’s 12x14. will be insulating as well as the wife does not appreciate my Deep Purple at the volume I do. (Especially Perfect Strangers) I’m eyeballing some birch Heresy iis on the Bay and am about to jump in. But it seems the KG4s are in large supply and in my budget as well. Looking to spend about 600.

Heresy III need a sub (or 2) but otherwise are simply a great sounding relative bargain, and unobtrusively short. 

Sub is not what I want to hear as I'm running a SX-1080. I don't really want to add another amp. Are you saying the lack of bass in the Heresys is that profound? 

i really liked the quartets, which had plenty of bass, are inexpensive and will match well with your pioneer

Look for some used Fortes. The new IIIs look nice and the reviews are good but pricey @ $3600ish.

I have owned Khorns, Forte 1s, and Lascalas. Friends have Heresys and KG4s. If you don’t want to use subwoofers I’d go with used Fortes. They will be great For the type of music you listen to.

I've got two pairs of Kg4's.  I think they do acoustic instruments and vocals fairly well, but when it comes to kick'n out the jams, they don't handle drums and bass very well.  I thought that pushing more power through them might help, but they are a very efficient speaker.

Heresys are the way to go. Adding a powered sub, later if need be ( cranking Deep Purple loud ). They will be cleaner than any of the other Klipsch mentioned here. The best way to connect a powered sub ( providing the sub has the connections ) is to use the speaker outputs of the amp to the high level inputs on the sub ( or you can do amp to sub to Heresys ). I was never a fan of Klipsch with rear facing passives ( because of rear wall placement ), but having the mid horn is better ( dampen the mid horns, from the outside of the horn , with a product like Dynamat ), as this takes the speaker to another level. Enjoy ! MrD.

As I mention often (too often maybe, but hey...I’m an insecure attention monger!) I have been enjoying a new pair of Heresy III "Capitol Editions" (meaning they’re signed or have different finishes than stock...or something...mine are labeled Ebony but actually ARE "deep purple") for months, with 2 RELs I already owned...a simple tone generator from a test CD will tell you exactly how low the Heresy will go (so will reading any reasonable review) and I simply enjoy the room charging feel of a good sub providing that extra sense of realism to things. Without the subs and with these things on the floor where I think they belong, the Heresy will still display a powerful tone palette. RELs can be unobtrusive, they’re powered of course, and you can get ’em cheap as good ones like mine (Q150e and a Q108II) show up on Ebay frequently. I make my own REL cables from Canare Star Quad and Neutrik Speakon plugs. Read the recent Ken Micallef review in the June Stereophile...he experienced some strident tweeter issues here and there, but otherwise he seems to really like these things. 

Thanks for all the input folks. I have decided to go with some forte 1s. Located a pair on the Bay in FL for 600. Just waiting to see if the guy will give me a few weeks to pick them up when I'm down that way on business. They have a few smudges and no badges on the dust covers but nothing I can't refurb. Thx again

Fortes for sure. Excellent fast bass and they like it loud. Can find a used, excellent pair for 800 or under. 

The Forte's will treat you right. I had the Forte II's recently and loved them, best Klipsch speaker of many I have owned. However the Mrs. and I went our separate ways and I needed to relinquish some valued audio gear :(

In a small room my chorus’s would blow you out. They are by far the most sensitive klipsch speaker ever made. I have two LaScalas I run with them and my LaScalas cam barely hang with them. Btw I’m selling both chorus and LaScalas.

Take a look at the KG4.2. Not expensive $3-400.  Don't need a sub in a room your size. They image well and crank. 

I’ve owned several Klipsch, the Fortes are hard to beat.

I like the Kg4 as well, but in my opinion the Forte is a step up. The 
Chorus are nice but may be a bit much for your room.

Regards,
gary

Forte’s or Quartet for that size room. Own both and you can’t go wrong with either. 

Try some smaller Maggies and a sub and you might be happy if you can position them correctly.  Not all rooms work with dipole speakers, so try them out and take them back if they don't appeal to you.  Other than that, pick a box you like and go with it.  You can only tell by taking it home and listening to it.  If your dealer won't let you, find another dealer.  All good ones do this, of course, since we all know that your ROOM is the most important element in your system.  Most of all, enjoy the MUSIC!

Cheers!

06-06-2018 8:32pm
In a small room my chorus’s would blow you out. They are by far the most sensitive klipsch speaker ever made. I have two LaScalas I run with them and my LaScalas cam barely hang with them. Btw I’m selling

Guess you've never heard of a little thing known as a klipschorn. 104 db vs 101 db. Nuff said.........

The Lascalas are also 104 db, but with the bass roll off of the Lascala, I believe this is the comparison being made here ( imo ). Enjoy ! MrD.

I had considered the new Fortes, but their largeness was an issue...they did a good job with the improved version (new mid horn I think) and I thought they sounded nice and clean when I heard them, but the Heresy IIIs are less obtrusive and maybe more room friendly as they're interestingly short.

Got the Fortes on order and can't wait to get them set up. I'm good with my hands and have taken on some repair jobs such as recapping a power supply here and there in receivers. How hard is it to install the Crite crossover upgrade on the Fortes? Is it a plug and play kit? Or more involved? 

La scallas vr. Chorus. It’s the midrange and his is where the chorus shine. I tested a pair of Cerwin-Vega re38 at 4 ohms and my chorus at 8 ohms still drowned them out. Part of the reason I’m getting rid of them I can’t try other things with them being so loud.

Good luck to you. Enjoy ! MrD.

I have the Forte 1 in my stereo guest room and the Quartets in my surround sound living room. The Forte are my favorite sounding and have been upgraded with Crite’s tweeter, horn and crossover. The stereo room is use to play vinyl and with the Forte the bass is strong enough that you will not even think about a sub. The Quartets are built the same way but I utilize the sub for more punch, but do well with out the sub. The Quartet would be the most economical speakers for the surround sound set up and think you will do well with the Crites upgrade. With any speaker that has a passive speaker always do air leak test by gently pushing in the the active woofer and watching the passive speaker push out and hold for a few seconds. If it doesn’t hold the air, then you have a leak or rip in the speaker some where. Check the surround amp frequency spec; by designed, some amps low frequency will cut off at 40 hz for the sub. Good luck.

I love my Heresy III ,  sound great but do really need a sub in my opinion.   However there are many times, often at night that I listen to them without a sub.  They have great bass, just don't reach down real low.   The bass they do have is excellent in my system,  no small speaker could ever provide rich bass like they do in this room .    I could never go back to a monitor / sub system .   There was so much bass information missing that a sub /  small sat can't deliver.   

I would have liked the Forte but the rear firing radiator was a deal breaker.  The Heresy turned out to be a perfect fit.

The Heresy IIIs have surprisingly accurate bass within their range...relatively "hump" free, although that of course is influenced by where you put them. 

hacking my dealers used speaker list he has a pair of Heresy III's for $1200. Gives you a chance to add a sub.

My Heresy III "Capital Edition" speakers were just under $1500 (they list for $2500 as they're a "special" edition with signed cabs and non standard finishes, although exactly the same performance as a standard Heresy III) and included free shipping with a factory warranty...Ebay might still have 'em. I have 2 REL subs so I was ready.

I had Heresy speakers in the mid seventies. You do get a lot of sound without having to use high powered amps but to me there was a trade off. Because of the horns I found them to be wearing  after a relatively short listening time. If I wanted Klipsch  again I would go with the La Scalas or Klipschhorns.

The Heresy speakers from the 70s don't sound like the new ones as, with good ancillaries, Heresy IIIs have a flatter and utterly listenable accurate top end. I don't think they even sound like horns particularly, except for their efficiency which seems to make them lively. I think there have been 2 updates since the 70s, the last in 2006.

The lady selling the Fortes backed out of the deal. IDK why. I'm guessing somebody offered her more than her asking price. I was going to drive a 500 mile round trip to pick them up. I'm glad she let me know before I left for her town. IDK what's wrong with people anymore.  A deal used to be a deal. On the bright side, I found a minty set of KG-5.2s on the Bay for a bit more than I wanted to pay. Pulled the trigger anyway and they arrived today. I'm thrilled! These monsters sound better to my ears than my RF-7iis do for music. As for over paying... it doesn't matter, these baby's won't be sold until I'm playing a harp on a cloud. Then my kids can worry about their resale value.

just recently got  forte III,there great if u want B stock they can be had for 2200,let me know

jerrygarcia, I’m interested in some B stock. How do I find this deal?

Thanks.

Steves Home Theater ,Blaine MI Chat on Audiogon,He had B stock heresy for sale asked  if he had any B stock Forte ,he has a cherry pair,first  he said 2350 got him down to 2150,he has an ad for heresys for 1250 try to contect him through add or he gave me his phone 612-816-1419 his name was JEFF,Good Luck