I’m considering a brand new pair of Revel F35s for $1,000 (retail $1600). I’ve heard them and I think they will work better in my 18X22 Vaulted main listening room...(likely with a sub)...than my current Def Tech BP8040s (ebay $800) that are just to airy in that room. No punch at all. Nice at low levels but nothing even near loud. I have a very average Yamaha RXV1000 receiver now that I will upgrade to amps / inters of Mac or Parasound or possibly Emotiva. Stereo only..no mulit channel. Have only heard the Mac so not sure. I stream Spotify thru a Bluesound Node 2 about 98% of the time right now. Listen to everything from Steely Dan to David Gilmore to Miles Davis to Postmalone. I want Klipsch Forte IIIs but can only afford the F35s or maybe Klipsch Heresy IIs or IIIs. I love vintage Klipsch sound...but also the direct sound of Energy, Boston Acoustics and now Revel.
Wow, those are completely different speakers. The Revel is a very detailed and high resolution speaker. I would avoid the Emotiva amp with this one, as the Revel is not a forgiving speaker. The Parasound A21 or higher would be excellent for detail, attack and slam. McIntosh would be great if you want a more laid back sound.
The Klipsch are very nice, but have a very unique sound. The Emotiva would probably be okay with this. Classic rock would probably be more pleasing on the Klipsch speakers. The Klipsch doesn't have the high frequency resolution of the Revel and it is not going to be as exacting to the source.
The loss of punch in your room could be a weak amplifier. That Yamaha receiver doesn't have a lot of muscle. Or it can also be due to the very large size of your room.
I sold my Revel M106 and bought a pair of Heresy III..... great speaker , totally different than Revels ... I enjoyed my time with the Revels, don't get me wrong, but the Heresy driven by the same c-j Classic 2SE and a 40 watt pair of EL34 Quicksilvers sounds much closer to live music. They are way more fun to listen to ....they have excellent bass, it just doesn't go very low. I often use my sub with most material, except at night.
Disclaimer: I had a pair of Klipsch CF4 20 years ago and really missed them and unlike most purchases I bought the Heresy after about a 10 minute audition, they were playing when I walked in and I knew I was going home with a pair. Huge soundstage for such a small box.
When I want to hear every nuance and detail I put on my Grado RS2e 'phones. But when I want to rock out or play a movie or concert video its the Heresy , great speaker for the money.
Oddiofyl and I are the "Heresy III Mafia" around here, but if only to help a little company in Arkansas...The Heresy IIIs don’t have a "unique" sound particularly, they’re clear and precise...it is sort of a sideways adventure that brought me to these things as I bought some new, efficient, and well made ribbon tweeter tower speakers to go with a low powered single ended amp, and compared with my less efficient previous main speakers (which I still have) they seemed somewhat lifeless. Thought about the Heresy IIIs, heard ’em, bought a pair, and they’re amazingly good. A sub or two is recommended.
I wouldn't say "unique" as in very different. I was trying to convey that the Klipsh horn based speakers have a different sonic signature than the conventional metal dome tweeter type like the Revel. The Klipsch are definitely very lively sounding and I would say that they do sound more "live" than the Revel. If you have listened to Klipsch and love Klipsch, then you should buy Klipsch! lol.
When someone mentions Miles Davis recordings, it brings me to that early time in my life that I heard a set of Khorns, and I knew this was the reproduction I wanted. I owned Khorns for 2 years, as, I had a place with ideal corners to accommodate them. When I moved ( due to life circumstances ), I sold them and enjoyed Klipsch Lascalas with subwoofers, which fir the bill. Granted, as I have stated this before, that every Klipsch speaker, needed some damping and taming, particularly the mid horns, because even today, Klipsch is looking at a price point, and does not hear it as a viable upgrade. Moving along.....the point I wanted to make was, I still have not heard a better recreation of Miles Davis recordings other than good horns. And they do piano, voices, drums, you name it, quite well. So, I am partial. Enjoy ! MrD.
I live on the MA / RI border and drove to the closest Heritage dealer , Audio Visual Therapy in NH and it was well worth the trip..... see if you can audition before you buy....
My hard rule with audio : listen before you buy. I seldom break this rule and it has paid off big time. The only time I broke that rule was with my headphone amp. I got lucky on that one..... but with most gear, especially speakers and headphones I won’t buy unless I can demo it. Preferably in my system, but any hands on is ok.
Is Klipsch still in Arkansas? I thought they got bought or somehow moved north. Maybe Minnesota? Not that it matters for this topic, but when you mentioned...
The "better" Klipsch models, Heritage, are still made in Arkansas by hand. I owned the Forte III's recently and loved them, the best Klipsch of the several I have owned over the years. Had to give them up due to a divorce, sigh. DO NOT discount the need for proper amplification in any audio system. I read time and time again about listeners swapping speakers yet retaining an A/V receiver and wondering why the sound isn't pleasing enough. The Klipsch sound is an acquired taste for some but I liked the "liveliness" of it. They are very, very revealing of everything upstream, that includes sources. Good luck in your audio journey. The Forte III's are awesome speakers, some day I will own them again...
You might want to consider a pair of Zu Audio Omen Dirty Weekends. On sale now for $999 (in Rustic Hickory). May be the best price/performance proposition in audio. These come with a 60 day in-house trial period. If you don't like them, send them back - Zu pays for the return shipping. Nothing to lose!
I bought the Forte IIIs and love them...even with my basic Yamaha RXV1000 receiver they sound awesome and are huge upgrades to the DefTechs. Wifey finally accepted the size of the Fortes is worth the sound quality.
Now waiting to receive the McIntosh MC2105 amp I bought this week here on Audiogon. Can't wait to hear what the Mac / Forte combo sounds like!
Now starting to think about preamp. I want to stick to McIntosh. So far I think I want a tuner / preamp combo.
Any suggestions? Only caveat is I need an output for a second zone as this is my whole house system and I have two Niles amps driving all my ceiling and outdoor speakers. I think this is not a problem with the vintage Mac stuff but let me know if I'm wrong. Would it be better to buy a more modern preamp that has zone 2? $1,000 is the target budget.
MX-110 Z with cathode follower will drive two sets of lines with some caution.....great tuner and line section, phono leave a lot to be desired..... the newer Forte are much improved - enjoy them !!!! as you move along the Mac spectrum, especially w high efficiency horns, I would strongly consider the MC225-275 amps......especially the 240 I have owned them all....running Cornwalls.
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