Thoughts on Threshold Forte Model 3 Nelson Pass

Go for it, but, not because it comes from "the Nelson Pass "pedigree"", because it doesn't.

David, As the VP of Threshold from 1987 to 1991, I was also in charge of Sales/Marketing/Cheerleading/Dealer Support, and diaper-changing for Forte'. The Forte Model 3 will have much better control of your Kefs -- especially in the bass region -- will sound less "transistory", more holographic, and more transparent.

ENJOY!
ATB,
Joe

I've heard a few Adcoms on occasion, and used to have a Forte 1a.. I'd say the Forte 3 should be a step up in quality from an adcom.. should be a little more revealing, transparent and smoother. At least my 1a was...

I had an Adcom 555 and got the Forte 3.....much better sounding amp all around, IMO. Drives my 3 ohm Divas nicely. Now I have 4 Forte 3s to drive all my surround speakers.

Mike

I just bought a used Forte 3A for $450 to have as a backup amp. I was very pleasantly surprised at what a great little amp this is. Great midrange, powerful and non-fatiguing. My previous listening experience with Adcom gear was less favorable... a bit grainy, etched highs and more apt to wear down listeners during longer listening sessions. The Forte 3A is an exceptional / can't miss steal of an amp for those wanting a wonderful sounding vintage powerhouse for less than $500. Go for it!

Hey guys: Scored one for $315 on Ebay!!! The seller erroneously listed it as 100 wpc (its 200), and I think that may have kept the price down. Should arrive any day. Does anyone have a suggestion for a reasonable remote-operated preamp or preamp/tuner that will pair well with the Forte? Thanks. Also, confirmed through Threshold that Mr. Pass himself was involved in the design!! -David

Nelson Pass was at Threshold at the time of the Forte designs, but was not actually involved with the design. In fact he was opposed to the use of the IGBT transistors used. The current holders of the Threshold name, have little in common with the Threshold owners at the time the Forte line was being designed by the very capable Michael Bladelius (sp?). Don't let that bother you, the Forte amps are amongst the all time classic great value amps ever made. Enjoy!

Unsound,

The Model 3 did NOT use IGBT's like the later Forte models (after Nelson left). The Model 3 was the 200wpc AB amp of the exact same components as the 1a. The 1a was a 50wpc class A amp. And yes, Nelson had a hand in designing the early Forte models along with Rene Besne. Rene Besne was the designer of the IGBT Forte's.

You are correct Nelson didn't think IGBT's had any place being used in audio and he wrote a large paper about it which can be found on the 'net.

To correct my above post (can't seem to figure how to edit. Michael Bladelius-a Swedish designer was primarily responsible for the Forte Model 4 and 5 which used IGBT's at the outputs. Nelson's designs were still used on the front end of the amplifiers

Heiney, thank you! You are correct, my bad. Though I think it was the model 4's, 5's, 6's and 7's that used the IGBT's, and I believe that Rene Besne's input was mostly limited to the cosmetics. It is interesting that the early Pass designed Forte amps were not at all well recieved in their day, and the latter Bladelius Forte amps were huge hits, especially the smaller higher class A biased amps.

I just happened to have this info straight because I have been recently doing some research on Forte amps because some have come up FS recently. The facts are easy to confuse and I even found myself re-checking what I posted. The line certainly blurs easily when it comes to Mr. Pass and his amplifier exploits :-).

I have been recently interested in the earlier Forte's because the Alpeh's are in such short supply and I thought Forte might be the next best thing.

Didn't Nelson Pass design the ORIGINAL GFA-555?

09-13-08: Klipschking
Does anyone have a suggestion for a reasonable remote-operated preamp or preamp/tuner that will pair well with the Forte?

Although I have no direct experience with it, I have heard from a guy whose ears and evaluations I trust that the Parasound Classic 2100 is an excellent $500-600 remote-controlled preamp. Having had a Forte 3 in my house for awhile, the Parasound should be easily up to the task. It even has a decent phono stage in it.

The Forte F-44 is a heck of nice remote pre.

I see we have unanimity on the Nelson Pass pedigree now. Not that it really makes a difference; its just a darn sweet-sounding amp! I am looking for the Parasound 2100 and also a Forte F-44 with remote; I'll keep you folks posted.

I picked one up for $100 the other day, but it has issues.
The right channel is silent. I replaced all 4 internal fuses, matching what was in there, however I don't know if those were correct. Can anyone tell me what size fuses 'should' be used?
If replacing those with the correct fuses still yeilds no sound from the right channel, should I replace all 4 caps?
I can't read all the junk on the caps without removing them. Can anyone tell me the make/model of the caps so I can find them online?
Mine also has the 2 prong 'lamp' power cord mentioned above, so I believe that's the way these where shipped.

thanks for any help you can provide.

I find these kind of topics (and the replys) more interesting than the product itself .