Never have been a fan of Klipsch speakers and the Forte is no different. You can improve this speaker, but I dont think you can do anything to make it even remotely competitive with many speakers in this price range in the areas of reproduction which I feel are most important. |
No worries Mr. D!
I'd bet the markup on the F III would be $1-2k if better components were used. I know that caps have really impacted my budget when building tube amps. And they do make a difference in my opinion, which sounds similar to what I think your view is too.
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jbhiller....you were offended, and I am sorry for that. I am a somewhat educated guy. When I read a statement such as yours, saying " before I move on ", I take it to mean one thing, and one thing only. So, say what you want. If you are able to sit, listen, and stay engaged in your musical selections, while listening to your Forte IIIs, excellent. This was very gracefully pointed out, by our Heresy III leader, wolf. I do not know you....but....I do know you, and many like you, more than you think. Want to improve the Forte IIIs, for very little money, and a bit of time ? Remove the mid horns, and apply to them, from the rears, equally, and systematically, some Dynamat, and you will hear some improvements throughout the entire spectrum. For some, this is subtle, for others, dramatic. If you are asking why a new 4K, Forte III, would need improvements....Everything is made to a price point. Just like the crossovers. BTW, and excellent speaker, has shown me subtle, and dramatic differences in upstream equipment, cables, fuses, etc. Based on the high efficiency and sensitivity of the Klipsch, it is easily more apparent. So, good for you. Enjoy ! and let's all stay engaged....MrD. |
JBhiller , I think you were a little offended , your response sort of suggest it .
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I see my 1 glass of wine- long winded response may of had nothing to do with your question , other than my personal search for a better sound from a supposedly better hi end speaker actually lead me back to a much lower end speaker that had a much better emotional sound that engaged me like no other speaker does .I was in Portland Or in July , there is a Hifi shop that sells Focal and Harbeth and others , got to hear the Focal sopra 2 and maybe I was tired or something , maybe spoiled or maybe I just need to hear them next to my Fortes to understand what they can do for me . I was bored ..
I am hoping my next purchase is a LM 219ia , used of course .There's a tiny tube amp shop in Phx that sells them new , $8K .They now come in 2 pieces because of the weight .:)
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@schw06 , you get the point of the post--we are curious to hear about others' experiences with the Forte IIIs! I'm just looking to hear and share our mutual journeys with them.
I don't doubt, as others have posted, that there are some cheaper internal parts (resistors, caps and maybe wiring). Even my Primaluna uses middle grade caps in spots when I would prefer Clarity, Jupiter, Jantzen, etc. |
@mrdecibel , You are totally off Sir/Madame. I'm not "ready to move on". In fact, the Forte IIIs are so wonderful that it will be a long time before I do sell them. They will remain in the stable with other speakers for some time. But even more importantly, how do you know that I don't "sit and listen" or am not "engaged"? I am not offended in the least yet I do think it's super important to note that your post has nothing to do with the original subject and you make some huge assumptions about my listening habits and amenability to selling the Fortes. It's posts like yours that make me scratch my head. Enough said--on to the topic at hand.
On the question of what I am coming from--I've used Monitor Audio, Totem, PSB, Wharfedale, B&W and a few others which escape me right now. The Forte IIIs are my first horn speaker.
At AXPONA I heard some Volti horns that seemed to be larger and more elegant Forte IIIs. I was impressed with them and left thinking the Forte IIIs are very similar (getting me about 90% of the Volti sound), which made me happy. So, "before I move on" to Volti or another more expensive horn, I'm going to love my Fortes and enjoy experimenting with them on my own journey.
One character trait of the Forte IIIs is their ability to sound so different with different pieces--whether it be amplification, front end sources, tube rolling, etc. |
and dynamat ( or better ) the horn bodies, but as said the fundamentals are there,,,,!!!! enjoy the music
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While you are at it Upgrade the wiring, and scrap the cheap $6 Loudspeaker terminals . They are thin brass , Gold Over Copper night and day better 4 x more
conductive much more natural sounding. |
Good potential garbage Xover parts . I know threw experience
on most all Klipsch speakers .a friend has them he replaced all the garbage resistors ,inductors,and capacitors , even the $12k Khorns cheap Xover parts totally beyound believe made in China
when in fact if you spend just 1k in Xover parts you would totally
refine the speaker at least a 15% increase in resolution, imaging,
and soundstaging. Pull the woofer out you will see what I mean .
you want 1% resistors mills decent Pathaudio the best,
abunch of Quality capacitors , Inductors Jantzen Copper open coil. |
I have owned many speakers over the years. The Forte iii are the best speakers I ever had the pleasure of owning. They captivate me every time I listen. It was stated in an earlier post that when a speaker can move you emotionally and engage your senses completely you have found it ... The Forte iii do this. Power them with a Parasound pre and amp with Audioquest cables and this combo works beautifully. When the music fills your room as if it was being played right in front of you, I don't know how it can get any better!! |
I have a pair of Forte lll's. I have an Ayon Spirit lll, Line Magnetic LM-518ia, Yamaha A-S2100 and a separates system using a Schiit Freya S and Parasound A23+. All sound great with the Forte lll. Source and room are critical.. Garbage in garbage out as it is with all systems.
My source is a Bel Canto 2.7 DAC and Bluesound Node2 streaming Tidal hi-res.
When you hear the brush on a cymbal, Patricia Barber taking a breath in between words in a song and Miles Davis turning away from the microphone while playing his trumpet in YOUR listening room ... That's as good as it gets my friends.
The Forte lll's do that.
Happy listening regardless of what you own! |
happiness in the music IS the goal, enjoy!!!!!
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My Heresy IIIs are a less expensive cousin of the Fortes, and need subs (which I have), but man...what amazingly well designed fat little gems these things are, and I agree with the esteemed mister "d" as these things steal big chunks of my time every day. |
If anyone is familiar with me, and my posts, I will remind everyone here, that given the price points, and the easy and inexpensive way many Klipsch models can be improved upon, they are more musical, and enjoyable, to most anything else out there......And, I have been stating this for over 50 years now...My statement above, was based on the fact, that jbhiller was ready to move on...So many audiophiles, cannot " sit and listen ", because their systems are not musically engaging. Obviously, the other posters here, Klipsch owners, are engaged. Enjoy ! MrD. |
I've been using the same old pair on Klipsch kg 5.2 since new 1992 , then last year I upgraded to Harbeth c7s , ( it was an upgrade cuss alll the forums and other info stated so as Harbeth being in the top 10 or so as best you can buy ) and after 6 months of Harbeth listening , I dragged out my old Kg5.2 and did a a/b switch comparison and there was No
comparison
, I mean , these old 1992 $900 a pair Klipsch took my breath away .As I have stated before , toss out all the adjectives used to describe the perfect sound in speakers and go for the one that moves you emotionally , after all , what move do we make that is not emotionally driven .For me it's certainly not what others are gonna tell me what to look for in a speaker sound , especially now that I have heard Harbeth and cheap old Klipsch side by side
If you are the type to sit down and spend time doing some extreme critical listening , then you'll wnat to shop around for a pair or just read the forums and buy based on someones emotional experiences
expressed through fancy adjectives.I live for those moments that the music will move me and I'll stop what I am doing and think , wow , that was amazing , that's what Klipsch does for me and that's why I now have a pair of Forte 3 powered by an old Yammie Av receiver and Heresy 3 in my office powered by a Primaluna .Really , only one Heresy (still using theKG5.2) is in my office and the other is still boxed in garage . Some day I'll drag it in .Dromme in Sedona
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I cam from Vandersteen Quatro CT's and although 1/4 the price, I'm happier. They have a "live" sense that is absolutely AWOL on most speakers, regardless of price. I have tried tinned copper cables (Duelund) because Paul Klipsch used them but for me the Audioquest cables I used from the Vandies were more to my liking. I've tried solid state integrated known to be a fantastic match with them (Yamaha A-S2100), a class D amp (Parasound zonemaster2350), and the Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum III with all Telefunken input tubes in triode mode. For me, the Cronus Magnum III is a stellar match and the phono stage in it is quite good. They are hypersensitive to placement and depending on how lively or dead your room is, toe in and distance to back wall are important. Although most put them close to the back wall, I believe my front baffle is about 54 inches away from the back wall. I have 2 massive subwoofers in the corners that I now leave off as I'm getting ridiculously great bass from them.
I usually don't post (or even look at the forums anymore) but was really curious myself about people's experience with them and hoping more people will chime in. I think these are worth the time and effort to get right (and I've been churning gear for the last decade at a break neck pace-which I'm not proud of but was looking for that "live" feel all along and glad I came across the Fortes).
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" and before I move on ". I guess they are not the keeper you say they are. |
What did you own before? Very curious. |
