To those running Klipsch Forte IIIs...

From the past 11 years l got 11 pairs of different brand speakers including bookshelf & floor stands speakers. last year I bought a pair of Cornwall ii and upgraded the crossovers、tweeters & mid drivers from Bob Crites with the content effect .Cornwall ii are so sublime for the music driven by my ma6700 integrated amp rather than valve amps though. l am not interested to try or buy any more speakers unless I am willing to buy new generation Cornwall speakers.

Hey  Ozzy 62 ,   thanks for mentioning the IV.   I listened to Heresy IV along side Forte III.... the Forte were awesome, I wanted to order a pair , but they are done building them so I put a deposit on a new pair of Forte IV in Cherry.... will be a few months as the first run is already spoken for .  Can't wait !   

Each Klipsch model does some things better than others, and are different enough from one another to accommodate those personal preferences listeners have. Of course, anyone who can stretch to the CW IVs, will be doing themselves a favor. At least, Klipsch is showing non believers that they are very fun and enjoyable speakers, that truly engage listening. Enjoy ! MrD. 

Was running Focal 807’s and looking at ATC and Buchardt. Heard Heresy IV’s and that sealed it.

My H4’s are being driven by an Odyssey Khartago with Morrow SP4 speaker cables (backed up by a pair of Rythmik L12’s because my room eats bass like I eat pizza).

The used market for Forte IIIs is healthy.  I had mine for 27 months and sold them for $2600.  [I upgraded to Cornwall IVs]. 

I'd be curious to see the Forte IV, as the III was a great design in its own right. 

I was wondering if a "IV" version was on the horizon.....Im sure there will be a price hike.... $4k is my max and im getting a fair amount for mine on trade so I think I am going to get a pair in distressed oak.   

For a while I sold  Klipsch for their  largest dealer in US.
I thought the only one that really any good was the Forte . And it was very
good .Would even sell it to a Classical  fan.

If you can hold out for a couple of months, the Forte IV is right around the corner.

Oz

I think I'm going to pull the trigger on some Forte'  III..... been enjoying my Heresy III and have been on the fence whether to upgrade to the Heresy IV or Forte.  Going to demo them side by side within the next week or two....hoping the extra $1k is justified.

As a follow up to previous message, I did experiment with speaker placement - more like I adjusted my seating area to be 8-10 feet away, and I turned them a little inward based on some suggestions I saw. And I have them about a foot from the back wall. So after moving around I found that to be the best sounding set up. It's crazy, I hear things that sound to the left and right of the speakers sometimes.

One thing I do need some guidance on is speaker cables. I know they say just crank down bare generic speaker wire, but I'd like to go for something not quite so primitive. I don't like the banana jacks, and would like to go to the spade connectors and crank them down. Any suggestions?

I'm a little late to this thread, but have some info.

I started with a Croft Micro 25 pre > Croft Series 7 amp > Harbeth P3ESR speakers.

The Harbeth's were accurate, but just... boring. Since I'm in the Dallas area I started working from home in March because of Covid and I bought a vintage McIntosh MR71 Tuner because we have an awesome station here that is listener funded, no news, music only and is better than any streaming - all in FM! KKXT Dallas...

And this is my analog only room - which by the way is 12' x. 12' 10' high. I was researching more McIntosh vintage stuff and thats how I got on to the Klipsch Heritage Forte III. I always thought of Klipsch as small generic speakers. I got the Forte's and was just blown away. The best way I can say it is with the Harbeth's you hear the music, with the Forte's you feel the music.

I screwed around with some other Amps and phono amps and settled on a VAC Avatar integrated. It has it's own phono stage and just sounds magic with the Forte's. NOTE: the Croft stuff is great but it is SS/Tube hybrid. I really like how the VAC sounds with it. Much wider and 3d. Really seems to work well with the Forte's. Most people say that tube amps work best and I think I have a winning combination now.

My last system upgrade will be a new tricked out Garrard 401 turntable and I should be good to go!

quick update: i tried dynamite on my Kplisch horns and not only were the speakers destroyed now I got problems with the local gendarmes. your mileage may vary, of course

The F3 vs H4. You will get a much bigger soundstage and the bass is deeper and slightly more natural sounding. F3 fills the room a little better than the H4 as they are a much bigger speaker. IMHO they just sound bigger and more present than the H4 due to their bigger size. 

i’m in-earthing this thread. i just picked up a pair of the H4s. they are so engaging (in a way that is a bit surprising) that i am thinking that i should push up to the F3 while i can. thoughts? anyone heard them side by side that can provide feedback. i have a fantastic zu sub that is super dynamic and pairs well with the H4s. is the base response the biggest difference or does the size and layout of the F3 cabinet make the whole ‘experience’ bigger? 

Key word is engaged. No other other speaker engages me quite the way the Klipsch Forte iii does. I love speakers and love to listen to many. Just something about the way Klipsch engages the listener. 

I didn't know I was supposed to "dynamat" the tweeters! Mrdb has let me down (and I have no idea where I put the leftover dynamat) ...also, I heard a pair of new Cornballs, uh, I mean Cornwalls today at a dealer...sounded great and looked gigantic in person (as opposed to in articles)...made my beloved Heresy IIIs look relatively tiny. When I got home I apologized to my Heresy IIIs for enjoying another speaker, put some music on, and realized again how utterly great they sound.

jtcf, Dynamat the mid horns and the tweeters of the Heresys, before the crossover upgrade. Lots of info on the net as how to do it.

Just finished up listening to the Heresys my brother brought over for the day.He looked up the serial# so these were made in 1977.They were really fun to listen to,a really nice midrange.hashy on top though.We most enjoyed live acoustic music rather than a full rock band just because of the hash that replaced the cymbals.We think with an upgraded crossover they would be great little speakers.We tilted the front up with books for a positive change.My Tektons have much more inner detail and are more refined in comparison.We enjoyed both.
I sent my brother home with my old Rogue preamp(tubes!) a couple of power cords and ics to try.I'll bring him over to the dark side yet;-)

Hificrazed, I agree with your view on it being hard to go to something else. I’m torn between selling the Primaluna to fund a new lower powered amp versus staying put.  

I'm going to have some older Heresys(vintage 80s?) here on Friday to listen to courtesy of my brother.He wants to hear them with tubes.I've never heard them before.We listen to his Cornwalls when I visit him.It'll be fun to compare them to my Tektons.I'll let you all know!

Jbhiller I agree with your assessment. Not sure if I can go back to something other than the Forte iii.... and the sound they produce. 

With the Forte IIIs it is really a different kind of imaging than a lack of imaging. It’s more akin to live music. I hear specific image locations and depth but not as pronounced.  At first I thought I might miss such imaging. Later it seemed more natural to me. Both are interesting frameworks to listen to recorded music.  

After living with the Klipsch for a year, it did change my perspective on hyper imaging. Now, I still appreciate it but I’m more after a bigger holographic sound. I’m not as desirous of hearing something so perfectly placed because it sounds more processed to me now.  

avanti1960  , interesting , those are the reasons I like the F3 ;)
nasal, highly colored quality of the vocals and the lack of imaging and sound stage depth

hifificrazed, great idea.  I wish I could. Both amps do not allow for it. 

Can you adjust the gain? I reduced on my amp with good results. 

I think that my two amp situations fall on the extremes of what I need.  My 300B sounds glorious with the Forte IIIs but my room is a bit large and I wish it had more power. My other amp is a Primaluna HP premium integrated.  The Fortes sound best with KT150s in the amp. BUT, the PL volume control must stay below 9:30/10:00 o'clock--my sense is it's too much juice.  Would I be better off with a 30w tube amp?

Nothing like kicking back and listening to the Forte iii speakers. Put some Tom Petty on the turntable and transport with a great American rock band with great American made speakers. It just doesn't get any better. The Forte iii are a unique speaker that may not appeal to everyone, but if you like to be transported musically to a live presentation of your favorite artists then Klipsch has got you covered. It's a fun and engaging speaker. Feed the Forte's some solid power either SS or Tubes. Enjoy!! 

Yes, the Klipsch Heritage, and the Cinema and pro lines, are made here. The other Klipsch products, have been made in China for quite a while now. And ?

I dont want to put a nickel in any of the Klipsch people on this forum, but a dealer friend told me that Klipsch is now being made in China. Perhaps all but the Heritage? Anybody know for certain?

@dromme 
different strokes i guess.    i happen to love harbeth speakers.  did you have the old version of the C7 or the latest version the ES3? 
regardless they have a polished rich sound that is not boring with the right amplifier, speaker placement and system synergy.
the realism i hear with vocals and instruments is spellbinding,  
i listened to the Forte III extensively before a recent speaker upgrade and found them a very fun listen but could not get past the nasal, highly colored quality of the vocals and the lack of imaging and sound stage depth.  

Note that I think Fortes and Heresy IIIs sound very similar, albeit with differing low bass response...at least they did when I briefly heard Forte IIIs while auditioning the Heresy IIIs. I often mention that the Heresy IIIs size appealed to me as they're the shortest floor speaker I've owned and I can see my gear behind 'em...I like that...

I've been punishing my earballs since the mid 1960s when my loud guitar playing career started, and I guess that sound in my head must be tinnitus...but with that I'm never alone! Doesn't get in my way at all, although ambient noise like a loud restaurant makes it hard to hear specific voices well, but meh...I still run and mix small-ish venue live concert sound and get paid for that, so that's working fine, and weirdly I can hear relatively high frequencies well enough...acoustic guitar overtones, hifi unboosted treble...I protect my ears on long motorcycle rides but don't need to on shorter ones as ripping around the backwoods here I rarely get up to ear damage speeds (wind noise, even with a full face helmet is crazy over 60mph).

I enjoy listening to my Forte iii speakers. I have never enjoyed music as much as I have with the speakers. Music is fun, exciting and sometimes scary in a good way. Great with vinyl and streaming sources. Positioning and set up is important to get the best out of these amazing speakers. 

How's your hearing WG ??
I'm 63.5 and I am enjoying my tinnitus

Mid 60s...this is the oldest I've ever been.

@bigjohn9095, Welcome!!! 

With your interest level, I'd say you definitely have to give the Forte IIIs and Heresy IIIs a whirl.  I'm in Chicagoland if you want to pop by to listen to your music to put them through their paces. 

I'm familiar with the PSB Imagine T3s.  They are a great loudspeaker. In contrast to the Forte IIIs, you're going to get a deeper but not wider soundstage and more pinpoint imaging.  The T3s have a laser focus from midband upwards.  On the other hand, the Forte IIIs are more holographic and without question more "live" sounding.  The Forte IIIs are more dynamic, more sensitive, and very revealing of sources.  They are two different animals and I like both very, very much.  

The Forte IIIs can play great, IMHO, with solid state.  I enjoyed them with Class D topology too.  I do, however, strongly prefer them with tubes. 

I'm not an evangelist of cables or at least dropping a fortune on cables. I will say though, decent cables that can at least keep noise out of the chain are important with the Forte IIIs due to the loudspeaker's efficiency plus it's transparent nature.  At this efficiency level I took efforts to keep all hum out of the sound. 

What's also fun about the Forte IIIs is their characteristic of sounding different with different amps and sources. That's why I said above that I'll enjoy the journey long before I move them out for something different.  I'm no expert but I think I can hear greater differences when swapping out gear than with a more modern design like the PSB you reference.  So that is a plus for me because I like to play around and the F3s are a great common denominator to play around on my journey. 

To borrow a line from WolfGarcia, I'm now that guy in his mid 40s (Wolf is likely mid 50s) using horns and tubes!  I never thought I'd own anything Klipsch too.  

Greetings Fellow Music Lovers! I apologize in advance for the long post.. 

I’m so glad I ran across this thread! I am really close to getting a new set of Speakers and the Heresy / Forte models seem to be where I keep coming back too. Initially I was dead set on the Heresy iii’s, but once I started researching and leaned that even though they gave that live sound I am craving (I’m an avid Dead Head / Rock Concert kinda guy), that I’d really still need a Sub or 2 to get that powerful Bass I love. I am now leaning to the Forte or maybe the Cornwalls if I can swing the extra money. Just so everyone can see where I’m at now, here’s my current system:

Parasound Halo A21 amp  & P5 preamp,
Pro-Ject Debut Carbon with the stock Ortofon Red Cartridge upgraded with an Acrylic Platter and Cork Mat, Integra 6 Disc CD Player (yes, it’s a low end CD player but when not playing records, I love just loading up 6 discs and hitting Random lol), my Speakers are Goldenear Triton 5’s along with Two JL Audio Dominion D108 Subs. I use Schmitt Custom Audio Cables for everything and all the interconnects are made with Vintage Western Electric Wire.

The Parasound is the only change I’ve made from my initial system, it was my first foray into higher end audio and I didn’t know much of anything (still don’t technically but I do know what sound I like) but I knew then to buy better speakers instead of a high end amp and cheap speakers so my first power source was an Integra AV Receiver. 

So the Goldenear Tritons do sound nice, but I really have never just loved them, and I also don’t want to use Subs in my 2.0 Stereo set up. I want Speakers that will give me the Bass I love on their own. Which depending on who you ask may or may not be an important factor. When I hook up my old Cerwin Vega 317p Hardrockers they give me that live sound, Bass, and loudness when wanted, but they’re not as detailed as I have grown to appreciate.

For me, I want to go back to a more traditional Speaker with a decent or good Wood Veneer etc. for the looks and my style,  but most importantly that live sound.. I’ve also looked into Focal 948’s, KEF Q550’s, PSB Imagine T3’s and Legacy’s.. but again, the Klipsch Heritage line seems so far to be possibly what I’m needing.

I’ve even toyed with the idea of parting ways with my A21 which I just absolutely love and going to Tubes because so many folks say the Heritage line Speakers really love Tubes.

So to the Original Poster- I am glad you enjoy the Fortes and will be following this thread and others to learn more until I can get up to the shop to listen myself. I could only find one Heritage Dealer in Chicago! Crazy.. so to each and every one of you have a great day and keep the music flowing!

jbhillerMy F3s are used for TV and music  in LRMy office is where  my PL amp is with the Heresy  3   and my old KG5.2
Have not spent any  time comparing the double S  and the tube amps .I feel my office is rather small  to move around in .I will do the comparison and report back to you , someday :)

Recently heard the Forte III’s hooked up to the new Luxman SQ-N150 10 wpc Tube integrated. Excellent open clear dynamic sound w/plenty of bottom end. The Integrated is only 11" wide and about 8.5" deep. A very musical mini me.

I'm running the Forte IIIs, paired with McIntosh MC2105 and MX119.  Primary source is Bluesound Node 2.  This is the best setup I've ever had and I enjoy it completely.  The Fortes fit perfectly in my 1969 vintage living room and are more or less period correct.  For me the biggest compromise in my system is the long cable run to the speakers dictated by the system location across the room.  Need to figure out that part but for now it sounds great. Been a Mac & Klipsch fan since a teen in the 70s.  No reason to change now.

dromme, very interesting that you found the Harbeths boring.  I get that.  

Did you mention one you are using for 2 channel music now?  Sounds like the Fortes are being used for television/movies.  

Did you ever try the Fortes with you Primaluna? If so, what did you think? 

Here's an idea ,   everyone should have a pair of Harbeth as a sound base line , to compare all other speakers to ., You know , reference  speakers , that kind of redefines the term " reference speaker "
The boring neutral sounding Harbeth  used as a  base line of sound .
Alright , y'all , just playing , sort of

Besides , the non fatiguing I keep reading about  , "you can listen to them all day"  kind of thing  , I  could not do that with the Harbeth or any speaker , 1.5 hours of music is all I can stand, then I need some quiet  , when it  comes to TV  , no problem with the Klipsch , we'll sit and watch 3-4 hours  straight

Sorry  to write , the Harbeths were a waste of time , other than just having the experience of knowing the " unfatiguing character "  is another way of saying "boring" .     Who ever came up with the description " not fatiguing "  was trying to be nice  .  I suppose in the recording studio you'd want  a neutral  sounding speaker , that makes sense , I guess .  
After all , the whole idea of studio recordings is to make it sound the best way that is acceptable and not over the top . , But ya gotta start with something neutral , and add to that  , I guess .  Not sure how that works .Besides , I do not think what you are hearing is a natural presentation .It's a studio's engineer's idea  of what he wants you to hear .Or maybe you think what you hear is the natural presentation that's intended  . lol.If you were in an auditorium ,  watching a movie , do they use a  natural sounding  system ?? , They do not .I added a center channel  so I could better hear the details , like voices .Klipsch adds a degree of  excitement , engagement .Harbeth adds boredom .I purchased  the Harbeth from reading reviews and others experiences  and now I have my own experience  , luckily , I sold them  for the same price I paid

I have heard the Forte's in different setups and they all were positive. They gave me the "transport to a different time" feeling.

That feeling is being in an audio store as a teenager in the 70's,and being wowed by everything.

The only thing  I can't get over(which would prevent me from buying a pair) is their traditional looks. Aesthetically, kinda tired in appearance(just a personal thing), but great sounding speakers. 

The distressed white oak finish would be my choice,if my arm were twisted.

It appears you like them a lot. I would just maximize positioning and room treatment. After that, sit back with a cold one and turn it up. Other than that, it's time to move up the food chain and get the the Cornwall/ La Scala's or something in that league.

the mistake by the lake, the river than burned ? who would ever move away ?????

'move on'? I thought he meant move on to Cleveland. I think Klipsch need special permission to operate there. 

BTW , I assumed the same , you were moving away from Klipsch for a possible greener pasture

i read your initial post the same way “ before I move on”..., no matter as we seem to be beyond that....everything is engineered to a price point, including the acoustic space you have them in....

i probably have ten hours into dialing in a set of Forte 3 and countless hours w restored and upgraded Cornwalls for buddies, they reward careful system matching, placement, and component upgrades. so glad the emotion of the music comes thru...as I listen right now The Teskey Brothers and horn section are in my room....ah