Tube Amp for Klipsch Forte IV's? Black Ice F-22 or Willsenton R8 with upgraded tubes?

thats great, not sure how that answers my question though

@audiocanada What is the size of your room? That speaker is rated at 99dB which suggests that in most room 25-60 watts should be plenty of power.

small room but open concept

I don't see how power would be an issue on the Fortes, maybe more so on the Luminas?

Really looking to understand what the better amp might be

The Fortes sound stunning and full range dynamic driven by the Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II.  

The version III is available for $3000 US.  Not sure how much it costs in Canada but a superior product to either of the mentioned amps.  

If the III is over budget look for a used II, pretty much bullet proof and with excellent Rogue Audio customer service.  

An all time excellent speaker and amplifier combination.  

For about the same $$ Quicksilver integrated would be a great choice. 

spent some time today researching, if I go with the Willsenton I'll pass on their tube upgrades and go with a set from the store below, the owner seems well versed in vintage tubes and the actual R8 amp

https://valvesnmore.com

would like an amp that runs EL34s and KT88s approaching 50 watts with the EL34s

I had the Forte IIIs and moved up to Cornwall IVs. 

I drove the Fortes with all sorts of amps of varying power levels.  

The Willsenton is a very, very good amp.  You should also look at Doge Audio. They use better parts than Willsenton--the owner/engineer left Jolida out of creative differences.  He puts really good parts quality in the Doge product.  

A used Primaluna could be competitive.  I liked one with my Fortes.  

Better still (but not integrated) is the Carver Crimson 275.  Klipsch Heritage swings, sings, and boogies with that amp. 

I am running my Forte IV with Quicksilver mid monos.  Mike makes great stuff!!!   40 watts is more than plenty in my room ....  that said you should definitely check out the Quicksilver Integrated Amp.  It’s 20 watts of EL 84 goodness.  Quality is high for the money.  

Sorry just re read and saw you are looking for around 50 w. ...  check out Rogue 

looking for El34/KT88

Here's an idea that I have been kicking around since receiving my Forte 4's .

How about a Coincident Dynamo 34se mk III ? It is an integrated using EL-34's

in a single ended topology . Only 8 watts but they should be healthy watts

and hundreds of dollars less than the two others. Although I don't know about

the other speakers .

The Forte's are listed at 99db. eff. but are generally accepted to be closer to

@96db . 

Just a thought .

Good luck & be safe .

thanks.....Canadian business

fair amount of negative feedback on this operation in my neck of the woods

i suspect the parts are dirt cheap on the unit, they sell frequently for 50% off msrp

the design looks good though, would love to sample one

also looked into getting a decware, they couldn't bother responding to my email inquiry, they seem to have a year long wait list, must be nice

audiocanada ;

That is a little puzzling about the rep . I thought that it was pretty strong ! 

I was giving it serious consideration .

And Decware treated me the same...I believe that they may have a rude

awakening when that list gets filled !

Keep us posted as to what you wind-up doing .

Good luck & be safe .

What amp did you end up getting for the Fortes?

I tried contacting Decware last year ,  two attempts to contact by phone , 3 emails and no response.....I went to Decwares Forum and simply asked if there was something wrong with their phones..... was immediately trashed by the Cult of Decweenies for asking....  

In Steve's defense he did chime in when he saw my post and seemed sincere in helping but it was too late.    I went with something else.    My wait will be 8 to 10 months but thats not even the point.... answer my call and you'll probably get the sale......

I ended up with Heresy IV's instead of the Forte's, got a killer deal too hard to pass up, Black Ice has been ordered, Sonus are on the way

in the meantime using on old Luxman R113 which seems to match ridiculously well,

so much so at it's $150 Canadian used purchase price that it has me seriously re-thinking why I just paid 3k for a tube amp

Heresy IVs are awesome. ....   enjoy

I think you will like the Black Ice. It’s basically a Jolida (I think) with some minor changes. Could be wrong. My Jolida 302CRC is one fine sounding amp. If I could get the sound of this amp exactly as it is with triple the wattage I would look for nothing else! Power won’t be a hinderence for your Heresy’s. 

I have black ice f35 which is their top intersgrated 60 watts with el 34s. Change the stock power tubes with Gold Lions. They are very good sounding tubes in these amps. With the new Fosgate circuitry these amps have the bass control of solid state, meaning tight and punchy. My other amp is a Pass intergated amp. Switching to my Black Ice, there is no drop off in listening pleasure.