To those running Klipsch Forte IIIs...


What is your setup?
What have you learned?
What loudspeaker did you come from? 
Have you experimented with placement, sources, cables, etc.? 

The Forte IIIs are such a keeper.  I've enjoyed the journey with them and before I move on I'll exhaust possibilities with them first. 

Let your thoughts run...
128x128jbhiller
@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.  


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. 
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).