Indeed, the serious two channel business isn’t where they make their money nor is it the strategic objective of their distribution or retail network. We have speakers designed by Paul w Klipsch, made in Hope Arkansas and can be easily driven by flea watt tube amps and we have audio Voxx products that are loud tv speakers.
I'm deliberating a similar situation. The system I've got put together is is emotiva xsp-1 with a xpa-2 and i'm wanting to "upgrade" my speakers. Was considering on checking out the forte iii to replace my nht classic 4 towers.
Sorry but that’s 90% of their business. I’m a fan and a member of couple different Klipsch boards and most of the Pics that people throw up is AV oriented. Let’s face it, most people that are buying speakers in the general population are using them to watch tv as the first priority. Those Speakers are designed to work with two subs, a monster center channel and 4 surrounds. The highs are lifted for dialogue, the bass is bloated for drama and the mids are thin. The priority is to be loud. I’m not knocking it, they do well and are profitable. If not for that the folks in Hope would be out of work. And clearly, there are some people that like that kind of sound for two channel. Generally folks that like the loud metal music that doesn’t rely much an midrange.
And here I was perceiving the rich midrange of my F2s as their very strong point. No bloated bottom end and certainly no tipped-up highs. And that's also the opinion of every person who has heard them. And they are from the cheapest Klipsch line (maybe the Icons are cheaper but not sold down here) I'm a confessed punk and metalhead but also listen to other genres. Enya lovers who have played their CDs through my rig have described the sound as ¨velvety¨. I myself own 5 of her CDs and think the same. Oh well. To each their own.
I have an Emotiva EPA-2 (Gen 1), and I think that it is a nice sounding amp. I have used it with a pair of legacy LaScala's. The XPA-a is shown on the bottom right, below the TV on my photo of the La Scala's, on the previous page. It was not the correct amp to use with those speakers. Reason, SS and too much power. It is currently powering the front mains, which are Polk LSiM707's, which are a perfect match. Now, realizing that many things have changed since the old legacy days and SS amps are by far the majority and newer models are far better adapted to SS now than ever before. But all of that aside, with highly efficient speakers, tubes are still better match, particularly with horn loaded speakers, as opposed to direct radiators. Secondly, There is no reason to use a high powered amp like an XPA-2, with highly efficient speakers. Go to Upscale Audio and pick up a PrimaLuna Prologue Five for $1189 (as shown on the general product page). It is powered by four KT88 power tubes (included) and is rated at 36-WPC. This is more power than you will need and it will sound much better. '''Adaptive AutoBias Exclusive to PrimaLuna, this circuit monitors and adjusts bias automatically. Each power tube is monitored to stay in a peak operating range. Improved performance and better sound, with distortion reduced by 40 to 50 percent over conventional designs. No need for matched tubes. No bias adjustments. Ever. It also allows you to experiment with different power tubes. Plug in virtually any power tube. Adaptive AutoBias will automatically adjust itself! In addition to EL-34s, you can use 6550, KT88, KT90, 6L6GC, KT66, 7581, EL37, and any of their equivalents." I have driven my efficient Altec Lansing legacy A7's with a small Decware single ended pentode, which is rated at 3.9-WPC. The Zen Mini Torii Amplifier. Now 3.9 Watts is not going to recreate a rock concert, but it will play to a loud room filling volume. Driving the A7's. Currently, the A7's are being driven by a Line Magnetic 518iA 845 powered SET integrated/power amplifier, rated at 22-WPC. This amp WILL recreate a rock concert. The Prologue Five will play them even louder yet, this is speaking from experience, as I have one. This is the 519iA.
This weekend I will be demoing some Klipsch Belles in my home... wondering if I will find them worth the additional money in comparison to my Cornwall IIs
We have walked similar paths my friend! (Harbeth 7es3 + sub for years along with the CM2.) Recently wondered about Klipsch too. Was fortunate enough to purchase some KG3s and Forte II’s. Here is what I have come up with so far... Klipsch are night and day in presentation versus Harbeth. Live feeling, very punchy and dynamic. Bad recordings can be horrible. Good to great recordings can be wonderful. Mids are better on the Harbeths but the Klipsch mid is still very enjoyable. Klipsch really expose recordings for what they are. Dont point them directly at you. Keep them facing straight ahead. Fortes need wall space with rear 15” radiator to interact with back wall. Try 18-21” distance. Tubes respond well to Klipsch. Use your CM2. Forte IIs really smoothed out with Crites crosovers. Those old original electrolytic caps in x-overs need replaced after 20 years. Surprise is the often forgotten Klipsch KG3. They only have one horn (versus two for the Forte and are large bookshelves like your 7es3. ) They are imo a hidden gem in the Klipsch lineup. See if you can find a pair for $150-200. Will give you a very good idea of Klipsch signature without spending big bucks on Forte III. PS do not sell your Harbeths! They are great to switch out and go back and forth on. Give your ears some time to adjust coming from the Harbeths. Good luck and keep us up to date!
yeah, i guess we're always looking for the next best thing thanks for the tip- I've seen those KG3 on my local Craigslist.
highly suggested! i drive the kg3s with a musical paradise mp301-mk3 6W tube amp. talk about a beautiful match! if you get Fortes, you’ll need to drive with your cronus. Even though the Fortre are high efficiency they shine with the Rogue..they need power on the bottom end
Don't listen to this review on the Forte iii speakers. Horrible review. He did all of his music testing from Spotify. Anyone that does a speaker review from compressed Spotify music has zero clue about quality sound.
Well you really should not compare two loudspeakers in this manner as 1) speakers have sympathetic vibrations so when one set of speakers is playing music the off speakers woofers are vibrating and creating sound as well. One speaker may be more negatively affected as a result. 2) the speakers are in different positions where the position of one speaker may be at an advantage 3) the microphone isn't in the same ideal position for both speakers - especially in this video where the tweeter on the RF speaker is significantly higher than the Forte. 4) all of your points about the rubbish source material - though at least that is a consistent source in the both speakers are fed the same music and source - so that was done properly. 5) volumes need to be level matched to with 0.3dB or less (some would argue 0.1dB) Something tells me that didn't happen. Neither speaker sounds like the real thing when played through a youtube video - I have hear the RF sound considerably better in real life and the RF gets a little unfairly treated - in Canada they are sold at drug stores in the little home theater section and the layouts are always AWFUL and the associated equipment is always awful - $199 surround receivers from Sony or the like. London Drugs is the chain and some stores have carried the Heresy and the like. I usually look and say - hey that's cool the drug store is at least trying to sell a quality brand - maybe the VP is an audiophile. I have also seen some pricey Tannoys being sold. Klipsch is negatively judged, probably, because of where they are sold - at a high end dealer the competing speakers have dedicated rooms properly laid out and much much higher end stereo equipment running it - in other words QUALITY sources and music - while the Klipsch are stuck with crappy sources and amplifiers usually with the cheapest cables known to man, and a switch box (uggh) to connect 20 speakers to switch back and forth and not one set of speakers beside it but 5-6 on either side. The fact they still sound pretty good is a minor miracle.
I read this twice now - can you sum up in two or three sentences your point and what you are attempting to convey?
Just acquired a pair of RF-7III towers a couple of weeks ago. A Marantz Reference PM-14S1 Integrated amp has been assigned to power duty. No brightness, no harshness, no crispness, and most importantly no ear fatigue whatsoever. The horns in these must be a totally new design, kudos to Mr. Delgado, third time’s a charm. These bad boys don’t sound anything like home theatre speakers, and I do own several pairs of Klipsch Reference Series to compare their sound with. RF-7III outrocks my Cornwall III’s and Forte II’s, and does it quite convincingly. Response sounds pretty flat across all frequencies, really holding my attention to whatever music is playing. Yes, they are tall, but their footprint is quite narrow and not very deep. So glad I don’t have to choose between RF-7III’s, La Scala II’s, Cornwall III’s, Chorus II’s and Forte II’s. They’re all not going anywhere any time soon.
Don't think that because music is compressed that it is automatically bad and can not be used to review a speaker. However, a YouTube video of a speaker review is pointless from the start.
I’ve been using my Emotiva Airmotiv Speakers mainly T1, C1, B1 and E1 and I added a turntable Rega Planar 6 with Ania MC and Rega Fono MC. I like the treble with my Emotiva’s and I was listening more to music so I decided that I’ll have my dedicated 2ch system. I got a forte iii last week before the price increase and a Yaqin MC-13s. Unfortunately, I haven’t unbox them yet
