Amp help for Klipsch Forte III's

Can't speak for the Forte IIIs, but my Cayin A88T is an excellent match for Heresy IIIs. My local Klipsch Heritage dealer suggests tube amps for all the Heritage series, but NOT SET amps. According to him, the Heritage series needs powerful tube amps - a good 20 watts/ch or more. A nice feature of the Zhuhai-Spark audio family (Cayin, PrimaLuna) amps is their very low noise floor - rivals that of any good SS amp - a must for high sensitivity speakers.

 

this one is a very under the radar amp in the us- it is available at online retailers. The right amount of sweet, clear triode sound combined with decent power output. the one I would buy for the Fortes.

Triode TRV 33SE (Designed and manufactured in Japan)
https://www.speakershop.com/catalog/integrated-amplifier?manufacturer=31237

 

Also DO NOT overlook Raven Audio! Sweet sound with home trial. !
Products Archive - Raven Audio

 

I do not know what the US distribution is like but the Forte IIIs go really well with the Unison Research S6 amplifiers. This amplifier uses 6xEL34s in Class A and outputs 35w/channel. The UK distributor for Klipsch uses them at shows and they have attracted a lot of positive feedback from the public.

I also reviewed them at: Klipsch Forte III and found they worked best with the S6s rather than Pass Labs or an Allnic Integrated KT150 valve amplifier.

 

Well, just a bump/update on this, in case my recent findings are useful to anyone else:

--I've found that the Quicksilver SET Monos sound *a lot* better with a dedicated pre with sufficient gain. Running them from the pre-outs on my Peachtree Decco2 just made them sound soft and wimpy. I'm currently auditioning these two preamps, which both really improve things:

--AES AE3 DJH (Cary variant). A cool little unit that seems to have great reviews. I got it used, so have no clue how many hours are on the tubes/caps. But it definitely brings back the punch and dynamics I was missing. Good ergonomics, looks cool. The biggest downside, thus far, is that it potentially has too *much* gain, as I'm only at about 10 o'clock on the volume knob and the 9wpc Quicksilvers are plenty loud. So the AES is perhaps not the best match with higher-powered power amps (?).

--Decware CSP3+. Also a cool unit, with a pretty nice headphone out. Sound quality-wise I think the AES just edges it out, but the Decware still sounds great through speakers. I don't care for the ergonomics of the CSP3+ (input select is on the back, hard to reach in a rack), but the level controls for both inputs and outputs are super useful. Cool piece.

I've also been messing around with a Schiit Saga pre into a NuForce STA-200 (Goldmund designed) solid-state power amp. It sounds pretty good, and perhaps has a slightly better grip on the bass than the Quicksilver SETs. But I think I give the nod to the Quicksilvers for both depth and warmth. Detail is maybe a toss up.

--One more thing I might try. On the recommendation of several in this thread (and elsewhere), I went to a local dealer to hear some PrimaLuna stuff with their Forte III's. I liked the Prologue Premium Integrated. But then I heard a Dialogue Pre with a Dialogue Power. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Dialogue separates sounded notably better. That combo seemed more linear/less bloomy to me and more finely detailed with better imaging and staging. So I might try to do a home demo with a PL Dialogue Integrated (PL separates are out of my budget) and see how they compare to the AES/Quicksilver combo.

The majority opinion seems to say that SET are magic with Klipsch horn stuff, but there's also fandom for push-pull tube amps. We'll see how it plays out.

Would welcome any thoughts!

(And one question: The Quicksilver's run EL34/KT88/6550's single-ended. I'm wondering if one might get even more of a SET sound out of other tubes? Perhaps too broad a generalization.... Forgive the noob question.)

Thanks!

 

You can really never know until you try. My push pulls 30/60/120 watts sound so good I have no urge to do set. Set would be fun but a costly experiment.

 

Listened to a pair a few weeks back.
Found them to be vicious in the top - to my ears they are about as far from musical as I have heard for a long time although they smooth out as distance increases.
How ever many people love these speakers.

If the more experienced (With these speakers) are to be listened to some (Potentially considerable) time spent repositioning and possibly tilting will be hugely beneficial.

Regarding an amp try a late SS Mac with tone controls.

 

Yes, they can be a little bright. I've messed with positioning quite a bit and find that putting them flat/parallel to the back wall (in my room) helps tame the brightness nicely. I do really like the Forte's. I think they're more alive and dynamic than many others I've heard, and that they do horns, voices, and drums with surprising realism. To each his/her own, of course. I can see some not liking them.

What I'm looking for now, essentially, is the best-fitting tube amp (for my needs and room). I like the Forte's a lot and think they're very much worth building a system around. Thanks for the Mac SS rec.

 

wbass

If you liked the AES AE3 DJH pre, then maybe look into a pair of Rothwell attenuators. You can buy them off ebay for about 50 -60 dollars with either 15 or 20 db attenuation.

I have a pair on their way for my set up which is radically different but has the same gain issues

KB

 

If I can ever afford one, it would be Luxman L-590AXII

 

A little experimentation over the weekend yielded some interesting results. A local, and very nice, dealer let me borrow a PrimaLuna Dialogue Power amp. It's an impressive, well-made unit, heavy enough to make me mutter a few curses getting it home. As widely reported, it sounds good, too. Very even response top to bottom with a touch of warmth. I preferred it slightly in triode mode, but I seem to find the difference subtle on units that can switch between triode/ultra-linear. Not true SET, I gather?

It definitely beat the Quicksilver SET Monos on bass response. But the Quicksilvers won on staging depth and presentation of voices. They're both nicely detailed amps, but surfaced different details. The PL Dialogue I found brighter in my system, perhaps a touch too bright with the Forte's. The Quicksilvers are a little darker. Maybe a bit too dark, but that's better in my room.

It looks like I'm hanging on to the Quicksilvers. They seem to go for $2800 new. If you can find them. They seem to be one of Quicksilver's less popular amps, and have zero reviews, but since I got them for less than half that price, I think they'll serve nicely as a way to experiment with different tubes and learn about tube amps generally. I'm going to try some new KT-88 tubes to see if I can firm up the bass a bit.

The PL did show me what a good push-pull amp can do, especially for bass response. So I might look to add a p/p amp some time in the near future. Maybe a AES Super Amp to match the AES AE3 DJH preamp that's also staying. (And I'll mess around with resistors to see if I can cut the gain a bit. I didn't get the volume past 8 o'clock with the PL amp.)

Conclusion: SET has some advantages, push-pull has others. I'm digging the SET for now, might try a comparably priced p/p down the road as a complement.

Would welcome any thoughts!

 

Save up for a pair of Quicksilver Mid Monos (or similar) to power the bass driver(s), and bi-wire using your existing amps on the horns. That's what I'd do in your shoes.

 

I've tried my Klipsch RP600M's with a Freya/STA200 combo, and they sound very good together. Maybe it's the extra warmth of the tubes in the Freya.

 

I'm now running two amp setups with my Forte III's.

One all-tube: AES AE3 DJH preamp into Quicksilver SET Monos.

One mostly solid-state: Schiit Saga into Schiit Aegir (x1).

Tube set up is, no surprise, warmer and deeper and a ton of fun. The Schitt set up seems a little more transparent/detailed, with just a touch of warmth. Both seem to do the speakers justice, and it's instructive to compare. I'll likely spin the Schitt stuff off into a secondary set up, which is not to say it's inferior, just different.

 

When I had my Forte I's, I used an Onkyo Integra TX-88. I cannot tell you how good that sounded! It had a phono input and I ran a Denon CD player with AQ cables. I would highly recommend this setup. You can get a TX-88 on E-bay for a great price too. Might be a good place to start. I tried other amps with it, they did not do the Forte's justice like the Onkyo. The TX-88 had 80 wpc and did a nice job. Good speaker wire and interconnects, you will be set.

 

Really enjoying the pairing of a Cary SLI-80HS with Forte III's I just picked up for my 2nd system. Still working on the room treatments. Amazing synergy even in an untreated room and the amp is absolutely dead quiet even through these 99dB efficient speakers!

 

Very nice! How do you compare your Spendor D7 from the Forte iii?

 

Thanks! The Forte III's couldn't be any more different than my D7's, which is exactly what I wanted - a completely different sonic signature in a second system but one that nurtured my soul all the same. The D7's are amazingly detailed, image extremely well, and provide very tight and surprisingly deep bass. The Forte III's are much more relaxed, especially on the bass but throw any amazingly huge soundstage. If I were to sum up the differences I'd say the D7's make you feel like you're in the recording studio and the Forte III's immerse you in the live show.

 

I would love to hear my old restored stand-alone RCA" Living Stereo "SET amp thru some Fortes. Or any other newer Klipsche for that matter. Its about 12 WPC and has powered various Altecs and CV's nicely.
Have you considered a restored vintage amp?

 

SET may be lacking in dynamics. Fine for quieter music. Try one if you have one. Yes, get a restored vintage amplifier.

 

I would second the Quicksilver Mid Monos. Point to point wiring, can use a lot of different output tubes. I think I read somewhere that Mike Sanders has Cornwalls for his personal use. Give him a call.

 

Well said. In a nutshell that pretty much sums it up.

Both are good but both are completely different, as you point out.

 

One thing that confuses me a bit on the product page is the part in the description "Power is 40 watts at 50% triode operation with the standard EL34s or KT88s, 45 watts with KT120s and 50 watts with KT150s." Are they triode wired?

I had a pair of Mini-Mites with my Spicas eons ago and loved them.

 

I would buy a Carver Crimson 275 over anything Prima Luna if you are considering that route.

 

Glad to know. If I were to upgrade I was thinking of a Devore Orangutan or Spendor.

The Devore has that warmth but doesn’t have that fast and tight bass and soundstage of the Forte. It kinda makes me think.

What I’ve read from Spendor, it has similar midrange with the Harbeths yet Dynamic?

I like speakers that is more a front stage type compared when you are in a balcony.