Forte Model 7 Opinions

I too was looking at these but am not sure that they have enough "oomph" to power the speakers that i had in mind for them. Having owned a Forte 1A ( 40 wpc / 70 wpc Class A ), a Forte 4A ( 50 wpc / 100 wpc Class A ) and still owning two of the model 3's and two of the model 6A's ( both rated at 200 wpc / 350 wpc ), i would say that i am pretty familiar with the product line and know what to expect out of them. All of these amps have been able to drive low impedance / low sensitivity speakers pretty well.

The 7's are basically monoblocked versions of the 4. While the 7's are Class A and rated at 75 wpc @ 8, i don't know what they do @ 4 ohms. I am assuming that they run pretty hot like the other Forte's that i own. 130* at the top of the heatsink is not out of line. As such, they require quite a bit of space above them for the heat to rise along with an open sided rack. Other obvious placement would be on top of individual amp stands that would allow breathing on all sides.

Sonically, i would expect the amps to be quite well balanced with excellent air, soundstaging and detail. I would classify this series as sounding very sweet but lacking "slam". This is not to say that they don't have bass, they just don't have the impact that some other amps like Krell, Perreaux, etc... exhibit. Like anything else though, it is all a matter of system synergy and matching components and cables for best performance. One important factor that you should be made aware of is that the output devices are no longer commercially available and may present problems if some type of "accident" were to happen. I'm sure that a few service people have spares sitting on their shelves though.

Hope this helps and gives you some idea as to what to expect out of them. Sean
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I agree with Sean in many ways. I've had both the Model 7 and 4a's running at the same time and made extensive comparisons. In a nut shell, they are cut from the same cloth, sounding very similar but I thought the Model 7 was a little forward compared to the Model 4. However, cost becomes a factor. A used pair of the stereo Model 4's can usually be had for the same amount as a used pair of Model 7's. I very much prefered the pair of Model 4's as I could passively bi-amp my Apogees with them. Much more punch and slam, with greater smoothness and soundstaging at a given volume level than the Model 7 mono blocks. The Model 7's would have to be priced well under $1000 (~$700) to become attractive against a pair of Model 4's (~$1000)IMHO. Actually, we should all have such problems. The Model 7 IS a really nice amp and I'm sure you would not be disappointed. Hope this helps.

I had three 4a's, best amp for the Aerial 5s I ever heard. My concern would be obtaining IGBT transistors if one had to be replaced. Pass could probably help, but at what cost? Matching of the xsistors may also be an issue.

Nelson's diatribe on electronic devices for audio is very well delineated, available at passlabs.com on some of the owners manuals. Best, Trip.

Thank you for your opinions and recommendations. I've agreed to purchase the pair of 7's at a price that was very attractive. I'm planning on using them to drive some Martin-Logan CLS IIz's. If they don't work out well, I should be able to resell them and recover my initial investment.

I appreciate you taking the time to post a response.

Rick

I agree with above posts.  I do kick myself for selling them.