My recently purchased Forte 4s sound wonderful with my 12 yo Onkyo HT receiver. I bought them to use with low-powered SS and tube amps (which tend to be more affordable than hi-powered amps). Dying to drop them in my BAT/B&W reference system but the holidays have me feeling too mellow. Maybe after new year.
As for your friend, maybe he was disappointed that you used your own judgement instead of taking his advice. People can be a little weird. BTW, our friends, the Japanese, were way ahead of the curve regarding horns. This was a craze in Japan 30 years ago.