It uses the new horns/waveguides that we’re developed for the RP Series and RF7-iii, plus new redesigned compression drivers, all in a Klipsch Heritage caliber cabinet, seems hard to go wrong.
klipsh forte III purchase
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I would strongly recommend you bring some of your favorite music to a Klipsch dealer and spend some "quality time" listening to them. I used to sell Klipsch, had no reservations about doing so, but sometimes customers who took some time to listen found the brightness was fatiguing. Our ears are all different, so this might not be the case for you. All the models you mention have very high efficiency and great dynamics. |
@lak The Heresy and Cornwall share the same MF and HF compression drivers, but the Cornwall is front-ported with a 15" woofer while the Heresy is sealed with a 12" woofer. Because of that (and the larger cabinet volume) the Cornwall has an extra 24hz of bass extension. The Forte III is the newest model in the lineup, and though it’s priced under the Cornwall, it’s using the newest compression drivers and has the redesigned horn/waveguide for smoother off-axis performance and better controlled FR. If you look at the Klipsch specs the Forte III’s midrange compression driver covers from 650hz to 5.2Khz while the Heresy and Cornwall use their midrangers to cover between 800hz-5Khz (Cornwall) or 850hz-5Khz (Heresy) so that new horn/waveguide is allowing the new midrange compression duty to take on a larger role. The Forte III uses the 12" woofer but it has a 15" passive radiator in lieu of a port. It achieves bass extension almost to the same level as the Cornwall because of that. If I were a betting man I’d imagine we’re going to see a Heresy IV and Cornwall IV in the next year or two featuring the new compression drivers and midrange horn/waveguide from the Forte III. Right now the Forte III seems to have the best tech in the series. |
The Forte III is not your dad's Forte. This is a modern speaker that can go toe to toe with most of the best in and above its price range. I bought a pair in March and can say they are at least as good as anything else I have owned and better than most. I will be selling mine but only because I bought a pair of klipschorns. Oz |
My two favorite speakers as I was getting into audio back in the 80s as a kid were KEF 104.2s and Klipsch Fortes. I can only imagine how good an upgraded Forte sounds. My search begins. tute, thanks for the input on the center but I can only fit the 250 where it needs to go. This is just for a simple 5.1 setup. |
The new Forte III does sound amazingly good, and from what I've seen the Heritage line does have all the "current tech" they need. Take one apart and look inside (I did with my Heresy IIIs, as well as with everything else I buy...curious, just curious) and you'll find a clean design, with biwiring posts, premium internal wire and parts, and a bulletproof, well executed build all around. I chose the Heresy because I have a couple of REL subs so I don't need the size (large...they're large) of a Forte, and note I bought my Heresy IIIs (Capitol Edition...whatever that means) for about 1500 bucks and the Fortes are substantially more costly. Worth it though...most modern audio geeks don't care about Klipsch (I didn't really...I was way to hip for them) but a need for efficiency caused me to audition them...man was I wrong, as they're an absolute bargain relative to other stuff around the marketplace as they sound tremendous and are clearly built to last. |
@wolf_garcia - If you think Fortes are "large", strap on some La Scallas or, gulp, K-Horns! I owned the La Scallas for several months but had to sell as they were too dang big. I loved the mid-range but overall thought the sound "unbalanced" compared to modern speakers. An ace engineer could take this design to new heights (maybe not at their reasonable price, however). Can't wait to get Forte IIIs! They sound great (better balance) and mate well with low power tubes and Pass amps e.g. XA-25. |
@dweller Volti Audio’s Vitorra is probably the closest thing to a modern La Scala, of course, they don’t come cheap. It doesn’t solve your ’too big’ problem, but before he died PWK was working on the successor to the Klipschorn which was going to be the Jubilee, a fully horn-loaded speaker but with the rear of the bass-horn built into the cabinet to free up the need to place them in corners. Klipsch never released it as a consumer product, but adapted the design into one of their cinema speakers, turning it into a three-way (the PWK design was going to be a 2-way), and adding the requirement of an active crossover and biamping. You can buy the cinema market Jubliee (it’s the KPT-535B) or if you contact certain Klipsch Cinema dealers they’ll build you a 2-way Jubilee with a passive crossover network so you don’t need the active crossover and biamping, and even throw some nice wood veneer on the front to make it a little bit more appropriate for a home setting. Of course, ’appropriate for a home setting’ still looks like this: http://wardsweb.org/misc/customjubs.jpg |
I purchased a pair of Forte IIIs about a month ago. Maybe I can offer a little advice to those of you contemplating them. I found break-in to be at least as important as with any of the many floorstanders I own. Bass improved considerably and the horns seemed to go through a settling process. The improvement at fifty hours was very noticeable and as I pass one hundred there are further gains to be had. At this point I'm quite pleased with my decision. I think they're the best looking speakers I've ever had, but I was born in the mid forties so that may account for my taste. (distressed oak with the light tan wool and linen grills) I been running them with a high quality solid state amp, but after the summer heat departs I look forward to putting them together with my Rogue Stereo 100 tube amp. Although, I don't think they need tubes as the sound seems to be just fine with SS. |
I wonder if any response graphs have been released? If so it might give a fair idea of how they sound, since finding a way to hear them is difficult. The smoothest response out there is the Chorus II. The Forte one has a lot of fans but you can surmise that it is because of the substantial dip in 1000hz-2000hz region. Also the sharp downward slope at 10k. Others find them less 'Klipsch' sounding. My guess is that they have gone for a smooth response in the Forte III. |
Over the years I've owned two different pairs of Klipsch speakers, unfortunately, I don't remember both models but one pair was the KLF 30. What I'd like to know is does the new improved Klipsch speakers sound better with the supplied coupling strap or other aftermarket jumpers? No doubt thats a very subjective question that requires each individual to experiment on their own but I was wondering if Klipsch improved the quality of the materials within the strap? |
I biwire my Heresy IIIs mostly because I recently (just before buying them) bought a set of AQ Rocket wires for the previous speakers after running into Bill Low at a shop. I suppose I should put my non biwire cable back on just to see what's what...but the sound is too good to bother. Note to Forte fans...don't read the recent review in "HiFi News"...not sure what THAT dude was hearing. Strange. |
