Will Klipsch Forte IV's Work In A Smaller Room?


I need a quality pair of high sensitivity speakers, and a used pair of the Klipsch IV's will fit my budget. 

My room is 12x5 by 9.5. I would place the Forte IV's on the long wall, about 7.5 to 8 feet apart (depending on how critical the distance to the side walls is), and 12-18 inches out from the corners. My listening position would be 8 feet away, at the tip of  a pyramid formed by the speakers and the seating position. 

 

Any expertise, thoughts and recommendations appreciated. 

nightfall

I have Forte IV in a 12 x 15 room with a 300b.  Great sounding combo.  

I've heard Cornwall's, Heresy's and even Klipschorn's in small rooms and they all sounded very good.  I've heard many other horn/high efficiency systems in small rooms and they seem to work particularly well in those settings.  These types of systems come alive at much lower volume levels than most speakers so they are particularly suited for small rooms and low volume listening even if they are large in size which makes people think they are best suited for large rooms and high volume playing.

My old Forte 3’s have been placed in both small rooms and largish rooms. Since getting the Cornwall 4’s, the Forte’s have been relegated to a room in my shop where they sound great. Forte’s image very well - the Forte 4’s probably better than the 3’s and better than the Cornwall 4’s which have other advantages though. In terms of money/value the Forte’s are sometimes called "the sweet spot" for Klipsch,

Just buy the best 5 watt tube amplifier you can find.  You won't need more. :-)

Seriously, though, you might want to shop for vintage tube gear from the late 40's and early 50's to go with the speakers (assuming they are in good shape or have been recapped).  

  • The advantage of those horn speakers is the instantaneous dynamic range they can reproduce....but you won't need power to get that affect.

I have owned many Klipsch speakers including Heresy, Quartets, Chorus, and CF-3 (my favorites. My room is larger, but my actual available listening space is near the dimensions you indicated.

I'm assuming 12 X 5 is a typo and that it's 12 X 15. I've also had Kef Reference 1, Harbeth Compact 7, Super HL5, Evolution Acoustics Micro Ones, and Gershman Acoustics Studio Xdb (all smaller monitor type speakers) and they all sounded better, imaged better, created a more expansive soundstage and were easier to listen to than any of the Klipsch.

I'm not saying the Fortes will sound bad in a small space. With your set amps and at low volume listening to acoustic music, they might sound magical.

In my opinion and experience, even Heresy are too much for a small space unless you like acoustic stringed instruments at low volume or want to damage your hearing. They're great for either of those types of listening, but if your tastes lie elsewhere, you'll probably be better off changing amps and getting smaller speakers.