Klipsch Fortes
Best speaker ever made, by anyone, for any price
And I have owned them all...
I put them in my will
Enjoy the trip

I bought my Klipsch Fortes in Japan at the Naval Exchange in Yokota in 1989. They have moved with me back to the states, to Germany and back and to retirement from the military in Washington State. Without a doubt the most dynamic set of speakers I have heard or owned...all original parts as well. I also own Bose and Boston Acoustics and, although good in their own right, and taking up less space, can't compare to the Fortes. They are definitely the top choice for the Man Cave. Nothing better than listening to Shostakovich's 5th Symphony or Mahler's 8th "Symphony of a Thousand"...but to really hear the dynamic range (and risk the neighbors visiting) listen to Camille Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony (3d Symphony). Yea and C,S,N & Y stills sounds great on them to.

I purchased a pair of Forte speakers in 1988 for 1100 dollars. The Fortes motivated me to upgrade all my other stereo equipment since. The speakers have provided many evenings of enjoyment over the last 20 plus years. When I purchased them I really wanted the chorus speakers because they produced a better botttom through the base speaker, 15" as apposed to 12" in the forte. The forte produces a good clean live-loud sound which compliments my musical tastes, 60's era acid rock, they are also great for jazz music. They can be bright sounding with some amplifiers, and are better when used with an equalizer. I have not had to repair them . I plan to purchase a pair of heresys to compare them to, and to add another pair of Klipsch to my home. The Fortes are a great value - used, when compared to the other traditional Klipsch models available on ebay.

Okay, I am a Klipsch bigot when it comes to heritage series, nothing comes close. My Forte II's, in conjunction with a Quartet center channel provide a sound stage not likely to be rivaled by many in the RF series.

The Forte II's are efficient, open sounding with sparking highs, midrange unparalleled and enough bass to provide that visceral feeling to really add dimensionality to music and movies. Sure, since 1995 I have swapped out the tweeter diaphragms with Crites Titanium and the squawker diaphragms the new Crites diaphragms. This was not out of inadequacy or wear of the originals, but because I want these speakers to live for a long time. The new RF replacement is really no match in the midrange area, these were real horns designed by the master himself.

Brand new, the Forte II's were around $1,100, today you can get a pair for somewhere between $600 and $1,000, depending on condition and finish. The price point gave consumers the option of a full range speaker at a price lower than the Cornwall. I have a pair of Cornwall II's, I like the Forte II's better. Klipsch and Bob Crites after market support is better than amazing.

Klipch is one of those timeless companies, having rarely turning out a bad product and between the Heritage line and the more modern RF and Palladium series they still reign supreme.

I bought a pair of forte in 1988. I still have them. 5 years ago the tweeter went out and I called Klipsch and I was able to purchase a pair of diaphram for about $25 and They walked me through to install then and that took about 10 mins. My speakers were good as new again. This is the best pair of speakers I ever owned. I will buy Klipsch again and strongly recommend it to anyone wants quality sound. I power these babys with yamaha 100 watts. If you buy Klipsch,it will be the last brand you will ever buy. FYI I paid $1200 for the pair in 1988. WOW.

I bought a pair of Forte II from the UK importer about 10 years ago. They were the pair he used at shows so I got them for about 2/3 full price. He also let me audition the CF-4s which he would have let me have at 1/2 price (that was £1250 at the time) so the fact I chose these indicates that the Forte IIs are better than CF-4s. I so wanted the CF-4s -- magnificent appearance, beautiful finish -- but having both pairs at home at the same time showed the easy superiority of the Forte IIs. The CF-4s just don't project as well, don't image as well, don't have the detail, and don't have as even a frequency response.

I used them with a pair of monoblocked Leak Stereo 20s (Glenn Croft-modified) for about 9 years and have recently switched to a Lavardin IT. Chris Munson made me a pair of bespoke bi-wirable cross-overs a few years ago, and I installed the Bob Crites titanium tweeter diapragms (and planning to upgrade with his midrange diaphragms too when the $:£ exchange rate improves!). The cross-overs are mounted externally, I use anti-cable internal wiring, I've added some deflex panels behind the woofers and I've also stuck some deflex on the driver side of the woofer basket arms.

As stock, they're great. Dynamic and with good bass. But the treble can be searing when played loud, and they're a bit muddy. Modified, they are excellent. The Crites diaphragm is a no-brainer -- don't hesitate -- as it reduces the harshness considerably and improves detail. I would also recommend an improved cross-over, whether from Chris Munson or Bob Crites, to improve clarity, bass and overall realism. The deflex makes a big difference too.

I'm not saying they're as good as Klipschorns, Cornwalls, etc. Neither do they have the imaging and refinement of a small monitor. But if you're into big orchestral music (Shostakovitch, Tschaikovski, Mahler,...) and decent rock music then they give you a flavour of real-life dynamics and presence that's not available from those small monitors. I love turning them up and revelling in the power of the music. I used to play in an orchestra and have always sought the "middle of the orchestra" sound from my hi-fi; Klipsch gets as close as any I've heard, unless you can afford Tannoy Westminsters!

I use an REL Stadium mk1 with them. This fills in the bottom octave. Not essential but highly desirable. I would also say don't skimp on amplifier quality. You don't need 100wpc but you do need quality.

So in summary, get a pair, do some upgrades, and enjoy the feeling of being in the middle of the orchestra or onstage with the band. Not the most refined and detailed sound ever, but they communicate the emotions and that's what's important to me.

I was a salesman at an Klipsch audio salon from 1988-93. We carried everything from the Heresy's through the Klipschorn as well as the "new" KG2/4/Forte/Chorus line. Back then you could still get most of their speakers made in exotic woods such as Ebony, Zebrawood, Teak, Cherry, Oak, Walnut.

The older models such as the Heresy, Cornwall, La Scala and exhibited the "horn sound" that people still attribute to Klipsch even having never heard them. This horn sound existed because these speakers were essentially handbuilt designs from the 1950's. The "New" line of speakers in the late '80s were designed after the CD was invented and captured a different sound: open, clean, with tight imaging. We considered theForte the most balanced in the lineup, especially for live jazz. The Forte has a dynamic open sound with clean bass down to 32hz. Doesn't sound bassy because it's bass is so clean...but it's musical and accurate.

So in 1989 bought a set of Black Forte's then and they are still my main speakers in my home theater. Enough said.

I have a pair of 1986 Forte' walnut oiled speakers. I was given them about a decade ago by a substitute teacher of mine.

I must say that I had no idea the value of these speakers until a few hours ago, but they are by far the best speakers I've ever owned. I've been powering them with a crappy 30 watt receiver and still it blows my Bose system away.

I cranked them up today for the first time in months and within seconds I had my teenage brother drawn to the room.

A really great speaker system, with incredible dynamic range and an amazing sound stage. I swapped a pair of rebuilt Heresy II's for them. The owner had just purchased K-Horns and needed the room, the HII's are really pretty and these are a fairly large speaker system, with an incredible sound stage.

The speakers do an incredible job with everything from music to movies. The dynamic range and sheer power of these speakers is awesome, they have a better sound than just about anything I've heard. Originally I was looking for a pair of Klipsch Cornwalls, and I really felll hard for these. Sometimes I play games in PLII Game mode and the sound really enriches the game, you can place shots and enemies with incredible accuracy.

These speakers are blessed with that Klipsch sound, full, powerful, dynamic and just an incredible experience. 13 years ago, in 1996 these speakers were $1200 a pair, now, they would probably be around $3000, as the Cornwall III's are $3500 a pair. There is very little out there that has the magnificence that these speakers produce.

Spec wise, they are incredible, 32hz - 20kz, 99 db 1 watt/1 meter and a max continous output of 119 db, which I have not experienced in my sound room, I's like to keep my hearing. The bass line is solid and crisp, the midrange is full and spacious, the hights are sparkling. The response curve is flat, but the sound certainly is not. It is rumored that Paul Klipsch had a a pair of these in his office, a riniging endorsement..

At low volumes everything is clear, at high volumes, incredible. You could pick up a pair of these on Craigslist for between $400 - $550 depending on the condition of the cabs and speakers. Me, I am the second owner, the first owner powered them with tubes, really amazing.

* These Firte II;s are midified with BC tweeters and BC crossover networks, they are made in the last year *ot the Forte II procuction run

swapped a pair of Heresy II's converted to HIII's with the Klipsch kit for a pair of Forte II's, made in the middle of the last procduction year (1996)., and have been amazed by the power and sound stage are much more than the Herssy family. After making the cabs beautiful and purring metal mesh guards over the passive radiators, I have what is truly one fantastic speaker system.

Thes Forte II's have been used with every thing under the sun, from AC-DC to video games, and they are truly amazing. The absolute spatiol qualith of them is incredible. Movies have a real bass line withoiut a subwoofer. Rifle shots in video games make you want to duck, as any good game is done in ProLogic II

The real beauty of them is the full tange of the speaker and it's absolutely superb dynamic range. The full riich sound stage created by the Forte II iis truly incredible and all I can say is Wow. I love the Hersey II and the III, but these have a much fuller sound, it is a pitty Klipsch no longer makes this epeaker.. These speakers both sparkle and boom at the when called on..