loraxation

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
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.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
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.

MD1032

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $400.00 from local sale

Summary:
Note: I have the Forte II's, which were released later and are very slightly different from the original Fortes.

Preface: I play clarinet (primary), bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, alto sax, bari sax, blues harmonica, and pipe organ. I enjoy Classic Rock, some metal, a lot of progressive like Dream Theater and Kansas, Blues, Pipe Organ music, Classical, Funk, Jazz, and a lot of other stuff.

I had been looking at the Klipsch Fortes for a long time. I started on a few cheapo Altec/Lansing and Logitech PC speaker systems, then I got the Promedia 4.1's and they blew me out of the water. A few years later, I had convinced myself I wanted the Fortes, but ended up getting the newer Synergy B3's because I knew my dorm wouldn't have the room. Those have been a great set of speakers, but this year I decided to move into an apartment and decided I wouldn't mind using my internship money to reward myself with a pair of Fortes, since, while the B3’s are a top-notch speaker and can hold their own, even without a subwoofer, they were obviously missing something else other than just low-low bass. I actually got kind of mixed up, looking at all kinds of Klipsch reference series speakers past and present (RF-3's are all over the place, those were tempting), but in the end a few people on the Klipsch forum convinced me I was wasting my time and to just go for the Fortes. Now that I have them, I must say, I can't believe I considered anything else!

Fortes are all over ebay, but I was lucky enough to get a local sale in. Post on craigslist, and keep your eye on ebay if you're going to buy these. It's so much easier to do it locally, and in the end I'm glad I didn't risk UPS or any other shipping service.

Sound: these are, without a doubt, THE most balanced speakers I've ever laid ears on. My seller was kind enough to include the original flyer with them, and it's amazing to think that speakers used to be sold with frequency response graphs this flat, graphs that were actually ADVERTISED to you on top of it! I can guarantee people wouldn't even buy junk like Bose’s consumer incarnations if they saw the frequency response graphs for those things. These are, without a doubt, reference-quality speakers. I've heard that even Paul Klipsch himself used a pair as his office speakers. There's a reason.

These aren't just your typical analytical speaker. They're able to demonstrate a great level of neutrality and at the same time, sound extremely engaging. The dynamic level they're able to achieve even at whisper-quiet volumes is astounding. Absolutely every instrument is still present and just as detailed as when they're cranked.

I'm an avid Headphone Hi-Fi fan/guru and I've heard and owned many reference headphones, and usually, they have one trait or another: they're either analytical, detailed, and cold, or punchy/engaging, but far less detailed and not as suitable for genres such as classical. I use headphones of both kinds, always looking for a compromise. These speakers are strange, because they are that compromise. They seem to be able to achieve everything at once, and, as I mentioned, even at extremely low volumes. High dynamic contrast and range, excellent frequency coverage. They'll get your attention and keep it.

Value: I cannot possibly comprehend how these sound so good considering I paid $400 for them. These are a steal on so many levels, it's not even funny. The original retail price was $1200, and honestly, that's more of an accurate price for how good these sound.

Strengths:
--Bass is really excellent. I'm sure these would benefit from a sub in home-theater, but for my purposes, even listening to organ music that has 16 hz. tones in it (32’ pipe), I consider them to be full-range. Oddly, the bass isn't colored at all. Every single speaker I've ever heard always has bass tones that stick out more than others, even if only slightly. These don't. They have a very linear response.
--Mids benefit hugely from the dedicated squawker. One of the reasons I decided against reference is that I already have a two-way bookshelf system (my B3’s), I hate to say it, but you simply cannot get a perfect midrange from a two-way system. A 10" woofer and a 1" tweeter have to crossover somewhere, and in many cheaper tower speakers, this can be a scary process. This is simply a well-designed three-way system that covers all the bases.
--Treble is pretty much the most detailed I've ever heard, and at the same time, they stay away from that critical region of treble emphasis that many speakers and headphones fall into in which things sound hyperdetailed, but are extremely harsh. This is yet another pair of speakers that proves that you can be really detailed and not harsh, and all while using horns, which people typically associate with harshness.
--Dynamic range: really, really high
--Value: why haven't you bought a pair yet?

Weaknesses:
--Speakers weigh 67 pounds a piece (actually a strength audio-wise since the enclosure is extremely sturdy and non-resonant)
--Reveal weakness in recordings, recording quality, encoding quality for PC's, and less-than-hi-fi components in the system... REALLY easily. Literally, the sound will sound completely different from one CD to the next just because they're so sensitive and recording engineers are all different. I think I just got lucky in that I have an amp that doesn't sound harsh... still, on a few rare CD's in my collection (maybe one in 20), they sound a little harsh just because of the way it was mixed and equalized. Honestly, it's not a weakness, but if you listen to poorly recorded music encoded at 128 kbps, you will die.
--Large. They're designed that way.

Similar Products Used:
Yamaha tower speakers (model unknown), Klipsch B-3, JBL ES90

jaredwray34

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $100.00 from Private Owner

Summary:
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE these speakers. They sound better than anything I've ever heard, and boy did i get a deal on these! i just now noticed how much they sell for anywhere else. I mostly listen to music on these because they're in my room and i watch movies in my living room. They have great bass. They get loud enough to hurt your ears!, never heard any distortion either.

Strengths:
Great bass.
Great mid and high range.
Perfect for almost any usage.

Weaknesses:
The only thing is they weigh like 56 pounds.

Similar Products Used:
Kg's. quintets.

oldwiz

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $250.00 from local private seller

Summary:
I didn't really need these Forte II's but couldn't resist a bargain price plus I'm a big Klipsch fan (I have a total of 17 of their speakers now). I've used these to replace a pair of 1960s vintage Electrovoice Wolverine LS series units at my office stereo system. I presently have them hooked to a 1963 Fisher X-100 tube amplifier (40 wpc) that I recently had rebuilt by Craig Ostby at NOS Valves.

They sound superb and seem to be a perfect match for an older, warmer sounding tube amp. The first thing I noticed is how much more efficient the Fortes are compared to the old EVs. Also, the bass is considerably more expansive and "punchy". [I have some other, later produced Klipsch reference floor standing units and the bass is not as good.] The trebles from the horns are clearer/ more defined, which I really notice on vocals (I'm listening to Bryn Terfel's "Something Wonderful" at the monent....wow, what a voice).

These Forte IIs really have "presence" and I love turning up the volume. Unfortunately I have them in a small room. They deserve a bigger space. I stayed up until 2:00 am listening on the first day I got them and my teenagers came downstairs to complain about the noise! Hehehe.

Strengths:
Qulaity of the components. Design of th enclosure and passive radiators. Excellent value for the money, similar to most other Klipsch products. Classic good looks.

Weaknesses:
Large and heavy is about the only thing I can mention. They are going to be expensive to ship if you are not able to find a pair from a local seller.

Similar Products Used:
Klipsch reference series. Klipsch KSF series. Electrovoice. SVS. ADS L series.

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