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Forte I vs II

K

Kevin64

Member
I am looking at purchasing some Klipsch Forte speakers. I have Heresy II's with new caps and Crites Titanium tweeters. They sound really nice! I have read how much better the Fortes are in comparison. What is your experience and recommendation with the Heresy to Forte comparison. Also, your inputs on the Forte I vs. II's. One would assume that the II's are better than the first series. Last what other speakers would you choose in the same price range? Thank you
 
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Forte are stretch Heresy. build yourself a 4 cu ft cabinet and drop your heresy into them. I would opt for a sealed box if you wand the deepest bass extension possible and you want clean tight articulate bass. Gothover at the Klipsch forum has a reflex design a little smaller than this if you want to go reflex. The Forte woofer is a somewhat more robust driver than that in a H2 but not that fat different.
You will find many opinions about the Forte ll Vs the Forte. The horn in the Forte ll is a better newer horn, Personally I much prefer the mid horn in a Forte ll over the K700 of the Forte. If they are well designed larger horns are always better. A KLF20 with solid baffles and fully tweaked out with Ti diaphragms and damped horns and cabinet is a better speaker imo. A better option again is the CF3 of the Epic series. A two way will integrate better over a shorter distance than a three way will. The CF3 has the largest horn you will find in a domestic Klipsch short of the K400 but that horn has it's own sonic issues the horn in the CF3 is much better designed horn, smaller so it will not go so low but is actually used as a tweeter in some of the pro gear so it holds its polar pattern control all the way out to 20 KHz..All these speakers sound best when you raise the cabinet up so that the centre of the mid horn is at ear level when you are seated. I hope this is of interest. Best regards Moray James.

PS: here is the design link.

http://mysite.verizon.net/res12il11/id76.html
 
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I've owned a couple pairs of the Forte I and Forte II. To me the Forte I always sounded better. The sound stage on the Forte I blew me away, the Forte II sound stage were very disappointing compared to the Forte I. IMO stay with the Forte I and you can't go wrong :thmbsp:

-R
 
If you have the room and can pony up a bit more cash, I would recommend Cornwalls. Much bigger and more natural sound IMHO. If it has to be Forte's, I too would recommend the the I's. I prefer the sound of the exponential horn over the tractrix horn in the FII. Try to audition them if you can. No one has your ears.:no: Have fun with the quest for better sound!:music:
 
The forte I is my preferance also. I find the exponential horn to throw a better soundstange and the bass seems much tighter as well.
 
I own Forte 1 & Cornwalls

Bass is better on the Forte for rock & roll, etc. The Cornwalls have the edge on classical music. Perhaps the Cornwalls have a more natural sounding edge, but the Forte 1 say 'rock better' and makes my right foot tap. Either are exceptional speakers for pure musical enjoyment. My Forte have Crites upgrades whereas the Cornwalls are factory stock. You cannot go wrong with either.
 
sony6060 said:
Bass is better on the Forte for rock & roll, etc. The Cornwalls have the edge on classical music. Perhaps the Cornwalls have a more natural sounding edge, but the Forte 1 say 'rock better' and makes my right foot tap. Either are exceptional speakers for pure musical enjoyment. My Forte have Crites upgrades whereas the Cornwalls are factory stock. You cannot go wrong with either.
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My Cornwall I (stock) have far more bass than my Forte I (new caps) in my room.

I used to always use a sub with the Fortes but after the Cornwall upgrade, I have no need.

I love my dubstep and d+b, and I get measurable response right down to the low 20s with the Corns in the corners, it amazed me.
 
Really, you can't go wrong with either to be honest, both are wonderful speakers. I've got the Forte I's with upgraded Ti tweets and my father has stock Forte II's. The hgh end in my Fortes is noticeably brighter thanks to the Ti diaphragms, but honestly, I think both sets sound amazing. Either way, you'll be happy with them.
 
so Kevin have you had the chance to listen to any of these and make some kind of judgement of your own? If not get on it and let us know what you think when you do. Best regards Moray James.
 
I have not found any for sale (within driving distance) still looking. For now I experimented with speaker stands for my Heresy II"s. The end result was 3/4" laminated plywood boxes. 16" tall and the same width and depth of the speaker box. Four sides and a bottom only. I sealed the inside joints with caulking and applied weather stripping on the top edge where the speaker sits. Put a 40 lb. bag of sand in each one. Wow! What a difference, the bass is stronger and the horns are up of the ground. Floyd's Dark side never sounded better!:rockon:
 
have you tried placing the Heresy up so your ear is on the centre line of the mid horn? That's the magic spot. You will need about 20 inches or so depending upon your seat and your height. Patience and some speakers will turn up near you. Best regards Moray James.
 
I keep getting other speakers trying to upgrade from my forte ii's and i keep failing

I think either one will be great
 
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Doc Spratley said:
My Cornwall I (stock) have far more bass than my Forte I (new caps) in my room.

I used to always use a sub with the Fortes but after the Cornwall upgrade, I have no need.

I love my dubstep and d+b, and I get measurable response right down to the low 20s with the Corns in the corners, it amazed me.
Click to expand...

My Forte has more bass than the Cornwalls. In fact, so much bass it is redicilous. A subwoofer? Huh? I could use these Forte in a NYC dance club. Something must have been wrong with your Forte speakers.
 
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I think the bass is about placement. Both in corners depending on ear height the bass is pretty big. I only have 1 in a real corner and they have significantly more bass standing than seated. Not real sure why
 
I preferred the forte II and bought them. The tractrix phenolic horn was a relief to my ears over the metal units. I replaced the tweeter with a titanium unit from Bob Crites and the caps with sonicaps. The improvement was HUGE over either stock speaker. I also refinished in cherry. Here in an in progress pic:
 

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nice color but your cherry is oak. nice veneer work on those speakers. if you can do it add some brace work inside to stiffen the cabinets that will tighten things up a lot. Enjoy. Best regards Moray James.
 
The wood is oak, the stain is minwax cherry. I will consider the braces. The speakers are in my Ht room, with quartets, and some modded reference (CC and rears)
 
The Forte II is called the Forte II for a reason. It's an upgrade from the Forte I. The mid horn is better and the bass is better. The same applies to the Chorus line. When you can get the IIs go with the IIs. The resale is higher too.
 
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