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Klipsch RF-3 or Forte II

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diamonddelts

Active Member
Hi all. I recently purchased a pair of Klipsch RF-3's for my basement which I am very impressed with. However, I've seen a few other deals on my local craigslist. Specifically there is a man selling some Klipsch Forte ii's for $400. Would this be a sizable upgrade or downgrade from the Klipsch RF-3 in terms of clarity, detail, and bass extension? Has anyone heard or owned both?

I've seen a Chorus ii for $900 which I feel is too much. Also I read their bass drops off at 40hz which is too high for my tastes. The other speakers I lusted after was a pair of KLF 10's but they sold in a matter of hours.

Looking forward to your responses. And thank you in advance for the help.
 
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I believe you would find the Forte ii to have a bit more bass and better midrange. I also find them more attractive. I would consider them an upgrade.
 
A buddy of mine owns the RF-3 and I recently picked up a pair of Forte II's for my dad for Father's Day, so I have auditioned both. I would have to agree with Imme1956; the Forte's have much better bass response than the RF-3's. In my opinion, the RF-3's need a subwoofer to fill out the sound, whereas the Forte's do not. If they're in really good shape, I would say $400 isn't too bad of a price. I paid about half that for my dad's set and they had some damage to the cabs as well as repaired original drivers.
 
Forte II wins this one. A gentleman I know who is a Klipsch geek says the Forte II is one of their best speakers along with the Chorus II of the non Heritage line speakers. I am listening to his pair of Chorus II right now. And loving them. They are on loan.
 
if size is not an issue for you the Forte ll will win If you would prefer a smaller cabinet and you are prepared to modify the RF3 would be the better choice. If you have limits on how much you can afford to spend on upgrades then the RF3 once again is the better vehicle to get you to where you want to go. A RF3 can be modified to provide all the quality bass that you could want no sub required. Taken to the limit as far as mods go I would give the edge to the Forte ll and it has the capacity to play louder but we are talking extremes here now. If you listening space and distance from the speakers is in the 10 - 20 plus feet range I would give the nod to the Forte ll however if your listening space is smaller and you want to sit around 10 - 12 feet from the speakers the two way RF3 will do a better job. It is not an issue of which is a better speaker but one of which is better suited to the application that you have in mind. Both could perform on par in the right situation. Hope this helps and is of interest. Best regards Moray James.
 
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Thank you all so much for your responses. I tried to haggle with the Chorus II owner but he will not budge on price. So it looks I will have to go with the Forte II. I plan to run it with a Crown XLI 2500 amp. I was also interested in a KLF-20 pair. I'm checking CL in Dallas, Houston, and Austin everyday but no new ads in over a week.
 
I've ran Chorus II's and Forte II's in the last month or so for the first time... You'll be really happy that the Chorus II owner didn't budge. The Forte II's dig deeper, I think you'll like them.:thmbsp:
 
fishondwan said:
I've ran Chorus II's and Forte II's in the last month or so for the first time... You'll be really happy that the Chorus II owner didn't budge. The Forte II's dig deeper, I think you'll like them.:thmbsp:
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Thank you for your opinion. It helps with my purchase decision tremendously.
 
I picked up the pair of Klipsch Forte II's for sale this afternoon. They were much smaller in person than I thought they would be. Very compact footprint. I was able to easily lift one and carry it with one arm on my shoulder. Upon listening to the pair today I found their highs were very clear along with a defined midrange.

However their bass was very underwhelming to me. It is very smooth yet neutral which results in a very balanced sound all around. However these speakers demand a sub in my opinion yet I planned to move these speakers to my bedroom where I definitely don't want to use a sub. If I only can get a Klipsch speaker with the supreme clarity of the Forte II's along with the low end punch of the RF-3's.

The Cornwalls seem like the closest design to what I'm looking for. Which is a large 15 that goes extends down to the 30's, a horn loaded midrange, horn loaded tweeter, and it's a bass reflex port design and not a passive radiator.

Though I much prefer rear ports and not front ports. I had my doubts about a passive radiator design which I've never liked in the past but I'm glad I gave the Forte II's a listen anyway.

They've definitely shown me Klipsch is capable of reproducing the clarity I desire for my bedroom. Now I just have to get the bass to match. Already put both the RF-3's and Forte II's up for sale tonight.

Any thoughts on where to go from here? Would the Cornwall be a sizable upgrade? Or is it's real world extension not any better than the Chorus II?
 
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Forte and Forte ll are both capable of very good deep and powerful bass. If you are not hearing that bass there are issues issues of one kind or another. Speaker placement is usually all that is required to set things right. I understand though that in a bedroom situation that alternate placement options may not (for practical reasons) exist. Yours is an unfortunate situation.

A Cornwall and a Chorus or Chorus ll all have essentially the same bass response/extension. All Cornwall and Chorus models are dropping like a rock at 40 Hz (minus 3 -5 Hz down at 40 Hz depending upon the version) as far as bass extension goes. The Chorus models do have better pro woofers compared to the CW. Passive radiators perform the same function as a reflex vent but passive radiators have lower distortion than a reflex vent does and when properly used they are superior to air vents.

Why don't you try the RF3 back in your bedroom (since they have been able to provide the bass that you want) but this time raise them up so that the centre of the horn is up at your listening ear level. This will have a dramatic effect upon clarity stage and image. This may make the difference that you are looking for.

You might also give the Forte ll another try but you would need to make sure that all the gasket seals are air tight (woofer horns passive and terminal cup) and that the drivers are also tight and secure in position. Loose mounting screws can be made tight again with some white wood glue and a few tooth pics. The rear passive of the Forte and the Forte ll do not function well when positioned up close to a wall unless there is considerable toe in. You might find a fix for your missing bass if you experiment a bit more with the Forte ll. You won't know if you don't try. The missing bass could be as easy to find as a turn of a bass filter control if you have one. Good luck in your search. Best regards Moray James.
 
moray james said:
Forte and Forte ll are both capable of very good deep and powerful bass. If you are not hearing that bass there are issues issues of one kind or another. Speaker placement is usually all that is required to set things right. I understand though that in a bedroom situation that alternate placement options may not (for practical reasons) exist. Yours is an unfortunate situation.

A Cornwall and a Chorus or Chorus ll all have essentially the same bass response/extension. All Cornwall and Chorus models are dropping like a rock at 40 Hz (minus 3 -5 Hz down at 40 Hz depending upon the version) as far as bass extension goes. The Chorus models do have better pro woofers compared to the CW. Passive radiators perform the same function as a reflex vent but passive radiators have lower distortion than a reflex vent does and when properly used they are superior to air vents.

Why don't you try the RF3 back in your bedroom (since they have been able to provide the bass that you want) but this time raise them up so that the centre of the horn is up at your listening ear level. This will have a dramatic effect upon clarity stage and image. This may make the difference that you are looking for.

You might also give the Forte ll another try but you would need to make sure that all the gasket seals are air tight (woofer horns passive and terminal cup) and that the drivers are also tight and secure in position. Loose mounting screws can be made tight again with some white wood glue and a few tooth pics. The rear passive of the Forte and the Forte ll do not function well when positioned up close to a wall unless there is considerable toe in. You might find a fix for your missing bass if you experiment a bit more with the Forte ll. You won't know if you don't try. The missing bass could be as easy to find as a turn of a bass filter control if you have one. Good luck in your search. Best regards Moray James.
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Thank you again for the helpful info Mr. James. I've had the RF-3's in my bedroom for the last two weeks. Very laid back sound. Bass is great but a little boomy at times. Midrange is missing but since it is a entry level two way that is to be expected I guess. I tried a toe in which helped a bit, but the Forte II's bass still was not up to my liking.

So I sold them today. I was shocked at the amount of low offers I got for them. Highest offer of the lot was $280. So I took a loss and sold them. They don't have very good resale value. I wonder why? They are a great sounding speaker in my opinion. But oh well. Now I got to find their replacement.
 
Sorry about your Cornscala decision as well
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I know you aren't going to compare a cornscala to a crown amp, they aren't even in the same zip code.

Oh, and BTW, good luck with your Fortes. They are great speakers and deserve a great amp, which I'm sure you will buy once you sell the Crown.:yes:
 
Wow, you sure don't waste time! I think you were too impatient. Should have given the Fortes a bit more time in the bedroom and tried different positioning. 10" from the wall (mine are in corners) and slightly toed in. I have Forte I and need to keep the bass eq flat or the walls shake too much.

Must be your amp. You should have upgraded that instead. You made a big boo boo (lol)
 
Must be your amp. You should have upgraded that instead. You made a big boo boo (lol)
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I concur. I have heard Fortes located several feet into the room that have excellent bass. And this is on 60 watts of tube power. No need for high powered SS or shoving them into the corners. Get the front end right, and placement in the room, and they provide great bass.
 
HarleySG said:
I know you aren't going to compare a cornscala to a crown amp, they aren't even in the same zip code.

Oh, and BTW, good luck with your Fortes. They are great speakers and deserve a great amp, which I'm sure you will buy once you sell the Crown.:yes:
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Your condescending comment was not warranted. I'm normally a very nice guy, however I can play the one up game as well. The speakers in my living room and home theater room are rotated between Danley SH 64, JTR 215RT, and Yorkville U215.

Your Cornscala is not on the same radar as these speakers. Yet I don't feel the need to put others down here due to what I own. I also have pro amps ranging from Lab Gruppen all the way down to Behringer. The crown amp is a basic, no frills lower mid tier pro amp that gives a very balanced sound.

My point is don't throw stones if you live in a glass house.
 
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Tapehead47 said:
Wow, you sure don't waste time! I think you were too impatient. Should have given the Fortes a bit more time in the bedroom and tried different positioning. 10" from the wall (mine are in corners) and slightly toed in. I have Forte I and need to keep the bass eq flat or the walls shake too much.

Must be your amp. You should have upgraded that instead. You made a big boo boo (lol)
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I have over a dozen other amps. But my ears know what type of sound I'm looking for. I can tell in a fairly quick matter if a speaker has the barebone basic to match what I'm used to( along with eq/amp tweaks) or if it just does not. With a little more placement options, minor tonal balance eq, and a sub I know the Fortes would sound great in my room. But I just don't want to use a sub in there.
 
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Tapehead47 said:
Wow, you sure don't waste time! I think you were too impatient. Should have given the Fortes a bit more time in the bedroom and tried different positioning. 10" from the wall (mine are in corners) and slightly toed in. I have Forte I and need to keep the bass eq flat or the walls shake too much.

Must be your amp. You should have upgraded that instead. You made a big boo boo (lol)
Click to expand...

I have over a dozen other amps. But my ears know what type of sound I'm looking for. I can tell in a fairly quick matter if a speaker has the barebone basic to match what I'm used to( along with eq/amp tweaks) or if it just does not. With a little more placement options, minor tonal balance eq, and a sub I know the Fortes would sound great in my room. But I just don't want to use a sub in there.
 
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