Seems like the Forte IV is the newest flavor of the month speakers in the media at least.
Klipsch has been the strangest speakers since I've been into audio stuff...circa 1982. Meaning, while they have always had flaws in sound reproduction, they have also always had a sound that draws a lot of people in. I remember in about 1986 or 87, everytime I'd go into our local Luxman, Yamaha, Klipsch, Polk dealer, they would have background music playing on either Fortes, or Chorus II speakers.... and you would not want to leave for some reason. Flawed sound and all. There seems to be something going on that appeals to many. So I'm just wondering, this being so, why hasn't someone taken the Forte 4 for example, and engineered it "properly", so it maintains the part people like so much, while addressing the obvious flaws all reviewers point out? Is it simply not possible to get a horn setup like the Forte to sound as good as conventional speaker designs?
Klipsch has been the strangest speakers since I've been into audio stuff...circa 1982. Meaning, while they have always had flaws in sound reproduction, they have also always had a sound that draws a lot of people in. I remember in about 1986 or 87, everytime I'd go into our local Luxman, Yamaha, Klipsch, Polk dealer, they would have background music playing on either Fortes, or Chorus II speakers.... and you would not want to leave for some reason. Flawed sound and all. There seems to be something going on that appeals to many. So I'm just wondering, this being so, why hasn't someone taken the Forte 4 for example, and engineered it "properly", so it maintains the part people like so much, while addressing the obvious flaws all reviewers point out? Is it simply not possible to get a horn setup like the Forte to sound as good as conventional speaker designs?
I can only speak for myself, of course, but my first foray into hifi was about 15 years ago with a modified ST-70 and a pair of Klipsch Forte model 1. There were things I really liked such about the Fortes, such as the sensitivity and the “closeness” or “immediacy” of sound (vs an inexpensive floor standing cone & dome 3-way). Over time I became too distracted by the cupped-hands-around-mouth coloration of the midhorn and started looking for alternatives.
It’s interesting to see that it looks like Klipsch has attempted to address the midhorn coloration by redesigning the midhorn altogether. Unfortunately I could not find any published polar response for the Forte IV so it’s hard to say how they compare to a pair of Gedlee Abbey, PI, Econowave or DIYSG kit loudspeakers. One thing going for the Forte is that extra octave of low frequency extension and the lack of port noise.
It’s interesting to see that it looks like Klipsch has attempted to address the midhorn coloration by redesigning the midhorn altogether. Unfortunately I could not find any published polar response for the Forte IV so it’s hard to say how they compare to a pair of Gedlee Abbey, PI, Econowave or DIYSG kit loudspeakers. One thing going for the Forte is that extra octave of low frequency extension and the lack of port noise.
Erin's Audio Corner did a review of the Heresy IV that might be illustrative.
Klipsch Heresy IV Speaker Review
Klipsch Heresy IV Speaker Review
The Heresy IV is still pretty "old-school" when compared to the new Forte and Cornwall.
The (lack of) physical off-set of the tweeter relative to the midrange is - disappointing, though maybe the tweeter's high-pass has a lot of delay to it. (..and it's not like it has a reward slant like the Heresy.)
To me though it looks "wrong" - like they should have just gotten rid of the tweeter altogether OR made it an up-firing super tweeter (with enough physical off-set).
The (lack of) physical off-set of the tweeter relative to the midrange is - disappointing, though maybe the tweeter's high-pass has a lot of delay to it. (..and it's not like it has a reward slant like the Heresy.)
To me though it looks "wrong" - like they should have just gotten rid of the tweeter altogether OR made it an up-firing super tweeter (with enough physical off-set).
I guess I just find it interesting that Klipsch is so popular, yet no one has made exact clones vastly improved. I know there are upgrade Crossovers and such, yet you would think someone would workout the flaws. Just curiosity
Flaxxer,
No offence to anyone, but sometimes I suspect that people love certain speakers because of their flaws (e.g. higher SPL at certain frequencies that give heightened detail and perception of greater dynamics)... I've watched a few video reviews of the Heresy IV and the folks who loved them, loved them totally. Erin's review is the opposite. 🙂
No offence to anyone, but sometimes I suspect that people love certain speakers because of their flaws (e.g. higher SPL at certain frequencies that give heightened detail and perception of greater dynamics)... I've watched a few video reviews of the Heresy IV and the folks who loved them, loved them totally. Erin's review is the opposite. 🙂
No offense taken. I completely agree with you. There has to be some attractive coloration to Klipsch speakers, or people would not buy them like they do, with the flaws they're willing to ignore. A lot of people won't even be aware of their flaws, from a technical standpoint. But I would think they would experience listeners fatigue due to some of the flaws. I may be dead wrong, but I suspect the magic people here is in the extremely high efficiency. They have a very special sound when played low. As soon as they are turned up, they become shouty and boxy sounding.
Don’t forget that a major incentive towards buying name brand equipment is that it holds its resale value. For people unwilling to build their own loudspeakers, Klipsch may be their first/only foray into high efficiency horn loudspeakers. Other considerations such as horn coloration, on axis response and polar response may as well be superfluous. As much as it hurts to hear it, there is little-to-no resale value in DIY loudspeakers, regardless of performance.
Heresy IV review from Erin's Audio Corner and Z reviews coud not be any farther apart.
I did subscribe to Erin's after watching this review, but I WILL say that some people buy Klipsch to pair them with single-digit wattage SET tube amps, e.g. 300B, which will match up pretty nicely. 300B SET's top-end roll-off will offset Klipsch's peaks, and the "warm" bass of SET will offset lack of Klispch's low end, etc. The resulting final sound may possibly be someone's "dream sound" 😀
Well, if they're anything like my experience with my KHorns, by the time I'd engineered all the faults out of them, I had a completely different speaker and the KHors were relegated to storage in the garage. Along with a couple of pairs of LS and some earlier Hs.
I was not recommending any Klipsch speaker mods to make them sound better. I was talking about a complete new Klipsch like DIY design. One just like a forte 4 for example, but without flaws that needed modding.
I would also check out the Humble Homemade Hifi Calpamos
http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com/download/Humble Homemade Hifi_Calpamos.pdf
http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com/download/Humble Homemade Hifi_Calpamos.pdf