I have been converted or convinced. After being impressed by my Heresy III I realized Klipsch could make good speakers. The Heresy dropped off sharply around 60Hz or so though. They were still a lot of fun to listen to. I wanted a pair of Cornwall bad, something that sounded good yet went lower. Their cabinet was just too big for my space. So I contemplated a sub. I kept an eye out for Klipsch for sale thinking in my mind if I saw a pair of Cornwall I'd make it work some how. No, I didn't find any. However I saw a pair of Forte. It sort of rang a bell but I knew they weren't in the Heritage. So I asked my Klipsch guru about them and he said they were very good. So I picked up a pair from CL for $400.00. The cabinets are a bit rough but the drivers looked perfect. Well, one passive radiator has a dented dust cap. One of the corners on the base were cracked so I took them off as soon as I got them home.
I typically don't care for passive radiators. OK, enough babble, the Forte are phenominal. Just amazing. The best Klipsch speaker I've ever heard. They seem to have the good character of horns without the negatives. If you didn't know I wonder if you could tell they were horns or Klipsch just by listening. They do play lower than the Heresy but the response is nicely balanced. I mean I can crank these babies without the horns piercing my ear drums. But they aren't rolled off or dull either, not sure how Klipsch achieved this. What's more puzzling is why they aren't making speakers like this today. The Forte has to be the best value in a used speaker, ever. I had them hooked to my Conrad Johnson gear, began going through some CD's evaluating sound quality and found myself just letting the songs play, taken back by what I was hearing and enjoying it.
The thing about Klipsch they are very sensitive but on the other hand they are very revealing. So lower power amps may not be a problem but low quality will be. You guys looking for a good bang for the buck on a used speaker need to learn which Klipsch are good. Then treat yourself to a pair.
Now I have a dilemma. The Heresy were short and tilted back some so I could actually sit them in front of my t2.5's. The Forte are much taller and do not tilt. So I will either have to move them around when wanting to listen to them or make them permanent and put together some other Klipsch to go with it for surround sound. I know it's crazy to like these better than my Dyn's for music but at the time I do. I'm sure I will be wrestling this a long time because this is something I don't want to make any hasty moves on .