Solid bass, smooth upper range, incredible fullness of sound at a price you would have to spend thousands new to come close to.

My ears couldn't begin to take what they are capable of dishing out.

My Fortes are from the mid 1980s. They are in perfect condition with beautiful oak cabinets. I have been on a mission to acheive really solid bass since my old Cerwin Vegas went missing in action. It took upgrading everything to get where I am today, but on a modest budget, you can do it on Ebay. Go with a solid amp (the Hafler 500 was my choice & it rocks) and the B&K PT3 series 2 preamp is incredible. Combining them with the Klipsch Fortes and I am hearing my music for the first time. Cds I have played on numerous occasions sound brand new. The music is so much fuller and rich sounding. I can understand lyrics that I never could understand on my old system. Songs often sound totally remixed for the better. The total sound difference really is incredible. Ever have a song bring tears to your eyes? These speakers will do that for you. Even my wife notices the difference. The speakers are big (35" tall) and heavy, but if you love two channel music as I do, you will be so happy with the Fortes. Powerful bass, that is so smooth. Highs that are not harsh (bright) at all. Really very soothing to listen to for hours. I am so happy with this system, I am on a CD buying spree now, as I can't get enough.

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I previewed many makes in the stores for 3 times as much and just loved the vintage Fortes more. Find an pair in great shape and your set.

99db Great sound for the price sturdy build

Keep away from the walls. Position sensitive.

What a wonderful, wonderful speaker. I’ve owned the KG5.5, the Heritage Quartets and now the Forte II. The Forte II is capable of producing great sounding music at any volume level. The synergy created between older solid state amplification (McIntosh, Belles) and these speakers is outstanding. The soundstage is deep and wide. I’ve owned many different speakers during my “search for sound” and have found the pair for me.

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Magnepan Dunlavy Thiel Def Tech KEF Other Klipsch

Great bass, clear highs

Not any yet

I have now had these for about a month. They have the definition I was looking for as I researched what speaker to buy. The clarity, bass, and clear highs are present in all of the music I have listened to. They are a little bigger physically than I wanted but their sound is worth it. These are wonderful speakers.

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La Scalas, Martin Logan, Heresy I's, Mirage

Pure smooth sound. "Bass" baby, whew. These puppies were sold in pairs and I know why. Powered by a MAC C26 and 2100 amp - Very little power required to make these speakers perform.

*Sometimes one hear too much. Mikes being moved, talking in the background, etc. *Klipsch family cutback on a quality product and started making cheap speakers and cutout the middle product line. Shame, shame, shame!

Listening to studio playbacks of certain cuts I noticed more detail and smoother sound than the JBL studio monitors were producing. I had a pair of JBL L-166's and placed a pair of Forte next to them and played the same tape on both. I still own both pairs, but the Forte's kick! You guys with the Forte II's I feel for you. Too bright in the mid range. Don't know what Klipsch was doing, but I don't sit in front of a drummer's hi-hat and sync in. If Oscar Peterson and Horace Silver knew that 20 years ago I was checkin' their music via the mellow sound of the wide range horns they would have flipped.

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Bozak w/ 15" woofers and widerange horns JBL Studio Monitors JBL L166

they rock great'they sound great... no one has ever came away from hearing either set w/out just being in awe..

the positioning and the size the Forte II's. The Chorus II's are like small refrigerator's but if ya have the room they are well worth the size. Other than that no flaw's I know of

I have owned the Forte'II's since 1988, when I was a senior in highschool. I listened to them and immediatly sold my B&W's and Boston Accoustics and bought them. I tell everyone when they talk about their stero's or a friends, to come over and I say I don't have to say anything about them. "They speak for themselve's". While other speakers have trouble standing the test of time or transition from pure stereo to home theater, these still please. Amazed to see years after they stopped production they are still in heavy demand. I since have purchanced the Chorus II's even better than the Forte'II's and a Klipsch Acadamy center channel and have en Energy 12" sub "which is only needed for home theater... Most all of my friend's try to buy my speakr's, but they are not for sale. I also run the Kilpsch 400 watt 4+1 system on my computer .. best 400$ I ever spent . I would recomend them to anyone that seriously likes to listen to music... they are very efficient and very loud and crystal clear I beat mine hard and they take it w/ no problem

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Klipsch Chorus II's , Klipsch Academy (center channel) Energy 12" sub., Klipsch 400 watt sub (4+1)computer speaker system

Huge sound for the money. These speakers rock!

They lack finesse.

In the fall of '86 I was starting college. My parents gave me $500 spending money for the semester. Day one, I walked into my local audio dealer with my old speakers and traded them in, spending every penny of the $500. I didn't eat out much or go to the movies that semester, but I still own the Fortes and I've never regreted it. There are much better sounding speakers around. I'm a die-hard B&W fan and have owned several pairs. But Klipsch is a different type of beast. They were a great speaker for me as a college kid. When I listen to them now, I feel like a college kid. Don't buy these speakers for their imaging or sound stage, etc. But if your in the mood to feel like the guy on that classic Maxell ad - the Fortes are a fine coice. I've pushed them with my 200w/side Adcom (a similar beast, I guess). They don't need anywhere near that much power, but they sure sound great with it.

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I've listened to many other speakers. Klipsch is a one-of-a-kind.

Superbly dynamic and ravishingly musical (in a large room). Clean, liquid bass. Lively mids. Airy highs. High efficiency (I'm running 45 wpc).

Can sound harsh on bright recordings in small rooms at high volume. The very lowest organ pedal notes run out of steam.

I reviewed the Fortes two years ago, soon after I bought them, but felt an update was in order. Yesterday I set these babies up for the first time in a large, relatively bright room of around 700 sq. ft. for a group audition of a favorite pipe organ concerto CD, and it was like listening to a different set of speakers! The strengths of the Fortes were reinforced, and the weaknesses pretty much disappeared. I have never in my life enjoyed listening to recorded music as much I did yesterday! The loudspeakers produced the dynamic experience of a HUGE pipe organ plus full orchestra like I never dreamed possible. The imaging was pinpoint, the ambient bloom of the massive cathedral utterly natural and convincing. The organ pipes alternately crooned, lilted, and freaking SHREDDED AIR on cue. Only those who have heard a monster pipe organ played live will have any concept of what I'm talking about: sound that you hear with your whole body, that seems to pass right through you like gamma rays. These speakers LOVE a large room.

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This dynamic, this cheap, this musical? There are no similar products.

Take extreme amounts of power. Unreal bass output. Quality build.

Very directional, must be in sweet spot to get full effect.

I have had these speakers since 1984, I was 14. I bought them for a speaker that could "rock", as I have grown and tastes change, they still thrill me. While other speakers have trouble standing the test of time or transition from pure stereo to home theater, these still please. Amazed to see years after they stopped production they are still in heavy demand

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Klipsch KLF C7 center channel

Superb Sound

None worth mentioning

An absolutely outstanding speaker. Clean, superior dynamics, superb balance and superbly clean Bass. A very exceptional find. I am still using them and I''ve tried other newer speaker models against them such as JBL, Infinity, NHT,..etc and these Forte''s BLEW them away. The SOUND of the FORTE''s IS FLAT OUT SPECTACULAR FOR THIS PRICE RANGE ($1,000).

EFFICENTLY,POWER HANDLING,BUILD,ACCURACY,SMOOTHNESS,DEFINITION,ETC.,ETC.,ETC.,

NONE THAT I HAVE FOUND.

The ForteII''S are an exellent pair of floor standing speakers.They sound outstanding on all types of music.Their high efficenty and high power handling combine for a very wide dynamic range.Very well built and the ability to stay accurate at high volume levels sets these speakers apart from others that I have heard.I had to give up my subwoofer to purchase these speakers and I do it again in a heartbeat.GREAT SPEAKERS!!

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SMALLER KLIPSCH''S[3.5''S],3.1''S, and CERWIN-VEGA.