in this video i'll be taking a look at the new klipsch forte iv speaker and seeing how
it compares to the forte iii it replaces i'll cover a lot in this video but if you want to
read even more be sure to check out our full written review on audioadvice.com
which will be linked down in the description now let's get started
the year 2021 is going to be a very special year for the folks at klipsch as it represents their
75th anniversary in 1946 paul klipsch sold his first speaker out of a small tin shed
in hope arkansas and launched what has become one of the world's most popular speaker brands
ever back then paul enlisted the help of a local cabinet maker and the baldwin piano company
to produce the first few speakers before hiring his first full-time employee
today that original location is the home to the klipsch museum and klipsch employs hundreds of
music loving people while being sold all over the globe to celebrate the 70th anniversary
of klipsch and due to its huge demand from their fans klipsch introduced their heritage series in 2016.
the heritage models brought back new and improved versions of most of the original paul klipsch
designs and made klipsch fans all over the world very happy to celebrate their 75th anniversary
klipsch is introducing a new forte model the forte 4. we thought it would be fun to take a dive into
what makes up a forte speaker and do a comparison between the current forte iii and the new forte iv.
the forte was introduced in 1985 and was a great way to get that classic klipsch sound in
a much smaller cabinet the forte went on to become one of the most popular klipsch speakers
ever made but was discontinued just five years later in 1989. when you look at a forte next
to the top of the line klipschorn there is no question it is far easier to fit into a room
than the klipschorn la scala or cornwall even though the forte stands at three feet tall the
ratio of its dimensions give it a smaller look that enables it to fit into most living rooms
we think it is the very best value in the heritage series as it sounds very big and powerful yet can
blend into a space far easier than some of the larger models you'll have four choices of finish
on the forte four with grills designed to match each one they are american walnut natural cherry
black ash and distressed oak our favorite is the oat with a light colored grill as
it just has this classic retro look we feel is fitting for a speaker with a 75-year heritage
all of the heritage series models are made in the usa at their hope arkansas factory
their skilled craftsmen who in some cases have been with klipsch for decades
make each and every heritage model by hand each pair is serial number match just like the book
matched real wood veneers that grace the speaker's cabinets you can rest assured a klipsch heritage
speaker will last a lifetime and be something your next generation will likely enjoy as well
the forte four is a three-way design with a horn loaded tweeter horn loaded mid-range and
a 12-inch woofer on the front of the cabinet the rear has a 15 inch passive radiator the forte iv
is rated at 99 db sensitivity which makes it a super easy speaker to drive you can push these
with just about anything from a tiny tube amp to a big mcintosh or mark levinson solid state amp
with no issues with the ability to output an spl level of 116 db these can rock starting with the
tweeter the forte iv uses a titanium compression diaphragm coupled to a patented klipsch horn all
tweeters like to beam as the frequencies increase klipsch has updated the phase plug on the forte iv
to improve the linearity of the high frequencies this has a big positive effect on sound staging
the mid-range compression driver is a new model using a polymide diaphragm this driver was
developed for the recent cornwall iv. the mid-range driver is coupled to a modified tractrix horn
the horn uses klipsch's patented mumps tech which gives you extremely even sound in the listening
area the 12 inch woofer is made of a fiber composite cone material to extend the bass even
deeper klipsch adds a rear mounted 15 inch sub-bass passive radiator klipsch decided to voice the new
forte iv more like their top of the line klipschorn and la scala speakers these use a steeper crossover
slope than the other models they also upgraded the quality of the components used in the crossover
while you'll never see a speaker crossover it is a critical link in the chain as it splits up the
incoming signal and sends different frequencies out to the different drivers from the tech
klipsch is using in this new crossover network it appears to be first class we love the solid
binding posts on the rear that are big enough for some massive speaker cables and are set up for bi-wiring
if you wish now let's see how the forte iv technically compares to the forte iii. we love the
fact that klipsch like just a small handful of other speaker manufacturers who actually make their own
speaker drivers spells out the actual driver name they use for the speaker components this
makes it easier to compare model the model and see what the changes are as they improve things
both the forte iii and the iv four use the k100 t1 one inch titanium diaphragm compression
driver on the k79t horn the phase plug was changed on the forte iv for more linear high frequency
dispersion the mid-range gets some big changes as the new forte iv uses the same compression driver
developed for the more expensive cornwall iv. the driver is a k-702 model while on the forte iii they
use the k70 model that uses a titanium diaphragm as compared to the polymide material on the k702
version we should point out klipsch also uses polymify for the tweeter diaphragm in the la scala
and klipschorn both the forte iii and forte iv use the same k703 m horn the woofer and passive radiator
are identical on the forte iii and forte iv. klipsch made some big changes to the crossover network
using more expensive components in the crossover network and changing the slope to more closely
match what they do in the la scala and klipschorn it appears the goal was to get the sound
of the forte iv to be closer to a klipschorn while the forte iv is a quarter inch
shorter in height than the forte iii this is due to the redesign of the base the speaker sits on
all new forte iv color versions have the same matte black base i set up the forte iv and forte
iii up in our listening room to both check out how the forte iv sounded and see how it compared
to the forte iii i did an asymmetrical setup so that each speaker would be the same distance apart
and in the rectangular room would just be a mirror image on distance from the sidewalls
i used a mcintosh stack to power them it's always important when comparing things to
perfectly matched levels which was a cinch with these as the two have exactly the same sensitivity
i decided to make this an all analog comparison and pulled out some classic records from years
gone by which of course plays right into the legacy behind the forte i pick records that really
focused on the mid-range and imaging because that's where i expected to hear most of the
differences between the forte iii and the forte iv first it's totally clear the forte iv is an
evolution of the forte iii. the sound profile between the two is similar but the differences
i heard were pretty big to my ears on the first track i played from the gets gilberto girl from
ipaniwa song i heard a big difference in just how much more effortless the voices and saxophone
sounded on the forte iv when i flipped back to the forte iii they almost sounded strained
the title cut from amanda mcbroom's dreaming was even bigger her voice floated in space and sounded
very natural on the forte iv and when i switched back and forth to the forte iii i felt her voice
almost had a coloration to it my theory is the new mid-range driver and steeper crossover slopes
are a much better match to the horn itself next up were the persuasions who are an acapella group
and i heard the same differences in the mid-range improvements but even more so with multiple voices
going on at the same time on every single cut i tried up to this point the stereo image was also
wider and deeper and more precise in space on the forte iv but when i switched to the next album
that difference became huge the old neophonic string band album is a great bluegrass record on
the forte iv everything was perfectly in space spread out very well when i switched back to the
forte iii it was like the image just went back into the two speakers needless to say i was very
impressed with the new forte iv i did not even cover here how both models have great bass impact
and have such a high sensitivity you can run them with a very small amp i have to give klipsch some
kudos for taking a speaker that was already really good and making it much better in my opinion
the klipsch heritage series covers a wide range of products from the heresy to the top of the
line klipschorn with the new changes the forte iv sounds a lot more like the top of the line klipschorn
than it did before i think this makes it the very best value in the heritage series by far
and should be on the list of anyone who wants to recreate the feeling of a live band in your home
and what music lover would not want to do that like i said earlier be sure to check
out our full written review if you want an even deeper dive into these speakers and if you have
any questions on these or any other home audio or home theater gear always give us a call chat
with us on audioadvice.com or stop by one of our raleigh or charlotte north carolina locations
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