Klipsch Forte IV speakers are an American classic for a new age
Klipsch off the old block
Klipsch loudspeakers have been around since 1946, when Dame Vera Lynn’s ‘We’ll Meet Again’ was still getting a decent hammering on record players. Fast forward to 2021 and it’s more likely to be Ant & Dec’s ‘We’re on the Ball’, but while musical taste hasn’t encountered any discernible evolution, hi-fi equipment has and no more so than on the Klipsch Forte IV (£5,100 per pair). Handcrafted in the US of A, the Klipsch Forte IV represent the third iteration of a speaker series that went into hiding after 1996. Here they get a new three-way design utilising a 12in woofer and horn-loaded midrange and tweeter, with state of the art titanium compression drivers for a smooth and powerful response. New midrange compressions drivers, wide dispersion high frequency phase plugs and a rear-mounted 15in passive radiator are on board to not only bore your pals, but keep frequencies separated and sincere while beautiful dollops of bass play a supporting role. Premium aluminium input panels accommodate large, high-quality speaker cables, while strong binding posts allow for bi-wiring or bi-amping, if that’s your thing. While this sounds like a whole heap of hi-fi, the Klipsch Forte IV have a shallow-ish footprint of 13in deep. Meanwhile, each pair of speakers is grain-matched from the same timber. Choose from American Walnut, Natural Cherry, Black Ash and Distressed Oak – an intentional faded finish, as opposed to the mental state caused by your Euro 2020 playlist.
James Day