Klipsch Forte IV vs Martin Logan ESL-X

[Hapo]

Klipsch Heritage Forte IV (American Walnut)

Matched pair of floor-standing speakers

www.crutchfield.com

MartinLogan ElectroMotion® ESL X (Satin Black)

Floor-standing speaker

www.crutchfield.com

...I sort of have it narrowed down to these...the are both aboot $5000 a pair...I am a cheap bastard and can't see spending more than my car costs on speakers...

...these will have to do...

 

[sweetchaos]

Klipsch Forte IV:

from https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/loudspeakers/klipsch_forte_iv/

vs
MartinLogan Vista:

from https://speakerdata2034.blogspot.com/2020/04/various-brands-spinorama-data-from.html

or

MartinLogan Prodigy:

from https://speakerdata2034.blogspot.com/2020/04/various-brands-spinorama-data-from.html

I hope you're not choosing these for their sound accuracy.

 

[Doodski]

Klipsch Forte IV:

from https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/loudspeakers/klipsch_forte_iv/

vs
MartinLogan Vista:

from https://speakerdata2034.blogspot.com/2020/04/various-brands-spinorama-data-from.html

or

MartinLogan Prodigy:

from https://speakerdata2034.blogspot.com/2020/04/various-brands-spinorama-data-from.html

I hope you're not choosing these for their sound accuracy.

They are a bit rough looking...

 

[Blumlein 88]

Why did you narrow it to these two? One is inefficient and the other is rather efficient. Both likely have some issues (still might be rather satisfying depending upon things). It seems an odd pair to choose between.

A Revel M106 and some sub-woofers probably is better and cheaper. Revel F206 is likely better alone. If you speak with some motivated Revel dealers an F208 pair is in your price range. Or KEF R3 and some sub-woofers.

 

[Hapo]

MartinLogan Motion® XT F100 (Gloss Black)

Floor-standing speaker

www.crutchfield.com

...well, there is this...I posted them on another thread like this...they were disparaged...

 

[sweetchaos]

Have you seen my “passive speaker recommendation” thread?

Klipsch and MartinLogan are not recommended simply because these companies aren’t making accurate speakers.

 

[Blumlein 88]

MartinLogan Motion® XT F100 (Gloss Black)

Floor-standing speaker

www.crutchfield.com

...well, there is this...I posted them on another thread like this...they were disparaged...

Yes, I saw your other thread, and posted within it.

Don't know what this is worth. I have F208's and quite like them. I also have Soundlab ESLs, and most of my life listened to various panel ESL's. The F208's aren't like ESLs, but they are quite good without bad things that many box speakers have to irritate the listener.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Passive Speaker Recommendations for USA (by @sweetchaos)

I'm constantly asked which speakers to purchase...so, here you go! :D This guide is for PASSIVE speakers. For ACTIVE speakers go here. Click on the "Spoiler" buttons below to expand each section. Readme: Legend: Passive Bookshelf Speakers: Passive Tower/Floorstanding Speakers: RAN OUT...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Hapo]

Have you seen my “passive speaker recommendation” thread?

Klipsch and MartinLogan are not recommended simply because these companies aren’t making accurate speakers.

...no...

 

[Brian6751]

FWIW I have owned the Forte 3’s and Revel 206’s and have had the Martin Logan XT F200’s for only a few days now and I would take the ML’s over the other two in a heartbeat. It’s not even close. I wouldn’t make assumptions for the new XT line based on past speaker measurements

Here are some in room measurements of the F200's from Anthem ARC. This isn't from REW so it's an averaged smoothed response. Top Red is the unEQ'ed response. Bottom Green is predicted with EQ applied

 

[Blumlein 88]

FWIW I have owned the Forte 3’s and Revel 206’s and have had the Martin Logan XT F200’s for only a few days now and I would take the ML’s over the other two in a heartbeat. It’s not even close. I wouldn’t make assumptions for the new XT line based on past speaker measurements

Here are some in room measurements of the F200's from Anthem ARC. This isn't from REW so it's an averaged smoothed response. Top Red is the unEQ'ed response. Bottom Green is predicted with EQ applied

View attachment 278014

Looks like on its own it is a bright sounding speaker. Otherwise it doesn't look too bad in your measurement. I agree about assuming the box speakers from M-L are bad is possibly a mistake. But most box speakers until shown otherwise are pretty poor. Would you take the M-Ls you have over the F206 without being able to EQ?

 

[Brian6751]

Looks like on its own it is a bright sounding speaker. Otherwise it doesn't look too bad in your measurement. I agree about assuming the box speakers from M-L are bad is possibly a mistake. But most box speakers until shown otherwise are pretty poor. Would you take the M-Ls you have over the F206 without being able to EQ?

Yes, I personally would take the ML over the F206's without EQ. The ML are just a more capable speaker IMO. Bigger, more power handling, more bass extension; plus I just subjectively like the ML better.

I have the ML's towed in a little so that is effecting the in room response. Im still playing around with spacing and tow in but, as you can see, the in room response is very EQ-able. Even without EQ, they don't seem as bright as the measurement looks. I think my downward tilting EQ makes the raw response look brighter than it is. From 200Hz up, it is actually pretty neutral

 

[Blumlein 88]

Yes, I personally would take the ML over the F206's without EQ. The ML are just a more capable speaker IMO. Bigger, more power handling, more bass extension; plus I just subjectively like the ML better.

I have the ML's towed in a little so that is effecting the in room response. Im still playing around with spacing and tow in but, as you can see, the in room response is very EQ-able. Even without EQ, they don't seem as bright as the measurement looks. I think my downward tilting EQ makes the raw response look brighter than it is. From 200Hz up, it is actually pretty neutral

I would say that type of measurement is supposed to trend downward. A speaker measured in this manner which is "flat" would be up-titled in an anechoic measurement. It is an artifact of this type of measuring. So I would expect it to be a touch bright. However, without the off-axis curves those may offset a general brightness.

 

[Brian6751]

I would say that type of measurement is supposed to trend downward. A speaker measured in this manner which is "flat" would be up-titled in an anechoic measurement. It is an artifact of this type of measuring. So I would expect it to be a touch bright. However, without the off-axis curves those may offset a general brightness.

Here is a more flat curve with the level lifted more in line with the raw measurement. I am also still learning my way around Anthem ARC