Hi all - I'm an old AC member who hasn't been posting much here in the past couple years, partly because I am enjoying my Forte IIIs so much! Switched from the Rethm Maargas, which were wonderful, and have been amazed to find that I actually like the Forte IIIs better. But I do agree with Tyson and others that, their name notwithstanding, the Forte IIIs do sound better at lower and medium volumes. I had been wondering whether to blame it on my Coincident 300B monoblocks. Now I think I am ready to try the GR Research upgrade kit. I am wondering whether folks find that it improves the sound even at lower volumes, and whether the bass output is increased at all volume levels? I like others have also found that the bass of the Forte IIIs is surprisingly light in my setup.
I also want to emphasize -- I think the Forte IIIs sound MUCH better when pulled out at least a foot if not two feet from the wall. Up against the wall, they lose the soundstage and the magic in my experience. I would greatly encourage anybody who feels hamstrung by the 2 to 10 inches that's advised in the manual to try this! And yes - I am fully aware that lightens up the bass. A no-brainer of a tradeoff for me!
And lastly, yes, I do have a question! I feel the screaming weakness of these speakers is the footers. I shudder to think how great these speakers could be on some decent spikes or after-market footers. I am very curious what folks here have been able to do, if anything, to address this. I spoke about the issue this week to a well-known manufacturer of isolation footers and he said he wasn't sure what to recommend. Looks risky drilling into that cabinet, just about anywhere you pick. Thoughts???