Well. . .

I've owned two pairs of Fortes along with a pair of La Scalas. I know what you mean about that "big" presentation. If I was building a big HT, Klipsch might be a consideration.

In my average sized room, though, my Ascends (170's/200's) are plenty dynamic. Also, while the Klipsch opened up at higher volume; the Ascends are more enjoyable at lower volumes.

I have to hand it to those older Klipsch . . . they had (in my opinion) are very sweet top end. That phenolic tweeter was just dead on . . . again, IMO. With every newer speaker I've owned (Mirage, Mission, Monitor Audio), I've had to attenuate the treble a bit. When we used to audition speakers (late 80's) all tone controls were set to "defeat." Honestly, there's no way I can run my Ascends like that. No worries, I plan to keep my Ascends. It just seems most new stuff is voiced a little hot.

Anywho, I haven't heard the any of the newer Klipsch stuff, except the Synergy at BB. I definitely do NOT like these! But it wouldn't surprise me if you like the Reference series. My recommendation would be to give a good listen with plenty of your favorite music. Listen closely for those subtlies. Listen at both low and high volume. Then make your choice . . . as long as it's Ascend![] Good luck, and have fun.

Cliff