@Blacknote the choice for a series of reasons ended up on the Forest. I had listened to them some time ago and I remembered them much more similar to the Sky Tower but I had to change my mind. I still don’t have clear ideas to express a final opinion, I have to listen to them more, only a few days have passed. The tweeters sound very different and I was used to the high thrust of the Sky Towers. I don’t know the Blumenhofer Tempesta 20, I’ve never listened to them.
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Congratulations @karld for your purchase. The Forests are an excellent choice. I’ve been thinking about my test and probably the Blumenhofers sound great especially when paired to a tube amp (which we don’t have). So when the time comes I’ll probably end up with the Forests as well. Nevertheless I had a remarkable experience that also confirmed how great the Octave V70 amp is.
If I remember well, the Forests have the same core sound of the Sky Towers but the whole presentation is very different. The tweeters of the Forests are less shouty, more polished and relaxed. Highs feel more natural but still very detailed. How many hours have you been listening to them? Last time I tested the Forests were just few hours old and they still sounded remarkably better than the Sky Towers.
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@Blacknote I have a few hours of listening to be able to give a definite opinion. The high range is profoundly different in the Forests than in the Sky Towers, more controlled and natural but with a shorter excursion and consequently less airy. this I imagine due to the different construction materials in the teetwers between the two models. If you decide in the future to switch to the Forests evaluate this feature to see if you like it.
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@karld I think you might need to be patient and wait around 150 hours before coming to any kind of conclusion (you also might need to reposition and tweek the system a little bit to optimize it). Unluckily it takes time for the speakers to settle, I remember the big difference I experienced with the Sky Towers. At first they seemed almost dull and flat, then they opened up and gained bass depth, control in the midrange / soundstage and more rounded highs.
Thanks for pointing that out, however when I experienced the Forests they didn’t seem to be less airy to my ears, just more refined and smoother (one needs to get used to that sound too). But I heard them with proper cables that I know can make a huge different in the highs and mids.
If I may, I would suggest you to experiment with different interconnects and speaker cables, they can have a profound impact on your Forests. If you look for a more airy sound, I would highly recommend you to test Nordost cable (starting at least from the Red Dawns).
Let me know how your journey with the Forests go. I hope you are enjoying them so far even though there will be more to come in the next 100 hours!
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@Blacknote as a first step, I will have to upgrade the speaker cables from the current Nordost White Ligthing to Blue Heaven or Red Dawn. I will do listening sessions in the future before choosing.
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@karld you have a lot of fun to experience then, the sound will dramatically change. I personally think that White Lightning holds back speakers a lot (unless you want that particular sound). I currently have Blue Heaven and they are pretty good for the price, but I’d like to change them at some point and move to the Norse series if possible.
If I may don’t forget to upgrade your jumpers too, the Norse 2 bi-wire jumpers opened up the sound on my Sky Towers, a good investment for little money IMO.
I don’t know your preferences, but it’s also worth trying different wiring configurations. Of all the possible combinations I personally prefer the bananas plugged in the bass / mid terminals.
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@Blacknote I guess the norse series is much improved, but the costs also go up a lot. Certainly the Forests would benefit, but even with some Blue Heaven or Red Dawn things would be better. Going back to the topic of the high range in the Forests being shorter than the SKy’s I think it’s really a factor of the materials used and I don’t know to what extent the connectors can make the run longer. Regarding the Norse 2 bi-wire jumpers I had already put them in the future shopping cart, I am curious to hear their effect.
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@karld I agree, costs need to be taken into account. For that reason I personally wouldn’t consider anything more than Heimdall 2 or Frey 2 given the system, they are already expensive. What I noticed is a very different and interesting approach from the Leif to the Norse series and I believe resonance control is one of the key factors, I could really feel that difference in my system. However if you don’t want to upgrade your amp, I believe Red Dawn would be a very good and satisfying compromise in the Nordost range as Blue Heaven are already lovely (it seems that the new Red Dawns get many improvements from the Norse series too). But if you really want to open up the soundstage and get more clarity than that, I think you might want to listen to Heimdall 2 (especially the interconnects, they impact more in the chain). Have fun with your listening sessions and cable tests!
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if the signatures are too expensive how can the Kanta 2s be an option?
aren’t they nearly twice the price of the forests?
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It depends, prices change a lot depending on the market. As far as I understand the Kantas cost much more in the US while in Europe they are somehow close to the Forests.
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I confirm the Forests in Europe are not too far from the Kantas. My choice has now been made and has gone to the Forests. I haven’t had an opportunity to listen to the Kantas recently so I can’t say which ones are preferred, as usual it depends on taste.
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Nice one, great to reach a decision. I expect you will be very happy with them. Mine had quite a long burn-in time.
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@Mike_S At the moment, the transition from the Sky Towers has not been easy; I miss the boost in the high range that I was used to. The Forests have another setting, lots of presence in the mid-bass, wide soundstage, I have to get my ear to it.
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To simplify, Totem beats Focal every day of the week… 52 weeks a year including leap days 
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@anon19832906 IMO I preferred the Totems, but I couldn’t listen to the Focal in my room, so I can’t say if the Totems are better. They definitely have different characteristics. I can only add that even the Sky Tower and Forest I imagined to be much more similar, instead they have profound construction differences.
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In my opinion, all speaker manufacturer have a house sound, so you really just need to decide which house sound you prefer, Totem or Focal. Then your budget sets the limit for how high you can go.
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@anon19832906 If I didn’t have a budget, I would definitely have gone with the Forest Signature.
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I’m sure you’ll get it back with the right cables, were you able to test some Nordosts?
@Mike_S would be proud of you!
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@Blacknote I haven’t had a chance to try any new speaker cables yet, but I’m sceptical that they can match the Sky Tower’s high-end performance. The Sky Tower’s tweeters (as well as those of the Bison Tower and Tribe Tower) are made of fabric and produce more harmonics in the high frequencies, which blend more smoothly with the midrange. In the Forests, the tweeter is made of aluminium and tends to have a very fast attack but an immediate decay. This makes the treble sound faster, but also shorter in time. Cables can do very little about this. If you are considering the Forests in the future, evaluate them carefully based on your listening. Personally I prefer the Sky Towers, perhaps the Signature aluminium and titanium are better.
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