Any normal size speakers that sound like Volti

I would like to keep under $20,000 if possible.

I also have Allnic 300b, and Atma-Sphere m-60 amps.

The speakers look fine in your room.  Plenty of space around them.  I would ignore everyone and enjoy.  Tell your wife it will cost 40K to get the same sound.  That should change her mind fast. 

I think they fit the space nicely.  

Show her a picture of Magneplanar Tympany 3's and tell her she is lucky!

They are wide but not oversized for the space. I’d fight to keep them if you like them. What’s the big deal?

If it’s something that takes up less floor space I’d be considering KEF ref 3 meta or maybe a pair of Revel towers. Triangle is another I would consider. The Atmas Class D amps should be up to the task of my driving most any speakers well I would expect.  
 

Or maybe go for broke freeing up space and give KEF ls60s a chance.

Here, just get these and be done with it…

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650017479-joseph-audio-pearl-3-speakers/

No non horn is going to sound like a horn unfortunately. I agree they do look nice in your space can you negotiate?

They really don’t seem to be imposing at all. And as mentioned, you are not going to get “that sound” from anything but another horn speaker. Tell your friends to pound sand, it’s your system and your home. Try to be a little more diplomatic with your spouse. Fair but firm.

Any options for moving the whole enchilada into a dedicated room where no one but you has to see it?

Ozzy and everyone,  thanks for the help. 

I do have an idea to build a room in a huge attic space, but that would be great for sound but then I'd never see my wife again. 

OP, they look fine there. Your wife is not interested in how wonderful they sound to you, nor are those visitors you speak of. I have always had a dedicated listening room, and not seeing the wife / spouse / partner is always temporary. I need my music, so if you do too, get that room built. In the meantime, you can do something with that rear wall ( as suggested I think by steakster ). Are there any window coverings, as the natural light enhances the visual ? Enjoy ! MrD.

Looks like you have them pretty far back to the wall. That space is not really usable anyway is it for something else. Plus they look really good like furniture. If they are what you are looking for keep them. They sound that way cause that’s what they are. Smaller speakers to save you a few inches seems not the right way to go. High efficiency speakers (the sound you like) need to be big to be full range. 

What is everyone complaining about? They don't seem to be in any useable space and the room is a good size with sufficient seating. Shame to sell them, but you could try stand mounted Heresys. 

Have Avant Garde catalog placed in her Christmas stocking….. 

Smaller Volti's like the Rival or Razz?

Mr. D, That front wall has shutters,but we do keep them mostly open for the light and the nice view.

The speaker tend to wander out into the room, slowly but surely.;)

They can't wander unless you move them

I talked to my wife about this discussion and she said we should investigate adding a room in the attic space. She will be calling a couple of contractors we have used in the past.

Tpreaves, I would have to listen to the Rival and Razz. I’m not sure if mine are better or worse than the smaller Volti speakers. The later Alura turned the horn vertical.

Soix, I actually have been looking at that Peal. There was a Rockport not more than 20 miles away from the Pearl and I have been thinking of a road trip to listen to them both.

If they sound 1/2 as good as they look you are a lucky man. Ignore everyone but your wife and find a way to win her over, and by all means keep them . Enjoy the music

They look great in your room. I say let your family complain, you only live once. 

Tough to top good horns imo. Honestly a smaller speaker will take up the same space. You will not use the extra space for anything. I am sure she is taking up far more space with nick nacks and “junk” all over the house.

take your wife to demo some magnepans and big wilson’s, she will appreciate the “small” Voltis when you get home lol.

@acman3 --

It sounds to me it's not really about the prototype Alura's taking up some (relatively limited) space in your living room; it's that there are any speakers in there that need a minimum of dedicated space for them to function properly. As has been suggested already, smaller speakers wouldn't fundamentally change that as they'd likely be a nuisance still to the other family members, unless smaller than a gallon of milk, situated in the corners and covered by plants and what not, which defeats the purpose entirely. Don't go there - you start out by giving an inch you'll end up losing much more than that. 

So, don't get rid of the speakers you have, but have a deal struck out that they're staying where they currently are until a dedicated, separate listening space in the attic has been prepared. Stand up for yourself and your interest, man. You have a right to be there as well with what you bring along and that was initially agreed upon - don't forget that.   

Btw., the midrange driver of your speakers, the great B&C DCM50, is almost worth their weight alone. 

Like many here, they look pretty good with where they’re placed in that room.

Question: the television - is that the main television for that room or is that to look at album art and playlist from you audio system? I think that’s the most distracting piece. My suggestion would be an audio rack that could hide some of the components and match the veneer of the Volti’s. I wouldn’t want to sell the speakers which has the potential of causing resentment.

I don't want anyone saying I'm not going to help a brother out!

How about this... I'll be glad to take them off your hands for an even exchange of my Volti Razz. They are a bit taller, not as wide. Finished in a beautiful Walnut with the premium black woven grill cloth. I'll even drive over... kidding of course. 

I have no doubt that if you contact Greg at Volti he'll know someone that would buy your pair at a fair price. Then look to Greg to build you a nice pair of Rivals or Razz in any number of amazing finishes..

Personally I like your other option, build a space and keep them. If I could afford either the the original Vittora or the new one about to come out, folks would have to pry them out of my cold dead hands.. 😁

but want to keep most of Volti horn sound..

Volti Razz or Rival, but make sure the size of the Rivals are acceptable. I choose my Volti Rival for their very high sensitivity and linear neutrality, a difficult combo to find.

The Pearl and Rockports are fine sounding speakers, but are not horns so a different presentation and sensitivity 

Look fine to me & in proportion with the room. Maybe put some good quality fake plants on them which you can remove when listening?

Show your wife the the next system pic of the 2024 system by dj & ask her it that would be acceptable?

I have the Volti Rivals in beautiful Red Gum w/ black grilles which I love & my wife does in comparison to Avantgarde Duos I owned several years ago which my brother called “ Dr Seuss Speakers”! Hilarious.

I think the Rivals, however are taller & pretty large overall. As previously mentioned, the Razz might work & give you a good percentage of the Volti sound for very reasonable money. 
 

I have some relatives that have to have their family room TV in an armoir, closed when company comes so it does not distract from the conversations.  I have an 85" TV in mine and my listening room 15' X19' is taken over to Maggie 3.7's, so guess how much alike we are.  I say build out that room.  Wife won,t miss you that much.

@acman3 I was thinking about your question last night while listening to my Volti. When I picked my pair up from Greg at his shop I had the good luck of being able to have quite a long listening session with several Volti models. The Razz, the Rival and a flagship prototype Greg has been working on. All were amazing. What I found really striking was how similar they all sounded, especially in the midrange. The presence and voicing, timing and scale were all so very close. On tracks with male vocal I literally heard what I could only describe as the sonorous, chest cavity vibrations, in each model it was the same. Unreal!

Yes the Rival and the prototype sounded larger, louder and more extended, but not by a whole lot.

My point being, if you decide to stay in your current room and need something a bit more svelte i.e. smaller overall footprint and visual presence, it may be an option to order a pair of Razz or Rival and choose from the many amazing and beautiful finish and grill cloth combos Greg offers. Additionally I may argue, depending on how old your Vitrora’s are, a probable improvement in sound. Greg seems to continually strive for better sound: drivers, materials, cabinet construction etc..

Just a thought.

Happy Holidays

Doug

@acman3 

Seems to me that your wife is not complaining about the size of those beauties...she is complaining about having an "audio room" in "her living room".  

Take her up on her word and build your space in the attic with all the attendant functions required.  Be sure to consult with an acoustic company and have a builder that understands what's required.  This is not just about nail guns and sheetrock.

Just my two cents.

Regards,

barts

I had a pair of Vittora's about 8 years ago.  If I hadn't retired and moved to a much smaller living space, I'd have kept them.  They were beautiful !  If you love the sound, I'd say keep them !  

Thank you everyone for comments and thoughts. 

My wife has always been a trooper about my audio/music obsession.

Television is only one in the house, so needs to be there. I thought of moving it over the fireplace, but then one speaker would be near a hallway and she vetoed that.

I will look into room in January. Done correctly it can be another bedroom if we sell. I will also check out other Volti speakers if we decide to not build the room.

Thanks again!

Think she'll notice if I go to a swarm subwoofer system?

When it comes to WAF, wives differ. Some are flexible, others very particular about the room furnishings. Maybe place 4 other small boxes into room then ask wife if ok. 

You could try one of the speakers made by Duke Lejuene, Not sure I spelled the last name correctly. He is the person responsible for the The Swarm subwoofer system among other things. He is, as am I, a big fan of the Atma-sphere OTLs.

I think they look great in the room. From my perspective, you have room for a much larger pair of speakers. Priorities.

Pi Speakers fly under the radar. Look to be similar in design to Volti for far less money, especially if you can build a pair (they come in kits or built).

I built a pair of 4 Pi speakers with all the upgrades and some mods of my own and they are fabulous. Can easily be driven with an 8W SET. I also built a pair of 2 Pi floor standers. Incredible for the money.

The large 7 and 8 Pi speakers look to be fabulous although I have never heard a pair. A more challenging build.

For those that don’t want to rip wood, their flat-pack enclosure kits are also very reasonably priced. Just glue, clamp and install drivers/crossovers.

Pi Speakers Models

How about Vaughn Cabernett II which sounds very detailed with nice efficiency of 93db/w and go down to 27hz with double 10 inch active woofers.

But It has small footprint thus good WAF.

I have too many speakers including Scean 3.2, Lansche 4.1 and Altec A7.

If you live in Pacific Northwest, I may let you try this speaker at your home.

Thomas

One more video!

They look great, and a very reasonable scale. I was expecting something, totally different by your description.

I added a picture of the room and speakers as they currently look. Not the same as the original setup. 

I did find some speakers to give a try as replacements until we build a room or move.

Tad Evolution 1tx will be here late this week. I'm going to keep my Volti's just in case. 

I suspect that the new Volti Lucera which are a lot smaller might very well fit the bill.

You can't replicate the unique thrill of large horns with small crap. Pack up and relocate yourself to the basement. Get even larger speakers and live gleefully in the basement space. Get some wimpy lil  bluetooth/lifestyle product for the living room to keep family/friends at ease.

@snapsc  I listened to the new Volti Lucera at the FLA and just loved them. Fits perfectly between the Rival and Razz. I'm trying to be the goodest boy I can be in hopes that my WAF request form is approved and I can bring a pair home. 

@acman3, no update on the potential new room so some thoughts.

1.  Have a frank discussion with your wife about her objections.  As others suggested is it the size of the speakers or actually all the components in the living room?

2.  If truly the size then show her the smaller options from Volti.  Maybe if she picked the finish that would make her happy.  This assumes you could accept a smaller version sonics.

3.  If it is actually the audio gear in the living room then the only real answer may be the attic conversion to dedicated room.

II have not heard your speaker in a long time, and even if I were familiar with the sound, it is impossible to say what sounds like it because what you may be focusing on and what you may like about your speakers might be different from what I am focusing on and liking about that speaker.  I can only say that generally, I share your sensibilities and also like high efficiency, horn-based systems (I own a horn-based system myself).  That said, I can tell you about what I generally like that are smaller than what you have and would also work well in the corners of the room like your setup. 

My first recommendation would be a smaller Volti speakers.  They are quite good at delivering the liveliness and immediacy of horn speakers while not having the  most common horn colorations.  The Rival is smaller, but still a large speaker, while the Razz would be even more wife friendly. 

While not horn systems, Audio Note AN-E's are very good sounding speakers when placed in the corner of the room and they are reasonably efficient and work well with low-powered amps (my favorite kind of amp).  This speaker sells for well under your price cap, but, there are a dizzying array of variations, some of which are WAY over your price cap.  I don't know the price of the various options, but, if the Alnico magnet variation is in your price range, jump on that).

Coming in just under your price cap is one of my favorite reasonably priced speaker that also works well in the corner of the room--Charney Audio Companion (offered with several options for the driver; I like the AER driver the most, but they are all good).  I was shocked at how well these single driver systems perform; they even deliver decent bass.

Rethm speakers might work well too, and they are much smaller, but, they sort of have a funky look.  They deliver the same sort of dynamic sound that horn systems deliver.

I discussed adding the room in the attic with my wife and we both agreed if it gets to that point we will just move to a new house. I am nearing retirement and moving is probably the best option. Maybe I’ll get a barn like Mike L.

So, that left me with trying out some different speakers and see if I can find a pair we can live with.

I listened to the Audio Note An-e and it just didn’t sound great to me. I was disappointed because moving the speakers back to the corners would do the job, I think. The Volti recommendations are probably where I will end up. I was listening last night with the 300b amp and it was really everything you could want.

I’m waiting on some TAD Evolution one speakers to show up. They may be in this week. I think I can use these closer to the front wall. I heard them described as horns without the bass issues. We shall see. Alnic 300b, and Atma-sphere M60 would be out, but I can use the Atma-Sphere Class D for a while, and I do have a 250-watt Butler amp in the closet if more power is needed.

I will be keeping the Volti’s for a while till I figure it out.

Thanks for the ideas!

I’m waiting on some TAD Evolution one speakers to show up. They may be in this week.

The e1tx tad is one of the speakers I have.... You shouldn’t be having any WAF issues with it in a living room, unless your spouse is super picky, i.e., it is a good looking speaker to many eyes. However, a 300b is not gonna cut it for the Tad. I keep it on a luxman m900u, Technics r1000, etc. It doesn’t have to get crazy, but, you will need a higher caliber amp to do justice to it.

Agreed, but need to hear it with the Atma-Sphere amps to see exactly what I need. They are nice amps and 200w at 4 ohm.

If they don't work, move to something different.