Best speaker brands for transient response

The interesting thing about horn systems is that they sound particularly good at lower volume levels and tend to work well in small rooms

Yes in my old house I used the Studio 590s practically as near field (4 ft away) and they worked great with these massive speakers the size of coffins. Horns do some special things.

For their relatively low price I could take the risk, but for the price points we're talking about I'm just worried I don't have enough of a room for them.

deep_333 wrote:

It appears that some big horn speakers mentioned on this thread have defied all physics, engg design, material science, etc and achieved unmatchable transients, as per the sales crew. No, they did not, but, whatever helps to sell your stuff.

Maybe you are blowing things a bit out of proportion here. Who claims that, and are you referring to below quoted paragraph by poster larryi? 

A dealer in the Washington DC area, Deja Vu Audio, builds custom speakers using modern and vintage components.  These can be tailored to one's specific taste, which is a BIG advantage of a custom build.  They employ vintage midrange horns and compression drivers because there is very little out there that can match these old drivers except VERY expensive drivers from the like of G.I.P., ALE, Cogent and Goto.  These systems truly deliver excellent dynamics while retaining a sweet, natural and relaxed sound; the weight and sense of large scale is particularly good when very large format horns are employed (some of these horns are monsters).

There's no hyperbole in above text by Larry (not by dealers), but rather what appears to be honest reporting of impressions - again, if that's what's really the source of your gripes.

Have you heard very large all-horn systems? And no, a pair of JBL Everest DD67000's (just a thought-up example) aren't big by that measure, and they're also only horn-loaded from ~700Hz on up. The Klipsch K-horns are fully horn-loaded, but severely undersized as such.

All-horn systems that plays down into in the 25-30Hz region, that are non-truncated down low and controls directivity in their entire range on up on the other hand are very large, and that's just with 1/4 wave bass horns (full-wave bass horns, as you know, are impractical for most for obvious reasons). What they nonetheless do compared to their mostly undersized and hybrid brethren - and this is important - is actually (and just barely) complying with physics, not defying them, and therein lies a big difference.

If anything it appears speakers of such size defies the acceptance in the minds of those audiophiles who've grown accustomed to their neatly small box speakers, and who would still have their cake and eat it too - I guess not least aided by those dealers who've sold them these speakers and filled them with marketing BS in the process. 

As to the relevance of transient abilities in a speaker and all that implies, it seems that area has now become a bit washed out, subjective in nature and with brands rather than general physics and design as the prevalent factor. That being said, if we're speaking leading edge cleanliness/transient prowess in most of the audible frequency spectrum, and effortless at that at most any desired SPL (i.e.: easy of reproduction is not trivial here), large size and efficiency in addition to proper design/technology - from my chair - is inescapable. 

Even if you get to audition candidates, if you don’t hear them in your own room, you still have that uncertainty.  It would be hard to find dealers who have the speakers you are interested in and are will to loan them out.  I see how the Mofi speakers are less of a risk at the much lower price and a chance to hear them at the dealer.  I hope that works out.  It would be an even better audition if you get to hear the speakers with your amp; perhaps the dealer will allow this.  The amp-speaker interaction is particularly important to the sound.

Even if you get to audition candidates, if you don’t hear them in your own room, you still have that uncertainty.

Agree 100% and don’t view in-showroom auditions as the final step. I haven’t bought the amp that will drive them yet -- I wanted to narrow down to a few models and then research amp options that appear will be the best match to my speaker candidates (with a bias toward wanting to buy a Parasound Hint 6 if it appears it will be a good match).

A good example are the ATC SCM40s, which based on feedback on various forums and reviews will require a bigger investment in amps compared to say the Spendor 7.2. The Spendor also, based on better sensitivity, will probably play better at low volumes while the ATC appears to need to get a little loud to open up (true of my KLH 3s as well). I don’t play music particularly loud so this is something I need to consider, as well as the Spendor probably being more flexible with amp choice.

I agree the Mofis may be a safer choice that enables some additional learning/experience to make a more informed choice at higher price points down the road.

Not the only choice, but ATC speakers allow you to 'see' inside the music with excellent detail, fast response to instrument/vocal attack in a very balanced way (when driven properly).  Most other transducers seem slow and muddled.

One of the challenges with ATC is properly pairing their sealed cabinets and rather large magnets with stable current to control the drivers.  Sealed cabinet designs usually present a more difficult load.

Enjoy your quest.