Mapman,
I heard the Goto speakers at the same first Capital Audiofest. It was indeed a nice sounding horn system, but Goto systems are wildly impractical (giant, straight throated horns) in terms of size and price (more than most people's homes for just the drivers). Goto and another company ALE make good compression drivers. Both are companies whose engineers came from Yoshimura Laboratories (YL), a company that was itself dedicated to making drivers to sound like Western Electric compression drivers. Goto and ALE diverged a bit from YLin that their approach to improving the compression driver meant the driver covered a narrower frequency band. When it comes to midrange compression drivers, I tend to like older, vintage drivers, like the Western Electric, YL, International Projector Company, and Racon, and the current Japanese company G.I.P. Laboratories which clones Western Electric field coil compression drivers; I don't know of modern compression drivers that perform as well.
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Not sure if this has been covered here but its important to realize efficient does not mean easy load. Not easy load means not just any amp will do to get the best performance possible.
Nothing wrong with any of the speakers mentioned as long as proper amp matching is done.
I have gone through similar gyrations considering "more efficient" speakers. But more efficient just means louder not better. For better, you want speakers that are easy to drive with any amp, and that would be Fritz speakers. There may be others but those are ones I know, have heard and can vouch for the fact that they will perform well and go reasonably loud even with most any amp. I heard them with a flea powered tube amp at Capital Audiofest a few years back and was won over.
Having said that, teh best high efficiency speaker sound I recall ever hearing was with a pair of large custom goto horns at the very first ever Capital Audiofest years back. Others I have not heard that I would love to be able to audition but have very low WAF are Jadis Eurythmie and Avantgarde. I’m sure there are others. I tend to always like Klipsch Heritage speakers when I hear those and would consider those to be very good relative values worth consideration. Volti as well. Have heard and liked Spatial as well but not sure if those qualify as truly high efficiency.
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I've tried a whole bunch of efficient speakers since realizing that conventional speakers lose something in translation. Avantgarde horns are the ones for me - they make everything else sound likes cones-in-a-box. They are so awesome that two of my buddies sold their speakers (Wilson Sophia and Focal Utopia Be) to replace them with Avantgardes. They couldn't go back to listening to their systems after hearing mine, and all three of us hopped off the gear-go-round after getting them, which says it all.
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Coherent Audio built on Radian coaxial drivers are great speakers.
I listened to their model 18 a couple of times on the Montreal Audio Show. These speakers are really easy to drive. Actually the 300B SET did it very easily and the sound filled a big room.
In contrast, a modern JBL and Tannoy are designed for transistor amplifiers that have a heavy bass driver that don't afford them to work well on low volume and with small power amplification.
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This is an interesting thread about higher efficiency speakers. It is indeed the case that most horn systems do not have great time alignment of drivers. However, if the speaker is designed properly, this in not really much of a problem. The trick is to have a wide range horn driver so that frequencies from 500 hz on up to around 5,000 hz or slightly higher are handled by the horn driver. A single driver covering this critical range will make the speaker sound coherent, clear, and the drivers can be made to sound well blended. As mentioned above, the tricky part is getting a woofer with decent efficiency to match the other high efficiency drivers. There are woofers that can do this and are fast enough to work up to higher frequencies, but, they do, like all drivers, have their tradeoffs--most have low excursion so they don't do truly deep bass even when they are very large in diameter, most require a fairly large cabinet, and modern versions of such woofers are hard to find.
Also mentioned above is the use of active crossover and powered woofer to mate with the more efficient driver(s). For example, I like the Cube Audio Nenuphar Basis system that employs their fullrange driver plus a powered woofer; to me it sound more natural and tonally balanced than their fullrange only systems.
I mentioned, and so did others, the Charney Audio speakers. To be specific, I heard their Companion model with both the Voxativ and AER fullrange driver options (they have others). I liked both drivers a lot, but, my preference was for the AER driver. Pure Audio Project speakers are also modular systems with different options for their midrange/high frequency drivers. I've heard their terrific sounding speakers with both a horn-based module and a coaxial driver; both sounded very good. I have not heard the much more expensive module utilizing a Voxativ field coil driver, but, I've heard that driver in other systems and really liked its immediate, very dynamic sound.
My very favorite high efficiency speakers are custom systems utilizing new and very vintage drivers made by Deja Vu Audio in Northern Virginia. This is a retail store that also makes speakers, tube amplifiers (linestages, preamps, phono stages), and even DACs (no longer made for lack of suitable parts). Their systems typically feature vintage midrange horns and compression drivers matched to modern tweeters and custom woofers (woofers made to their specific requirements). For some of their very best systems, modern manufactured drivers that are meant to be exact copies of vintage Western Electric drivers are used and their own custom built tube power supplies are used for these field coil drivers. Right now, their most popular custom speaker utilizes a surprisingly small cabinet to house an 18" woofer (modern, custom design), a modern bullet tweeter, and a terrific sounding Japanese folded horn and compression drivers (probably from the 1960's); this is a scary good system that is a bargain at the $35,000 price they charged. For my particular taste, I like them much more than contemporary horn systems like JBL Everests, and Klipshorn, Volti, or even the Edgarhorn systems that I've heard.
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A lot of horn speakers have no time aligning....so the tweeter sounds hit your ear before the midrange. Klipsch have resonant horns and ordinary xover parts.....there is no diffraction control on them, as well. Also not open baffle....Open baffle gives more "open" sound. All this can be remedied with simple two way open baffle dynamic woofer and planar mid/tweet DIY speakers. The GRS planars are cheap and the Radians’s look really great too. Please see my website page for how to make these.....both active and passive versions are discussed. There will be people making these things (maybe you) so these super cheap killer speakers will be a reality soon. All designs discussed have at least 93db sensitivity.
http://tweakaudio.com/EVS-2/DIY_Bi-amped_super_speaker.html
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@ozzy62 ..."the current models of Heritage speakers are more forgiving and linear than older versions.".
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Was glad to see this point, and wanted to resurface it. I tend to believe word and "belief" about the recent design changes are still getting out to the mainstream.
While I don’t own nor have tested the latest versions from Klipsch, a friend of mine is telling me this while we banter back and forth some about lower-watt single ended triode amplifier designs and preamps he’s paired up with prior and latest versions and models from Klipsch past few years. I've been re-interested since helping a friend co deign/build three pairs of Altec Onken replicas. Quite a project.
Also interesting to read here how Greg at Volti is involved with mods on Klipsch, and partly what caught my attention about Volti Razz and Volti Rival. While I’m not back into SET amps right now, its fun to read what people are doing here on Agon. I’m sort of stuck and stubborn with my custom 93db speakers and push-pull amps I won’t part with, certainly enjoy learning and living vicariously with all of you who rotate all of the speakers mentioned so far. Good stuff - enjoy!
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@hilde45 I agree with @blisshifi that the DIY route could be very beneficial if speaker sensitivity is important and you’ve the relevant carpentry and software skills and/or time x willingness to learn more.
Once I defined my own parameters for “best playback setup,” high sensitivity worked out to be a happy, inadvertent addition (not an initial goal). I sure like having it now.
The following diyAudio thread has been going nearly a decade; I first began keeping up with it late 2014 or early 2015. Don’t try to read through in one afternoon (or month):
The Making of the Two Towers
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is that there is a sonic experience with the combination of lower power plus higher efficiency which is different than higher/sufficient power + inefficient speakers. It’s a nimbleness, a spry litheness -- in dynamics, pacing, but also in the way the tonalities are rendered.
@hilde45 , The last "relatively sensitive" speaker i had was the JBL9800 from their synthesis line... almost 20 years ago now maybe. It was possibly a letdown in comparison to my ’not so sensitive" current speakers (Schweikert 55, TAD E1TX), in every possible way i can think of. The JBL was a ear ripper with many a less than perfect recording. Since i’m a "music first" audiophile, i have loads of imperfect recordings from great artists and no inclination of dealing with such restrictions.
P.S. There are also so many killer resolving dacs these days (which didn’t exist back then), that can help deliver some of these traits/nuances you’re pursuing in sensitive speakers (without their cons).
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Volti Rival
- for it’s high efficiency 100db to try out flea watt amps
- for it’s neutral linearity
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On that note -
Sometimes inefficient speakers need the volume turned up a little more to hear their full potential. Whereas more efficient speakers, and/or amplifiers well matched to the speaker, can be more effortless sounding, and at lower volume level fwtw.
For my home and setup, I spend 95% of the time listening at lower volume levels, so this kind of amp, speaker, impedance, and efficiency matching is a key objective.
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@jonwolfpell Thanks for your experiences. It's helpful to hear how things change.
@deep_333
One would be surprised how little power the "supposedly inefficient" ear candy speakers actually use at deafness inducing spl levels.
I'm not ignorant of how affordable power is these days, and that it's good power, too. I have driven "supposedly inefficient" speakers to deafness inducing spl levels -- so I know that's possible, too. In other words, these are not new facts to me. What I am getting at -- which others here with efficient speakers also get -- is that there is a sonic experience with the combination of lower power plus higher efficiency which is different than higher/sufficient power + inefficient speakers. It's a nimbleness, a spry litheness -- in dynamics, pacing, but also in the way the tonalities are rendered. Perhaps you've not been able to notice it, yet. Once you do, you'll seek it as I am.
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I owned Avantgarde Uno’s in 2002 & then upgrade to the Duo’s in 2004 ( or so). Their macro & micro dynamics were so much better than anything I had ever heard in anything close to their price ranges. They sounded excellent at any volume level & could easily fill a big room w/ rich full bodied, life like music. I then moved to another house & could never really get their powered subs to integrate just right. They always seemed a slight bit behind the big midrange horn. I think Avantgardes are now offered w/ their amplification & digital processing which is probably worth giving a listen to.
I sold them & got into a very surround sound system w/ all Dynaudio Contour speakers & sub w/ Anthem electronics as I was watching a lot movies as well as listening to music but eventually I decided to return to high sensitivity speakers. I listed to all of the Klipsch models but settled on Volti Audio Rivals. They are a good balance of big, dynamic, “live sounding”, highly sensitive speakers in a “ reasonable “ sized, not crazy looking, simply but very nicely finished cabinet.
I have listened to the smaller Volti Razz which are also quite good & give you much of the Rivals sound in a substantially smaller & less expensive option. Both of these are worth either a trip to TN to visit Greg Roberts or the next show that Volti exhibits. I also know he is working on a new cartoon of his top of the line Vittoria speakers that will probably be amazing if they’re in your price range.
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Very hard to make efficiancy speaker, no refrigerator size, First- lowbass driver must be active to mach sinsitvity other driver, Horn tweeter is must, dont look whizzer cone -is the chip mechanical tweeter attached to main cone and have the poor performance . Mid bass is very important , becouce most of Full range Drivers got luck it, If you close to NY NJ or been on CAF or NY Audio show probably you know brand Bacheaudio , also tal a look
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In layman terms,
a) Efficiency
b) Bass
c) Cabinet size (refrigerator size vs WAF size)
Pick 2 (ab, bc or ac)
But, there's a whole lot more advanced topics tied to driver design, quality, compromises, etc....
Yummy quality power is very affordable these days, i.e., it isn't the 70s. Pursuit of efficiency and exclusion of "supposedly inefficient" ear candy speakers is a silly thing to do in 2024 and an unnecessary restriction/compromise imposed on the engineering workspace. One would be surprised how little power the "supposedly inefficient" ear candy speakers actually use at deafness inducing spl levels.
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@ditusa I've read about this distinction before, but obviously it didn't take! You can tell this is out of my area! I appreciate the reminders and the links. Thank you!
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@ozzy62 you bring up a good point my friend. Greg is also a go to guy when it comes to modifying Klipsch speakers. It would be a cool way to go if that was the way to a great pair of speakers. Find a nice vintage pair of K-horns or Lascala (sp) and have Greg work his magic. I understand with Greg’s mods the bigger Klipsch really shine.
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In 1970 or so I bought a pair of Altec A7s from the Strawberry Alarm Clock's drummer. That was my introduction to efficiency and they sounded amazing and served my bands well until I finally sold them in '86. I'd put the horns in their own frames and sealed and tuned the bass bins by that time, using them bi-amped. To really make them handle uncompressed bass (like a kick drum) I put JBL bass guitar speakers in them and that worked amazingly well.
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In the mid 70s my first REAL speakers were Beckers, then in 78, Heresy’s came into my life. I ve’ had all the Heritage series except K-Horns. Still have Cornwall lls, Chorus lls & LaScall lls with Altec 311/60s on top. All my speakers have ALK upgraded networks. I’d love to hear a set of Tannoy GR/GRF with my system, maybe in another life. With 3 systems in my house, the Chorus lls are fed by my Pioneer SX1280. Corwalls ll are fed by my Fisher 800c & the LaScalla’s are fed by my Prima Luna HP w/KR-kt88s. I don’t think I can do better that with what I have!
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If you haven't checked out the Decware website- it might be worth a look. Over the years, I've owned Magnepan 1.6 heavily modified, then 3.7's. Then I switched to Tekton Moab's. The Moab's lasted a year in my system. I now have a pair of Lii Audio PT-10 drivers mounted in their Origin cabinets. Steve Deckert has designed a folded horn cabinet for these drivers, and calls them the Headwreckers. I have not heard them, but they are deigned to extend the low frequencies of this driver. Supposedly there is no need for a subwoofer with these cabinets. I augment bass with a pair of REL G2's and the combination is by far the best audio I have had in my house. Steve does auditions of his gear by appointment.
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I get amazing results from Heresy IIIs (tried the IVs but the mids were inferior to the IIIs)) and switching between a tubed Dennis Had "Firebottle HO SEP (high output...ha...) and a Pass XA-25. Two REL subs. Was thinking about the Volti Razz but the "no returns under any circumstances" policy is too anti consumer for me, and actually owned a pair of the well regarded ZU "dirty weekend" and thought they were awful. As if nobody at ZU actually listened to them, or they needed way more break-in than I have patience for. Efficient speakers mean the drivers don't work very hard so they're cleaner. Might try a pair of La Scalas sometime.
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Hilde45,
Sorry I've only hear the classic series (Arden, Eaton, Cheviot) and the GR series (GRF, Kensington, Turnberry, Stirling); but that was at Upscale Audio in the L.A. area (east of L.A.).....I just happened to be there for business, and set a time to audition. They carry the complete Tannoy and Fyne lines I believe.
I did prefer the GR line, but I am not totally sure that their appearance did not influence me......they are stunningly beautiful speakers (as are Fyne Audio)
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Thanks to posters for the additional ideas!
@vthokie83 There are some of these, nearby me:
Heard them?
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My old Kef R105/3 had a 93.5 rating and would play insanely (114 db in room) loud without distortion.
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hilde45,
I have heard several Tannoy and Fyne speakers, and I think they would be well worth your time seeking out an audition......all 91 93 db. To me the Fyne F1.8 was magical, but it's a bookshelf and not sure that would fit your bill. Depending on budget, I'd think the Fyne F502-SP, Fyne Classic VIII/X/XII, or Tannoy Turnberry/Arden would be worth a listen.
I also have purchased a pair of Clayton Shaw's Caladan speakers on reputation alone, but I can't give you any insight as I believe they are in the January/February production run.
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I have no doubt that the Volti speakers are great performers. I have not heard them, but I dealt with Greg Roberts a few years ago when I bought his xovers for a pair of Khorns. He's a great guy to deal with and knows his stuff. I bet his speakers sound awesome.
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@ozzy62 Thanks. You're surely right those details matter more with horns. I wonder as @doyle3433 points out whether the Volti is more forgiving/flexible than the Klipsch (modern versions -- good point you made about that, too).
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Curious how people would react to the assertion, "Klipsch speakers need a more careful pairing than other similar speakers." That would be helpful, possibly, as a data point.
@hilde45
I do think one needs to pay more attention to supporting gear when going with klipsch. That said, the current models of Heritage speakers are more forgiving and linear than older versions. If what you heard was something out of the 70s or 80s (even 90s), then what is available now is a different animal. My LS II are vintage 2019 and you would be hard pressed to hear anything "shouty" about them with any type of recording.
But better source components and amplification will get the most out of klipsch speakers, no doubt. And proper positioning and room treatments. These are, of course, things that make any speaker shine. But may be more important with horns.
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I use a pair of Charney Maestros (needed speakers designed for corner placement) with a 300b amp and a First Watt M2. I am very happy with them, and they would be fine with less than the 8 watts from the 300b.
Because of my placement limitations, and because I am close enough to NJ to have demoed the Charneys, I didn't comparison shop them with other speakers. If you are interested in the category, also worth looking at AER and Voxativ speakers (they make the drivers that Charney uses).
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@decooney and @hilde45 Just a thought, on Volti’s web page, Greg has an nice and thoughtful writeup on comparing and contrasting the Forte and Razz. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t replace an actual sit down and listen to each of them, however he has strong points to pay attention to during auditions.
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@trivema The Klipsch I’ve heard have sounded a bit shouty and harsh.
I bet this was due to (a) poor synergy between speaker and amp(s) and likely (b) lack of good room acoustics.
I am hoping my next speaker adventure does not immediately launch me looking for an amp that will make a speaker sound good. Curious how people would react to the assertion, "Klipsch speakers need a more careful pairing than other similar speakers." That would be helpful, possibly, as a data point.
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Klipsch!! LaScala, Khorn, Forte and if room (and wallet) big enough, Jubilee.
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Klipsch Forte > Volti (Razz or Rival).
Anyone here made this A to B upgrade?
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As a DIY’er and if I did not already build my own, and I was on a path for my next fleawatt amp efficiency speakers out there in DIY form, I’d be tempted to try one of Troel’s higher efficiency DIY offerings. Kinda cool, seems like a value to review. Lots of happy owners out there. Have not heard them though... nice parts. http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/HESintro.htm
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@james633 I have 3 subs and miniDSP to dial them in, so your suggestion is very apropos. Thanks.
@blisshifi They are very "cool" speakers and I've liked them when I heard them, but for my tastes and wallet, I've moved away from an early fixation on them. There's a lot out there and everyone has to decide what has value, but for their price -- $15,900 MSRP -- one would have to be comfortable leaving a lot of other options in the dust. That does not add up for me.
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@hilde45 Not to trash on Devore, but I agree. I’ve had a few of John’s speakers on my floor, and they are too overpriced for their performance IMHO. The outside cabinets are attractive, but the innards leave much to be desired. They are not bad sounding, but there are many better alternatives in the market, many which are already mentioned on this thread.
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I don’t have much to add but have been using horn speakers (JBL 4367) for about a year now.
One thing I will say is there is almost always a trade off with bass extension. You are either going to have huge speakers or no bass depth if you want high efficiency. I personally think the solution is to add subs unless you have a very large budget.
For me the advantages (dynamics) out weigh the negatives. I will be using horns longterm at this point. It has been a revelation for me, everything just sounds less produced.
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@doyle3433
Appreciate your input! I am very interested in the Volti Razz. A fully formed midrange? Sign me up. @decooney mentioned them to me, too. Thanks for the tip about the Florida Expo!
@markmuse My listening with the Spatial had the same downside and there was a lack of focus. Maybe it was just that particular setup. I am very curious about the Fyne, for sure. The Caladan is another interesting one, not least because of the silk dome. A gentle touch! Thanks for your comments.
@glennewdick Helpful remarks. Not sure why Fyne qualifies as a "knock off" just because there was some personnel which went from Tannoy to Fyne. The Living Voice really pique my interest. Thanks!
@jtcf I've heard that QS and Klipsch are a good match -- thanks for affirming that.
@burtlake Devore was on my list for a while, but after hearing the 0/96 I don't think they're quite my taste. Very expensive, too. But if I could get them in my house for a trial (never gonna happen) I could be sure. I'll let you know what happens and thanks for your comment.
@blisshifi DIY sounds like an good avenue. Voxativ sounds interesting and I might be able to hear some, locally. Thanks for you input.
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DIY is a really great route for this, as you can get really high quality drivers vs manufacturer made speaker systems. Most high efficiency solutions will use a full range driver and a bi-amp solution for the bass drivers. DSPing the bass drivers with a high quality DSP is almost always better than relying on an internal or external analog crossover because it also addresses issues in your room.
I’ve tried a number of high efficiency speakers, and my personal favorites were custom Oris 200 horns with AER BD3 drivers. AER drivers are not cheap, but they are outright fantastic. Incredibly sensitive, typically over 100dB, and no sizzle or fatigue like Lowthers.
Another option, also quite pricey, are Voxativ field coil drivers. I have a friend who uses those with custom bass cabs, and they are unparalleled in terms of presence and as fatigue free as AER.
I know you mentioned that you won’t spend tens of thousands, and that likely puts the Voxativ out of your budget, but you may come across a nice pair of vintage AER for a great price.
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Don’t see Devore O series on the list but hoping to hear some myself - rarely come up used. Just a comment on Audio Note - they want to be in the corner - not sure that would work in your current space but you mention you are moving to another room.
im on my first stop on the high efficiency journey - agree with the comment about music sounding effortless. I’m using Omega CAM in a smallish room with a single sub. Don’t miss the tweeter at all - both because I sit in a fixed sweet spot and also as I’m 68 and my hearing drops off after 12k… please report back on where you end up
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My brother has Klipsch Chorus which are in between Fortes and Cornwalls. I took my Quicksilver mid monos to his place and we both thought it was a great match. I believe the Chorus are 102db sensitive. This was in comparison to his Parasound amp,but I don't know which model. VPI Classic turntable, Demon CD player, Straightwire cabling.I have Zu Omen Defs which I know you aren't interested in but I am hooked on high efficiency speakers.
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I've owned a few of these over the years,
- Audio Note ANE: great midrange decent bass if set up right but IMO lacking in bass definition if the room is not perfect for them. not as efficient as claimed, you need min 20-30wpc to get the to sing.
Fyne: Tannoy engineers making Tannoy nock offs but I've heard them and they sound great. on my list to look at one day.
Klipsch: heresy 3, LaScala ( full crites upgrades), Cornwall 2, they do dynamics like no other, the LS's are special in the midrange.
legacy i want to try them one day.
Living Voice: I had a set of Avatars earlier ones, some of the most musical speakers i've ever owned, still regret selling them and probably will own a set again.
Omega SAM's: best imagine I've ever heard but lacking in some areas they have a bit of the typical honking sound that some full rangers have.
Pure Audio Project tri 15 friend has them very nice but maybe a bit over priced.
Tannoy Monitor Gold 15's: interesting I'd like to hear the newer ones but if they are in the wrong cabinet they sound horrid.
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Of the speakers you mention I have owned two:
Spatial Audio X5
97db. This speaker made magic with a Pass XA-25. Imaging was phenomenal, particularly the layered depth it produced. The negative was it produced a very narrow sweet-spot in my room, I think because of the unusual tweeter it uses.
Fyne F1-8
91db. Current speakers. These have concentric drivers and as a result imaging is excellent just about anywhere in the room. Imaging is not quite a magical as the X5, but still excellent with AGD monoblocks. This is a very well balanced speaker. It also has a presence control that is very effective in making adjustments for personal taste in the 2-5k range. I use it with a subwoofer.
I also recommend you add the Caladan from Clayton Shaw Acoustic Lab to your list. 93db, open baffle design with a silk dome tweeter. I heard them at Capital AudioFest and ordered a pair - waiting for delivery. Very reasonably priced, extremely good sound.
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Just my two bits. I’ve owned many traditional speakers, drivers in box, ported and sealed. Rogers, Mission, TDL, NHT, Tyler.. I enjoyed all of them. They have been mostly polite, natural and neutral sounding. Wanting some more impact and dynamics I started looking into horn loaded designs. My first stop was a new pair of Klipsch Heresy IV’s. They were great, what I’d been looking for. Dynamic and engaging, not polite.. I really felt pulled in. Of course I did get the upgrade bug so I listened to the Forte and Cornwall, very nice speakers, but I didn’t feel I was getting a significant improvement over my Heresy’s. I kept them.. Then I was recommended to look into Volti by an AG member and friend. When I heard the Volti Razz it was like a veil was lifted. I was hearing the most incredible midrange and upper bass I had ever heard from a home speaker. Detailed and dynamic, beautiful open sound stage I just had to have them. To me the Heresy’s sounded thin, missing that fully formed midrange, same when I took a listen at a dealer with the Forte.
When I picked up my ordered Razz from Greg Roberts, he really went out of his way to explain his careful process of choosing drivers and designing his cabinets. Using a simple demo of a 2" throated horn he showed me the light. Easy to drive with just about anything. I have a Margules ACRH3 and Cary SLI80 HS i swap in and out along with my rusty trusty Mac240. The Razz showcases each amp’s character as well as it’s own. Only way I would upgrade these would be for a new pair of Volti Rival’s or if I won the lotto, the Vittora.
BTW I am going to own another pair of the Heresy's, they really were a fun pair of speakers, there's just something about them that's hard to put into words.
FYI Greg will be at the Fla Audio Expo, if you go, you can compare the Volti sound with several others.. just saying
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@perkadin
Thanks for your reply. Zu being raucous is what I've heard -- and for some, that works well. I need something which avoids "raucous." I've heard others describe Forte as the sweet spot. Good to get confirmation from you.
@larryi
Thanks for the Charney Audio and Songer Audio mentions. They're not names I've heard much but I'll research them.
@ditusa Thanks for the JBL link.
@shkong78 I'd like to go to Axpona. Good idea.
@benanders Good point about design as a primary criterion. I've heard one GR research line array powered by a 245 amp and it was pretty magical (had open baffle bass drivers, too).
@phildebrandt A local dealer just started carrying Audio Note. I hope to hear them. Zu is really not a likely choice. I am hoping, as you say, to bring out the quality I've invested in amps and sources.
@phusis
Main goal through it all, apart from other traits of high efficiency: better coherency via a more range uniform speaker-room interaction, and ultimately also less interference from the acoustic environment.
Very well put. That captures what I expect I'm seeking, too. I am hoping NOT to wind up with huge speakers. Your description of your journey is very helpful and gives me a lot to think about and research. Part of my current challenge is timing these trials -- I'm moving my audio from one room into another and the dimensions of the room will factor in. Both rooms are medium-large, I'd say.
@ozzy62
Thanks for your comments. Quite the journey! This stood out for me: "I can’t see myself going back to speakers that require an arc welder to drive. Just something about the dynamics of high sensitivity speakers and the way they let the music flow into the room."
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