Seeking a new loudspeaker, horn, single driver, concentric or open baffle

You know, you are sounding experimental and creative right now.   What about a DIY build in any of those categories?  Check out Madisound, Meniscus and Parts Express for ideas. 

You can build 3 different types of speakers for the budget you have, and in many cases buy cabinets or have them made for you. 

It’s a lot of fun.

Otherwise in your budget and volume, I'd suggest auditioning Fritz. 

Tannoy is still making great concentric speakers. So is KEF! The latest Quad ESL's use a unique delay line to drive the membrane and make it approximate a point source. 

@kjl1065 the JBL 4367 or a pair of MoFi Sourcepoint 10ME in Walnut or Black

If you go to a large show, you can hear a number of candidates, like Volti, PureAudioProject open baffle speakers, Mofi and Fyne concentric drivers and quite a few other candidates.  

JBL S4700 see here 😎

Mike

The JBL 4349s offer excellent performance at low listening levels. 

OP

sounds like JBL Speakers is what you want OR Klipsch Legacy. The want for being alive and being rich / full bodied all seem to point to JBL or possibly horns specially you want it at about 50 to 55 DB. And if you want a bold sound a lower listening levels, a sub will help. 

Try to lookup on Klipsch / JBL speakers. I own a Klipsch but not JBL's, but I hear them all the time in music or band stores. they seem to have that signature that you seem to be looking for. my RP600m2 has that full body sound at lower levels but that is all dependent on the settings and obviously the music being played

Contrarian here--your current setup is great for low level listening. Your hearing may be great for your age, but it sounds as if you have presbicusis that needs to be addressed.

You're welcome to come listen to our new Sofia 104 by Bache Audio at our Brooklyn showroom, or we can bring it to your place so you can hear how it sounds in your own room.

Also, feel free to visit the 2025 New York Audio Show, where you'll be able to hear many great brands. If you have time and interest, we’d love for you to stop by the Bache Audio / Alexus Audio room as well!

I think your gear may be the issue; you have some excellent gear but maybe some of it is not exactly warm and lush. Your DAC for one is well regarded but I have not read one review that puts it as a warm, lush listening experience same with Bryston. Horns will only make this more apparent, although they will sound better at lower volumes than most. Also, if you’re going horns you won’t need very much of that 300wpc probably closer to 20wpc at full tilt. Most Horns are very efficient. Potentially a tube swop may help some in the preamp, I’d look for some NOS Mullards. Or take some of that speaker budget and upgrade your preamp, or sell both the pramp and poweramp and get somoething warmer and more luch sounding. maybe a Cary, CJ, Mac, etc.  

Duevel Bella Luna: omnidirectional horn point source 2-way

Your subject line includes single driver. I love my PearlAcoustics Sibelius, which are also significantly below your budget. I added a sub. They are rather detailed, and also show flaws of bad recordings. The cohesion from the single driver is wonderful and give me great imaging (depends a lot on set-up, of course).

No idea re listening to them in NYC. Write to Harley Lovegrove (owner of Pearlacoustics) and ask whether there may be an owner willing to have you over for a demo. I'm in California. Customer interaction is at the very top I have experienced in my life with anything. 

@oberoniaomnia  You right, PearlAcoustics Sibelius is the best and price is very good . Overperform the Bose definitly 

your choice of horn, single driver, concentric or open baffle doesnt make a lot of sense 

in order to sound full at low levels has nothing to do with those designs but instead is directly attributed to resolution and bass output. 

a speaker with full deep bass will sound great at lower volume levels and as long as that loudspeaker also has good resolution you will be able to hear everything at low volumes

we would recommend a pair of  Legacy focus se 

very deep bass flat to 18hz.

great resolution heil AMT tweeter and midrange 

great looking, hand made in the USA 

Dave and Troy

audio intellect NJ

legacy dealers

Dave + 1     Legacy is perfect

@erik_squires 

You know, you are sounding experimental and creative right now.   What about a DIY build in any of those categories?  Check out Madisound, Meniscus and Parts Express for ideas. 

You can build 3 different types of speakers for the budget you have, and in many cases buy cabinets or have them made for you. 

As a long time DIY'r, I couldn't agree more. DIY is a great way to end up with speakers that will sound as good as commercially available speakers at at least 5 times the money spent.

My current, and maybe my last pair of speakers, are the "Bordeaux" designed by Curt Campbell and Jim Holtz. 

They use an Aurum Cantus Aero Stricture tweeter (similar to an AMT), and a Accuton ceramic mid in a semi open baffle array. And 2  8" Dayton woofers per speaker in a standard ported enclosure. 

I have a total of about $3000.00 in them, which includes flat packs for the enclosures. And the end resulting sound quality  is easily comparable to commercially available speakers at around $15K. 

The Parts Express forums are a good place for technical help, but tend not to get very high end. 

And unfortunately, Meniscus Audio went out of business over a year ago. It is too bad, since they had some quite high end kits by most of the well respected designers.

Another great source, is Troels Graveson from Denmark. All his designs are pretty high end, but I don't believe he has any designs that will fit the OP's requirements. 

And lastly, a guy who has a pretty controversial reputation here, Danny Ritchie. I helped a friend build a pair of GR Research, NX-Otica, their 2nd to top, open baffle speaker kit. 

And anyone who says Danny is a charlatan, I doubt have ever actually heard one of his speakers. Because these kits are under $4000 including flat packs, and they sound substantially better than anything close to their price.

Sort of similar to your post about 1 month ago and I assume you are still seeking a speaker you find musical.  The speaker driver technology does not determine whether a speaker needs to be played loud to achieve musicality, or is able to be musical at lower volume levels.  Rather, it is the execution of the driver technology in the overall design intent. In addition, your system setup, room acoustics, and your own hearing factor into a speaker sounding “full and rich” at lower volume levels.  Driver sensitivity combined with adequate amplification power is one factor  that needs to be matched.  If there is inadequate power, this may cause a lack of musicality at lower volume levels, regardless of driver technology.  Attention to room acoustics can help balance frequency response at low listening levels.  You have already stated you are sensitive to the Fletcher-Munson curve.  This sensitivity to the curve is probably best alleviated by equalization, and you are considering that path.   I do not prefer equalization because to my ears, it affects clarity.   However, you should choose based on your goals and perception os SQ.  To generalize, high sensitivity speakers with a design intent for warm bass is the direction you should go with equalization.  You have listed a number of good speakers with that design intent.  I would add Harbeth and horn loaded Klipsch to your list.  I will not make a recommendation because the goal is what sounds compelling musical to you.  

Hi kjl1065,

First my opinion is your source and electronics are certainly up to the task. That opinion rests on two biases. First over years and several mixes of brands the configuration of a tube preamp driving solid state power amp is in my experience one of the rare hybrids where one gets the best of the two technologies. Second everytime I encounter Bryston power amps the transparency and effortlessness they exhibit impresses.

Now I will humbly invite you to consider my PureArtFi LS-6 as your next speaker. Matt over at Everyday Audiophile does an excellent job relating what the LS-6 is all about in his YouTube review:

PureArtFi LS-6 | Easily one of the best (I've heard)

And more info in this follow-up and our web site:

PureArtFi LS-6 | Follow-up discussion

PureArtFi LS-6

The reason I believe the LS-6 addresses your desire for "a loudspeaker that sounds rich, full bodied and alive at 50-55 decibel levels." is two fold. First the advances brought by Purifi Audio's USHINDI - Ultra Low Distortion Transducer Technology (USHINDI) set a new state-of-the-art in clarity at all levels including low SPLs thanks to both the lowering of HD & IMD distortions and very advanced magnetic system in drivers' motors. Second the extreme measures we take at PureArtFi in the enclosure design and build quiets the noise most speakers' boxes add to our music. 

Feel free to reach out using AudiogoN messaging or pureartfi.com's contact form to discuss this further.

@simonmoon

And unfortunately, Meniscus Audio went out of business over a year ago. It is too bad, since they had some quite high end kits by most of the well respected designers.

Noooooooo!!! AFAIK they were the only source of Jeff Bagby's really well regarded kits.  Not that i ever built one but so many DIYers did. 

Fletcher Munson Curve:

• At low volumes, mid-range frequencies are more prominent while lows and highs seem to fade into the background.
• At high volumes, the lows and highs become more prominent, while the mid-range becomes softer.

Schitt Loki Max equalizer to counteract the Fletcher Munson curve…

@kjl1065 - so I’m guessing that you’re boosting both bass and treble at low volume levels?

…. want to hear first, before buying

@kjl1065 -  Ideally, it’s best to try a component in one’s own audio chain but is often not feasible. The next best is to demo elsewhere, but keep in mind that they are using different audio components than yours and that often at audio shows Sonics suffer from poor room integration.

Google “high end audio stores” to find local options to demo

Also, attend the T.H.E. New York International Audio Show: This show is a reimagining of the original New York Audio Show, acquired by T.H.E. Enterprises. The first edition under this new ownership will be held in October 24-26, 2025.  
I attended T.H.E. Show 2023 in LA and they did a great job, heard 2024 was even better.  

Suggest bringing your own music to demo to test acoustic instruments (piano, violins…), voices, frequency extensions, etc.  Maybe include high-quality recordings and recordings you are familiar with including those that resonate with you.

Also, if possible demo at your desired lower volume to test frequencies extreme - then try to compare (from memory) to your current unequalized to get an idea of how much eq you’ll need for your tastes.  

Volti Razz,  Lucera,  JBL 4349, JBL 4367, Devore 0/96,  and Zu Audio

These are very efficient speakers, so not sure how your high powered amp would match.  I’ll comment based on my demos at numerous high end audio shows like AXPONA and audio stores, but it’s only your subjective preference that really matters.

Volti horn speakers are quick, effortless, and relatively linear/neutral for a horned speaker.  It will be very transparent of your chains electronics. Very high efficiency speakers are typically mated with low watt tube amps or other low watt warm amps like First Watt.  As Volti directly competes with Klipsch Sonics the sonic performance is superior, however your subjective preference may prefer Klipsch.  I own the Volti Rival to investigate low watt tube midrange magic including flea watt SET amps.

Devore O/96 is maybe the most musical speakers I’ve demoed.  Besides my major issues with storage room and budget, maybe someday I’ll get a pair - switching tube amps between my neutral Volti and O/96 seems  dry appealing

JBL I find musical. Zu Audio seems to be love it or dislike - not many in the “it sounds good, but not in my primary choices” middle ground.

+1 PearlAcoustics - because of the great Sonics, I sat for an extended demo at AXPONA 2025.  Compared to its price, seems high value - Sonics punching above its price point.  

You’d be better off buying drivers and building your own speakers. Consider using drivers from the JBL 4367 or JBL M2 and pairing them with the JBL 2269 18-inch subwoofer and a Hypex NC2K amplifier for exceptional subwoofer.

Alternatively, the Celestion Axi2050 horn drivers are top-notch and don’t require a crossover, enhancing clarity and sound quality. Pair them with the 2216ND, and you might not even need a subwoofer. However, if you do use the Hypex amp with the sub, nothing else will compare. You can also make a sub box like the dual perlistan sub box. They say that box will enhance all subs used with either 2-15's or 2-18's in one box. this is the ultimate subwoofer. nothing is better.

If building the boxes isn’t for you, a cabinet shop can make them, helping you save around $13,000.

Call Volti, talk to them, think that is the speaker you want. They work very, very well at lower volumes. What I have found that at lower volumes, the soundstage is smaller, everything else is the same. 

Have very modded Klipsch now, listen at 50-55db's in the morning when everyone is asleep. They sound wonderful, in fact listening to them currently. Don't even use any tone or loudness controls. 

Here is my suggestion FWIW:

Go to Somerset NJ and check out Charney Audio. Top of the line Maestro or bottom Companion. Keep your SVS subs, a good match. If you like the sound, then:

Sell the Weiss. $2000 should be easy get for it. Agree, not warm at all. I owned one at one time. Purchase a APS Audio Transformers PS Audio upgraded signature series. A wonderful and warm DAC. And easily upgradeable in the future.

Sell the Bryson. Should get $4000 easy. Look at a SET amp. There are some nice Radu Tarta SET amps.  2A3, 45 type (to be transparent I am selling a Radu Tarta 45 as I upgraded to a custom reference Radu Tarta 45) both under 4000. or look for a used Atmasphere Class D. 

All in, this should put you at around 16K for the Maestro or a bit more for the Companion. 

Wonderful sounding at low levels, warm and easy to listen for hours without fatigue. I am biased as this is similar to my system. And Charney is an hour from NYC.

I too like Charney speakers — warm yet very dynamic, particularly at low volume levels.  It is more than a side bonus that they are very efficient and can be used with low powered tube amps.  The suggestion to look at SET amps is good, but you should also consider other low powered push pull tube amps.