Volti does it again!

Volti speakers are very nicely built.  The founder started out as a cabinet maker and it shows in the wood work.  I like the sound too.  The Razz and Rival are lively sounding without harsh peaks are extreme nasal coloration found in some horn systems.  The biggest weakness of both, for my taste, is the bass sounding a little bit disconnected and different from the rest of the range.  I also heard their big flagship (can’t remember the name) and liked that too.  Their horn systems are terrific at their price points.  

Speakers are extremely easy to damage in shipping and in moving it in out and around a listening room.  I am amazed at how many come back to a store with nicks or even worse damage when being borrowed for an audition.  Also, to be fair, anything that went out and came back should not be resold as “new” unless the buyer is aware of this condition.  Allowing returns would add dramatically to the cost of the speaker.  Which is preferable: a liberal return policy or a low price?

Your best bet is attending an audio show.  Volti makes appearances at a lot of shows.  There are many other good brands that also attend shows so some kind of rough comparison can be made.

I have doubts that something like a 2” throat diameter is the secret sauce to superior horn performance.  Horn behavior has been studied for many decades and a dizzying array of designs have been tried.  
i like the Volti speakers and its compression midrange driver and horn are good compared to most modern varieties, but, I prefer a number of vintage horns and compression driver combinations, none of which employ a 2” throat.  I particularly like WesternElectric horns and drivers, replica Western Electric drivers, and other vintage horn/drivers that followed Western Electric principles.  

IPC made terrific gear.  In particular, I like their IU 1000 compression driver that has a diaphragm just like a Western Electric 555 diaphragm.  This driver was made in the 1930's and 1940's and I would put it up against any midrange driver made today. 

I don't think that Volti, or any other modern builder has access to compression drivers as good as these old drivers.  The modern ones that sound very good are VERY expensive, such as Goto, ALE and Cogent drivers.  I do think that modern manufacturers can make good horns for their drivers--either new designs or replicas of old horns.  I've heard a few such modern horns.  Volti appears to be quite successful with making practical horns that can be fitted into reasonably sized cabinets.  Still, there is something about the "weight" and sense of authority of a larger format horn that makes one dream of owning such systems and the room that can fit those monsters.

I run a smaller vintage horn (KS12025) which is a two-foot wide by 6-inches tall metal sectoral horn.  It is a straight horn which makes it too big to fit into a practical cabinet (it sits on top of the woofer cabinet).  My compression drivers are Western Electric 713b's.  The sound is quite good and is free from excessive horn coloration, but, when this driver is put on large format horns, it is evident that size does matter in horn-based sound.  I don't have the room or the money to even think of an upgrade.  That has left me with upgrading the crossover which I am in the process of doing.