It sounds like you had a fantastic experience. Congratulations on your new speakers.
Volti Experience !
Good morning everyone, I hope this finds you well.
I wanted to post on my experience taking delivery of my new Volti Razz. Ordered them in walnut with the premium black textured cloth. I was not expecting such an awesome experience picking them up. I arranged with Greg of Volti to come down to his shop and receive my speakers instead of have them shipped. Yes it saved me a few clams, however on retrospect, I think my true motivation was the 8 hour drive through beautiful OH, KY and TN, as well as meeting the creator/master builder and seeing his impressive workshop. What I got was that and so much more. Greg and his wife were incredible, they were amazingly generous hosts, engaging, fun, and clearly a devoted couple. Great Mexican food was followed by an extended listening session well into the night. I got a chance to listen to the Razz as well as some not yet released gear. And let me tell you, it blew my socks off... All of it!!!. There is surely a Volti House Sound. regardless of what speaker we were listening to, it's there. Greg is equal parts mad inventor, super cool guy, music lover and car nut. I think the man's mind is constantly engaged.. thinking, planning and working on speaker design. (when he's not blasting down epic county roads in his convertible).
If you are in the market, run, don't amble towards any of the Volti speakers. And if you are fortunate you will come home with not only world beating speakers to cherish for the rest of your life, you may also have a lifelong memory of the experience.
I have literally had mine set up in house for only two days. What money and time I have invested simply doesn't matter. I have found my HFI, musical nirvana.
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Thank you my friends. I am just over the moon with them. Everything about them hits my happy buttons. They are massively dynamic, midrange has amazing voicing, it's texture and depth is breathtaking. Everything is effortless. The low end is very present, very impactful. Very listenable with no fatigue. @willywonka Currently i have them paired with my McIntosh 240 and a Rogue RP1 preamp. It's a very nice and sweet sounding combo. They are plenty sensitive at 97db so 40W is plenty. When I was at the shop Greg was running a Cary SLI80 and that sounded amazing too. He really likes tube amplification with them, but said also that good SS power sounds great too. I'm picking up a hybrid integrated tomorrow as my spouse is so impressed that she's wanting to listen more often to her awful music. (need something more user friendly). I'm picking up the Margules ACRH - 3 tomorrow. 100WPC. Low level listening to me sounds just as engaging, just as sweet dynamic and clear. |
Sounds like it was definitely worth the trip. Congrats!! I have the 2nd pair he ever made (Serial # 3 + 4) in Red Gum that were purchased directly from a show he had them setup at. Still havent used them yet....too many toys in my arsenal. Glad to hear glowing reports from actual owners instead of the always positive reviews written in mags |
Great story & congratulations! I’ve had my New Volti Rivals for just over a year & couldn’t be happier! I literally crack up during every listening session in amazement hearing so much music I really enjoy in the way I think the artists intended it to be heard. I’ve had several very nice speakers & systems over 40+ years but nothing approached my current one in terms of sounding like live music vs good “ hifi”. The big, open, spacious & ultra dynamic sound is amazing & anything but harsh or fatiguing that so many associate w/ horn based speakers. I think it’s a combo of design, driver & crossover quality & excellent but relatively simple cabinetry that gets out of the way & just lets the music flow. At virtually any volume sounds excellent. I have a large room (23’ x 25’ x cathedral ceiling peaking at 12’) & enjoy loud volumes at times for good rock music so I went w/ a pretty powerful high integrated amp, the Rogers High Fidelity EHF 200 Mark II. It’s another, handmade , high quality American product also built by a true artisan, Roger Gibboni in MA. I am happy to use my hard earned dollars & pay for quality which I definitely got in the excellent Volti Rivals & the amp. Both are highly recommended! |
@doyle3433 I assumed you had tubes and I assume for these to sound their best they would need tube power. I wonder how these would sound with a Primaluna EVO 400 power amp? In the Stereophile review of these they measured a lower sensitivity of 93 dB instead of 97 but that’s still pretty efficient. Can’t wait to hear them again. I would love to get the Rivals but I think it’s more speaker than what I need. @jonwolfpell Sounds like a great system, I'm sure that's an excellent sounding combination. I know the Rivals are more efficient than the RAZZ but do you think a 35-watt tube amp would be sufficient for these speakers for someone who listens to moderate listening levels? Also have you ever heard these speakers with solid state amplification? |
@riaa_award_collectors_on_facebook We listened to a pair of RAZZ in the red gum, made without the grills and finished front baffle. Wow they are simply beautiful. @willywonka I would think the PL400 would sound fantastic. Sterophile review and Greg's comments too. @jonwolfpell I completely agree with you. In my opinion they are worth every penny. In only a short time, the thought of how much they cost will fade from memory. What I feel we all get from music and this hobby can't have a price tag. |
Willy - I think a good 35 watts will easily drive the Rivals for all but the loudest levels in a big room. I think Stereophile measured them to be 98 db sensitive but I also think that can be misleading in & of itself. The watt meter on my Rogers amp displays the average power for both channels combined at any one instant & up really loud w/ a big bass peak demand, the Rivals are drawing about 50 watts or 25 watts / channel. At this volume, many speakers driven hard by realistically priced & sized amps (maybe & arbitrarily less than $20K & 100 lbs.??) are being pushed to their limit & strain to do so. Of course, my categorization is all relative. My investment in my system is absurdly high to many & barely scratches the surface to some others. The Rivals w/ the Rogers are just strolling along @ almost any volume (although the Rogers operates in full class A so it's not really) & sound great doing so but you get the point. I almost bought a Prima Luna but once I found the Rogers, talked to Roger @ great length & demo'ed it in my home, I was completely sold. That said, the Prima Luna will probably also sound excellent w/ the any Volti speaker. |
Congratulations Doyle! Great write-up and agree Greg is great people (met him at the Tampa show). I just bought some used Rivals via Audiogon classified a few months ago (thanks Ken!) and am still completely blown away by these speakers - especially with the Townshend Podiums which sent my whole system to yet another level. I don’t have much time with those but listened to side 2 of DSotM, UK 5th pressing at 85-90 db with peaks of 97 a few days ago and it was a religious experience. I lol’d a few times. Unbelievable. The sound stage is full and expansive. I couldn’t quite get them to disappear before but the Podiums “took them away”. This was a few days ago and I’m still in awe. My volume very is WAF limited so will be another week before I can repeat. Willy, I have a Primaluna Evo 300 integrated amp with KT-150s and may need to hire a structural engineer to check my foundation after my last session. |
@laynes Thanks for the suggestion on the amp for these speakers. There are so many good speakers in the $5K-$7K range but for horn speakers Volti highly impresses me. Hopefully I can make some decisions next week at Axpona. |
@willywonka Greg was really a fan of the Cary gear paired with his speakers. Last night I experimented with an older Cary, 2400a hybrid amp I’ve had for 25 plus years. Sounded amazing. Border Patrol is also recommending by Greg. My local HIFI shop (close for me, 1 hour drive) has a customer who paired the Razz with a Line Magnetic 845, (the one with the scary output tubes). He reports the customer is thrilled with the results. Today I’m going to instal the Margules I just brought home from Northern Audio. Can’t wait! If you are anywhere near the NE area of the US, Mark has a beautiful store, with an amazing variety of great gear. (he’s also a tube nut and a hell of a guy). |
Hello all, just wanted to provide an update. I picked up and added the Margules ACRH - 3 Integrated amp over the weekend. Picked it up from Mark at Northern Audio in Pitt. Wow what a piece of gear! Amazing build fit and finish. The spaciousness and soundstage is awesome, so sweet sounding. Excellent heft and weight in the low end. My opinion is this is an excellent pairing with the Volti Razz. I have never been this happy with my system, ever! Oh and the phono stage for my MM MoFi Ultra Deck is just outstanding.
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Glad you are having such a great experience with your Razz! I'm 2 months in with my Rivals and feel the same - system has never sounded better. In fact, it sounds better than most of what I heard at the Tampa hifi show (not inlcuding most of the super high $ systems though on the first floor). That said, I realize they had room limitations to work with - but still - I have permagrin every time I put the needle down and take a seat. My wife will be out for a few hours on Sat and can't wait as that is when I can turn the volume up. |
@laynes I completely get you!. Even though the Volti's sound super sweet at lower volumes, they practically beg to be turned up. I've never had anything in my home that comes close to a "being there" experience. I get the same thrills I get when I see a band live, small scale or large. |
Volti upgrades to Klipschorn. This response may be too late for your consideration. I have 1982 khorns which i upgraded to the full Volti Audio upgrade package. I will not even consider going back because the result was just spectacular. I realize this modification is considered heresy, I simply will not go back. I am using a McIntosh c2500 tube preamp with tube power amps ranging from 5 wpc to 35 wpc. The cost was $8800 including the original speaker cost and the upgrade package.
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Congrats to all of the happy Volti owners. @riaa_award_collectors_on_facebook , hello my friend. My question to you is.....do you ever listen to music, through your vast arsenal of audio purchases ? I hope you do. You can send those RAZZ to me, lol...Enjoy ! Always, my best ! MrD. |
Mr. D, You're more than welcome to them at cost :) I hope to live long enough to enjoy my gear. Eventually I will cut loose all the toys that dont make the grade. Like when I A/B Razz to Cornwall IVs...only need to keep 1. Same goes for all the LS 3/5 models (Graham/Rogers/Harbeth) etc Already ditched all my "Monster" amps. Plan on getting AGD and Atmasphere Class D amps to save my back and not make my hernia worse. Stay away from those Tornado's Mr D and give Viber my love |
@riaa_award_collectors_on_facebook I do not speak to viber, as I assume he has jumped on the Jay wagon, which is the furthest of any group I would jump in on. I am enjoying my LSs. Enjoy, and always, my best. MrD. |