Volti Voyage - New Razz
Note the Voyage is not a new model in Greg's speaker lineup :) Warning - somewhat long post!
Back in early January of this year I initiated a thread with the title "Speaker Pairing - First Watt F8 " I was looking for new high efficiency speakers and many of you chimed in with some pretty good advice. Little did I know my journey would include a trip last week to Baxter TN, a comprehensive walk through of his speaker assembly process, dinner with Greg and his wife across the road at a good Mexican restaurant, a couple hour evening session in Greg's listening room with MY new Razz speakers in his system and an overnight stay in his workshop! An expresso the next morning in the shop and then Greg and I packed up my new Razz for the drive home. Quite the experience complete with a 650 mile round trip drive that was worth every minute. BTW I am a pretty neat individual and had no issue with spending a night sleeping in Greg's fastidious workshop.
I wanted to do this follow up as I have seen a number of interesting threads on topics that are like a good book and get you most of the way through but alas, there is no ending! I learned quite a bit of the journey here, from additional research, listening to a few different speakers and from Greg on the phone, through email and in person.
A few factors entered into my final decision - a number of you suggested the Razz from the get go and I did a good deal of reading and digging to get a better understanding of the company and horn speakers. Certainly hearing the Razz made an impression on me and got me most of the way there. Then there was Greg who was not only a great asset in answering my questions but provided good system insight in a very patient manner. He was quick to either answer my calls or emails and I never felt belittled or rushed with my sometimes naive questions.
I will tell you this from the first hand observations of my visit and personal experience in what I call " learning/management by wandering around" - Greg is a true craftsman, audiophile and small business owner who truly cares about the product he is making and the customer experience. Watching him crafting a Razz cabinet, the care and process he uses to apply the quality veneer, etc was a learning journey in itself. He is extremely detailed and I marveled at the time and attention he took to apply the speaker cloth to the removable/magnetic covers- a very time consuming process. I smiled as he showed me the straight line of sight on the wood frame and joy he took in making sure it was near perfect.
It was also pretty dam fun to sit with Greg at night and listen a variety of music on my new speakers! I had to chuckle when about half way through the session I looked over and there was Greg, martini in hand, eyes closed and rocking his head to the tunes of Jason Isbell :)
So probably not the typical review of the final stages of a purchase. I hope that I don't sound like a fan boy - I am not, but certainly have a big dose of respect for Greg and the product he crafts. Also worth mentioning is that after a week at my home playing music throughout the day and into the evening, is that the Razz are game changers in my system. My wife has commented on how she can even hear a noticeable difference in the sound ( especially the mid-range ) and appreciates the way the Razz look - I went with a darker mahogany with a beautiful pattern and an upgraded weave grill!
One last item - If you are on Instagram make sure to give Greg a follow. He is posting quite regularly on steps in the speaker building process. Enjoy your journey!
