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Horn speakers , high efficiency but not “shouty”

I am interested in a high efficiency horn with SET AMPS, in a 12 ft by 18 ft room. 9 ft ceiling .
I have narrowed my choices down to Charney audio Excalibur http://charneyaudio.com/the-companion-excalibur.html
and rethm maarga v2
https://www.google.com/amp/s/audiobacon.net/2019/04/18/rethm-maarga-v2-loudspeakers-listening-sessio...
would appreciate input from any one who has heard the above speakers or someone who has a similar system . 
listening choices are vocal music , no classical music.
Very rarely might want my system to play loud party music .(extremely rare ) does not have to play it like solid state system. Thanks in advance 


newtoncr
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,152 posts
 
It is all a matter of personal taste. Horn "coloration" can be a problem if the horn is not designed correctly. I do not know what "shouty" is.
The speakers the OP mentions are not horns in the classic sense and whizzer cones are out of bounds as far as I am concerned. The Charney in particular looks wonderful but is poorly designed from a woodworking perspective as they are cross graining wood that is too thick. In environments that have a wide range of humidity's like we have in New England the wooden faces might crack. Maple in particular is a very bad wood to do this with. You might get away with mahogany as it's expansion coefficient is very low as is Teak's (that is why these woods are used in boats) The Rethm speakers are a similar but less flamboyant design that looks like it is made from synthetic materials, can't tell. But, it also uses a whizzer cone. 
I think the OP would be better of with a more classic design from Kipsch or JBL. They are not as cool looking but this is supposed to be about sound not looks.
rodge827's avatar
rodge827
614 posts
 
I have had my Charney horns in Cherry since 2016 with no cracking issues whatsoever! I live on the coast in South Jersey and we have high humidity year round with heat in winter and ac in the summer. 
Interesting how you can comment without actually having seen/touched/listened them up close. 
arafiq's avatar
arafiq
1,592 posts
 
A friend owns the Zeus Ellipse DX45 speaker. It's a back loaded horn design, and the guys says it's one of the best he's ever owned. I have never heard it in person (he lives in another state), but something I might consider in the future.
antigrunge2
1,331 posts
 
Here we have the misogyn again dissing prodcts he doesn’t know and hasn’t listened to: same old same old....
gestalt's avatar
gestalt
188 posts
 
A friend owns the Zeus Ellipse DX45 speaker. It's a back loaded horn design, and the guys says it's one of the best he's ever owned. I have never heard it in person (he lives in another state), but something I might consider in the future.
This is a Horning Hybrid speaker and agreed they're lovely. Will sound amazing on a SET and the Zeus or Aristotle would be a good match for your room size. Exceptional bass.

Industry disclosure: I'm a Horning Hybrid dealer.
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