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BEST HORN LOUDSPEAKER TO PURCHASE

I am a 73 year male with normal hearing as per my  ENT doctor.  I am comfortable  listening to music at  50-55 dbs, with occasional peaks of 60-62 dbs.  Looking for the music to sound alive at these levels. Did some acoustic treatments, purchased an equalizer which did not help(workaround of Fletcher Munson Curve). Finally I made a change and purchased a pair of JBL 4349 horn loudspeakers, which is a 2 way speaker with a horn midrange and a large dynamic woofer.  Sensitivity was 91. I was able to get full bodied sound at lower levels, but the bass driver did not wake up until  70 decibels. I have 2 SVS subs, the DB4000. I  adjusted the cross over and volume which improved the bass.  When I put my ear next to the bass driver of the JBL at 50-55 db there was very little bass to be heard, in a piece that had substantial bass . This is my den system. I now firmly believe that a horn loudspeaker is the best way to go.  My main system consists of 15 year old Vandersteen 5A's, Thor Audio Monoblocks 150 watt tube each side, and a Thor Audio linestage.  The Vandersteens are absolutely wonderful speakers, featuring built in subs. You get top to bottom sound that is full and rich,  but not at comfortable listening levels. Uncomfortable levels lead to ear pain.  I have tried and tried, but in my system the Vandersteens require about 70 DBS to come alive.  I have been researching and I believe I need a high sensitivity. I have been thinking about the Volti Audio Luceras. My budget is $15,000 per pair.  I've watched Greg of Volti speak on You Tube and he seems to be perfectionist and seems to really know his business. I believe the Lucera has a 99 db, which should help the dynamic bass driver come alive at lower listening levels. I also believe that the sound will be rich and full bodied at my listening levels. Has anybody heard or own the Luceras?  Would be interested in anybody's thoughts. Thanks for reading and responding to my question. 

kjl1065
Post removed 
ronboco
1,111 posts
 

@elliottbnewcombjr 

+1!! I don’t see how ANY speaker can have full dynamics at such low volumes! I will ask chat gpt and see what it says though. 

wolf_garcia
6,885 posts
 

After years of enjoying a pair of Heresy 3s (didn't like the 4s...prefer the 3s titanium full throated horns) I went for a pair of Pure Audio Project Duet 15 Horn 1s and man...that thick laminated wood horn and Beyma 1.4" driver sound extremely detailed and simply gorgeous. I also am a long time jazz piano trio freak and these speakers paired with either a little SEP Dennis Had Firebottle tube amp or a Pass XA-25 (a never ending rivalry between these 2 amps) are tone for days (and nights). Gummy my sneakers away.

elliottbnewcombjr
7,701 posts
 

OP said:

"I am comfortable  listening to music at  50-55 dbs, with occasional peaks of 60-62 dbs"

Some of you just don’t get that LOW Volume listening is a whole different thing than full frequency at normal volumes.

The highs begin to drop out, but mostly doesn’t matter, by the time you can afford good stuff, your high frequency hearing is already diminished. In any case, not hearing highs, to some or more extent, is disappointing, not as enjoyable as .... I’m thinking Eurythmics .... but it does not truly lessen your INVOLVEMENT with the content.

The bass drops out, and that is key to maintaining INVOLVEMENT with low volume music, otherwise it becomes background music, your attention goes away.

Many of you young whippersnappers have never seen the Fletcher Munson curve(s), or have even seen a ’loudness’ control

Some have never seen Polar Sound Distribution Graphs (i.e. tweeters (green line) ’equal’ sound (relative to other drivers) is narrower than mids or bass, thus the recommendation to start by aiming the tweeters at your seated position.

Then, get thee a SPL meter, measure with test tones, don’t fear reality, this will help you get the best placement/toe-in, smoothest frequency response IN YOUR SPACE. No flat frequency speaker knows where you are going to put it.

 

 

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or a graph of Volume Related Hearing Sensitivity, like this

Look at the vertical line 1000k

Look at the horizontal line 60db sound volume

Red and Blue are variations of testing results, they both show:

Left of 1000 (bass); Right of 1000 (highs) reveals the need of a lot of boost to sound ’equally loud’ to 1,000 hz, i.e. maintain smooth frequency response.

As the volume increases, less boost is needed. i.e. it's Progressive.

Likw I said, this is not ’poor him’, it is ALL of US.

Of course averages are funny things as most people are not average, like chair height, perhaps 17" average, but 17" is wrong for most people, thus give me a pneumatic cylinder so it can fit MOST, not average.

Hearing, to some extent, for everyone except circus freaks, get thee some bass boost!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Automatic/Progressive that’s the ticket!

jamesbgood
19 posts
 

I don't think a new speaker is the answer.  The Fletcher-Munson curve dictates that the bass must be turned up at lower volumes to achieve proper tonal balance, because the human ear is not linear.  I have never tried it with my Quatros, but it seems you could turn up the bass on your model 5As to compensate a bit and see if it is enough to get you a satisfying result. I am lusting after the new Vandersteen Line Stage, which has a feature to boost the bass for my late-night listening.  

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