BEST HORN LOUDSPEAKER TO PURCHASE

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!

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.  

@jamesbgood 

Thanks for letting us know that Vandersteen is doing this

My Brave Browser AI Quickie

"Vandersteen Audio has introduced the L5-ACC Audio Control Center, a new line-stage preamplifier priced at $15,000.  Developed over seven years with three years dedicated solely to software, this US-manufactured unit contains no Chinese parts and is scheduled to begin shipping in July 2025. 

Key features of the L5-ACC include:

• Matrix Tone Controls: Cut-and-boost options for treble and bass that Vandersteen claims do not affect transparency. 

• Defeat Function: A dedicated remote button allows users to completely bypass the tone controls and presets for a pure signal path. 

• Customizable Presets: The unit ships with three presets (loudness, old rock, and classical) designed to optimize sound for vintage recordings, all of which can be overwritten by the user. 

The L5-ACC is currently being promoted by founder Richard Vandersteen and representative Brad O’Toole on a cross-country tour, with upcoming events scheduled for late 2025 and 2026."

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IMO, the Pure/Direct for 2 channel can be a way to shoot yourself in the foot. Gimme an old fashioned full featured preamp!

Pure/Direct, for AVRs, Video Sound, has saved the day by getting rid of a lot of pseudo surround, added by who know who how many times, in the chain of getting to you, including your own AVR trying to out-do someone elses AVR.

this just popped up, looks informative, I’ll skim it tomorrow.

https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/tutorials/how-to-interpret-graphs/frequency-response/

One thing to notice, Speakers published response graphs, many of them, are shown ’smoothest’ at 80 db or even higher; and the maker’s published measurements are taken in an echoless chamber.

 

agree with @glenmschneider that the Charney Lumacas at CAF were amazing sounding speakers.  Truly magical.  Unfortunately, they’re also butt-ugly, a bad phallic symbol, so if you care about looks, it’s hard to get past that…