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.
I contacted Greg at Volti who confirmed that my 100db Volti Rival can handle 2watt SET amps. Besides its efficiency, I choose Volti for its neutrality so I can explore tube Sonics. The O/96 is less efficient, but it’s one of the most musical speakers. Maybe I’ll pick up a pair someday to compare tube amps with my Volti - what fun! To get a horn bass unit one usually needs a larger room. The Volti Vittora is an example, but is out of budget. Maybe a used Klipsch Bell with Volti upgrades. |
I am a long time audiophile and have owned several brands of speakers including Sonus Farber, Harbeth, Omega, Monitor Audio Monitor, Maggies only to finally land a pair of Klipsch Cornwall IV's which I modded per these Forums and finally learned I am a horn guy through and through. That said, if I were building a second system for a smaller room (my current rig is in a huge room) I would buy a pair of locally built (to me) Shinjitsu Audio speakers. Check out the website and some on line reviews....they are awesome, especially low volume. Have fun |
I would not make any choice based on theoretical advantages or disadvantages of particular designs. Big bass drivers in horn systems are out? Some of the best low volume systems ARE horn systems with gigantic woofers. I’ve heard dozens of systems with 18” woofers; my own terrific low-level system has twin 12” drivers. You can find good low-level systems from a wide variety of designs. The Volti horns, Charney fullrange single driver systems, Devore and Audio Note two-way box speakers are good examples people here have suggested. The two-way system with multiple tweeter arrays of Tekton are also good at low volume. At extremely low volume you are not going to get deep and impactful bass. What you need is something with clean bass down to 50-60 hz and a very good and lively midrange. This is where most music resides and so upper bass to upper midrange matters the most. I tend to like horn systems that do well in this range, but, as noted above, other kinds of systems can do the trick too. My own personal choice for low volume listening would be a good horn systems, Charney Audio Companion fullrange driver system, or Quad 57 electrostatic speakers. If I were listening only at low volume, I would go with the Quad 57. |
By far the best audio demonstration I’ve experienced was Devon’s Art Of Noise in San Francisco. Right from the needle drop the presentation had that element I so enjoyed from my Marantz 8B’s / Altec A7’s VO the T in my large loft space during the early 60’s. You’re in the groove, good luck with your search. |
After reading multiple posts here and re-reading my own, what you're really after is just low level background music to which I don't believe requires a hi fi solution at all. You should seek out one of those Bose Acoutimass thingies you can put on a tabletop and it'll give you all "rich and full body" to the music you don't want to hear anyway. Considering all the potential solutions I've read here you could spend tens of thousands when for chump change you could pick up the Bose at a yard sale or church bazaar or something. Maybe even the town land fill for nothing. |
