Volti does it again!

I visited Greg and toured his shop last summer. I made a special stop on our vacation thru the south. Auditioned the Razz. Sounded wonderful. He's as straight a shooter as you'll find as evidenced by his posts. A genuine dude doing what he loves. The cabinets are expertly made. Thick solid wood, heavily braced and yes, you can add custom touches; just ask. As for the idea that he doesn't care about business or his customers, that's nonsense.

After listening to the Razz I said "OK let's do it. What's next?" He told me he takes a deposit and then the remainder after the speakers are finished. I said OK. Then he told me to be sure, think about it. Wouldn't take my money. He said that since I was on vacation and had another week to make sure. He'd take my deposit after I was 100% sure. My financial outlook changed over the next several days so I did not buy a pair, yet :). Problem avoided.

He's committed to beautiful sound, furniture grade cabinets and happy people! Love it!!

Volti Audio truly stands out. Currently, my setup features large, three-way, fully horn-loaded speakers with a complete Volti system. I purchased the speakers second-hand, fetching them from a distant city. I power them with a Hegel H390 integrated amplifier. Although I experimented with tube amplifiers, this configuration mesmerizes me, reminiscent (to my ears, in my room), of my experience with Volti’s audio show setups with Border Patrol and Triode Labs. It delivers a sound that's been a lifelong dream: expansive, flawlessly balanced, effortlessly dynamic, pure and transparent. And it never gets old. Every Volti speaker I've encountered, including the Rival II, instantly puts the listener at ease. That feeling of ease is, in my opinion, a critical and underappreciated aspect of good audio. It is the opposite of listener fatigue.

The engineering, superior component quality, hand-crafted cabinetry and massive crossovers all set Volit apart. Conversations with Greg, a passionate, knowledgeable, and transparent craftsman, have enriched my understanding immensely. This endorsement is genuine, born from my experience over the last 6 years. For those seeking their "endgame speakers," Volti is worth the investment of time required to check them out. The peace of mind that comes from stepping off the constant search is priceless. My gratitude goes to Greg for his devotion and his unparalleled, downright obsessive design work.

I was thinking of something today.  

Zero-turn riding lawnmowers all pretty much look the same.  One company came out with the design first, and then others decided it was a good idea and came out with their own versions, which ended up looking pretty much like the initial design, because let's face it, there's really not too much you can do to change the design and still have it function as a zero-turn riding lawnmower.  

Greg

Regarding midrange horn throat size:

Old and lesser-quality horn speakers have always been plagued with certain characteristic issues in the midrange, like ‘colorations’ or honki-ness, midrange glare, harshness, and midrange that is not well integrated with the bass and treble.  Most of these issues start at the throat of the horn.  A larger throat will always sound better than a smaller one. 

So a 2” throat is twice size of a 1”?  Sorry, wrong.  When it comes to midrange horn design, we look at the throat as an area, not a diameter.  We use A = π r2 to calculate the area of the throat circle.  A 2” throat has an area of 3.14 square inches.  A 1” throat has an area of .79.  That means the 2” throat has an area almost four times greater than the 1” throat. 

However, the terminology and actuality of midrange horn throats are different than you might expect.  A 1” throat horn can be a horn that actually has a 1” opening or it can be a horn that has a 1” female threaded end that accepts a driver with a 1” male threaded end.   For the latter, the actual opening from the driver into the horn is less than 1” diameter – the throat is effectively smaller.  As an example, the Klipsch Khorn has always had just such a horn and just such a driver.  The actual opening of the driver that feeds into the Klipsch Khorn midrange horn is 11/16”, with an area of .36 square inches, or an area that is well over eight times smaller than a 2” throat.

Yes, it's true, other than being made of plastic now instead of pot-metal, the current Khorn midrange horn is the same size, shape, and design as the one Mr. Klipsch introduced in the early 1950's, with the same inherent issues.  Mr. Klipsch had good reasons for the horn design back in the day, but why is Klipsch still using this midrange horn?  I have a theory.  I call it the Wonder Bread theory.   

The Volti Razz combines a very high-quality midrange driver made in Italy with a 2" throat on the midrange horn and as a result has a much better sounding midrange than any Klipsch speaker, including the iconic Khorn.  

Fancy test equipment is not required to discover the inherent issues with the Klipsch Khorn midrange horn.  All one needs to do is remove the driver from the end of the horn, place your lips at the throat of the horn and speak through it.  The very definition of honky.  You can't find another midrange horn that better demonstrates what a honky midrange horn sounds like.  

Just a reminder that the Razz is our lowest priced entry-level speaker.  Midrange sound quality improves as one moves up through our range.  

Honestly, I'm not anti-Klipsch.  I have great respect for what Mr. Klipsch did during his lifetime.  I've owned Klipsch speakers my entire life.  If you come to my shop, you'll see a pair of Klipsch La Scalas hanging out on the balcony providing us with music every day.  I've been a Klipschophile since I was 14 years old when I sold my football card collection to buy a pair of dusty old La Scalas and then dragged them down into my basement bedroom.  I'm a fan.  But I also know how to build much better sounding horn speakers and I have the business structure to be able to do it.  So my ramblings about Klipsch products are just a way to put those products in their place as compared to the Volti products.  

Ok, ask me about the Jubilee, or the Wonder Bread thing, or why Mr. Klipsch designed one of the worst sounding midrange horns ever put into a speaker . . . that is, if you want me to keep rambling on.  

Greg

@lucera   Yes, please keep rambling - I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the Jubilee and the reasons for the Klipsch horn design.   Also, how does the throat size compare in the Lucera and the Rival?