Speaker Road Trip

So in my last post I was asking opinions on three very different types of speakers; the Volti Razz, Tannoys and Magnepans. As I live in the sticks there's not a lot of opportunity to hear many products; there's not a hi fi place within four hours and then the selection is very limited. 

Many of you told me I needed to hear these things beforehand if possible so I packed up wife, aging mom and our five month old lab pup and hit the road. I drove from the very tip of the mitt in Michigan to Nashville. I chose Nashville as there was a shop with Tannoy, one with Magnepan and the Volti's are made nearby. For some reason I thought they were made in Franklin, Tn which is half an hour south of Nashville. Turns out it was an hour and a half east so the one day I had planned turned into two.

I went to Volti and Greg Roberts was there as I had informed him of my wish. He gave me a tour of the facility where all the magic happens and I was very impressed. It's a one man operation and it's a very professional facility. We proceeded from the tour and a glimpse of his Rival speakers which are quite a bit larger than the Razz to his future living area which is separated by a covered walkway. This area stores most of his components and parts and where he and his wife live though as of now it's not quite finished. It also showcases the Volti Vittori's which are massive and beautiful.

We were ushered into an unfinished room where he had a rig set up along with the Razz. My wife and I were seated center and he proceeded to demonstrate. I was floored by the sound and the imaging these big horns have. Vocals were sublime and everything delivered satisfyingly. I heard a bit of the shouty that some speak of when they talk horns. I attribute this to the fact that the room was unfinished, concrete floors, unfinished drywall and very little as far as furniture and absorption. I only stream at home so I didn't bring anything as far as reference material but he had the ability to stream and played some things to demonstrate their capability but I only heard one thing that I was intimately familiar with as my wife was getting a little impatient as we were running out of time. We had decided to leave our pup at a local vets for day boarding as it was 94 out and with an hour and a half drive to get her before they closed time was limited.

The next morning I was met by the owner of a high end home theater/ 2 channel shop that carried Magnepans. He demonstrated the 3.7s driven by Bryston gear. I was impressed as I had never heard them before and they certainly sounded great but I don't know how to describe what it was about them. Something for me seemed to be missing, it may have been the fact that I couldn't pinpoint the source of what I'm hearing which was unfamiliar. Ultimately I decided they weren't for me, especially after he suggested I would have to think about adding monoblocks to my Parasound Halo integrated which would have driven up my cost considerably. I also had a fear my cats would think they'd make a dandy scratching post though they haven't done so with other towers.

He carried a couple of different lines however and one of these happened to be Dali. He had a pair of Opticon 5s hooked up and just for s^&ts and giggles I gave them a listen. They really impressed me enough to want to hear the Opticon 8 that he had marked down to make way for the new Opticon 8mks. He was kind enough to take these out of the boxes and hook them up. They did everything right for me to the point it created quite a dilemna for me as I was leaning towards the Volti's.

My concern with the Volti's ultimately is listener fatigue. It could have been the unfinished room, it could have been their size verses my room size. I need to talk more with him on this matter. I think overall they are a better speaker than the Dali's but this observation could be biased by my like for Greg and my wanting them to be THE ONES.

Go with your gut right? The Dali's really checked all my boxes. These are a demo pair that he's knocking $500 off current list plus shipping so about a $300 savings. He says he will let me return them less a $200 restocking fee if they don't work in my room or a store credit. I've found a used pair listed about a 3 hour drive from me that are 9/10 in his opinion that I can get for $1500 but there wouldn't be any return of course.

Advice?