What Horn loaded speaker/ speaker system for $10k'ish and under


I’m looking to go potentially go back to a horn loaded speaker, or hybrid budget under $15k. I’ve had LaScala’s in the resent past (prior to my current Spendor D9.2’s that are for sale now) and loved them but I feel there is better out there for similar money.

JBL horns like the 4367 or 4349, S3900, S4700? Volti? LALS? others I’ve forgotten or not known.

I’d like to have efficiency above 90db,

extension to 35hz or close to it, I could live with subs though.

I’m not apposed to used in good condition, I will not buy black speakers though.

 

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I own the JBL 4367 and use subs high-passed at 60hz but feel they are pretty good without the subs. I already owned the subs. 
 

Anyway I have demoed the current LaScala and Cornwall IV several times. I feel like the JBL is a better speaker. It is smoother in frequency response (downward sloping treble in room). I feel like the LaSala has a lot more box/horn coloration than the JBL 4367. I found the Cornwall harsher sounding in the mids and highs than the 4367, with the 4367 just being more refined in all aspects. the bass on the 4367 is better than both Klispchs to my ear. It is very detailed and has good leading edge impact. The Cornwall is not bad in the bass, just that the 4367 is better. The LaScala is in bad need of subs, I could not enjoy them long term without subs.


The only real flaw of the 4367 is the somewhat narrow soundstage but I kind of feel that is all horns. Honestly and all and all amazing speaker I have zero plans to sell. 
 

there is a used pair of Volti Vittora on audio mark right now for $11,000 that look nice. I have never heard them but it looks like a higher quality build than the LaScala. 

I was thinking in these terms, wanting horn-loaded to go with a 300B SET, and opted for Cornwall IV. They’re pretty good stock but become excellent if you upgrade the caps and resistors to VCAP Odam and Path Audio, respectively. There’s a long thread in which Don Sachs outlines the values and process. I also replaced the binding posts with WBT NextGen and damped the horns and woofer baskets with Dynamat Extreme. Really great speakers now.

I got my Cornwall 4’s to behave better by making wood angle jigs screwed to the base risers of the speakers and screwed to my wooden floor. These jigs are aligned with the back wall such that measuring their leading edge distances to the back wall allows for them to be precisely angled in tandem from the back wall. Speaker angles are derived by measuring the outside toe-in speaker corners from the back wall, and the speakers are always in exactly the same plane relative to each other.

The jigs also can be slid laterally along the floor (and locked) at minutely varying distances using each jig’s built-in scale without affecting their distance from the back wall.. This allows for them to be precisely centered to my listening position at minutely varying distances while still being in exactly the same plane with each other. So, this allows for the speakers to be kept at precisely the same angle relative to each other and to the wall behind them and the side walls no matter how you move them.

I also made an added 3/4 inch plywood base that is screwed to the underside of the factory risers with a sandwiched layer of that rubber shelf liner sold at Home Depot, etc. This reduces cabinet resonances without over-damping the cabinet.

Cornwall 4’s are notorious for being very finicky about placement, and these measures have made that a non-problem. These tweaks have revealed to me the full potential of the speakers for imaging and soundstage though they are still not "champs" at that.

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I've heard and liked Volti and also Charney Audio both have speakers in your price range.