Volti does it again!

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?  

Currently all Volti speakers utilize midrange horns with 2" throats.

I’m fortunate that I found a very nice sounding midrange horn with a 2" throat that I can buy for the Razz and the Lucera. Having a supplier for those midrange horns is a big part of being able to keep the costs down. It is very time-consuming and expensive to build midrange horns out of wood.

One of things you are paying for when you move up to the Rival is the hand-made wooden midrange horns.

I do like wooden midrange horns, but the wood material the horn is made out of has only a little effect, if any on the sound quality. What I gain by building midrange horns from wood, is that I can control the size and shape of the horn to suit the particular speaker design and integration with the other drivers in the speaker.

To date, I have myself, built over 1500 wooden midrange horns. With that experience I’ve learned what makes a great sounding midrange horn.

Ah, here’s that big company/small company thing again. If I want a big company, well no more building wooden horns by hand. I’ll have to find a company to make us the molds to mold our own horns. Very expensive to do here in the U.S. I once visited a company about fifty miles from me in McMinnville, TN that makes these type of metal (steel I think) molds. Intricately machined pieces that bolt together to make removable molds. The guy who showed me around the place was very nice and explained the whole process. The cost estimate was $50K! But then I could make my own designed midrange horns of a high quality plastic. Yes there are different quality levels of plastic. Probably I would not end up doing this (for the big company thing I mean). I would end up going to a Chinese company like Klipsch does, because it’s so much cheaper to have plastic parts molded there. Even custom ones. But as I’ve explained before, I’m too old for such things and I enjoy building my own midrange horns out of wood. I’m building the first twelve for the New Vittora right now. The largest midrange horns I’ve built to date.

Greg