Cornwall IV vs. Volti Rival, Razz; Razz v. 1, 2, 3 -- what changed?

@hilde45 I can't tell you where the Klipsch cabinets are made, outside of telling you that my pair of Forte IIIs looked great and seemed well constructed.  

I can tell you that I have seen how Volti does things, having been to Greg's Baxter facility twice.  Whether he's building them by hand or using CNC machines the birch plywood he uses is as solid as it comes.  You can see what his speakers actually look like unadorned by looking at the pictures of his "Decorator" Razz speakers (some listed under speakers for sale).   But to me, that's not the way to go because his work with veneers is artisan quality.  The number of folks who come into my house and just gawk at the Rosewood Rivals is crazy (although my wife wishes they were smaller).  

And just to get this out of the way--I like the Forte IIIs.  Greg also likes the Forte IIIs.  They are a ton of fun.  But if you want to love your speakers and have something that you can live with forever, any of the Volit models are the way to go.

@bolong

The website you linked to says,

"Many Klipsch speakers are made in the USA with global materials, however, in recent years, they’ve moved some manufacturing overseas to countries like China. Their speakers within their Heritage line, along with many of their cinema and reference speakers, are still made in America."

That is a piece of evidence, though it’s not coming from Klipsch. Not bad, though. @badgerdms

I can tell you that I have seen how Volti does things...Whether he’s building them by hand or using CNC machines the birch plywood he uses is as solid as it comes.

That’s very nice to know. I’m interested, however, in the claim on Volti’s website (a) that the Forte cab’s are made in China and (b) are "just a step above the highest grade of cardboard" and [cabinet construction] that "falls into the lowest end of that range" and that the it is not "possible to build a cheaper cabinet and have it still function as a speaker cabinet."

Some evidence has been produced here indicating the Volti claim about Klipsch coming from China is false. Some people are testifying to the solidity of their own speakers. We have not yet seen evidence that the Klipsch cabs for the Fortes are made in China, and we have Volti’s testimony that they’re flimsy.

The fact that GR indicated China manufacturing of a Heritage product, which was bad enough based on a falsehood or misinformation, it was how he described the wood as being one step above, over cardboard. Not right, even if he thought so. Interesting story of how and why he developed the Lascala, and I love the design. I can find fault in every budget loudspeaker, $15K being budget nowadays. Talking about why US companies move manufacturing to China, whether politically correct or not, should not be a surprise. I know of so many Chinese produced products that are excellent. I few months ago I sold my Jungson JA99C power amp to a local individual. It is a very heavy beast and ran way too hot for my situation, considering I leave solid state on 24/7 (the build quality and beauty is incredible). The heatsinks has very little ringing, compared to many. I am looking to sell a few more 70+ pounders for this reason (and this is not an advertisement of sale, as I only sell locally, as I do not ship any longer). The 99C is a great amp, and imo, ime, and in my system, it embarrassed much more expensive products, made here in the good old USA (will not mention brands nor models). The buyer came to my home to listen to it and was flabbergasted at what he heard. Coincidently he also owns Lascalas, and I helped him tweak his pair (at no cost other than material). At his home, he is a collector as I am. He replaced a Levinson with the 99C and could not be happier (I concur). Wow, talk about being long winded. My best always, MrD.

hilde45 - I am also interested to know where the Forte cabinets are made.  It seems strange that nobody here can confirm or refute Volti's claim conclusively.  I've been looking around the web and can't find a definitive answer as to where Forte cabinets are built.  

@bodega

@mrdecibel

I’d be interested in solid fact. I am inclined to believe that Volti’s facts are correct, if only because claiming it on a public facing website -- in a post clearly advantaging his own, competing product -- would be a huge negative if it proved false. I also imagine that after upgrading Klipsch for so many years, he knows the provenance of the parts. It would improve the Volti website to link to the proof or cite it, I think. The adjectives describing the cheapness of construction seem a bit questionable. One could communicate their inferiority with a gentler touch. But that’s just my opinion.