Unison Research Max 2 vs Border Patrol Volti Rival Horn Speakers

Kennymacc,

I have never heard either but know the Salon II well, currently use JBL 4367s and my last speakers were Revel 228be. My comments below are just keyboard warrior stuff…
 

Anyway I have seen you state you really like the Salons (so do I) and I would guess you would be pretty disappointed with the Volti longterm. Stereophile has measurements of both the Rival and Razz and both look pretty bad with large suck outs in the mids and lots of comb filtering. Going to make for a very bright speaker next to the Salons. 
 

You would gain dynamics (a lot of dynamics probably) but have to fight the odd tonal balance. I would guess you would miss the bass extension too. However the build quality is great and they use good drivers but I could not deal with the frequency response. 
 

I see you also asking about the JBL K2S9900 and I think I would stick with the JBL line if you want to try horns. The newer JBLs (M2, 4367, SCL-1) are all joint projects between Harman and JBL. You get the JBL drivers with Harman philosophy on tonal balance. The issue with the JBL (short of the M2) is they all lack bass extention and need subs IMO. 

The Unison looks interesting  

This will come as no surprise to anyone here, but I'd pair the Volti Rivals with Border Patrol amps and never look back. Have heard them paired a handful of times and the result is heavenly. I have not heard the Unison's. 

@james633 Hello. Thank you for you’re insightful response. I’ve always found horn type speakers interesting, as some years ago, I owned and thoroughly enjoyed a pair of Avantgarde Duo speakers. However, as far as this post is concerned, my interest in these speakers is limited only to my own curiosity about them, but not base on any interest on my part to possibly replace my beloved Revel Salon 2 speakers. High end audio is such a vast and intriguing hobby, filled with fascinating gear. I did get a chance to hear the JBL’s and the Volti speakers and thought they were both pretty awesome in their own ways. I know of a couple persons who actually prefer the far less expensive Unison Research Max 2’s over the far more expensive JBL Project K2 S9900 speaker, which actually prompted me to write this post. I though that comparisons between the aforementioned horn speakers would make for an interesting topic of discussion. Happy listening.