Moving to Horn speakers


Hi - i am new to the forum - 45, living in UK.

System: Gyrodec/incognito rb300/Ortofon FL25, CAT SL1 reference, Lumley M120 monoblocs, Proac Studio 150s.

Whilst I am content with this system - I recently had the fortune to hear a pair of Lowther equiped horns, on the end of an 8 watt SET - and was very very impressed. The feeling of being there was outstanding.

I have also seen on a web site a design for a Voight horn, which looks fairly simple to do. I would probably put a pair of second hand lowther units in them(PM6C ).

My question is - my monoblocs are 120 watts pentode/ 70 watts triode - and even in triode mode (my preferred option) will they not be too powerful for the horns.

The end goal - if I found I could live with the lowther horns, would be to replace the monoblocs with a high quality,low powered SET (probably DIY).
laurencedwyer
I agree that the DHT SET amps with the 45 triode work very well on Lowthers. I've been running that combination for almost a year now, and am extremely impressed with the results. I think a 45 amp is about optimum for the best results from Lowthers. Not all 45 based SET amps are created equal, and auditioning is a must. Take care to ensure a very good quality output transformer, which will be quite expensive, but worth it.

FYI, I am using a modified version of the Voigt Pipe speakers, and I like them quite well. Some people claim that there are serious flaws in this design, but from my experience, this is a broad overstatement. I'm getting excellent sound from mine. They are easy to make and give good results if made correctly. Get the highest efficiency Lowther drivers that you can afford.
Twl: Your first post regarding Lowther's claim made no mention of "full range" drivers. As such, my response was based on that info. I don't know what is out there in terms of "wide bandwidth" drivers, but there are surely many, many drivers that are WAY more efficient than what you stated. They just don't cover the full frequency range. Sorry for the confusion. Sean
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Bob

i have just got back from holiday and looked at this thread.

there is a guy in the UK called John Jeffries, of Metropolis Music on 0044 1892 539245 who may be able to help you.

i asked him for the input impedence of the M120 power amps, and he has put me onto the guy who designed them ! so give John a try - if you have no joy, i'll follow it up on your behalf with the designer.