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Looking for suggestions on a full range High Efficiency Speaker that's NOT a KLIPSCH or ZU. (but in that price range)
I have a HSU VTF-2 sub available, so if the speaker cannot cover the entire range, the sub can take care of it.
Last time I gave High Efficiency Speakers a try, I had a Klipsch Forte, put in new titanium tweeter diaphragms and rebuilt the crossover in an effort to reduce the honk & glare from the horn. It helped, but I still couldn't get them to settle in to something listenable.
Next I tried a Zu Druid (08 model).
It wasn't bad, and I enjoyed the speed of it, but the lack of a full bodied sound and poor image size eventually sent me back to conventional speakers.
Both speakers were powered by Bottlehead Paramount 300B amps.
So I'm ready to try again, nut not sure where to turn.
Follow Ups:
I'll throw a few choices in the ring.
For boxless designs, I agree with some of the other posters that Hawthorne Audio OB's are extremely nice (and a great value). For a box design, I like speakers from Tonian Labs (especially ones with AER or PHY drivers).
The high efficiency speakers that I have enjoyed are those made by Coincident Technologies and Vaughn. Both are sold direct with easy return policies. The top of the line Vaughn Cabernet's at $8,500/pr (free delivery) are outstanding and many consider them even better than the great Coincident Technology Total Victory IV which cost about $15,000/pr, but if one wants a bookshelf style monitor that is also great Vaughn offers The Pinot Noir at $3000/pr. They also offer an excellent floorstanding model "The Pinot" with 94 db sensitivity, ribbon tweeters, Bybee speaker filters inside (a great plus), a 6.5" ceramic midrange with a 6.5" midrange passive driver, and a 10" woofer with a 10" passive woofer at $5,000/pr.
Greg
I've also owned Fortes, many years ago, and La Scalas. Although, I must say I do not remember either producing much "glare." Maybe it was good synergy with the Soundcraftsment gear at the time, hmmm.
Recently I've build some open baffles with Hawthorne Audio drivers . . . about $400 total build cost, and am floored with what these can do. You can step up to the "Sterling" drivers for much more $.
Hawthorne makes finished speakers as well. The base speakers are all Eminence. The Sterling drivers step up to cast frame, premium crossovers, and Radian tweets.
My amp is tube, MiniWatt N3 (3.5 watts/chan), and drives the Hawthornes to very high spl's.
Prices range from $750 to $2500 for finished speakers.
I've owned many mid-fi speakers (Monitor Audio, Ascend Acoustics, aforementioned Klipsch) and must say the Hawthornes are no doubt the best of the bunch . . . imo.
The review below is of the high end Sterlings. You can also check out www.hawthorneaudio.com to see other offerings.
Oh, no I'm NOT the president, but I AM a satified customer :-P
Good luck . . . and enjoy
Cliff
I like how these came out...
marc g. - audiophile by day, music lover by night
Very nice marc!!! Drooling . . .
I only have the Iris drivers now, but eventually will add the "Augies" as well. One things for certain . . . the craftsmanship will be no where near these beuts.
Cliff
Speakers with flat response and no horn honk:
Audiokinesis Jazz modules and Planetarium Alphas
Gedlee Summa, Abbey, Nathan (will need sub)
Acoustic Horn (custom designs built around the AH300 nad AH700 conical horns)
Pi speakers 7pi, 4pi
I've recently bought a pair of EV Sentry III's for £415. They had previously been used in the Royal National Theatre in London. They needed new bass cone foam surrounds and a new tweeter diaphragm which I've replaced myself for about £100 in parts cost.
I prefer the bass from my bi-amped Bozak Symphonys whilst I prefer the midrange and treble from the Sentrys which is more open than the Bozaks.
The Bozaks are good for getting your feet tapping and the Sentrys are good for putting a sparkle in your eye.
The Sentrys are not ultra high efficiency at 96 or 97db/w/m, but that's still good enough for my 8 watt SET's to go LOUD enough with them.
Having heard my SET's with Klipsch Heresys I'd say that I strongly prefer the Sentrys to the Heresys - which I found too lean with my amp.
I bought the Sentrys after reading some of the advice on this forum. It was a case of whatever came up first at the right price out of the EV Sentrys or Altec Model 19's.
I've had pretty good luck with Electro Voice speakers. I have a pair of EV Sentry IVBs hooked up to a 2A3 amp, the combination of which sounds pretty good. I also have a pair of EV Aristocrats with nothing but a pair of SP-12Bs inside, the combination of which also sounds great.
EV speakers don't seem to be quite as expensive right now as their Altec counterparts. However, I have not heard the Altec speakers. Instead, I'm merely suggesting an audition of EV speakers, since you're looking for something suitable.
Thanks,
Brandt
Yeah, EVs are nice. I recently heard Sentry IVs for the first time in a long time and they sounded very good. I remember the Sentry III as being a very fine speaker; kind of a EV eqivalent of an Altec 19. The SM-120A mid horn both used is one of the best sounding horns out there.
Paul Eizek's DIY dipolar all horn EV system can go toe to toe with anything.
is probably the best sounding pa system made...it does not go low ...80hz
at 101db/1w or so...and sounds lively and the horn is not obnoxious..
at $300/pair if you can find are excellent...
put a selenium 210 compression driver on it...
biamp w/tubes and a behringer 2496...and you will cheaply be amazed..
xover @850hz...wow...
or don't biamp just pull the horn forward to manually time align...
also excellent...
so there you go....great music...cheap
-3db
That's what I did.
My Cornwalls went to the basement (and, eventually, on the market) immediately after I got a pair of 16-ohm Valencias. The Santiagos currently in my living room were a $200 Craigslist find. They're very nice, if'n you ask me.
all the best,
mrh
Tekton Uruz. I have these for several years now. They are underpriced at $2200. Have much flatter freq. response than the Zu Druids and will work with pretty much any and all amplification.
I still prefer my "conventional" Joseph Audio Rm25si MkII's if We're talking about 100 watts or more of power, but for anything less, the Tektons are a must listen in this price range.
In the used world, Altec Valencias are also well worth checking out but tough to find a really good condition used pair.
Hello,
look my sat horns, if you will use a sub.
or fullrange the Saxophon or the RDH20,
look on my HP, with measurements, feedback, plans
hm-moreart DIY horn speaker
http://www.hm-moreart.de/1.htm
You may want to get in touch with John Kalinowski of KCS Custom Loudspeakers. He specializes in high efficiency speakers, horns and Back loaded horns cabinets as well. His work is second to none and priced very reasonably for what you get. I have a pair of his BLHs and have been most satisfied with them. go to www.kcsloudspeakers.com to see some of his offerings, but he has speakers in all price ranges to accomodate any budget.
How would you describe the sound of the KCS speakers. While John gets favorable comments, there is not anyone in the Atlanta area that I know of who owns a pair so that I can audition them. I am somewhat hesitant to invest the money without hearing what his speakers sound like. And what are you using to drive the speakers?
...offers a few high efficiency models (95-98 dB). They've had good reviews. I own a pair of the TL-D1 speakers and am happy with them.Website at the link below. Contact them directly for more info and pricing.
Edits: 09/05/10
Anyone heard or have an opinion on the Madisound BK-16 kit?
A bit weak thin sounding try the bk20 kit, much better sound quality, fe208esig t900a or fe206en
Stery, have you heard the BK-20? I have been looking at this one for a while, would like to hear what you think of it compared to the BK-16 which I own, thanks Greg
I have built both bk16 and bk 20. I live near madisounds so am a regular. The bk 20 far more robust sounding bass is deeper mids fuller. Depends on driver used but both fe206en fe208esigma with tweeter is the better loudspeaker. If you have a local cabinet maker most fostex drivers come with nagaoka designs for cabinets these are better than bk 20 cab.
Don't waste your time on these. IMO the Fostex midrange is painful and you are lucky to get 50hz at best in the bass and no top end. I sold these off and replaced them with Tom's 19s. Best speaker move I've made and haven't looked back. I too am using 300B Paramounts at the moment and it is a great combo with the 19s.
I've been considering a speaker based around the SEAS Exotic X1-08 full range driver but haven't found the change to fund it yet.
John Kalinowski makes a wide variety of very interesting high-efficiency designs.Duke
Me being a dealer makes you leery?? It gets worse... I'm a manufacturer too.
Edits: 09/05/10
In the 4 years since I went to a set amp, having enough money to get the proper speakers has been my challenge. Tried Zu, Coincident, Klipsch, & Tekton. The Tekton were my clear favorites. Very revealing & articulate yet at the same time extremely natural & true to life.
I went from the Druid to Tekton Uruz, which i really enjoyed with all types of music except R&R,.. they didn't do well with electric guitar or trumpets and/or poor recordings from the 60's-70's era.. My Altec Model 9 are great but of course I dont get the speed & clarity of the modern designs .
If I stay with my 300B amp I might check out these; Sonist, Tekton Kats Meow, or Devore 9.
If you're after something really simple & foolproof you should try the Altec 604 coax.
A great point source speaker with a huge full bodied sound.
If you've got the room though the 19's are better.
The only way I could get Klipsch's to work (La Scalas) was to change everything.
New timber tractrix horns, new bass drivers, & tweeters, new crossovers. They are pretty awesome after all that, but it was a huge exercise.
Altec Lansing or JBL, as suggested by Tom, are the typical choices in the used, reasonably priced market. If you want new and expensive, there are Avantgardes, Dr. Bruce Edgar's Edgarhorns and undoubtedly others I haven't heard of.
Having owned some heritage Klipsches--Cornwalls and K-Horns--and Altec Lansing Model 19s, I would urge you to seek out an audition of a pair of Model 19s.
Good luck,
George
Wow, those 19's are huge
Pi Speakers
The 7 Pi type speaker uses a dedicated midrange horn.
You can use the wonderful JBL 2012 H 10".
This means your 15" bass will not have to do much over 300Hz,
a very good thing in my opinion. This type speaker can be
very robust, with significant refinement in the HF.
I suggest Altec 19s. Or JBL Pro 3115s.
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