Kondo Overture

[morricab]

Thanks Morricab...for me the sub even on the big XLFs delivers a sense of the venue and spacial cues which are now a 'must have' having lived with it for years. The jazz club suddenly collapses to just between and behind the speakers...whereas with the sub on...completely cut off above 40hz and nearly completely cut off above 37hz...the venue space really creates the sense of all around you. Not sure how/why, but as soon as you mute the sub...the entire club collapses and it feels like when you move or hear a piece of paper rustle, it 'kills' the atmosphere of the club because the sound in the room is the actual sound of the room...whereas with the sub, it is able to combat some of that sense and immerse you more into the venue.

Check out the Volti Audio Vittora speaker system. It come with its own sub that operates from 50hz and down, using a big 18 inch woofer. Everything above 50hz is fully horn loaded (three way design). Whole system is around $30k (a bargain). Might be the best horn made in the USA.

 

[LL21]

Check out the Volti Audio Vittora speaker system. It come with its own sub that operates from 50hz and down, using a big 18 inch woofer. Everything above 50hz is fully horn loaded (three way design). Whole system is around $30k (a bargain). Might be the best horn made in the USA.

Thanks! Very interesting read! I believe you have commented about the Living Voice Olympias in the past...I have read that Roy almost preferred/preferred the Palladians. How do you find that the Olympias rank for you in the world of horns...and how do compare them with the Palladians?

 

[morricab]

Thanks! Very interesting read! I believe you have commented about the Living Voice Olympias in the past...I have read that Roy almost preferred/preferred the Palladians. How do you find that the Olympias rank for you in the world of horns...and how do compare them with the Palladians?

I found Palladians to be a clear step down from the Vox Olympians...surprising since they use the same drivers (I think except the super tweeter). The Vox Olympians, driven by Kondo and their own battery bank to make pure power is probably the least hifi, most realistic sound I have heard. Of course the Aries Cerat system with Symphonia + Cerebus subs was also way up there on the realism factor...and a lot cheaper (but still over 150K). Palladians are still better than most else that's out there but was for me a rung lower on the ladder...it lacked a bit of that vanishing act that the Vox could pull off. I have never heard Opera, for example sound so like it was live as that setup in Munich...and I don't really like Opera! I was glued to my seat...

 

[jeff1225]

Check out the Volti Audio Vittora speaker system. It come with its own sub that operates from 50hz and down, using a big 18 inch woofer. Everything above 50hz is fully horn loaded (three way design). Whole system is around $30k (a bargain). Might be the best horn made in the USA.

Have you heard these Brad? Very disappointed with their showing at the last audio show I was at.

 

[LL21]

I found Palladians to be a clear step down from the Vox Olympians...surprising since they use the same drivers (I think except the super tweeter). The Vox Olympians, driven by Kondo and their own battery bank to make pure power is probably the least hifi, most realistic sound I have heard. Of course the Aries Cerat system with Symphonia + Cerebus subs was also way up there on the realism factor...and a lot cheaper (but still over 150K). Palladians are still better than most else that's out there but was for me a rung lower on the ladder...it lacked a bit of that vanishing act that the Vox could pull off. I have never heard Opera, for example sound so like it was live as that setup in Munich...and I don't really like Opera! I was glued to my seat...

Thanks for that...Have you heard the Aries Cerat Contendo Reference? Again, massive footprint.

In any event, when you speak about being glued to your seat listening to music you otherwise would not bother listening to...I remember when i first experienced with music I did not really like when played thru a great system. I very nearly went out and bought the album...until i came to sense 5 minutes later and realized i did not like the music. But I certainly appreciated that music a lot more when hearing so much of the detail, nuance that the artist intended.

 

[morricab]

Have you heard these Brad? Very disappointed with their showing at the last audio show I was at.

No, I haven't heard them. They don't seem to have made their way to Europe. They got a lot of really positive press though and from the design they could really be awesome...what was the problem with them?

 

[morricab]

Thanks for that...Have you heard the Aries Cerat Contendo Reference? Again, massive footprint.

In any event, when you speak about being glued to your seat listening to music you otherwise would not bother listening to...I remember when i first experienced with music I did not really like when played thru a great system. I very nearly went out and bought the album...until i came to sense 5 minutes later and realized i did not like the music. But I certainly appreciated that music a lot more when hearing so much of the detail, nuance that the artist intended.

No, the only one I know of is at Aries Cerat in Cyprus and I haven't been there to visit...yet.

 

[jeff1225]

No, I haven't heard them. They don't seem to have made their way to Europe. They got a lot of really positive press though and from the design they could really be awesome...what was the problem with them?

They are just Klipsch designs with better drivers.

 

[LL21]

No, the only one I know of is at Aries Cerat in Cyprus and I haven't been there to visit...yet.

Will be interesting to know what you think when you do. They are big...not Bionor big, but BIG. 1.5m diameter and nearly as deep I think...just for the main cone, let alone the tower subs which are each just about the size of a Wilson XLF.

 

[morricab]

They are just Klipsch designs with better drivers.

I think the horns for the mid and highs are totally different from Klipsch as well. Crossover for sure as well. Only the form factor is similar as far as I can tell to a Belle Klipsch.

 

[jeff1225]

I think the horns for the mid and highs are totally different from Klipsch as well. Crossover for sure as well. Only the form factor is similar as far as I can tell to a Belle Klipsch.

He started his business as a Klipsch restorer and copied the Belle for these speakers. Nothing special here.

and...I’ve heard them so I know.

 

[BruceD]

He started his business as a Klipsch restorer and copied the Belle for these speakers. Nothing special here.

and...I’ve heard them so I know.

Yes I've owned the Belles' and heard the Volti's--they are so alike although he demonstrates the "improvements" to the drivers that he does before the demonstration.
Interestingly (see pic )and yes, his did "sound' different

He is a personable guy--and good salesman-I think the Speaker is commendable and certainly delivers for the moderate pricing offered.

BruceD

 

[morricab]

He started his business as a Klipsch restorer and copied the Belle for these speakers. Nothing special here.

and...I’ve heard them so I know.

Yes, I understand you heard them once at a show. As has been reiterated on WBF many times, a bad show performance is not necessarily representative. I know Klipsch speakers, having had a pair of La Scalas in college. They rocked the house (literally). I have rarely heard a more effortless speaker at high volumes for rock music. They weren’t subtle or great at low levels (could have been the crap amp I had to play with at that time).
It is well known (by everyone except Klipsch engineers apparently) that the Klipschorn, Belle Klipsch and La Scala all use the same undersized mid horn that doesn’t match well with the woofer. They switched from exponential horns to Tractrix (something Klipsch itself uses in newer designs) and use a very good BMS driver (big improvement over the Klipsch mid). The folded bass horn is of course straight up Klipsch but why mess with success (one of my favorite all time speakers, the JBL Hartsfield also uses a folded front loaded horn).
Would I take restored Hartsfields over a new pair of Voltis? Probably, because the old JBL drivers and horns were some of the best ever made but for someone looking for a new pair and not vintage in a good setup I see a redesigned Belle Klipsch as having real potential.

 

[anubisgrau]

Have you heard these Brad? Very disappointed with their showing at the last audio show I was at.

anything based on klipsch is hit and miss, but they can sound terrific if everything assembled right. issues yes but lots of fun, a real get up and go speaker.

lots of ppl tend to listen kipsch horns with solid state, it turns them into PA speakers.i've heard khorns in that configuration, it made me wonder what the fuzz is all about that ear bleeding noizzze.

not sure 100%, i think volti used amazing B&C 2" DCM 50 mid driver with extended range towards very low mids - a diaphragm is 5" cone and some ppl claimed it replicates the sound of field coil RCA 1428 (an exaggeration i assume but worth mentioning) better than anything from today... it was either volti or its UK clones....

 

[morricab]

anything based on klipsch is hit and miss, but they can sound terrific if everything assembled right. issues yes but lots of fun, a real get up and go speaker.

lots of ppl tend to listen kipsch horns with solid state, it turns them into PA speakers.i've heard khorns in that configuration, it made me wonder what the fuzz is all about that ear bleeding noizzze.

not sure 100%, i think volti used amazing B&C 2" DCM 50 mid driver with extended range towards very low mids - a diaphragm is 5" cone and some ppl claimed it replicates the sound of field coil RCA 1428 (an exaggeration i assume but worth mentioning) better than anything from today... it was either volti or its UK clones....

I read it was a BMS MID compression driver

 

[jeff1225]

Yes, I understand you heard them once at a show. As has been reiterated on WBF many times, a bad show performance is not necessarily representative. I know Klipsch speakers, having had a pair of La Scalas in college. They rocked the house (literally). I have rarely heard a more effortless speaker at high volumes for rock music. They weren’t subtle or great at low levels (could have been the crap amp I had to play with at that time).
It is well known (by everyone except Klipsch engineers apparently) that the Klipschorn, Belle Klipsch and La Scala all use the same undersized mid horn that doesn’t match well with the woofer. They switched from exponential horns to Tractrix (something Klipsch itself uses in newer designs) and use a very good BMS driver (big improvement over the Klipsch mid). The folded bass horn is of course straight up Klipsch but why mess with success (one of my favorite all time speakers, the JBL Hartsfield also uses a folded front loaded horn).
Would I take restored Hartsfields over a new pair of Voltis? Probably, because the old JBL drivers and horns were some of the best ever made but for someone looking for a new pair and not vintage in a good setup I see a redesigned Belle Klipsch as having real potential.

I completely disagree regarding shows. A show it the opportunity for a manufacturer or dealer to "show what they can do," pun intended. If they are achieving bad sound that they don't approve of, they should have their system as a static display. If they have their system open to the public playing music, then this is their representation of their product line.

 

[jeff1225]

anything based on klipsch is hit and miss, but they can sound terrific if everything assembled right. issues yes but lots of fun, a real get up and go speaker.

lots of ppl tend to listen kipsch horns with solid state, it turns them into PA speakers.i've heard khorns in that configuration, it made me wonder what the fuzz is all about that ear bleeding noizzze.

not sure 100%, i think volti used amazing B&C 2" DCM 50 mid driver with extended range towards very low mids - a diaphragm is 5" cone and some ppl claimed it replicates the sound of field coil RCA 1428 (an exaggeration i assume but worth mentioning) better than anything from today... it was either volti or its UK clones....

I have a friend that uses the B&C DCM 50 on Edgar horns, it is a very impressive driver.

 

[groovemaster]

What has always inspired me about Kondo is this reduced, elegant design.
Kondo simply has this noblesse that always inspires me anew. This set-up of Kondo Ouverture, Feickert turntable and the Audiospecials AS Phonolab phono amplifier really shows how perfectly devices can be combined when they share the same reduced design. I think, "Reduced to the max" is the right expression here.

groovemaster

 

[Royperformance]

Ho posseduto il Kondo Overture per circa 1 anno , fantastico apparecchio.
Collegate alle mie ex Tannoy Kensington SE Prestige, il Kondo Overture è risultato un ottimo compagno , un suono dettagliato , veloce , tridimensionale, ottimo sulle Medio alte, con voci reali.
Con la Tannoy sono rimasto piacevolmente affascinato con la musica Jazz , e vi mostro un video con il trombettista Italiano Paolo Fresu , album Melos.

 

[Argonaut]

I did some research and used the same ideas he copied to design my own 3-way horn system. I then hired an excellent speaker designer and builder to build them.
I’m using the vaunted RCA 1443 midrange field coil, which cover something like 200 - 8000 hz, which I don’t think is matched by any driver today — not clean and flat anyway.

Hi Surg1, most interesting and you are to be commended for taking matters into your own hands.
A couple of images of your horns would be nice, an audio video ( decent i phone would suffice) even better.