What's best in highly sensitive/efficient speakers.

flm09

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Look at the Orangutan line at Devore Fidelity.https://www.devorefidelity.com. The O/93 would probably work for you. It is 93dB sensitive, with an impedance of 10 Ohms, which taken together make it quite an efficient speaker. I've heard them at shows with a 300B amp and I actually preferred these to the 0/96. However, if you want go to lower powered SETs, like the 2A3, you might want to look at the other Oranutang speakers. I have heard the O/96, but not the O/Reference models, which are brand new and which are 98dB sensitive with a 12 Ohm impedance.

I would avoid any speaker that has an impedance less than 8 Ohms, especially with many drivers, like the Wilsons mentioned earlier in this thread. I'd also avoid single driver speakers, as their treble is usually very jagged, unless the single drivers are actively crossed over to a ribbon tweeter, such as those made by Tonian Labs.

Is the treble for the Cube Audio speakers jaggedy as well?
 

Fidach Lad

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Jun 24, 2015
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True...it was the closest I could think of to 95. Actually the original X1 which I have is 95 but that is pushing 15-20-yr old speaker.
Isn't the nominal impedance of these speakers 4 Ohms? That's not exactly going to mate well low power-out amplifiers. In the Wilson systems I've seen, 300W-1000W solid state amplifiers seem pretty common.
 
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steve59

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I’ll put my flame retardant suit on and suggest the paradigm persona 9h for flea watt amps.
 

Mikem53

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Isn't the nominal impedance of these speakers 4 Ohms? That's not exactly going to mate well low power-out amplifiers. In the Wilson systems I've seen, 300W-1000W solid state amplifiers seem pretty common.
Factor in multiple drivers, crossover... and you need current to make them come alive.. regardless of their specs.
 
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morricab

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Isn't the nominal impedance of these speakers 4 Ohms? That's not exactly going to mate well low power-out amplifiers. In the Wilson systems I've seen, 300W-1000W solid state amplifiers seem pretty common.
I think the original X1 was a true 95db with an easy nearly 8 ohm load...it worked very well with a 30 watt SET.
 

Mikem53

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I think the original X1 was a true 95db with an easy nearly 8 ohm load...it worked very well with a 30 watt SET.
That is a descent amount of power for those specs. My system is similar spec/ power wise and works very well. When I tried a 6 watt SE amp with my 95db spkrs, it was lifeless.
 

morricab

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That is a descent amount of power for those specs. My system is similar spec/ power wise and works very well. When I tried a 6 watt SE amp with my 95db spkrs, it was lifeless.
Yeah, 6 probably won’t work great if your room is big, you sit far away or listen loud but 30 will do nicely in most rooms.
 
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cal3713

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flm09

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bonzo75

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It's been a while since you posted, obviously, but if you haven't read the Cube Audio thread on Agon, you should. User reports are near-universally positive. And I don't think I've ever read a negative comment about treble.

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussi...-single-driver-speaker-10-inch-tqwt-enclosure
I heard a cube audio nenuphar with SIT 2 and 3, this is the top model with their subs. Pass top model pre, and Rockna dac. Didn't like at all, the room was big and fine no issues there. Nothing wrong with the treble but nothing good about the speaker. There were others in the group who have heard that system with various amps and none like it. If I ever hear in a different set up will post
 
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Addicted to hifi

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Vitavox CN-191corner horn from about 1960, second iteration. They are 105 dB, 16 ohm loads and benefit from room gain with the low frequencies being loaded by a folded horn in back and using the walls, so very easy to drive with my 18w SET amps in a fairly small room.


View attachment 81383

View attachment 81385
beautiful corner horn speakers. never seen or heard of them before But I like them.
 

Addicted to hifi

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Here's my WIP journey into the high sensitive horn world:

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It is based on BMS 4592ND coaxial driver for 350Hz - 20Khz @118dB/W sensitivity. The base bin is Klipsch Belle without the top hat.
Very very nice.
 

Duke LeJeune

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What's you opinion on Volti Audio Rival and Coherent Audio loudspeakers, dear experts? With listed sensitivity around 100db they should be relatively easy to drive (not sure about their impedance curve).

Disclaimer: I'm a speaker manufacturer. Please take everything I say with a grain of salt.

Eyeballing John Atkinson's measurements, the impedance curve of the Volti Rival does not look particularly SET-friendly to me. The minimum is 3.3 ohms, and there is a more-than-20-ohm peak around 3kHz. Low end looks strong, and the enclosure is large enough to give good low end combined with high efficiency. The review is from 2017 so the measurements may be outdated.

The Coherent Audio speakers use what is arguably the best high-efficiency coaxial driver in the world. Those big Radians are what I would be using if I were doing coaxials. The ceramic version will have a bit more low end and might get away with not needing subs; the more efficient neo version would imo very likely need subs. I would expect the impedance curves to not dip as low as on the Volti Rival.

The one thing I cannot comment on is the most important - how do they sound? I have never heard a Coherent Audio speaker. I have been consistently VERY favorably impressed with the Volti Vittora, but have never heard the Rival. I have heard a Spatial Audio speaker which used the 15" neodymium Radian coaxial (with the aluminum diaphragm), augmented by a separate dedicated woofer, and imo it was in the same league as the Vittora.

The waters are now probably muddier than ever!
 
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