Congrats! Those are great speakers too! One of best demos I heard in Munich in 2019.
What are the Top Horn Speakers in the World Today? Vox Olympian vs Avantgarde Trio vs ???
- Thread starter caesar
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I have occasionally heard the Cessaro horn during shows, but I did not find it particularly impressive. However, with the Contendo, it was not just the bass horns, but the entire speaker system that created a wonderful illusion of music being played right in front of you. If I could find another speaker brand that could provide 90% of the performance of the Contendo 2 at a price range of 100K to 150K, I would be open to considering it. I am not a brand fanatic and have enjoyed exploring various speakers in the past. I find the journey to be both enjoyable and full of experiences. In the past, I have also owned Danley Horns, and while they did many things right, the quality of the drivers used in their speakers were geared towards professional audio and lacked some refinement.If we are talking about full range horns, then any "Top Horn Speaker" made today would have to have a bass horn to handle the bass below 100Hz, preferably a forward firing one, and one that goes down to at least 30Hz @ -3dB, or 20Hz @ -3dB would be even better. One would have to consider a Cessaro horn as they will custom make you a horn system including a bass horn to fit in and match your room, plus they use the very best drivers, parts and materials.
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Having said the above, a really clever design would be a Horn speaker that gives 80% to 90% of the top models but at a really affordable price. For that I would give the prize to the Klipsch Cornwall IV, but in the context of this thread the Cornwall IV can be ruled out...
I have already placed an order for the Aurora, which I consider to be a fantastic speaker. If I were to consider a larger speaker, the Contendo would be beyond my budget, so I would have to look for another brand that utilizes horns and bass horns throughout the entire speaker system.
Congratulations, Will. The Aurora is indeed a musical speaker that has the ability to evoke strong emotions.
Thx...what struck me when I listened to it was that it could play a live rock concert or a symphony concert and it adjusted to each type of music....so it was emotional!
The Aurora Horn boasts a refined and polished sound, with smooth and dynamic performance that does not cause listener fatigue. There is no discernible evidence of horn coloration or cupping artifacts, and the sound feels open, expansive, and effortless. This speaker is an ideal choice for most rooms, as it has the ability to replicate the performance of larger systems in a smaller footprint, and can adjust its playing field on the fly via Bluetooth, all within the analog domain.
It ticks all the boxes, and if one were to search for areas in which it may lack, it is rather difficult to identify any problems, as it performs exceptionally well in most regards. While it is not a bass horn loaded system, if it were, the size of the speaker would take up more floor space and cause other problems. The Aurora Horn is capable of rocking and shaking the very foundation when needed, and has ample power to fill the room when commanded.
Curious why Stavros hasn't considered field coil & beryllium drivers ?
Would also love to hear how Stavros as one of the leading current horn designers feels about both these types of approaches to driver design. It’s a fascinating topic and the more experienced data points we can get on these kinds of design choices the better.
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Congrats, I really liked the Diesis in Munich the last few years
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The Classic Audio Loudspeakers utilize Field Coil beryllium drivers, resulting in excellent musical involvement and exceptional transparency. The sound quality was significantly enhanced by replacing the Solid State Power Supply with a custom Tube Power Supply.
Stavros considers everything … and then considers everything again just to be certain
christoph. --- haha, if I had your money the Vikings would be in a second system but I am trading them in and I absolutely love them.Wow, congrats
What happens with the Vikings?
Second system?
Congrats on the new speakers, Will. I’ll hear quite a few horns at Axpona in a few weeks!
Please do check into the Aries Cerat room and tell Robert. I said hi. I would love to hear your comments on the system as I have followed your speaker and amp journeys as well.
Haha, you must be kidding. Compared to most here, I'm a poor sod
Most of my gear is old but carefully selected
I've posted directivity measurements of our midrange horn in the link below:
Vera Audio midrange horn
Vera Audio is developing a horn speaker system. It consist of a midrange horn, a midbass horn and requires a bass/subwoofer solution. It will be active and offered with a separate high quality DSP. The 2-horn system look like the following: I'll show some measurements of the midrange/top...
soundlyvisual.com
Here’s a long YouTube from Avantgarde going into detail explainimg the G3 concept. I found it fascinating how radically different the G3 is to previous versions.
Yes, rather too long and little attention to editing, but a revelation of Avantgarde’s attention to detail and care in design and construction.
I’ve communicated with Armin on several occasions and he has always been extremely helpful. When my 17 year old UNOs amps developed a minor problem, he via the UK distributor, guided me through a couple of simple fixes that cost be no more than the price of a couple of resistors. When I moved to latest Duo XDs and wanted to ditch the support “scaffolding” he sent me modified drawings of the mid-tube cradle used in the Mezzo. Which other speaker brand offers that sort of service?
I‘m looking forward to a Duo GT demo, but I am slightly worried that I’ll like them so much, I’ll have to dig deep into the piggy-bank and buy a pair!
Yes, I believe Avantgarde has come a long way! Bold move on offering active systems.
Here is a very interesting new horn product from Korea I'm hoping to evaluate when at HE Munich 2023. They are showing at the smaller "off campus" venue at HiFi Deluxe at the Marriott.
www.seawaveacoustic.com
Here is a very interesting new horn product from Korea I'm hoping to evaluate when at HE Munich 2023. They are showing at the smaller "off campus" venue at HiFi Deluxe at the Marriott.
AM 34 - Seawave Acoustic
www.seawaveacoustic.com
I believe Ken Songer spoke in detail to the benefits of field coils recently in a WBF newsletter. Fred Crane is also quite knowledgeable on this topic based upon his long experience and recent work with adding FC technology to the exceptional Destination Audio horn systems. Certainly a plus is the big increase in efficiency that allows the use of 2a3, 45 and other low wattage tube amplifiers without constraining dynamics, long a hallmark of horn loudspeakers.
Personally, I am in love with Wolf Van Langa's field coil/AMT hybrid, the Son. What an unusual pairing but those little guys really get to the sound of music with full bandwidth for under $20k! Not necessarily a rock and roll speaker but for everything else divine. 20 watts are recommended, although I heard the in Gestalt Audio's room at Capital Audio fest and was enthralled with the texture, tone and immediacy of the sound with vinyl jazz spinning!
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