volti vs klipsch

[skypickle]

I can find a pair of used klipschorns for $5k. Now, I am not a horn cognoscenti but am wondering how they would sound compared to the volti rival?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Don't know much about either, but just to throw a wrench, Have you heard about JTR Speakers?
I think you will find similar performance level speakers at or below your budget.

 

[Bucknekked]

I can find a pair of used klipschorns for $5k. Now, I am not a horn cognoscenti but am wondering how they would sound compared to the volti rival?

I can only speak for half of the equation: The Klipschorns. The Volti Rivals l have no experience with.

The Klipschorns are one of my all time favorite listening experiences. I don't have any negative comments about them. The reasons I've never owned a pair are simple, but compelling. I could never come up with the $10,000 to $15,000 to buy a new pair. Even if I robbed a bank, I still don't have the room to place them in. The Khorns care about placement and it would be a shame to put them in a place where they couldn't sing.

In 2017, for the money, you can achieve the same level of performance, or close enough to it, with a wide array of modern choices that don't dominate a room with sheer size. If room size isn't an issue and you are a fan of legacy gear, the Khorns are a wonderful speaker. Klipsch makes several other legacy speakers that look an awful lot like the Volti Rivals. Those may be excellent as well, I just don't have any in person listening experience with them.

May I ask, are you seriously considering a purchase of one of these two? I would like to know why you would choose a legacy design over some of the newer design choices? I am not dead set on any design or manufacturer. I'm just interested in why people make some of the choices they do. Its one of the most interesting parts of the audio hobby: understanding what other folks do.

 

[shadyJ]

I would say the Volti are a more modern speaker design, and has the advantage of 50 years plus of speaker design science. The Klipschorns are pretty amazing though, especially given the date of their design. I have heard both. You can't go wrong with either. With the Klipschorns, if you do not have the right room layout, just forget it. The Rival's will be a lot more flexible for placement.

 

[ski2xblack]

The Voltis look like a three way Corn-Scala, with a nice finish and what are most likely blingy networks (I think that Volti uses the steep slope ALK networks).

K-horns are fully horn loaded, and will thus offer considerably less IM distortion than anything with a direct radiator. They require good corners and an appropriately sized room, but don't take up much floor space for their girth.

I would go with the K-horns myself.

 

[skypickle]

Thank you for your thoughts. The room is an open space 18ft x 28 ft with a cathedral ceiling elevated along the long axis. The peak is 4 ft higher than the sides. Placement in the corners is not a possibility. At one end of the room is a wall of windows. The other end of the room has a bar in the corner and an opening for a stairwell in the other corner. The speakers would be placed about 4 to 6 feet away from the window wall and near the sidewalls.

I was thinking of using magnepans but even the 3.7 cannot fill the space with reference sound I think. I was looking at horns with their high sensitivity that can be driven by moderate amps. The maggies for example require constant amp monoblocks each with its own 15 amp circuit (although this is not a serious deterrent - it's more the placement of wires for the long run across the room that would have to up the wall, across a purlin, and down the other wall). And subwoofers.

The other possibility I was considering were active genelec speakers. As these have built in amps and configurable eq, it would make it easier to dial in the weird room. The other option I looked at is the JBL 4372 or the M2 with the crown amp they recommend (iHD 5000)

Another possibility is to get speakers that can be suspended from the purlin (one of the wooden beams that span the room)

 

[shadyJ]

You might also look at Pi speakers, they have very powerful speakers that are not as large. A couple Pi Fours and a couple of good subs will set you back maybe $5k.

Forget the Klipschorns if you can not place them in corners.

 

[charmerci]

From what I've read the Volti's are much better than the Klipsch's. You should simply ask for $5K speaker recommendations. Sounds like you want something that plays loud. I've read that people do like the JBL 4372's.

These are excellent and don't need a sub.

http://philharmonicaudio.com/phil3.html

 

[shadyJ]

Philharmonics are a great speaker no doubt, but it looks like the OP is seeking a very different kind of speaker. I wouldn't want to put some philharmonics through the kind of heavy use the OP is looking to do.

 

[shadyJ]

I just noticed that Stereophile published a review of the Rivals on the 18th, and I am guessing that is what prompted the OP's interest in them. An imperfect set of measurements to be sure, but I am curious as to how the peculiar dispersion profile translates into an audible sound character. It might not be all that bad, and some of those resonances are the kind that can be amended by equalization. I bet that far-field measurements would probably look different than Atkinson's near-field measurements.