You might need to replace some electrolytic caps if they're the original capacitors. If so, there's lots of better film caps available that will be an improvement. Old defective capacitors can cause damage to mids and tweeters.
@@bradearles9066 You're correct, generally, and I work on vintage audio gear for a living so that's how I know I know you're correct. However, Klipsch knew this too, back in the day, so that's why all the caps in those crossovers are either film caps or oil caps. No electrolytics.
@ScottGrammer thank you for that helpful information Scott. Very forward thinking on the part of Klipsch. I'm still a newbie in the horn world as an amateur DIY speaker builder. Have a pair of Altec 288C and 1003 horns and have drivers to build the JBL M2 which are said to be great horns and I'm looking forward to finding out. Enjoy those fantastic Klipsch of yours. I've only heard the big Klipsch a couple if times and I was very impressed by what I heard. Thanks again Scott.
I dare suggest that every audio component maker and distributer in the USA and Canada watch this YT channel. Probably some from Europe. How amazing is this channel ?
I stumbled upon Greg and his Vittora's at either the first or second Capitol Audio Fest and was blown away by the sound from a most unexpected new speaker designer. Back then, he still called Maine home and he did this great demo of him speaking through the midrange horn from a K-Horn (which he used to fix for folks) and then through his midrange horn. The K-Horn sounded honky while his sounded like a human voice. Very impressive. I jumped on the chance to buy a pair of his Razz speakers during COVID, and owned them for about seven months before I had to upgrade to the Rivals (thanks to a COVID canceled cruise vacation refund). I owned a pair of Forte III's ahead of the Razz and I can say the Razz a much more refined and engaging listen. For those complainning about the finish quality, I had the Bosse Cedar finish and it was stunning. My Rival SEs are next level with curved backs and matching external crossovers. And they sound even better than they look. Greg makes great speakers that are spectacular looking to boot. There is a reason that the Volti/Border Patrol/Triode Wire Labs room always get mentioned as one of the "Best In Show" wherever they exhibit.
I’ve enjoyed my Volti Rivals for past 3 years, and I absolutely love them. Better than same sized Klipsch. I have them powered by a 250 integrated Pass Labs amp, and the energy and excitement are remarkable. Plus, Greg is a craftsman and a pleasure to work with.
After reading the review of the Volti Rival speakers by Ken Micalef in Stereophile, I contacted Greg Roberts and bought a pair without ever hearing them. Basic birch cabinets, I love these speakers; they are a legacy product which will be passed on. Greg Roberts himself is a great person to deal with and he is truly involved with his customers, I can't say enough good about the speakers or the company. Primaluna power amp rated at 21 watts in triode mode gives all the power and volume ever required.
Yeah well how much are they paying you? Let me help you guys out and be on your journey with you. Volti Razz in Steve's review (not the Rival) you know ... Steve shows the X-over Hooray! But they don't show the rear of the woofer ... why not? Because you see that would take away from the sales pitch. Believe me if you want a speaker for your Primaluna, 21 watt Kinkless Tetrode, you need a Vitavox Air Partner and why ... WHY is the crummy Volti not good enough? Well ... just compare them. The Vitavox has no back emf problem.
Hi Steve, I was really looking forward to your review. I have a pair of Razz since last December, and I paired with a Leben CS600X and a Rega P10. Last system of my life. I absolutely adore it
Ive always loved horns. Paired with a tube amp, they are the definition of warm smooth sound. Not acurate or precise but like a bowl of Hagen Dass always satisfying👍
Steve , thank you for opening my eyes to this fantastic company. I shut your vid off when you said $7000. Greg reached out to me to come listen so I went to his website and quickly realized how wonderful these speakers are. I will go back and watch the whole vid again. Shame on me for having such a closed mind. The down side of researching these speakers is now I am no longer set on the La Scala's or Cornwall. Now, where do I get $45,000. ? Hmmm
The Volti speakers in Steve's review are not 'Horn Speakers' like high efficiency Lowther Voigt. Volti are basically disco speakers with the need for a disco type amplifier capable of handling a large back emf. What is a back emf? It's like a microphone sending a small voltage back the wires on its made by a high sensitivity speaker. The back emf would ruin sound unless the amplifier had a high Damping Factor. Fezz Siver Luna valves and tubes are no use for Volti. PS Audio knows that high sensitivity does not save a low power amplifier.
I have never been a fan of horn speakers ala Klipsch, etc. But, these really impressed me at Axpona. So much so I went back for a second listen. Unfortunately, outside of my budget at this time. But I will certainly be keeping my eyes open for a well priced used pair!
Thank you, Steve, for the great review. I missed these at AXPONA, unfortunately. The website is really great, especially the “Where to Hear” page that gets into a comparison between the Razz and Klipsch Forte.
First heard horn speakers in 1973 at a friend’s house. His dad had a Leak amp, Garrod 301/SME3009 arm with huge Lowther horn speakers. Amazing sound, very unique.
You make a good point for consumers . I really wanted to support a local company which I believe and still believe is a great company. I wasn't even that hung up on what is the best and greatest thing. They are just what the audio market needs and arrived just in time. However- the product I chose was back ordered and had an ETA of a couple of months. But- alas, by the time I bowed out it was more like 8 months. In all fairness, there were serious supply issues going on at the time. It wasn't their fault and I felt about that. But you can't be crazy and impulsive if you have time to think! They are still my heros.
Thanks for the review. Not sure I understand how this speaker sounds from your review though. I am a horn fan (own the JBL 4367) and agree that horns make compressed music better. Honestly they are just better than box speakers.
What I'd like to say is that Fezz Silver Luna Prestige are not for Volti speakers, they don't have a published Damping Factor because it's too low for high sensitivity speakers, it can't cope with back emf.
Never heard Volti Speakers,but I heard of their upgrades to Klipsch Belles,which I own.( Stock). But,going to create some interesting stuff. I still have 1960 Electrovoice Marquis,JBL L 53 Libras,with the very rare LE 14C Dual Concentric 14" drivers. two pairs of Klipsch Heresy,JBL 632A club speakers that never saw the outside.
In addition to lower distortion of horns what draws me to them is they sound so dynamic....the music really pops. I have a video titled "Horn Speaker Comparison JBL 2360, Altec 511b 811b, EV Electro Voice SM120a HP640, Yamaha S4115H" if you want to see the difference between how different horns sound.
These Voltis look a lot like a design I came up with and built four years ago to make my own version of a klipsch Cornwall. I think they must have has spies in my garage. I have them in my living room now.
Steve, been a fan and subscriber of yours for quite a while and want to say thank you for this insightful review. I retired to TN recently and wanted to assemble what will probably be my last Hi-Fi system. When it came time to decide what speakers to build my system around, I read all the reviews for speakers below the $10K mark, and as Volti was only 1.5 hours away from me contacted Greg Roberts for a demo. Greg invited me to his shop which is connected to his home for a tour and a listening session in his living room. I spent over 3 hours with him that day and based on what I saw and heard, placed an order for the Razz in a beautiful Rosewood with custom black and grey woven grill cloth. Greg is a true craftsman when it comes to woodworking and these cabinets are impeccable. Greg also discussed and assisted me with other pieces for the system including Cary Audio SLI-80 Heritage Series which can run triode or ultralinear, Zen Mini Mk3 Streamer, and Triode Audio Labs speaker cables. The sound I'm getting with the system at home is musical and alive. Steve, you said it best when you commented that these were fun. I worked in audio in the mid 80's and have been exposed to a lot of products costing thousands more, and have owned a lot of stuff over the years, but the Razz in my room is giving me the most enjoyment. That includes my wife and she is hard to please when it comes to sound and appearance. Sorry, this is a bit long. For those looking for speakers, I enthusiastically recommend you get in touch with Greg. You won't regret it.
Yeah you know, Tennessee, Klipsch, Volti and the Cary Audio SLI80 are uh ... very basic. The tube amplifier is no wide-band and was pure designed to use a sub-woofer, in this case operated from the wiper of its volume control, (yes really) so that we know, this is one of these modern takes on the old Audio Research 75 series used for you know, ordinary music, not classical, not the hi-end but they were mass-market, and in Tennessee, you know, the south with the crummy Fred Remington bronze on the fireplace, courtesy of the Franklin Mint, wow ... don't forget to mention the rosewood. The rosewood makes all the difference in the world.
Ive heard about Volti audio a couple years ago and i would like to hear them.They sound very excitingly because they rival Klipsh speakers..and thats saying alot.I envy your job..yes envious ! Bring it on.
Thank You! For pointing out the lower distortion of horn speakers! I rarely hear anyone mention this! Usually it's all about efficiency and ability to play loud. This is exactly what I like about Klipsch (Heritage series - newer two way designs not so much)! I live only about 85 miles from Volti. Wonder if they have a showroom there? I'd love to visit them.
Yes they do have a showroom. It is actually in Greg's home. I am an employee there and I assemble the crossovers. The phone number on the website goes directly to his cell phone. Not only will you get to demo the speakers, you will also get to tour the manufacturing facility.
Hey Ken, you know ... horns don't have lower distortion that's why ... you rarely hear anybody say it. There are huge round throat found in California -Edgarhorns that are low distortion but we don't hear distortion, it's inaudible, yeah I'll give you that again DISTORTION IS INAUDIBLE and rectangular horns are very distorted but very nice, I've Realistic Optimus X-100 most of my life. Klipsch La Scala (the Heritage Series) they used to be very cheap, they were CHEAP ... THEY WERE CHEAP but not anymore. No you need to look at Vitavox unless you're you know, a low earner living in a smaller place. Klipsch as a brand it has a ring to it like Ford, it would get you out of a hole but you know Klipsch and Volti are bad news.
Steve--how cool! I saw an album by the Del Fuegos behind the speakers. That's rare & cool. What a little-known but great band! From Pittsburgh, I believe. I, too, have some of their vinyl from decades ago (and a CD rip)...generally, decently recorded, straight-ahead rock & roll. Maybe you used them as a demo, so, lemme get back to your review!
The Klipsch has rather pedestrian components in the crossover and everything is crimped on spade connectors which are great for your car but… they could try harder.
Those inductors should be rearranged to prevent their fields from interacting with each other. They should be perpendicular to each other, so that they don't couple with each other. Maybe that is the reason for the wood. However, I hope that is not a metal screw in the middle of the inductors. They would be much better off being zip tied to the board and hot glued.
You needn't worry too much, because the inductors are perpendicular to any others that they need to be perpendicular to, and the threaded rod that goes down through is made of Nylon. I got this man!
@@voltiaudio You are correct, my perspective while looking at the boards was all wrong. Everything is perpendicular. Now, you really did it with the plastic bolts. Hat off, for that little detail detail. Really shows you care about the details. Any plans on offering upgrades or even higher end xovers ? Like copper bypass caps, premium caps, and foil inductors. Just out of curiosity. As you already seem to be at a really high level in parts quality. Kudos for that.
@@VIctorCarruyo No, no plans for higher end crossovers for the Razz. I'm pretty happy with the parts used and the build quality. It was only about two years ago that I made the change to having a mechanical connection between each component of the crossover. If you look closely, you'll see that the lead wires from each component are tinned and then mechanically connected with a tinned copper barrel, crimped under high pressure. Then each connection is backed up by solder. This little detail is much better than the way we used to do it - soldering each of the component wire leads to a solder post, often not even making contact with one another. So this means the signal from one lead wire to another was going though the solder post - and what was that post made of? Not copper! I made a lot of simple improvement like this in the build of the Razz crossovers and I'll be darned if it didn't actually make the speakers sound a little bit better. Thank you for your interest.
That Razz in yellow wood looks like the first large speakers I built as a teen. Using Radio Shack woofers, horn mids and tweets and the port in the front tall design. Strangely similar. However my version sounded like CRP.
But you know in the UK nobody listens to horns. They used to use Tannoy but they did sound nasal as Steve says was a 1980s thing and had a lot of matching issues. Tannoy ... who uses them?
@@keplermissionI had a pair of Lowther folded horns for a short time. Extraordinary clarity but very bass light for a big cabinet. UK rooms are, I guess, smaller than stateside.
@@keplermissionLots of people use Tannoys! I live in the UK and I have a pair of monitor gold Tannoy Lancaster speakers and they sound fantastic. Not quite as nice as my ESL-57's, but really nice.
@@martinscase3904 No ... Lowther aren't bass light, you know you were using the wrong amplifier, probably a Solid State or tube meant for medium sensitivity speakers. You know Steve is trying to make things easy for buyers, Hi-Fi was never easy, it was always you know, the rich and the intelligent people, not Len Lesser from the Bronx.
im not a hifi-freaq haha, buuut, i got my first horn speaker element a couple of weaks ago, and now i got two biiig horns with "nice drivers" for it, and damn, the dynamic sound of the horns is, well, im astonished. Didnt think you could get "good sound" out of horns, just LOOTS of sound out of a horn, my mind is nowdays turned, i want more!
Went to iTunes music and downloaded some of those Van Morrison’s. Love the afford that Razz but Van is really cooking, 45 songs for only twenty bucks. Thanks Steve.
I started out with Vandersteen 2c speakers in the late 1980s, currently have Mirage bi-polar speakers, but never lived with a horn speaker. Jazz and Classical music is my focus. So do you think the new Vandersteen 2ce Signature III would be a better choice than the Volti Razz?
Find a good used pair of Forte ii. Send the crossovers to Crites for a rebuild. Change the tweeters to Crites Titanium. Add dynamat xtreme sound deadening material to the midrange, tweeters and along the inside cabinet sides. Those modifications work so well a 3/4 watt 1626 darling tube amplifier will blow you away with full sound. And you'll save about $4,500.
havent heard many other horn speakers other than professional like function one, but a guy called patrick bateman has a bunch of open source 3d printable synergy horns and holy crap, takes a while to get used to horn loading but its actually incredible, would be awesome for some one with the MEH or Syntrip DIY designs available to send some in to you im sure synergy horn, especially being able to be printed will be the future of horns other wise quite complex to make, 3 way real point source in 1 horn but with the advantage of time alignment by depth/distance
A general question for comparison sake, and I apologize but I have not yet "Googled" this question hah! Anyway, how do these speakers compare to similarly (or maybe bargain?) priced JBL compression driver/horn speakers? For instance, I have the JBL Studio 530's for near-ish field listening, and JBL 590's for 2.2 channel music / HT-light listening. The studio 5 series have this magic to them where the sound is effortless, clear but not fatiguing, balanced, good sound stage, impactful but not overwhelming bass, almost flat FR, and provide effortless detail without seemingly coloring the source material too much. Not that I'm looking to replace my current setup, but I do have a certain fondness for compression driver/horn speakers. There is something about them that provides a certain detail, clarity, and effortlessness that is not present in other driver types to my ears. All that said, how do the Volti Audio speakers compare?
It's not an easy question to answer. There will be some characteristics that are similar and there will be some differences. Best thing to do is listen. You're welcome to come to my demo room in Baxter, TN.
Beautiful speakers and obviously very well designed. 1” birch wood ply…hell yeah! Checks off a lot of my boxes. Wouldn’t mind a bit higher impedance though. If a speaker were to replace my Tektons, I could see it be these. Thanks, Steve!
@@fts81 Felipe! Good to see ya out in the wilds of the interwebs. That’s awesome you own these. I’m sure it’s a match made in heaven with the Leben. I’d love to try these against my Tekton Pendragons. I love higher sensitivity speakers, and the impedance also has a large effect on how easily they’re driven, hopefully by a SE amp. Thanks Felipe!
A well designed horn speaker utilize an acustically neutral horn on top. That means that if you scream through it, it will sound louder but your voice essentially will sound the same. Problem with Volti is that its hard to get in Europe.
Are you familiar with Joseph Crowe Audio channel here on YT ? He designs some nice horns, goes in depth talking about them, shows test results etc, has affordable designs and high end, even sells plans with cross over designs for DIY ers, very knowledgeable fellah all round.
Remember this too, like it or not, when you hear "uncompression" you are hearing low distortion of the type that our ears *do* give about. I have to master on direct radiation speakers, but I will not listen to direct radiation speakers. Paul Klipsch had this figured out decades ago, but the drivers components and general knowledge did not allow the optimization that is possible now. Also, the dsp (conversion) is about to be undetectable. The day of the horn speaker has once again arisen.
Great review. What, if anything, do your Duet 15s do better than the Razz, and vice versa? For example, would you favor the Razz over the Duet 15s if the music had a horn section?
The Volti Razz is what we call a horn hybrid and it has a couple of horn mid and treble units grafted onto a rectangular ported disco woofer speaker. Volti Razz is not a horn-loaded design and it suffers the same problems as a box speaker. It's a domestic disco speaker and it needs a high Damping Factor amplifier. The Duet 15s are Open Baffle and have slightly lower sensitivity giving many cheaper amplifiers more scope to drive them. What is High Damping Factor? Well ... anything from 200 - 2000.
Interesting. I went from the Forte IIIs to the Duet 15s and prefer the no box sound, but had not considered damping factor as another reason I prefer the Duet 15s (if Fortes are disco too). I do occasionally miss the Fortes for brass heavy music, but that may just be my ears, system or room. Which is why I always hope Steve will include his reference Duet 15s in his reviews, but I imagine he has a lot on his plate.
@@rtbnyc You know ... no mention of the driving amplifier, just went from Klipsch Forte III to Duet 15s and uh ... left the amplifier gathering dust. Same old crummy inputs with a bad connection and faulty plugs and sockets. Ancient, worn out sources with flat components, change the speaker. How about that? New speakers need run-in - don't sell your old speakers!
@@keplermission You know I actually agree with most of the points you're making. BUT you do it in such a nasty, condescending, pissed off way. I expect your one of those that only pull this shit online because if you did this in the real world, somebody would have put some manners on you by now (and yes, I mean in a physical way) maybe STOP BEING A JERK eh ?
The problem for me , living north of your border, is hearing these and many other audio options, sure we get lots of British options and even French ones but the vast array available to you of native brands is often frustrating for me, would love to hear these but high end American options are just not available here. And I’m only on the other side of Lake Ontario
I know it’s a different price point but how would this compare with the fleetwood sound company speakers by OMA.. purely from a sound standpoint.. thanks and wonderful review as always Steve
Wow! An audiophiliac viewer system that is not obscure and is affordable! Something mass produced and available? I no longer need to search for something nobody else has ever heard of before.
@@yantrussart6584 I was looking at the turntable and the streamer and the speakers and the dac. There was a list of three or four things that most anybody could get or at least find.
My EV HR9040 midrange horns from the mid '70s sound fantastic to this day. With a mouth size of 38" x 18" they launch music into the room with amazing ease, energy and texture. Too big for most home listening rooms, however. They don't call them white whales for nothing!
Owner of Volti started out modifying Klipsch speakers and I think they didn't sound any better than the originals. I remember seeing him and his poster pulling Klipsch horns at audio shows. Cornwalls II owner.
Great review Steve , very interested in Volti , can you comment on this Keplermission viewer and his reactions to this review, he appears knowledgeable and set on contradicting the Voltis , you da man , again !
He took his comment down but makes entitled belly-aching replies to others positive comments. He must be an engineer that only hears what's on his PC and never the actual speaker, listening is subjective
Something about this review of the Razz speakers has sparked something in his head that he thinks is important for us to know. This is his open window to scream out of. Perhaps if he could tamp down the anger a bit and learn to communicate better, he might have willing ears listening.
I have no idea, but if it really matters to you I'm sure you could special order the one that you think is best. So with that in mind go ahead and buy the speakers!
It's room dependent as with any speaker. But they are front-ported, which makes placing near walls a lot easier than rear port or rear passive radiator.
My large 30 x 30 space is 15 ft high, so along with width and depth, I want speakers with a tall vertically extended soundstage, that fill the air above them with music. Would these Volti Razz do that?
A "tall soundstage" is not a thing you'll find in any particular speaker. Soundstage is an artificial construction done in the studio by the producer. It _might_ attempt to give a large presentation and some speaker / room / electronics combinations might present that better than others, but if height info wasn't put in the mix when recorded then it's impossible to get it afterwards and really you wouldn't want too, it would sound unnatural. I've found that the best image / soundstage is to be had with high quality small 2 ways, no more than 8 ft apart and at seated ear height and in a room like yours I'd add 2, that's two, large high quality subwoofers and all at least 3 ft from rear and side walls. Set the small speakers to cut off at say 150hz (so they're not straining trying to play low bass and fill in below that with the subs) Unless, you want to investigate the world of Ambiophonics or Ambisonics. These are 2 different ways to get a better, more realistic soundstage, invented in the early 1970's but both now undergoing a resurgence thanks to advances in DSP. (and both superior to Dolby Atmos and the other much hyped "surround sound" formats of today IMHO) If you read just the first paragraphs of the Wikipedia articles on each method it will give you an idea of if one or the other might be right for you. - good luck.
I lived with horn speakers, Klipsch Cornwall 3. I have to say I did not like them. I found the horn to be loud and fatiguing. They sounded good but after a half hour my ears felt like they were going to bleed. At low volumes I liked them but not when I cranked them up.. Ouch!
Not everyone likes the sound of horn speakers. Horns demand your attention the same way someone playing a saxophone in your living room would. Imagine sitting a few feet away from a drummer popping a snare drum. Your eyes would blink. Horns recreate that same thing, and that's not always a pleasant experience to everyone. I love it. Horns make listening to music time well spent for me. But others want a more laid back, softer sound, and that's just fine. Different strokes . . . .
Can anyone help me out my father had speakers in the mid-seventies to late 70s a 3 way speaker and it had an orange mid-range horn and it and I think it was seated the long ways up and down long ways does anyone have an idea
They may of been SpeakerLab Super 7’s…10’’ & 12’’ active woofers with a vertical mid range horn and an Electro Voice horn tweeter..not sure about the orange though..SpeakerLab was primarily a kit speaker company that had multiple horn arrays including a Klipschorn look a like..
I like to consider myself a patient person but 2 years or more to wait for a product is a lifetime to some in this hobby with how much they go through gear. As a company, with that ki d's waitlist, I would be stepping up my production (of course without compromising o yoir product). Which is easier said than done. Nice review of this speaker but that kinda $$$ for a speaker that looks like a kit or diy vide to it is a lot. I wish more was me ruined about the drivers. Are they made from sctraxh by the company? Built to their specs from another driver manufavters? Or modified existing off the shelf drivers? The crossover did look impressive as I don't see hardly anyone doing point Ito point wiring any ore. Unless your in the diy speaker building. Thanks for the review!
@@MegicMan sorry for the confusion. I was complementing the approach about build crossovers using point to point wiring. Using point to point wiring is widely believed to give the best sound. It's just so hard or impossible with some designs today. Thank you for chiming in! Terrific work !
@@MegicMan I do that with my diy audio amp builds from diy audio online. In the pass labs diy audio community we use most point to point and through hole parts like resistors, capacitors, the wiring for the power (point to point) ,and the input and output jacks. Some go crazy with different garages for the power, and input and output connections. Some use plain cheap high purity copper and some lo e to the the more expensive ptfe wire that can be bought on eBay etc in different gauges, etc. The diy mantra is use what you have on hand. If your build or design isn't to complicated and can do point to point wiring I would try it. For complex designs and circuits it can get messy and complicated. I hope this helps. I'm no expert and still learning myself !
I like most of his shirts. Some are superb. I have actually said to myself : I wish I could get a shirt like that. This is not one of them. I did not know his wife made them.
The Razz is a much more refined sounding speaker owing to the higher quality components used in them. They are also on the opposite ends of the scale of cabinet build quality - Klipsch being at the lowest possible quality level to still function as a speaker cabinet and the Razz possibly being the highest quality wooden speaker cabinet in the industry.
@@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac Ya im an idiot hehe...i was watching the video and here comes the answer right after i posted the question :) I have the Cornwall IVs . Thanks for the reply. Had I not bought the cornwalls these could be a consideration for sure. Speaking of which...would that LTA amp drive the cornwalls ? Seems like it has enough ooomph for some concert style listening
Steve was tactful in explaining this. The Cornwall has a larger scale in the bass. That does not mean however that the bass quality is good or accurate. The Razz is a much more refined speaker overall. Ask any Razz owner if they are missing anything in the bass of their music.
Thank You Steve for asking about the Crossover Network (surprised VOLTI is not using solid copper wire) as I am shocked with MANY brands (5 and 6 digits) with Cheesy Parts. Also like to Thank You mentioning the waitlist on the Decware Sarah (I ordered in January 2023) so maybe 2+ years.
First horn?, I mean at this price it wouldn't be my first horn. Although I don't mean that in a facetious manner, more just slightly cheeky. Granted I've heard some high-end horns such as Cessaro and in my opinion nothing beats the sound of a horn speaker, and I'm sure these are every bit as nice as you say
@@voltiaudioThat's most certainly a great way to look at it. I've never had the opportunity to hear your guys's speakers but I'm sure that there is nice as Steve and everyone else says they are. You know maybe you guys could send me a free pair and I'll check them out
Steve...why no comparison to the Pure Audio Projects or the LRS+ which would have given everyone a better insight into how the Razz do soundstage, bass, detail, imagining....more triangulation for your listeners.
i had Razz and now maggies 1.7i with mye stands and custom crossovers, you need some great amplification to run maggies at the levels that you would like now razz is very efficient and can be run with low powered tube amps and also it will take lot’s of power without sny problems, dynamics are great with Razz, soundstage is there, maggies are faster sounding, with my amp they sound pretty dynamic but cannot reach razz, totally different sound
I absolutely love my Volti Razz V2, they exceeded my Klipsch Chorus by leaps and bounds. My favorite speaker I have ever owned 🫶
so....are you saying they 'Eklipsched' them??
I'm so excited! My 1968 Cornwalls are coming out of storage and will be installed this weekend! I haven't heard them in 20 years.
Ohh how nice. Take ot slow so you dont burn anything up
Your 1968 Cornwalls are one year older than me 😅
You might need to replace some electrolytic caps if they're the original capacitors. If so, there's lots of better film caps available that will be an improvement. Old defective capacitors can cause damage to mids and tweeters.
@@bradearles9066 You're correct, generally, and I work on vintage audio gear for a living so that's how I know I know you're correct. However, Klipsch knew this too, back in the day, so that's why all the caps in those crossovers are either film caps or oil caps. No electrolytics.
@ScottGrammer thank you for that helpful information Scott. Very forward thinking on the part of Klipsch. I'm still a newbie in the horn world as an amateur DIY speaker builder. Have a pair of Altec 288C and 1003 horns and have drivers to build the JBL M2 which are said to be great horns and I'm looking forward to finding out. Enjoy those fantastic Klipsch of yours. I've only heard the big Klipsch a couple if times and I was very impressed by what I heard. Thanks again Scott.
I dare suggest that every audio component maker and distributer in the USA and Canada watch this YT channel. Probably some from Europe. How amazing is this channel ?
I stumbled upon Greg and his Vittora's at either the first or second Capitol Audio Fest and was blown away by the sound from a most unexpected new speaker designer. Back then, he still called Maine home and he did this great demo of him speaking through the midrange horn from a K-Horn (which he used to fix for folks) and then through his midrange horn. The K-Horn sounded honky while his sounded like a human voice. Very impressive. I jumped on the chance to buy a pair of his Razz speakers during COVID, and owned them for about seven months before I had to upgrade to the Rivals (thanks to a COVID canceled cruise vacation refund). I owned a pair of Forte III's ahead of the Razz and I can say the Razz a much more refined and engaging listen. For those complainning about the finish quality, I had the Bosse Cedar finish and it was stunning. My Rival SEs are next level with curved backs and matching external crossovers. And they sound even better than they look. Greg makes great speakers that are spectacular looking to boot. There is a reason that the Volti/Border Patrol/Triode Wire Labs room always get mentioned as one of the "Best In Show" wherever they exhibit.
I’ve enjoyed my Volti Rivals for past 3 years, and I absolutely love them. Better than same sized Klipsch. I have them powered by a 250 integrated Pass Labs amp, and the energy and excitement are remarkable. Plus, Greg is a craftsman and a pleasure to work with.
After reading the review of the Volti Rival speakers by Ken Micalef in Stereophile, I contacted Greg Roberts and bought a pair without ever hearing them. Basic birch cabinets, I love these speakers; they are a legacy product which will be passed on. Greg Roberts himself is a great person to deal with and he is truly involved with his customers, I can't say enough good about the speakers or the company. Primaluna power amp rated at 21 watts in triode mode gives all the power and volume ever required.
Yeah well how much are they paying you? Let me help you guys out and be on your journey with you. Volti Razz in Steve's review (not the Rival) you know ... Steve shows the X-over Hooray! But they don't show the rear of the woofer ... why not? Because you see that would take away from the sales pitch. Believe me if you want a speaker for your Primaluna, 21 watt Kinkless Tetrode, you need a Vitavox Air Partner and why ... WHY is the crummy Volti not good enough? Well ... just compare them. The Vitavox has no back emf problem.
@@keplermission Wow fellah, did the Volti guy steal your wife or shoot yer dog or somethin' ? 😄
@@englishsteve1465 Yeah, he's pretty angry over a set of speakers.
@@englishsteve1465 LOL I was wondering the same thing. Quite a bit of anger there.
Hi Steve, I was really looking forward to your review. I have a pair of Razz since last December, and I paired with a Leben CS600X and a Rega P10. Last system of my life. I absolutely adore it
Ive always loved horns. Paired with a tube amp, they are the definition of warm smooth sound. Not acurate or precise but like a bowl of Hagen Dass always satisfying👍
I heard a pair of Volti Vittoras with accompanying subs at a friends last Fall. Absolutely amazing!
Steve , thank you for opening my eyes to this fantastic company. I shut your vid off when you said $7000. Greg reached out to me to come listen so I went to his website and quickly realized how wonderful these speakers are. I will go back and watch the whole vid again. Shame on me for having such a closed mind. The down side of researching these speakers is now I am no longer set on the La Scala's or Cornwall. Now, where do I get $45,000. ? Hmmm
I've only heard Volti speakers at shows, but I've always been impressed by them. I'm glad that they got a proper review.
The Volti speakers in Steve's review are not 'Horn Speakers' like high efficiency Lowther Voigt. Volti are basically disco speakers with the need for a disco type amplifier capable of handling a large back emf. What is a back emf? It's like a microphone sending a small voltage back the wires on its made by a high sensitivity speaker. The back emf would ruin sound unless the amplifier had a high Damping Factor. Fezz Siver Luna valves and tubes are no use for Volti. PS Audio knows that high sensitivity does not save a low power amplifier.
Go away
@@keplermission
Have you actually listened to Volti speakers?
Ooooo, these look so cool, Steve! Would love to get a chance to listen to these. Thanks for another great one, Steve!
The plywood Is Baltic Birch very popular in hi-end cabinet building
I have never been a fan of horn speakers ala Klipsch, etc. But, these really impressed me at Axpona. So much so I went back for a second listen. Unfortunately, outside of my budget at this time. But I will certainly be keeping my eyes open for a well priced used pair!
Thank you, Steve, for the great review. I missed these at AXPONA, unfortunately. The website is really great, especially the “Where to Hear” page that gets into a comparison between the Razz and Klipsch Forte.
I always enjoy Steve's choices of products to review........... 🔈🔉🔊
Thanks for a great review Steve.
I've enjoyed commenting here, as I've had time to do so. Maybe a few too many, I hope you all don't mind.
First heard horn speakers in 1973 at a friend’s house. His dad had a Leak amp, Garrod 301/SME3009 arm with huge Lowther horn speakers. Amazing sound, very unique.
Nice choice for review Steve!! Watching now. Excited. 🎉🎉
You make a good point for consumers . I really wanted to support a local company which I believe and still believe is a great company. I wasn't even that hung up on what is the best and greatest thing. They are just what the audio market needs and arrived just in time. However- the product I chose was back ordered and had an ETA of a couple of months. But- alas, by the time I bowed out it was more like 8 months. In all fairness, there were serious supply issues going on at the time. It wasn't their fault and I felt about that. But you can't be crazy and impulsive if you have time to think! They are still my heros.
The unfinished option is such a cool idea. Added these to the must listen to list accumulating in my head.
Absolutely right ... I too associate Volti and Greg with good sounding rooms and an approachable demeanor.
Thanks for the review. Not sure I understand how this speaker sounds from your review though. I am a horn fan (own the JBL 4367) and agree that horns make compressed music better. Honestly they are just better than box speakers.
I'm lucky enough to own a pair of Volti Vittora and an Elf. Forever seakers, absolutely fantastic.
What I'd like to say is that Fezz Silver Luna Prestige are not for Volti speakers, they don't have a published Damping Factor because it's too low for high sensitivity speakers, it can't cope with back emf.
What I'd like to say is I hope you continue to Have Fun with your Volti speakers!
Yes Steve that's what I'm talking about that Volti-Razz looks the business inside and out!
Steve, I'm sure you will reach 250,000 subs very soon, you deserve it.
These were some of my favorite at Axpona. 🥰🥰🥰
Never heard Volti Speakers,but I heard of their upgrades to Klipsch Belles,which I own.( Stock). But,going to create some interesting stuff. I still have 1960 Electrovoice Marquis,JBL L 53 Libras,with the very rare LE 14C Dual Concentric 14" drivers. two pairs of Klipsch Heresy,JBL 632A club speakers that never saw the outside.
Super great review, Steve! I love big speakers and big speaker sound! My Forte IV's never disappoint! Would love to hear the Volta's someday!
What kind of amplification are you using with your Forte IVs?
@@johnvincent4048 my favorite amp on that rig is my Technics SU-G700. I also have a McIntosh MA252 up there.
In addition to lower distortion of horns what draws me to them is they sound so dynamic....the music really pops. I have a video titled "Horn Speaker Comparison JBL 2360, Altec 511b 811b, EV Electro Voice SM120a HP640, Yamaha S4115H" if you want to see the difference between how different horns sound.
These Voltis look a lot like a design I came up with and built four years ago to make my own version of a klipsch Cornwall. I think they must have has spies in my garage. I have them in my living room now.
Steve, been a fan and subscriber of yours for quite a while and want to say thank you for this insightful review.
I retired to TN recently and wanted to assemble what will probably be my last Hi-Fi system. When it came time to decide what speakers to build my system around, I read all the reviews for speakers below the $10K mark, and as Volti was only 1.5 hours away from me contacted Greg Roberts for a demo. Greg invited me to his shop which is connected to his home for a tour and a listening session in his living room. I spent over 3 hours with him that day and based on what I saw and heard, placed an order for the Razz in a beautiful Rosewood with custom black and grey woven grill cloth. Greg is a true craftsman when it comes to woodworking and these cabinets are impeccable.
Greg also discussed and assisted me with other pieces for the system including Cary Audio SLI-80 Heritage Series which can run triode or ultralinear, Zen Mini Mk3 Streamer, and Triode Audio Labs speaker cables.
The sound I'm getting with the system at home is musical and alive. Steve, you said it best when you commented that these were fun. I worked in audio in the mid 80's and have been exposed to a lot of products costing thousands more, and have owned a lot of stuff over the years, but the Razz in my room is giving me the most enjoyment. That includes my wife and she is hard to please when it comes to sound and appearance.
Sorry, this is a bit long. For those looking for speakers, I enthusiastically recommend you get in touch with Greg. You won't regret it.
Yeah you know, Tennessee, Klipsch, Volti and the Cary Audio SLI80 are uh ... very basic. The tube amplifier is no wide-band and was pure designed to use a sub-woofer, in this case operated from the wiper of its volume control, (yes really) so that we know, this is one of these modern takes on the old Audio Research 75 series used for you know, ordinary music, not classical, not the hi-end but they were mass-market, and in Tennessee, you know, the south with the crummy Fred Remington bronze on the fireplace, courtesy of the Franklin Mint, wow ... don't forget to mention the rosewood. The rosewood makes all the difference in the world.
Love mine as well, well said! 😁
@@danielmiller2860 Thanks for your comment. Like me, hope you enjoy these for many years to come! 😁
Rosewood makes me happy
@@keplermission I think you have stumbled into the wrong forum. Shouldn't you be over genuflecting at the alter of Amir?
How about a comparison with the Klipsch Forte IVs? The Fortes are about the same size as the voltis with 12” bass driver.
Ive heard about Volti audio a couple years ago and i would like to hear them.They sound very excitingly because they rival Klipsh speakers..and thats saying alot.I envy your job..yes envious ! Bring it on.
I'd love to hear a Luxman Class A integrated driving the Razz.
Thank You! For pointing out the lower distortion of horn speakers! I rarely hear anyone mention this! Usually it's all about efficiency and ability to play loud. This is exactly what I like about Klipsch (Heritage series - newer two way designs not so much)! I live only about 85 miles from Volti. Wonder if they have a showroom there? I'd love to visit them.
Yes they have a showroom right at Volti!
Yes they do have a showroom. It is actually in Greg's home. I am an employee there and I assemble the crossovers. The phone number on the website goes directly to his cell phone. Not only will you get to demo the speakers, you will also get to tour the manufacturing facility.
Hey Ken, you know ... horns don't have lower distortion that's why ... you rarely hear anybody say it. There are huge round throat found in California -Edgarhorns that are low distortion but we don't hear distortion, it's inaudible, yeah I'll give you that again DISTORTION IS INAUDIBLE and rectangular horns are very distorted but very nice, I've Realistic Optimus X-100 most of my life. Klipsch La Scala (the Heritage Series) they used to be very cheap, they were CHEAP ... THEY WERE CHEAP but not anymore. No you need to look at Vitavox unless you're you know, a low earner living in a smaller place. Klipsch as a brand it has a ring to it like Ford, it would get you out of a hole but you know Klipsch and Volti are bad news.
Steve--how cool! I saw an album by the Del Fuegos behind the speakers. That's rare & cool. What a little-known but great band! From Pittsburgh, I believe. I, too, have some of their vinyl from decades ago (and a CD rip)...generally, decently recorded, straight-ahead rock & roll. Maybe you used them as a demo, so, lemme get back to your review!
Thank you for your opinion on the Cornwall IV comparison, as this will most likely be my next upgrade. But, the Volti look sweet.
I am leaning toward the Cornwall also. Unless the audio store will deliver and set up a pair of La Scalas. I am 3 hours away so I doubt they will.
A real upgrade would be Volti Audio Rival speakers.
Volti offers delivery and setup
Great show Steve cheers
The Klipsch has rather pedestrian components in the crossover and everything is crimped on spade connectors which are great for your car but… they could try harder.
Those inductors should be rearranged to prevent their fields from interacting with each other. They should be perpendicular to each other, so that they don't couple with each other. Maybe that is the reason for the wood. However, I hope that is not a metal screw in the middle of the inductors. They would be much better off being zip tied to the board and hot glued.
You needn't worry too much, because the inductors are perpendicular to any others that they need to be perpendicular to, and the threaded rod that goes down through is made of Nylon. I got this man!
@@voltiaudio You are correct, my perspective while looking at the boards was all wrong. Everything is perpendicular. Now, you really did it with the plastic bolts. Hat off, for that little detail detail. Really shows you care about the details. Any plans on offering upgrades or even higher end xovers ? Like copper bypass caps, premium caps, and foil inductors. Just out of curiosity. As you already seem to be at a really high level in parts quality. Kudos for that.
@@VIctorCarruyo No, no plans for higher end crossovers for the Razz. I'm pretty happy with the parts used and the build quality. It was only about two years ago that I made the change to having a mechanical connection between each component of the crossover. If you look closely, you'll see that the lead wires from each component are tinned and then mechanically connected with a tinned copper barrel, crimped under high pressure. Then each connection is backed up by solder. This little detail is much better than the way we used to do it - soldering each of the component wire leads to a solder post, often not even making contact with one another. So this means the signal from one lead wire to another was going though the solder post - and what was that post made of? Not copper! I made a lot of simple improvement like this in the build of the Razz crossovers and I'll be darned if it didn't actually make the speakers sound a little bit better. Thank you for your interest.
That Razz in yellow wood looks like the first large speakers I built as a teen. Using Radio Shack woofers, horn mids and tweets and the port in the front tall design. Strangely similar. However my version sounded like CRP.
From someone in the UK,if i had a Hi Fi store,i would definitely stock them.❤
But you know in the UK nobody listens to horns. They used to use Tannoy but they did sound nasal as Steve says was a 1980s thing and had a lot of matching issues. Tannoy ... who uses them?
@@keplermissionI had a pair of Lowther folded horns for a short time. Extraordinary clarity but very bass light for a big cabinet. UK rooms are, I guess, smaller than stateside.
@@keplermissionLots of people use Tannoys! I live in the UK and I have a pair of monitor gold Tannoy Lancaster speakers and they sound fantastic. Not quite as nice as my ESL-57's, but really nice.
@@martinscase3904 No ... Lowther aren't bass light, you know you were using the wrong amplifier, probably a Solid State or tube meant for medium sensitivity speakers. You know Steve is trying to make things easy for buyers, Hi-Fi was never easy, it was always you know, the rich and the intelligent people, not Len Lesser from the Bronx.
Steve is 100 percent correct. I got an old pair of Forte 1s and I never went back.
im not a hifi-freaq haha, buuut, i got my first horn speaker element a couple of weaks ago, and now i got two biiig horns with "nice drivers" for it, and damn, the dynamic sound of the horns is, well, im astonished. Didnt think you could get "good sound" out of horns, just LOOTS of sound out of a horn, my mind is nowdays turned, i want more!
Went to iTunes music and downloaded some of those Van Morrison’s. Love the afford that Razz but Van is really cooking, 45 songs for only twenty bucks. Thanks Steve.
How they compare to Pure Audio Project Duo 15? These two are my favorite speakers and the prices are similar. Thanks
Great review. Thank you.
I heard them a few times at Axpona. They usually had a good sounding room.
I started out with Vandersteen 2c speakers in the late 1980s, currently have Mirage bi-polar speakers, but never lived with a horn speaker. Jazz and Classical music is my focus. So do you think the new Vandersteen 2ce Signature III would be a better choice than the Volti Razz?
I love those diffusers
The Del Fuegos? Awesome! As a Bostonian, I wholeheartedly approve.
This look like some DIY "Klipsch" projects I've seen around like the Cornscalas. Have you hears any succesful take on those? Just curious.
Nice crossover, nice speaker.
Find a good used pair of Forte ii. Send the crossovers to Crites for a rebuild. Change the tweeters to Crites Titanium. Add dynamat xtreme sound deadening material to the midrange, tweeters and along the inside cabinet sides. Those modifications work so well a 3/4 watt 1626 darling tube amplifier will blow you away with full sound. And you'll save about $4,500.
Il legno non è multistrato di bet ulla ma truciolare (segatura incollata)
The NUMBER #1 Audiophile Program in the Nation!
Always a pleasure! - m.
Thanks!
Wow old school real wood in the box it looks great.
Love mine too. Very hard to find faults.
havent heard many other horn speakers other than professional like function one, but a guy called patrick bateman has a bunch of open source 3d printable synergy horns and holy crap, takes a while to get used to horn loading but its actually incredible, would be awesome for some one with the MEH or Syntrip DIY designs available to send some in to you im sure synergy horn, especially being able to be printed will be the future of horns other wise quite complex to make, 3 way real point source in 1 horn but with the advantage of time alignment by depth/distance
A general question for comparison sake, and I apologize but I have not yet "Googled" this question hah! Anyway, how do these speakers compare to similarly (or maybe bargain?) priced JBL compression driver/horn speakers? For instance, I have the JBL Studio 530's for near-ish field listening, and JBL 590's for 2.2 channel music / HT-light listening. The studio 5 series have this magic to them where the sound is effortless, clear but not fatiguing, balanced, good sound stage, impactful but not overwhelming bass, almost flat FR, and provide effortless detail without seemingly coloring the source material too much.
Not that I'm looking to replace my current setup, but I do have a certain fondness for compression driver/horn speakers. There is something about them that provides a certain detail, clarity, and effortlessness that is not present in other driver types to my ears.
All that said, how do the Volti Audio speakers compare?
It's not an easy question to answer. There will be some characteristics that are similar and there will be some differences. Best thing to do is listen. You're welcome to come to my demo room in Baxter, TN.
Beautiful speakers and obviously very well designed. 1” birch wood ply…hell yeah! Checks off a lot of my boxes. Wouldn’t mind a bit higher impedance though. If a speaker were to replace my Tektons, I could see it be these. Thanks, Steve!
Hi Nick, I have those for 6 months, will never buy another pair of speakers again in my life. I love the Razz
@@fts81 Felipe! Good to see ya out in the wilds of the interwebs. That’s awesome you own these. I’m sure it’s a match made in heaven with the Leben. I’d love to try these against my Tekton Pendragons. I love higher sensitivity speakers, and the impedance also has a large effect on how easily they’re driven, hopefully by a SE amp. Thanks Felipe!
@@fts81that is what i said 2 years later I switched to maggies lol
@@dariuszsalamon9441 lol
@@NickP333 as Steve would say, this one has flesh to the bone lol
A well designed horn speaker utilize an acustically neutral horn on top. That means that if you scream through it, it will sound louder but your voice essentially will sound the same. Problem with Volti is that its hard to get in Europe.
Are you familiar with Joseph Crowe Audio channel here on YT ? He designs some nice horns, goes in depth talking about them, shows test results etc, has affordable designs and high end, even sells plans with cross over designs for DIY ers, very knowledgeable fellah all round.
they are solid and heavy shipping would be expensive
We ship overseas all the time. Razz are about $1,400.
Great review, Steve.
Remember this too, like it or not, when you hear "uncompression" you are hearing low distortion of the type that our ears *do* give about. I have to master on direct radiation speakers, but I will not listen to direct radiation speakers. Paul Klipsch had this figured out decades ago, but the drivers components and general knowledge did not allow the optimization that is possible now. Also, the dsp (conversion) is about to be undetectable. The day of the horn speaker has once again arisen.
Very cool! Never heard of Volti.
Good show Steve. I wonder how did these compare to your Pure Audio Projects? Thank you.
Great review. What, if anything, do your Duet 15s do better than the Razz, and vice versa? For example, would you favor the Razz over the Duet 15s if the music had a horn section?
The Volti Razz is what we call a horn hybrid and it has a couple of horn mid and treble units grafted onto a rectangular ported disco woofer speaker. Volti Razz is not a horn-loaded design and it suffers the same problems as a box speaker. It's a domestic disco speaker and it needs a high Damping Factor amplifier. The Duet 15s are Open Baffle and have slightly lower sensitivity giving many cheaper amplifiers more scope to drive them. What is High Damping Factor? Well ... anything from 200 - 2000.
Interesting. I went from the Forte IIIs to the Duet 15s and prefer the no box sound, but had not considered damping factor as another reason I prefer the Duet 15s (if Fortes are disco too). I do occasionally miss the Fortes for brass heavy music, but that may just be my ears, system or room. Which is why I always hope Steve will include his reference Duet 15s in his reviews, but I imagine he has a lot on his plate.
@@rtbnyc You know ... no mention of the driving amplifier, just went from Klipsch Forte III to Duet 15s and uh ... left the amplifier gathering dust. Same old crummy inputs with a bad connection and faulty plugs and sockets. Ancient, worn out sources with flat components, change the speaker. How about that? New speakers need run-in - don't sell your old speakers!
@@keplermission You know I actually agree with most of the points you're making. BUT you do it in such a nasty, condescending, pissed off way. I expect your one of those that only pull this shit online because if you did this in the real world, somebody would have put some manners on you by now (and yes, I mean in a physical way) maybe STOP BEING A JERK eh ?
The problem for me , living north of your border, is hearing these and many other audio options, sure we get lots of British options and even French ones but the vast array available to you of native brands is often frustrating for me, would love to hear these but high end American options are just not available here. And I’m only on the other side of Lake Ontario
Volti sells direct, and of course you can hear them at audio shows!
I am thinking of removing the spikes on my Infinity's and mabe placing them on a lazy susan. Those are some beautiful speakers.
I know it’s a different price point but how would this compare with the fleetwood sound company speakers by OMA.. purely from a sound standpoint.. thanks and wonderful review as always Steve
Wow! An audiophiliac viewer system that is not obscure and is affordable! Something mass produced and available? I no longer need to search for something nobody else has ever heard of before.
Just so you know, the Pathos amp is about 3.2k so depends on what you mean by affordable.
@@yantrussart6584 I was looking at the turntable and the streamer and the speakers and the dac. There was a list of three or four things that most anybody could get or at least find.
Thanks Steve 👍🏽
I would like you to review the Legacy Focus SE "BOX" speakers.
What makes it stands out from JBL's speaker? Lots of JBL's speaker are also horn speaker right?
Of course, JBL makes great horn speakers. Getting them in for review is another story
I really dig a lot of the JBL horn speakers. Different strokes
My EV HR9040 midrange horns from the mid '70s sound fantastic to this day. With a mouth size of 38" x 18" they launch music into the room with amazing ease, energy and texture. Too big for most home listening rooms, however. They don't call them white whales for nothing!
Hope they have a small room in PAF, Seattle next year!
Owner of Volti started out modifying Klipsch speakers and I think they didn't sound any better than the originals. I remember seeing him and his poster pulling Klipsch horns at audio shows. Cornwalls II owner.
Videos of Steve dancing with speaker; I'd watch that.
Another brand thats piqued my intrest for some time now.They come across to me as Klipsch heritage speakers "Done Right" !
Great review Steve , very interested in Volti , can you comment on this Keplermission viewer and his reactions to this review, he appears knowledgeable and set on contradicting the Voltis , you da man , again !
Thanks for watching! I think he took down his comment, I can't find it.
He took his comment down but makes entitled belly-aching replies to others positive comments. He must be an engineer that only hears what's on his PC and never the actual speaker, listening is subjective
Something about this review of the Razz speakers has sparked something in his head that he thinks is important for us to know. This is his open window to scream out of. Perhaps if he could tamp down the anger a bit and learn to communicate better, he might have willing ears listening.
So are the bolts/nuts holding the crossover inductors in place metal or plastic?
I have no idea, but if it really matters to you I'm sure you could special order the one that you think is best. So with that in mind go ahead and buy the speakers!
From their web page - The Razz can be placed against a wall - that is a big feature in today's market.
It's room dependent as with any speaker. But they are front-ported, which makes placing near walls a lot easier than rear port or rear passive radiator.
My large 30 x 30 space is 15 ft high, so along with width and depth, I want speakers with a tall vertically extended soundstage, that fill the air above them with music. Would these Volti Razz do that?
A "tall soundstage" is not a thing you'll find in any particular speaker. Soundstage is an artificial construction done in the studio by the producer. It _might_ attempt to give a large presentation and some speaker / room / electronics combinations might present that better than others, but if height info wasn't put in the mix when recorded then it's impossible to get it afterwards and really you wouldn't want too, it would sound unnatural. I've found that the best image / soundstage is to be had with high quality small 2 ways, no more than 8 ft apart and at seated ear height and in a room like yours I'd add 2, that's two, large high quality subwoofers and all at least 3 ft from rear and side walls. Set the small speakers to cut off at say 150hz (so they're not straining trying to play low bass and fill in below that with the subs) Unless, you want to investigate the world of Ambiophonics or Ambisonics. These are 2 different ways to get a better, more realistic soundstage, invented in the early 1970's but both now undergoing a resurgence thanks to advances in DSP. (and both superior to Dolby Atmos and the other much hyped "surround sound" formats of today IMHO) If you read just the first paragraphs of the Wikipedia articles on each method it will give you an idea of if one or the other might be right for you. - good luck.
I lived with horn speakers, Klipsch Cornwall 3. I have to say I did not like them. I found the horn to be loud and fatiguing. They sounded good but after a half hour my ears felt like they were going to bleed. At low volumes I liked them but not when I cranked them up.. Ouch!
Not everyone likes the sound of horn speakers. Horns demand your attention the same way someone playing a saxophone in your living room would. Imagine sitting a few feet away from a drummer popping a snare drum. Your eyes would blink. Horns recreate that same thing, and that's not always a pleasant experience to everyone. I love it. Horns make listening to music time well spent for me. But others want a more laid back, softer sound, and that's just fine. Different strokes . . . .
But I would say if you get the chance to hear a pair of Volti Audio horn speakers, you may come away with a different opinion of horns in general.
Can anyone help me out my father had speakers in the mid-seventies to late 70s a 3 way speaker and it had an orange mid-range horn and it and I think it was seated the long ways up and down long ways does anyone have an idea
They may of been SpeakerLab Super 7’s…10’’ & 12’’ active woofers with a vertical mid range horn and an Electro Voice horn tweeter..not sure about the orange though..SpeakerLab was primarily a kit speaker company that had multiple horn arrays including a Klipschorn look a like..
I would have liked to hear a comparison with a pair of Heresy’s.
I like to consider myself a patient person but 2 years or more to wait for a product is a lifetime to some in this hobby with how much they go through gear. As a company, with that ki d's waitlist, I would be stepping up my production (of course without compromising o yoir product). Which is easier said than done. Nice review of this speaker but that kinda $$$ for a speaker that looks like a kit or diy vide to it is a lot. I wish more was me ruined about the drivers. Are they made from sctraxh by the company? Built to their specs from another driver manufavters? Or modified existing off the shelf drivers? The crossover did look impressive as I don't see hardly anyone doing point Ito point wiring any ore. Unless your in the diy speaker building. Thanks for the review!
point Ito point wiring any ore.?
I make the crossovers for Volti. Any improvement suggestions are welcomed
@@MegicMan sorry for the confusion. I was complementing the approach about build crossovers using point to point wiring. Using point to point wiring is widely believed to give the best sound. It's just so hard or impossible with some designs today. Thank you for chiming in! Terrific work !
@@brandonburr4900
I checked out point to point soldering and I'm pretty sure that's what I'm doing. In your opinion, what would you do differently?
@@MegicMan I do that with my diy audio amp builds from diy audio online. In the pass labs diy audio community we use most point to point and through hole parts like resistors, capacitors, the wiring for the power (point to point) ,and the input and output jacks. Some go crazy with different garages for the power, and input and output connections. Some use plain cheap high purity copper and some lo e to the the more expensive ptfe wire that can be bought on eBay etc in different gauges, etc. The diy mantra is use what you have on hand. If your build or design isn't to complicated and can do point to point wiring I would try it. For complex designs and circuits it can get messy and complicated. I hope this helps. I'm no expert and still learning myself !
Are they as good as my Cerwin Vegas?
Awesome speaker review, Steve!!
Steve,I see you are stealing my bedspreads to make your shirts
Careful, his wife makes his shirts... and he likes them.
😅
I like most of his shirts. Some are superb. I have actually said to myself : I wish I could get a shirt like that. This is not one of them. I did not know his wife made them.
How would these compare to Forte IV?
I auditioned the Forte IV before purchasing the Razz, needless to say these blew the Forte IV out the water imo
The Razz is a much more refined sounding speaker owing to the higher quality components used in them. They are also on the opposite ends of the scale of cabinet build quality - Klipsch being at the lowest possible quality level to still function as a speaker cabinet and the Razz possibly being the highest quality wooden speaker cabinet in the industry.
Good to hear your discussion but why don’t you play some music on them to help give a better appreciation
How does this compare to Cornwall IV?
Talked about that in the video
@@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac Ya im an idiot hehe...i was watching the video and here comes the answer right after i posted the question :) I have the Cornwall IVs . Thanks for the reply. Had I not bought the cornwalls these could be a consideration for sure. Speaking of which...would that LTA amp drive the cornwalls ? Seems like it has enough ooomph for some concert style listening
I didn't hear that either. When I got to where Steve revealed the price of these speakers, I closed the video and opened a new one.
Steve was tactful in explaining this. The Cornwall has a larger scale in the bass. That does not mean however that the bass quality is good or accurate. The Razz is a much more refined speaker overall. Ask any Razz owner if they are missing anything in the bass of their music.
@@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac my apologies. I turned the vid off when you revealed the price. My bad.
Steve how is the deep bass.good,exceptional or average.
It's deep enough, in the 40 Hz range, but the quality and detail the bass is excellent for a ported design.
Thank You Steve for asking about the Crossover Network (surprised VOLTI is not using solid copper wire) as I am shocked with MANY brands (5 and 6 digits) with Cheesy Parts. Also like to Thank You mentioning the waitlist on the Decware Sarah (I ordered in January 2023) so maybe 2+ years.
Why is solid copper superior to multistrand?
@@peterlarkin762 I'm curious about that as well.
First horn?, I mean at this price it wouldn't be my first horn. Although I don't mean that in a facetious manner, more just slightly cheeky. Granted I've heard some high-end horns such as Cessaro and in my opinion nothing beats the sound of a horn speaker, and I'm sure these are every bit as nice as you say
Volti Audio horn speakers are not usually someone's first. They are often their last though.
@@voltiaudioThat's most certainly a great way to look at it. I've never had the opportunity to hear your guys's speakers but I'm sure that there is nice as Steve and everyone else says they are.
You know maybe you guys could send me a free pair and I'll check them out
Hi Steve! Are you going to review the new Schiit Urd?
Not sure, I reviewed a lot of their stuff. I want to take a break.
@@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac That is understandable. Thank you for answering my question and have a nice evening :)
Well, Volti prefers Triode Wire Labs cables.
Steve...why no comparison to the Pure Audio Projects or the LRS+ which would have given everyone a better insight into how the Razz do soundstage, bass, detail, imagining....more triangulation for your listeners.
i had Razz and now maggies 1.7i with mye stands and custom crossovers, you need some great amplification to run maggies at the levels that you would like now razz is very efficient and can be run with low powered tube amps and also it will take lot’s of power without sny problems, dynamics are great with Razz, soundstage is there, maggies are faster sounding, with my amp they sound pretty dynamic but cannot reach razz, totally different sound
Horns for me!