high-efficiency loudspeakers

@bache

What is the best high-efficiancy loudspeakers? If you have it, are you happy ?

Don’t know what’s the best out there, or to whom, but some of the better of the crop true high efficiency speakers (>95dB or, as suggested by poster atmasphere, even >100dB’s) could be something like Living Voice’s all-horn Vox Olympian + Elysian (horn subs)/Vox Palladium + Basso (horn sub), or Oswalds Mill Audio Imperia all-horn system (incl. horn subs) - all of which sits at 105dB efficiency, indeed what I’d call very high efficiency. These speaker systems cost a fortune, certainly the Living Voice iterations, and are what I’d refer to as statement products.

However, there’s a whole range of perhaps lesser known and generally much more affordable "sub-genre" of horn speakers, if you will, that also includes vintage models from Klangfilm like the Bionor, Euronor or the massive Eurodyn (hardly for domestic milieus), Western Electric models such as the 12a and 16a, Shearer horns, RCA, etc. and variety of DIY options - speakers that in some respects can (more than) hold their own against much more expensive, contemporary (and more readily known) brands and models. To achieve the fuller sonic potential I’d go all-in and opt for all-horn options (rather than hybrids), size and other practical concerns be damned; if you’re going after high efficiency don’t be coy or apologetic, and be prepared to re-think speaker-amp configurations completely.

My own speakers are Simon Mears Audio all-horn Uccello’s. They sport an efficiency of a measured 105dB, and are based on the Klipsch Belle model (apart from a slightly tweaked bass horn flare everything else is different, and better, and the speakers are hand-build by a true artisan from scratch). And to answer your question, yes, I’m happy with them - very much indeed. I suspect in the future to wring even more potential out of them with a 300b-based SET (~7 watts), build by an associate of Mr. Mears who’s very knowledgeable with the sound of the Uccello’s, and possibly - if practical circumstances permit - the addition of a pair of horn subwoofers (build by Mr. Mears) in the future as well. As is they are very capable in my setup, and gather I’m off the merry-go-round in this department for years to come.

@phusis 
This speakers is huge. WAF-is almost zero

@bache

This speakers is huge. WAF-is almost zero

I’m not aware if you’re referring to any particular of the mentioned speakers, but yeah most of them are not necessarily what you’d call spouse-friendly :) I’d wager though there may be exceptions with speakers like the ones I’m referencing, being that horn speakers usually look very different, sometimes even sculptural compared to many of the more typical, direct radiating speakers, and so even being rather humongous at times they can find an unexpected approval among women simply for not looking like the usual square box, but instead like a piece of furniture or just.. well, intriguing. And that for being more or less unapologetically functional..

Actually this is an interesting and rather telling development from the outset of your question, where you inquired on high efficiency speakers and the best of their kin - sans proviso, certainly implicitly by not articulating any - and eventually the obstacle to overcome is: size. Perhaps a provocative takeaway from this would be for it to work as an analogy for the speaker industry at large; the outset initially was to achieve High Fidelity (the hidden issue to later materialize appears to be whether the reference to strive for is external, or one chiefly created around itself), but eventually the need for convenience and cost prevailed, and the rest, as they say, is history.

@bache Please be aware I’m not in any way at odds with your inquiry. I’m just using it to poke around ;)

You really want high end and ultimate efficiency?  The James B Lansing corner horns of the late 50's can't be beat.  The ones that have a chance for stereo placement in typical rooms are the C-34 "Hartsfields".....rear-loaded horns that do alright away from the corners (although corners are better).