Talon Loudspeakers

Dear Bookner, Thank you for your kind and complete response to my post. You went out of your way explaining the occurrences. It may have been my mistake, but I thought that I was very clear in letting you know that you were listening to the Khorus' at less than ideal conditions. One would assume that the President of Talon would have a well conditioned pair of speakers. I tend to be very accomodating to my customers and dealers demands and I am often left without speakers. I am,however, very insistent that my designer's speakers remain in place so we can have consistent R&D. I appreciate your willingness to listen to the Khorus' again under better circumstances. We will have a showroom available to customers at the end of October for auditioning. We will offer assistance with the system and allow the customer to play the music they choose and the volume levels they wish. At this time you will be able to listen at your leisure and offer comments under proper conditions. I would like you to post them whether good or bad, everyone has a right to their opinion. Audio is exciting because we can decide for ourselves what we feel is right. Happy Listening, Mike

I'll agree with you that they sound remarkable on the Rowlands and the designer Tierry informs me they work wonderfully on the Electocompaniet. I however most enjoy them on My 3Watt Bottlehead Paraglows with Vaic Meshplate 2A3's. While I am limited in absolute SPL's I am not in sheer enjoyment. On most of what I listen to, smaller baroque ensembles, Irish & Scottish Folk, Alternative Female Vocalists and such the volume in just fine. A bit more efficiency or power would be nice on larger scale stuff. However I do not find any solid state or push pull design has the kind of air and timbral interity that these little amps posses. And talk about emotion in my room it is absolutely palpable. The combination of triodes and talons is superlative beyond description. I have had more than one friend comment on how amazingly good my sound is even in the lower frequencies. Yes 3Watts with these gives me solid extended bass with a sense of upper harmonics beyond anything I have heard including the Rowland of these. Db for DB I'll put this combo up against anything. The new cobalt alloy output trannies from Magnequest(They are all sold now) should take these qualities significantly further. I have mine on order. I have been toying with the idea of running Bottleheads best 300B with the soon to be meshplate 300B's on a passive Roc to increase my headroom and dynamics. After a discussion with Tierry I may instead simply go with a powere Roc. Clements discussion concerning the Roc with the Khorus was quite convincing and has me stocking up the piggy bank again. Wow what a hotbed of controvesy this thread has and is creating here. Too bad some of the respondents have not heard the Khorus in a proper setting or under the right conditions. To hear them is to love them. To live with them is to eschew all else. jgw(James W. on the Assylum and Soundstage)

All I can say is that with a well designed 2A3 running the meshplate Vaic that you can breathe the air of the recording venue. Much better than even the Vaic Monoplates and I suspect even the legendary Cunningham Monoplates. Talk about liquidity, flow, and emotion. And the bass will still be solid, extended and even more airy in the upper bass. You will hear a sense of harmonic that you have never experienced. I suspect 95 or 96 db is the maximum SPL but it will sound so good you won't care. The Khorus are equally resolving at low levels. The combo with good low powered SET's is the most musically satifying experience I have had short of hearing Mrs Anthony Rooley (Emma Kirkby) and the Academy of Ancient Music live at the Ambassador auditorium a few years back. Try it, James W.

Mike@Talonaudio.com: I'll look forward to hearing the Khorus again in November, perhaps even after I get COMDEX behind me. And if, you want, I can report my view here. Stay tuned.

You are kidding yourself if you think that a 2A3 can power the Talon's effectively. Yes you will get sound from them, but you will not discover what the true SET sound is all about. The Talons are not efficient enough. Most dynamic speakers are not. Add in a big ole guitar woofer, inefficient X-over and you will kill the SET sound. You need horns to make a SET sound good. A 845 based SET might be a good match as they provide 20 - 40 watts and can handle a wider impedance load. You are better off looking for a better speaker to use with a SET amp. Actually a better speaker, period. Fred