Are Lowthers a "full range listening" speaker?


To TWL: (or anyone else)- I am intrigued by the concept of back-loaded corner horns because when I used to own a pair of Quad 57's all I could think was that the sound was basically perfect if only they would go much louder, deeper, and a bit higher! My very broad tastes includes a lot of music which is delivered in concert through electric amplification, not merely just rock, but also Loreena McKennett, and even performers at folk festivals, world beat, etc. Live performance in this case is not the same as the symphony at all, from what my ears tell me in 8th row center, or the middle of the field!. I couldn't say which music I am more prepared to lean away from if I have to, but a former pair of Klipch Cornwalls, while fun at times, were way too forward and overbearing most of the time. It would be nice to be happy with both electric and acoustic presentations.

So I am wondering (after all the above) if from your own experiences you regard the Lowther type as the ticket for broad listening, since its unlikely anytime soon that I will hear them. (I know, I know---no one can answer except to their own tastes).

After following TWL's postings and others on the subject of full range reproduction, I am curious about a few things:

Have you heard the AER and the very expensive Reps and do you find huge sonic differences? Which AER? Are you thinking of parting with an extra grand (or more) for the upper end drivers anytime soon?

Also-TWL- have you heard the Oris horns and what do you think compared to your own rig? I note that Bert Doppenberg, in a discussion posting, said he no longer finds back horn set-ups the best, due to unacceptable frequency colourations and lack of low bass (though he once loved them) and even less so with Lowther drive units, which he says are inferior to his own version of AER. BD seems to be suggesting that Oris horns and full range drivers coupled to separate bass enclosures is the way to progress from back loaded horns, though at a significant cost, to be sure.

A more affordable project to me would be along the lines of the AER?/Hedlunds. Do Lowther/Voight Pipes sound similar?

Thanks!
eclectic
I think the short answer to your question is "no". You cannot expect a Lowther system to reproduce the lower octaves unless you have extremely large cabinets. That said, I find that coupled to a good subwoofer to handle the lower frequency extremes, one of these systems will provide one of the most musical listening experiences possible. I was on a continuous upgrade path until I discovered the glory of a Lowther/SET system with a high quality sub. I know it is a matter of taste since all sytems are compromised to some extent, but it works for me.
Herman is so right! So as Lowther based system, even without the SUB. Much closer to the 'real thing' than any conventional set-up. Why? Dunno, even with many obvious faults Horn (folded)/ SET is as good as you can get. Check the official Lowther web-site, and you can see numerous Lowter based plans. I listened Beauhorn Virtuoso, and i am convinced that 80hz is enough. For me!
Herman and Eldragon: Guess I should clarify~question refers to a full range of music, not frequency response. Thanks for comments. What kind of sub, and did that help mainly rythmic drive? Getting ahead of myself, but.....
I would say that if you mean "fullrange" to include the lowest octave(20Hz-40Hz), the answer would be no. But for my tastes, I would say that the Lowther/Voight Pipe system I have is quite satisfactory for "broad listening". I have not had any extended listening exposure to the BD AER or Reps-1 drivers or systems, so I cannot really give you insight into those systems, although I think they also have good merit, but are still limited to similar frequency range as Lowther. Since the new series of Lowther drivers have improvements in key areas over previous models, any advantages that may have been attributable to AER or Reps is now negligable in my opinion. Any of these brands will provide very nice crossoverless sound in a good cabinet design. They will play quite loud with low wattage, and give extraordinarily good sound quality and detail. At this time, I am very satisfied with the sound I am getting from my Voigt Pipes, and am not looking to change drivers in the foreseeable future.

I have not considered the Oris horns at all because they do not fit my requirement for single-driver system. Also, I am not a fan of front loaded horns, although I have heard good reports of the Oris not being as "honky" as most. The real disqualifier for them to me, is the multi driver arrangement. Many people feel that the extension into the bottom octave is worth having the crossover and extra drivers in the system. I don't feel that way. I prefer the coherence and point source of a single driver crossoverless system, and am willing to accept the 40Hz lower limit. That is just my personal preference. Nothing is perfect, and I would prefer seamless coherence in 90% of the spectrum, than to sacrifice that to get the lowest 10% of the least used area of the spectrum. Others, no doubt, feel differently. Obviously, I would like to have it all, but that is not possible at this time from a fullrange cone driver. Soundlabs provides single-driver planar that reaches deeply into the bottom octave, but requires a high power amplifier, and this requires a trade-off in that area. I feel that for my needs, which include a very wide variety of music, that the Lowthers with my SET ZOTL 45 amp provides the maximum transparency and coherence for my music, with the least objectionable trade-offs for me. This is considering everything together as a package. To go with any other method, would require either a higher power push-pull amp, or crossovers and multi-drivers, or both. Or possibly even a bi-amp system. All of these alternatives create problems that I consider to be more deleterious to the musical presentation than the lack of 20 cycles of response in the bottom octave. I am getting a very solid 40Hz lower cutoff, and many speakers that claim full range are actually rolling off around there anyway. The vast majority really only will get to the lower 30s, even if they claim lower. When you try to integrate a subwoofer, there are loads of problems that are the subject of endless threads on this forum. So "you pays your money, and you takes your chances" as the carnival barkers say. I'll stick to the path of least interruption and corruption of the signal. If that means I have to give up a few cycles in the bottom end, so be it.

Regarding the Hedlunds, I have the plans on hand to make them, but they are a true rear horn, where the Voigt Pipes are not. Voigt Pipes are a combination of rear horn, transmission line, and bass reflex. This big knock on the Voigt Pipe is the comb-filtering effects created by the interaction of the port and the direct radiating driver. In practice, I have not found this to be a problem in my system. My Pipes are modified for improved wave-launch and acoustical baffle-step compensation. Perhaps this has mitigated the problem, but I don't have any noticeable comb-filtering effects with my system. All systems are a compromise, and I tried to provide the cleanest, most direct signal path that I could, and powered it with a SET OTL amp that is not even available, and had to be custom built by the only person that can build one, David Berning. The match seems to work quite well. If a person wants to modulate the walls with high SPL subsonic bass, then this is not the system to choose. If a person wants to have the least interference and corruption of the musical signal during playback, then this is a very enjoyable route to take. To each his own.