Are Lowthers a "full range listening" speaker?

Best to listen for yourself. Since you have "broad" musical tastes, which include rock, a Lowther based speaker is not the best choice.

One of the best Lowther speakers I've heard were the Rythyms, which use a modified DX-4. I thought the speakers were hooked up to subwoofers. On the best recorded material it sounded fabulous, but on music with heavy electronic bass or music with many instruments playing simultaneously, things started to unravel. Thin and poorly recorded music were unlistenable.

The Voigt pipes that I've heard did not go down to 40Hz. Or if it did it must have been -9db. The sound was immediate and transparent, albeit with a tizzy treble. I would not build the Voigts without TWL's wings as it addresses the baffle step loss.

Check out the full range driver website and high efficiency speaker forum @ audioasylum.

The only experience I have are with my own Lamhorns with DX-3 Lowthers and a friend's Beauhorns with I believe, EX-4. Both systems have high quality subs. Based on this, I disagree with Ultrakaz' observation that they are not the best choice for rock. Both of these systems are capable of very high SPL and do not "unravel." Quite the opposite.

As for poorly recorded music being unlistenable, you can't have it both ways. If your system hides the flaws in poor recordings it will also hide some of the beauty in good ones. I would rather the best be better and the worst be worse than everything sounding mediocre

I guess if rock was all I wanted then I might go with a multi-driver, mega-watt setup, but Eclectic listens to a wide range of music and I think this is the way to go.

One thing to consider with AER drivers, and the reason I went with Lowthers, is that the AER driver was only available in 16 ohms. Perhaps this has changed since I bought mine, but a 16 ohm speaker limits your choice of amplifiers since many SET amps don't have 16 ohm taps. I had a Wavelength amp at that time with 4 and 8 ohm taps. Gordon Rankin was very adamant about using a matched speaker with his amp to obtain best performance.

Hey, you guys, this is more great information. Thanks, TWL for another detailed answer. Much of the technical stuff is over my head -maddeningly so, because I would like to understand it. But that is just inspiration to pursue an old facination with knowing what makes sound work and read more as I revive my dormant interest in audio. (My live music listening doesn't need reviving, but I don't by any means enjoy live world class music all the time)
I have been reading numerous other interesting posts on the web, regarding horns mostly, and note two Lowther clubs/shops in Canada that for some reason escaped me till now. Looks like a small but growing trend happening with this, including I think, Dgclark above.

Thanks Jimyork, Ultrakaz, Herman for your experiences and opposite speculations on suitability of Lowthers for Rock. All are helpful. I know from the past that different people will listen to Rock on really different systems and prefer it that way--ESL 63 to Klipsch. I will have to find out for myself, and if the back horn/pipe design didn't work, I could keep the drivers and go Oris perhaps. It doesn't seem like the outlay is beyond me for a set of drivers (probably not the top Lowthers or AER--too expensive for now, and a bit much to invest "sound unseen") My tastes are indeed eclectic-recently listened to Ravi Shankar(Inside the Kremlin) with singers, orchestra, and ensemble of traditional Indian instruments, Van Morrison, Oliver Mtukudzi(Zimbabwean music, favorite of Bonnie Raitt) in one evening! Carmina Burana, and Loreena McKennitt not far behind. It would be so much easier to like just one thing, but I could never do that. I would say that midrange quality matters the most to me, transparency and natural timber, but not at the expense of no dynamics, or really limited listening levels. Bass is great, but if you can't have everything.....

Herman, how did the Lamhorn and Beaumarks compare? Does anyone know if either of these designs, or the Carfrae for that matter, are available anywhere, or is that proprietary knowledge a closed door? The cabinetry doesn't throw me off as I have a reasonable wood shop in my basement. Hedlunds are a very esthetically attractive idea, but TWL's Voights perform very satisfyingly to him and seem a better starting point. And who knows, maybe a finishing point!

Some very good points have been brought up, and Herman has pointed out a very important thing about the 16 ohm load on the AER. You have to get a driver with a good match.

As for the Voigt Pipes, what you suggested is exactly what I did with mine. I thought that I should at least get the drivers and start out with an inexpensive enclosure. This would allow me to get my feet wet, and start the lengthy break-in of the drivers right away. I could then evaluate the performance, and if I decided to move to a better cabinet, I could just switch my drivers into them later. I think that this is a good path to take. As it turns out, I have not had the desire to upgrade cabinets yet, but I may do that in the future. But now my drivers are broken-in, and they are sounding good, even in my Pipes. So if and when I decide to make a move to an upscale cabinet, I can start out with the drivers already broken-in, and enjoy the improvement immediately.

Comparing the 2 is very difficult because they are used with completely different electronics, cables, and rooms. That said, they are much more alike than different. Both full range, extremely dynamic, and just a pleasure to listen to. My Lamhorns image better but that could be a matter of setup and/or the rooms.

I had the same problem in that I had no way to hear the different possibilities and I was exploring the DIY route due to limited funds. Luckily, just after I had made the decision to get some type of Lowther/SET setup, I came arross some dealer demo Lamhorns that were not quite the latest version so I got a very good deal and the decision was basically made for me. As you search the various Lowther sites you will see many different cabinet designs and I have no way to guide you to a particular one. I can only vouch for the 2 I have heard and recommend them highly if you have the cash.

I just got a message from an amp designer friend who says he will showing some amps in conjuction with Lowther America at the Stereophile show in June in San Fransisco. That would be a good way to get a taste of what is available.