Totally agree about the current price, got mine before their big price jump. I tried them in a TL similar to Scott's Obelisks, they sounded good but didn't pack the punch, or go as low as the horn. As for Loathers, I can't comment, never heard one.
Had to laff at the (hopefully unintended?) spelling correction on brand name in your last sentence - you know, as in you either luv ‘em or don’t.
The only Lowther systems I’ve heard were a series of various “pro” designs at several VSAC audio shows between 2001 and 2008, and while all had some interesting characteristics- an early Rethm design with highly modified Lowther delivered almost electrostatic like speed and transparency- overall I they either left me cold, or drove me from the room. Something about a pair of front horn loaded FR drivers and 15” ported woofer in an 300sq ft hotel room just didn’t quite gel. Yep, they’d play louder than frack, but when demoed thus lacked subtlety and nuance at which some of the breadbox sized FR systems excelled.
The only Lowther systems I’ve heard were a series of various “pro” designs at several VSAC audio shows between 2001 and 2008, and while all had some interesting characteristics- an early Rethm design with highly modified Lowther delivered almost electrostatic like speed and transparency- overall I they either left me cold, or drove me from the room. Something about a pair of front horn loaded FR drivers and 15” ported woofer in an 300sq ft hotel room just didn’t quite gel. Yep, they’d play louder than frack, but when demoed thus lacked subtlety and nuance at which some of the breadbox sized FR systems excelled.
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I'd be quite tempted to pick up a Lowther just to try it out, there's enough said about them to raise my curiosity and the only real way to find out is to get one. I don't see myself being happy with the bass from a horn speaker, as I couldn't accept the size needed to realize adequate extension so for the most part I would use a Lowther in a 2-way set-up.
The only Lowthers i have ever hear. Back when we 1st started building speaker enclosuresordered PM6A from Wilmslow and we put them in Acoustas (make from K3 particle board). Then we drove them with an SCA80 (truly a terrible amp). They played lous and sounded bad (to be expected in retrospect).
dave
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Lowthers certainly do not work always and for everyone, however with my latest SE EL84 amp they just sound even better than before. I wonder if a 300B amp would be even better
how do you find the bass performance to be in those horns ?
There is not much bass to speak of. For some things it is not a big deal, but for true enjoyment, some sort of bass unit is needed. I temporarily use 15 inch OB woofer for LF augmentation, for the final system I plan to use multiple sub setup since they can be concealed somehow in the room. I find the low end of any FR speaker not satisfactory, but Fane 12" FR comes really close to acceptable in a large box.
About Lowthers
I initially "adopted" a set of Lowther DX2 in Hedlund Horns, and subsequently traded up from DX2s to DX4s. The DX4s were excellent in Hedlund Horns.
I then purchased the plans for Basszilla speakers and put the DX4s into Basszilla open baffle speakers. The Basszilla speakers delivered an improvement in transparency over the backhorns, but with cost of less bass. Lowthers in open baffles are outstanding in sonic quality.
I was able to use the Lowthers in a larger room, so I moved to front waveguides (conical horns) for Lowthers which requires other speakers below 500 hz. The efficiency of the Lowthers increased from 95 or 96 db/watt in open baffles to about 101 db/watt in the front waveguides. The quality of sound is outstanding. An audiophile friend of mine used Lowthers in front horns, and a shootout between Lowthers in Tractrix horns and Bruce Edger midrange horns using compression drivers, and most of those there preferred the Lowthers.
To successfully use Lowthers, one must be willing to tweak them, adjust their crossovers and play with different diffusers - they are not plug and play. Also, it is important to know the different Lowther types for the different speakers that could be matched with them. Without these considerations and adjustments, I can understand why people have such negative opinions about them. One can debate whether Lowthers are worth their high purchase price, but if implemented well, it is difficult to argue that there is not something special about their sound.
Retsel
I initially "adopted" a set of Lowther DX2 in Hedlund Horns, and subsequently traded up from DX2s to DX4s. The DX4s were excellent in Hedlund Horns.
I then purchased the plans for Basszilla speakers and put the DX4s into Basszilla open baffle speakers. The Basszilla speakers delivered an improvement in transparency over the backhorns, but with cost of less bass. Lowthers in open baffles are outstanding in sonic quality.
I was able to use the Lowthers in a larger room, so I moved to front waveguides (conical horns) for Lowthers which requires other speakers below 500 hz. The efficiency of the Lowthers increased from 95 or 96 db/watt in open baffles to about 101 db/watt in the front waveguides. The quality of sound is outstanding. An audiophile friend of mine used Lowthers in front horns, and a shootout between Lowthers in Tractrix horns and Bruce Edger midrange horns using compression drivers, and most of those there preferred the Lowthers.
To successfully use Lowthers, one must be willing to tweak them, adjust their crossovers and play with different diffusers - they are not plug and play. Also, it is important to know the different Lowther types for the different speakers that could be matched with them. Without these considerations and adjustments, I can understand why people have such negative opinions about them. One can debate whether Lowthers are worth their high purchase price, but if implemented well, it is difficult to argue that there is not something special about their sound.
Retsel
Ha! Ask the guys at Lowther how the Eikonas sound, after all the first batches of Eikona came from their factory.
I guess they became so jalous with the sound that Ted Jordan, despite his personal interest in "proudly build in UK", had finally to resign again to fall into danish hands...
Sorry to jump into the thread, but to dispel an often-repeated myth:
Ted announced that he was working with Lowther at one point but it didn't come to anything. The Eikona 1 was not made by Lowther, but was made in the UK. The inability of the company concerned to ramp up production to meet demand led to the move to produce the Eikona 2 with Scan-Speak. It was not the cheapest option but definitely the highest quality.
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I've heard a pair of Lowthers used in one of their reflector enclosures (a corner horn of some sort (possibly the Dual Position Acousta from the 1960s) and thought it sounded very good. it was being used in a Russ Andrews dem to show how good older equipment could sound, given appropriate matching equipment.
I've heard a pair of Lowthers used in one of their reflector enclosures (a corner horn of some sort (possibly the Dual Position Acousta from the 1960s) and thought it sounded very good. it was being used in a Russ Andrews dem to show how good older equipment could sound, given appropriate matching equipment.
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