Tobian Sound Systems are very excited to announce the ultimate Horn System - the 12 Signature

[Polyrhythm9]

After hearing the Tobian 12 FH speaker- I can very confidently tell you that these speakers are other worldly when compared to other more conventional speakers.

I have Magico S3 mk 2 and it easily offered much more detail and resolution, and much more musicality.
I heard the latest Magico S3, B&w Signature and a high end ribbon speaker on the same day.
While all are great speakers, they just sound veiled in comparison to the Tobian. You must hear them to believe it.

 

[SeagoatLeo]

After hearing the Tobian 12 FH speaker- I can very confidently tell you that these speakers are other worldly when compared to other more conventional speakers.

I have Magico S3 mk 2 and it easily offered much more detail and resolution, and much more musicality.
I heard the latest Magico S3, B&w Signature and a high end ribbon speaker on the same day.
While all are great speakers, they just sound veiled in comparison to the Tobian. You must hear them to believe it.

You mention Magico, B&W speakers which to me are dull and dead sounding, unmusical in acoustic music reproduction. That's why I chose Von Schweikert VR9 SE Mk2s. They are emotionally involving. I don't even have the beryllium tweeter and ceramic drivers that are faster and have greater resolution. The Tobian 12 FH speaker on YouTube sounds superior to Magico, B&W, Wilson in emotional appeal. Their $37,000 price tag seems a bit high, possibly because they are manufactured in Switzerland?

 

[Polyrhythm9]

I've read a lot of great things regarding Von Schweikert- but haven't had an opportunity to listen to them yet. I think part of the challenge (for me) is being unexposed to brands other than the larger name brands that shops tend to carry--here bigger is not always better I suppose.

I'm left scratching my head in awe as to how these Tobian speakers put out so much more detail/resolution in music. They are horn speakers - which, up until now, I never really considered.

Yes, while not cheap, if the price was $137k- I may have thought- oh, ok - next level sound with a high price tag to go with it. It would take me out of the market for them at $137k though!

I would highly recommend giving this brand a listen-especially people who want to hear every last detail in their music.

 

[adrianywu]

I've read a lot of great things regarding Von Schweikert- but haven't had an opportunity to listen to them yet. I think part of the challenge (for me) is being unexposed to brands other than the larger name brands that shops tend to carry--here bigger is not always better I suppose.

I'm left scratching my head in awe as to how these Tobian speakers put out so much more detail/resolution in music. They are horn speakers - which, up until now, I never really considered.

Yes, while not cheap, if the price was $137k- I may have thought- oh, ok - next level sound with a high price tag to go with it. It would take me out of the market for them at $137k though!

I would highly recommend giving this brand a listen-especially people who want to hear every last detail in their music.

Not a surprising reaction from people who have not seriously auditioned horn speakers. But once you are used to hearing horns (esp. compression drivers), conventional dynamic speakers just wouldn't cut it. The distortion of compression drivers is at least an order of magnitude lower, and with a much more powerful magnet and a much lighter diaphragm, the transient response is equal to electrostatic panels. With computer aided design, modern horns have all the deficiencies of antique horns engineered out of them. And the high sensitivity means that you are only using a fraction of the amplifier output, and as you know, distortion of amplifiers is correlated to output power. $37K is pretty reasonable for a commercial horn product, even though you can of course spend a lot less if you want to go the DIY route. That also opens up the possibility of field coils and other exotic options.

 

[Golum]

What a great post @adrianywu!
Nicely summed up all the points I've discussed with my "audio" buddies.
Once you hear proper horns it's difficult to go back to dynamic speakers as they just sound "veiled" somehow.

 

[Polyrhythm9]

Great points adrianywu -thank you- That explains what I heard-These horn speakers have such clarity- you're left scratching your head in disbelief.

Golum- Yes- When I went back to listening to dynamic speakers, they do sound veiled in comparison.