Tobian Soundsystems release the new 18FH Horn Speaker

[Sampajanna]

The location a new unheard of brand speaker is made does not equate to 175k … Interesting design and looks cool, but is absurd. Doesnt mean this is not worth it. If people are buying it then kudos. It is a turn off for me, though. There is a whole lot of speaker one can buy for that kind of dough… Wish the maker success, though. honestly, it looks amazing and I bet it sounds so as well.

 

[Günter Tobian]

I would like to say something in general on this subject. However, Golum put it very well. The price unfortunately is not simply X times something but it is a well thought out cost calculation.

On the topic of speakers - 18FH has come a long way, it was created over many years, even decades. The 18FH was a complex project as just for the housing alone we need two months of work, as mentioned earlier, everything is done without screws and only natural glue/white glue is used.

As you may already know (or may not know) from our smaller horn loudspeaker models, we use four different types of wood for our housings, similar to the construction of a musical instrument. The result is a sound body that is one of the key points in this construction.

Speakers can be ordered in all variants, whether veneer, lacquer/veneer combination or a super complex piano lacquer finish - as desired by the customer. As a side note with the Piano Lacquer variant, about 3 more weeks of work is needed. The lacquering, polishing and processing takes about two weeks plus one week drying and we determined these numbers on average from the first 5 delivered pairs of 18FH.

Everything is important.

The technical side is just as complex and of course equality is important as the proper housing. Starting with the compression drivers up to the woofer. As you can imagine, we carefully considered the choice of the Axi driver and we had a free choice of everything the market has to offer in terms of drivers.

We bought an entire arsenal of compression drivers and on top were able to benefit from a wealth of stock from my collection that I collected in the last 35 years. This served as a basis for comparisons and during the development process we developed many prototypes for testing before the final driver was selected and which we now use in this form.

We are developing and manufacturing everything by ourselves or we commission certain parts to our trusted vendors here in Switzerland.

Our loudspeakers are constructed as uncompromisingly as our electronics i.e no capacitors and resistors in the signal path and no crossover, no voltage dividers for the mid-high range, level adjustment for everything analog outside the signal path.
The horn itself is made of a finely crafted alloy, handcrafted like a saxophone or a trumpet

Size/weight wise - dimensions are:
1700mm high x 560mm wide x 620mm deep approx. 120Kg per unit. Wooden packaging and delivery on a pallet incl.

I strongly expect that this year we will have a pair of 18FH ready for demonstration in NY at our distributor:

Destination Sound Group
Long Island New York
+1 631 813 89 92
www.dsgdistro.com


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[Günter Tobian]

The location a new unheard of brand speaker is made does not equate to 175k … Interesting design and looks cool, but is absurd. Doesnt mean this is not worth it. If people are buying it then kudos. It is a turn off for me, though. There is a whole lot of speaker one can buy for that kind of dough… Wish the maker success, though. honestly, it looks amazing and I bet it sounds so as well.

True the 18FH is new but we have been around for several decades and are very well known in Europe and Asia for our quality.
our small models are in great demand and sell very well.

 

[LampiNA]

I got several videos from Gunter and I’ll post a few just for basic feeling. But i would advise to go and listen in person not only 18FH but as well smaller ones as they are really fantastic. His tube electronics i will not even mention as I’m in love with it.
BTW on the video: 18FH, MA200 power amps, SC12 preamp, Riverside audio TD124 with Origin Live Agile and Lyra Lambda cart goong via DHT phono pre.
View attachment 92305

I very much agree with Goran here. While I'm hoping to get out to Switzerland in the fall to get acquainted with the 18FHs and some of the newer pieces in the line, I have to echo that the Tobian 12FHs and 15FHs we have available for demonstration in New York are outstanding at 29,500chf and 54,500chf respectively.

We actually made the North American debut of the Tobian 12FHs alongside the world debut of the LampizatOr Horizon DAC and had universal praise of the system, with the Tobian's garnering a ton of praise and great reviews for their ability to convey the essence of music.

 

[Günter Tobian]

Unfortunately horn people here are difficult to get by because they have been there done that too, not just buying finished product like me. It is difficult to get these people to promote anything.

yes I agree with you completely but it was not our / my intention here to find potential buyers or interested parties (primarily).
But much more our US customers to show presence support our importer and also that we are present on the US market not only in Europe and Asia.

Also I would like to exchange find suggestions for future projects / products

 

[Celef]

i think it is a bit unfair to potentially buyers to say that all things in a product is made locally, except the binding posts, when this apperently is not true. It is obvious that all drivers used in your products are made elsewhere. I can understand that one want to keep the source of a driver in secret, but saying the driver is made by you or some locals is to deceive people .

i see this trend everywhere and it is just sad, i hope manufacturers stops being dishonest and starts to tell the truth absolut their products, we consumers deserves it.

 

[Günter Tobian]

That's exactly how we see it, which is why we also openly communicate how and what components is manufactured by our trusted suppliers.
We have never claimed that the drivers are manufactured by us but that we work carefully and revise and if you had read the Kompleten posts you might know something more.
who has heard our speakers once in person understands only then what we have done for a job, every customer deserves that a handmade product and much much more

Our passion is to create horn speakers and amplifiers that are sensitive enough to reproduce any style of music, regardless of volume. A sound that carries away and touches, offers live experience in your own home and makes you addicted to more.

Convince yourself and arrange a non-binding listening appointment with our distributor in NY.

Destination Sound Group
Long Island New York

Phone +1 631 813 89 92
www.dsgdistro.com

You will be amazed what comes out

 

[srmusic]

I got several videos from Gunter and I’ll post a few just for basic feeling. But i would advise to go and listen in person not only 18FH but as well smaller ones as they are really fantastic. His tube electronics i will not even mention as I’m in love with it.
BTW on the video: 18FH, MA200 power amps, SC12 preamp, Riverside audio TD124 with Origin Live Agile and Lyra Lambda cart goong via DHT phono pre.
View attachment 92305

Slightly off topic but I notice you have the Origin Live Agile tonearm, a brand which I'm a great fan of but is relatively rare on these pages. What do you think of the Agile? In my opinion Mark Baker is an original and very talented designer in the UK and his tonearms and turntables have always impressed me greatly. I own an Origin Live Mk4 Sovereign turntable and am currently upgrading from an Origin Live Mk4 Enterprise tonearm to the Mk4 Agile.
Thanks Stuart

 

[Golum]

Hi Stuart;

I'm sorry I can't be of much help as these videos have been taken at Gunter place. Indeed he's using in all his TTs (and has them few) only Origin Live tonearm with Atlas Lyra carts.

Cheers;
G

 

[Willgolf]

Can anyone provide any insight from actual demos of the differences in sound between the 12 / 15 and 18? Anyone hear the 12 signature?

 

[LampiNA]

Can anyone provide any insight from actual demos of the differences in sound between the 12 / 15 and 18? Anyone hear the 12 signature?

Hi Will,

We haven't brought the 18s into North America yet and this week will be the world wide unveiling of the 12 Signature Edition, but I will see if I can get someone to comment on the 12s vs 15s who has heard both in our parolors.

Best,

Fred A.

 

[Don Reid]

Congratulations on bringing this speaker to market, Gunter. If you don't mind would you tell me what the cut-off frequency of the bass horn is?

 

[caesar]

unfortunately, this thread has died …

So how is this speaker sonically different than Odeon, Cessaro , Avantgarde, and other horn brands?

also interestingLy, the audioshark dealer has dumped avantgarde and is now distributing and selling this.