High efficiency speakers have a few tricks up their sleeves, one being the ability to drive ’em with just a few Watts.
The Volti Rival are a three-way, hybrid horn/bass-reflex design that comes in three versions—the Type I and II that differ in appearance, and the upscale SE version under review that adds matching outboard crossovers, those lovely curved sides (the standard Rivals are squared off), and premium veneers. The review pair are covered in an eye-appealing Olive Ash with a satin lacquer finish, and as Volti’s Greg Roberts shared during uncrating and setup, represent some of mother nature’s finest work. Also included with the SE package are a pack of resistors so you can change the output level for the midrange drivers and tweeters, independently, +/- 1dB to taste.
The driver array for every pair of Rivals consists of a 15″ high-power, high-sensitivity woofer (capable of continuous 600 Watt input), a 2″ outlet midrange compression driver with a 3-1/2″ phenolic diaphragm augmented by a wooden horn designed and built by Greg Roberts, and a 1″ compression tweeter with a 2″ throat and elliptical horn.
According to the company, the Rival’s offer a frequency response from 32Hz – 20kHz with a flea-power friendly 100dB sensitivity (2.83v/1M). The cabinets are built from 1” thick Baltic Birch plywood, fully braced, and properly damped, and grill clothes are included. The review pair arrived without said clothes which is fine by me as I don’t use ’em when listening.
Volti recommends a minimum of 3 Watts and up to 100 Watts of continuous power to drive the Rivals and I plan to pair these lovelies with all kinds of power. Stay tuned!
Volti Audio Rival Special Edition Loudspeakers
Price: $22,000/pair (+ crating and shipping)
Company Website: Volti Audio
