Tuesday, April 15, 2008

To each their own




The high end hobby is undoubtedly one driven by passion bordering on obsession, as are all hobbies. Some choose to gleefully cross the line into full blown madness. Sometimes it’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment when it happens but as Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart said of pornography, “ I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it.” If one thinks of high end audio as a flame it is inevitable that certain areas of the flame burn hotter than others. One such area is horn loaded speakers.

A gentleman in Italy has taken it further than anyone else. Below the listening room is a 3 and 1/3 foot deep series of trenches constructed in brick to form a two horns, one for the right channel and one for the left. Each horn houses eight 18” woofers. The length each horn is a little over 31 feet. The subwoofer must have been an unbelievably difficult and expensive undertaking. All of this might be over kill for a system whose sources are a Thorens TD160 turntable and a Marantz CD85 CD player, both using what appear to be rusty car springs as isolation. If you feel more information is in order click here and scroll down the page. To each their own.

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