Devon's new-retro take on horn speaker design 

Part Two posts 8AM ET Monday

I am so excited to have found @SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac at this point in my life. I just attended Devon Turnbull`s listening room at SFMOMA, my very first experience with this type of HIFI......Im so grateful and inspired.....thank you !

This guy lives in the same exact universe as me. Blown away! I also am obsessed with the ritual of listening to large horns like a Jazz Kissa in Japan. My speakers are bigger than my fridge! Tubes tubes tubes.

As a DIY audiophile I really dig this guy. "ritualistic" .. "a shrine" ... that resonates. He loves big speakers in a normal sized room... I use open baffle with 18" woofers, 10" mid and coax tweeters. It puts out massive presence even at 85dB. I would love to try really good horns. Bucket list item. He loves triode amps. I can't wait for part II. This is one of the best interviews in audio!

I fell in love with klipschorn speakers in the 80s.

I’ve followed Devon’s IG account for a couple years. His experience with set amps and large horn speakers echos my own feelings with regard to being enveloped by the sound in a way. I always felt the asian market had it right when they were buying up all of the golden age theatre speakers and amplifiers during the 70’s-90’s.

Holy cow! A buddy of mine, guitarist and bassist, built a giant pair of speakers back in 1970, that looked a lot like those, except that they were trimmed out to survive being loaded and unloaded from the back of his Jeep, as he also used them at gigs! They are still, all these years later, one of the best systems I’ve ever heard. ❤️❤️❤️

I am very impressed with this self enlightened being. More people should live a similar lifestyle lifestyle. He seems focused, calm and comfortable with himself and what he wants out of life.

Fascinating stuff! I’m a big fan of low powered tube amps and tube amps in general matched with somewhat high sensitivity speakers, so this was right up my alley. Can’t wait for part 2! Thank you, Steve and Devon!

So excited for the next segment. Really dig Devon’s perspective on audio reproduction.

Can't wait for part 2!! Thank you, Steve!

Wow very interesting. I am looking forward to see the part two.

Good to see a young man into big horns and enjoying great sound quality!

Oh man! I can hardly wait for Part 2.

Looking forward to part 2! (I have Forte IV's in a 10x12 room.)

The navy yard seems like heaven. I also love speakers that are " too big for then room " I've also found many contradictory things in high end. Great find Steve.

i met Devin when i worked at Saturdays NYC and he made a big impression on me , one of the coolest dudes i’ve ever met.

Sounds like me… Transcription motors, valves, esoteric vintage speaker designs. Love it.

Noooooo!!! Where is part 2!?😁 Great job Steve, I'm looking forward to "hearing" more of this story!😉

Thankyou Steve for this. A man after my own heart. Long live big,bold,horns. Started my passion with a7 and never looked back.

This is great. He’s right about tube amps and also horn speakers! They are simple builds and are not something new but if the vision behind it is genuine then I love it. And perhaps I’d pick up a set! I share a Similar story as Devon. Learned to DJ when I was 12, technics 1200 and a ton of milk crates full of records - loaded up w/ peaveys and CV bass bins (when needed) Here’s to more success to you!!

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful interview. The phrase “where there’s a will, there’s a way” comes to mind.

I look forward to more content with creators like this. I write this taking a break form tinkering with a pair of Ojas inspired speakers I made in my woodshop off of pictures. It's been a delightful challenge!

Awesome and pretty exciting. That guy seems blessed with clarity and intelligence. Just stunning to listen to from an ADD guy like me's perspective struggling to plan anything beyond a 12 hour barrier.

Awesome!! thank you for taking up the large speaker discussion!

Great direction for the Audiophiliac. Keep bringing in inspiring and interesting content! Amazing stuff.

And there it was at 7.05 the Yamaha TC-800D I owned in the 1970's.

Wow. This was fascinating. I love the look of that stand mounted speaker. I like his thinking. I want to know more. Thanks for doing this Steve.

great story. looking forward to your take on how the speakers sound and maybe more info on specs and drivers. tks Steve

This is a great interview. Can’t hardy wait for part II. If there is a part III, please make it happen Steve. Very intriguing. Great way to start my Sunday morning.

Thumbs way up!

Thanks for doing this interview Steve, i love the way this guy thinks and articulates himself. Cheers

Very cool! I'm so glad there are people like him in the world.

SOOO well shot, this video - plus I think your guest got voice detail brought out by his horn cells - passively!

bless you two

Steve love this!!

Fantastic interview!

Fantastic!

I like this guy.

Very interesting, I'd like to hear more material like this!!

more like this, steve

“Presence”. Best word

We need people like this to sprinkle passion into this industry.Sales is only a bi product..

that fireplace is awesome.

Wonderful to see a Garrard 301 there! Stuff I grew up with..

A sound engineer that trusts his hearing and his gut - not just a schematic - this one is very rare! Love seeing the big old school bass bins with top horns. Can't wait to see more from Devon in the future. Thanks for posting this Steve - more of this! Altec Lansing Model 19's still blow away most mass produced speakers to this day (MOO). Rock on!

I have a lot of really big speakers in a roughly 20x19 square-ish room, and I love the sound I get. Once in a great while a bass note takes off of its own accord, and lives in its own life cycle for a few seconds, and my wife thinks about dialing 911. But other than that, the large speakers seem to sit well enough in the space.

gorgeous kit! for the flea watt crowd! thx!

Excellent video 👍

Wow. My audio mentor works with Devon to engineer cool stuff and I’m working to design some horn speakers on my CNC soon! My end goal is to design some large 3 and 4 way horns systems. So cool to see Devon on Steve’s channel!

I am convinced that high efficiency loudspeakers are probably going to be closer to the signal than low efficiency designs, and that is now where my current DIY audio interests lie. As an aside, I used to work at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in the early ‘90s. I heard more gunfire than speaker building. Sounds like there has been a change for the better.

This guy is a bit of a polymath. The “fashion” part of his career was a brand called Nom de Guerre, which was extremely vaunted and successful in its day.

I’m always looking to get high quality sound at low volumes. Devon’s approach, large efficient horn speakers in a normal size room, might be one way to get that quality sound at a low volume? Looking forward to part two…

Finally! Guttenberg starts looking at some larger horns than Klipsch.

I've got to say, I love the asparagus shirt you have on.

History repeats itself.

Its like DIY Altec heaven, OMG

I get this guy. I and a cousin used to DJ. We also used to design and build our own speakers. And i myself also designed and had made a small fashion line, basically a few mens pieces. Plus i am still a stereo nut. lol

Yay horns and tubes!

Holy cow this was amazing can't wait to hear more and see more. Please keep us up to date. We need inventors like this

Love that Yamaha tape deck.

Well tested speakers.

Smart guy !

This exact content, ... ie., visiting/interviewing the individual in their place, this content trumps all, imo

WOW!! Great Video Steve. Inspiring and Exhilarating are just a couple words to describe what has pulled me into and toward a direction that is so compelling!! Looking forward to Part 2 and discovering more about the intriguing world of this young man. Thank you SO much

15 years after buying them, I am still trying to work out how to drive my Klipschorns. At the moment I use Quad 22 valves and a Lentek (integrated) as a preamp. I am looking forward to seeing how Devon drives his speakers as all my listening is still on vinyl. Thanks for this interesting chat.

I know its' a load of bollocks listening over youtube, and copyright is horrid to navigate, but I would still love to hear those speakers on here.

Im a sucker for big honkin speakers.

Great video Steve is looking forward to the next part. Devon is right there should be large speakers in even small rooms so the Japanese are right I also have as big as possible with my altech speakers. That it would not work must be the biggest hi-fi myth of all.

I subscribe to this same process. Tube gear(HK Citation I&II, Clear Audio TT, and AL Model 19 speakers in a 14x16 room.

Big speaker in a small room? Sounds like a terrible idea. I'm all in!!!

I know firsthand what he means about the Japanese loving BIG speakers...in the late 80s and first half of the 90's I worked for a Japanese manufacturer; initially the men in that industry had a hard time with me as women had not been a part of that corporate structure. Once they heard I owned the Tannoy Ardens I oculd do no wrong! They idolized Tannoy! When in Japan they'd take me to see Tannoy setups in small living rooms....

WOW! Devon is super COOL, Steve! When is part 2!!!!? 😁 Will there be more Artbook Shelf Horn Mod Kit v0.1 made available in the future?

If I could, I'd give this video two thumbs up. I checked out Devon's site. No speaker kits for sale. Does anyone know if more kits will become available?

I've always felt big speakers cancel room effects to some extent. I love multichannel music reproduction with large front and rear channel speakers in my medium sized room...the whole room is energized.

I love this. Everyone wants different things from their sound system, regardless of what audiophile purists decide is the “correct” way. We’re not all grey haired classical enthusiasts or boomer rockers.

Come on part 2! When I had my tiny room with big speakers people thought I was crazy 🤪 the sound was really good. Thats around when I decided not to lusten to what others say and do what you like and can spend time enjoying.

Love it Steve....awaiting Part 2

"Smith - diffraction horn" and Multicell horn are often considered inferior old means of doing things by engineers today. I see a great horn-man Steve Schell ("Cogent") passed away this August. A newcomer these days could build a decent La-Scala/Belle - or better something like a University Classic for low cost basing the midrange on a 2" $70 PRV phenolic driver and $50 horn. For more powerful amplifiers, Karlson tech can work and K-tube on a compression driver a nice thing. Also there's good approaches such as John Inlow's 135Hz horn and BC 8" to be used in 2.1 systems. Get your hornresp going and see.

This guy loves very big PA Systems. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

i absolutely HAVE TO LISTEN TO THIS SYSTEm. what he says at 7:45 and on is exactly what i want to be doing...

Built a couple of different Speaker Labs back in the day. Still have my Super 7's some of the best speakers I have ever heard.

More of these please...ps...if you ever want to give away your Cornwall iv .. my arms are wide open here in Barbados 🤣

Fantastic episodes. I was one of the idiots that thought big speaker in small room wouldn’t work. I have been educated since…

I agree 100% that bigger is better. My vintage 3-way speakers have 15" woofers and they have a vibe small speakers don't make.

I’ve received a new amplifier that is miles better than my dads old rotel, and after experiencing hifi better than average I’ve dug myself deep into hifi. I’ve already been following Devon for a while, but now I’m more fascinated than ever. I don’t think I’m ever going to get out of this rabbit hole again, it’s just too damn interesting

Steve, do you have a review of his systems? How do they sound?

“Get lost in the music . . .” - that sums it up for me.

Steve, how do these small DIY speakers sound compared to Klipsch Heritage/Cornwall/Belles?

Devon understands the horn loudspeaker technology and his Loudspeakers are definitely on my A list. Kudos to Steve for interviewing this genius.

What does it mean? The name 'Ojas'

Although I have a few horn-loaded and related speakers (Oceanway HR-4S and some older Klipsch La Scala’s), most of my studio and home are non-horn designs because I have found that there are soooo many issues related to horns that are negative to sound quality, and require a significant amount of DSP and other correction to make them reasonably quality sounding. I recently listened to some newer Funktion-One and Void Acoustics, which are positioned as high quality live sound. All I can say is that the trade-off’s in sound quality vs efficiency is enormous. I would love to know if someone has heard horns that get at least past the Oceanway’s and La Scala’s. I imaging that with AI and modern DSP it should be possible, but still have not found that grade of horn enabled performance.

Steve finally got better camera

I missed the most recent opportunity to buy one his kits, but I hope to get one eventually. I think your introduction was spot on - the old guard of audiophiles will soon be replaced by people like DT and all the kids who have just discovered vinyl and the reproduction of sound in the last few years.

Steve, what speakers are those behind you?

His Asano inspired 2A3 SET amp looks elegant.. Here’s a short film on his stuff: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-100GRHueICI.html

Pamplemousse is the best LaCroix flavor

World's second most interesting audiophile. One of my favorite interviews.

I’d like to see our ‘Youngblood’ audiophiles make digital streams far easier accessible than they are now.

Roger Sperrling!