Carfrae Big Horn [Template]

The original Carfrae Big Horn speakers. Only twenty or so Big Horns were ever made. They are spread across the globe and very rarely come up for sale. I have owned these speakers from new, but now need to downsize hence the sale.

The original speakers were sold with a Lowther DX4 driver. Jim Carfrae, the maker of the speakers, upgraded the drivers to a special version of the DX3 driver that quelled the Lowther shout. I have subsequently further upgraded the drivers to Voxativ. This gives the consistent response of a multi-driver speaker across the frequency range. When I originally bought the speakers I was using them with a low-powered single-ended triode amplifier which struggled in the bass. Jim Carfrae therefore supplied the speakers with a powered sub (similar to the Little Big Horn) subtly added to the rear of the speaker.

The driver is loaded by a 135" long gently curving tractrix horn in the shape of a tenor saxophone. This is made in a special vacuum process out of 3/4” birch ply. The driver holder is solid maple and walnut.

They give music great presence in the room with a realistic soundstage without the need for pinpoint positioning of the listener. The speakers disappear in the room leaving a dynamic range and speed of reproduction, once heard never forgotten.

The basic speaker is now manufactured and sold by Charney Audio as the Concerto in real wood veneer for $29,000.

This is a very rare opportunity to own possibly the best implementation of the horn principle in a proprietary speaker.

Specification: HxWxD  82” x 22” x 42”

Drivers: 8" Voxativ AC 1.0; 10" Volt 250 watt powered sub. Sub is adjustable for volume, phase and roll-off.

Frequency response of horn: 32Hz - 22KHz +/- 3db

Efficiency: 93db, suitable for amplifiers greater than 5 watts.

Original retail price: £21,300. (Powered subs upgrade £2,500. Upgraded Voxativ drivers £800.)