An expresso the next morning in the shop and then Greg and I packed up my new Razz for the drive home.  Quite the experience complete with a 650 mile round trip drive that was worth every minute.  BTW I am a pretty neat individual and had no issue with spending a night sleeping in Greg’s fastidious workshop. 

I wanted to do this follow up as I have seen a number of interesting threads on topics that are like a good book and get you most of the way through but alas, there is no ending!  I learned quite a bit of the journey here, from additional research, listening to a few different speakers and from Greg on the phone, through email and in person.  

A few factors entered into my final decision – a number of you suggested the Razz from the get go and I did a good deal of reading and digging to get a better understanding of the company and horn speakers.  Certainly hearing the Razz made an impression on me and got me most of the way there.  Then there was Greg who was not only a great asset in answering my questions but provided good system insight in a very patient manner.  He was quick to either answer my calls or emails and I never felt belittled or rushed with my sometimes naive questions. 

I will tell you this from the first hand observations of my visit and personal experience in what I call ” learning/management by wandering around” – Greg is a true craftsman, audiophile and small business owner who truly cares about the product he is making and the customer experience.  Watching him crafting a Razz cabinet, the care and process he uses to apply the quality veneer, etc was a learning journey in itself.  He is extremely detailed and I marveled at the time and attention he took to apply the speaker cloth to the removable/magnetic covers- a very time consuming process.  I smiled as he showed me the straight line of sight on the wood frame and joy he took in making sure it was near perfect.  

It was also pretty dam fun to sit with Greg at night and listen a variety of music on my new speakers!  I had to chuckle when about half way through the session I looked over and there was Greg, martini in hand, eyes closed and rocking his head to the tunes of Jason Isbell 🙂 

So probably not the typical review of the final stages of a purchase.  I hope that I don’t sound like a fan boy – I am not, but certainly have a big dose of respect for Greg and the product he crafts.  Also worth mentioning is that after a week at my home playing music throughout the day and into the evening, is that the Razz are  game changers in my system.  My wife has commented on how she can even hear a noticeable difference in the sound ( especially the mid-range )  and appreciates the way the Razz look – I went with a darker mahogany with a beautiful pattern and an upgraded weave grill!  

One last item – If you are on Instagram make sure to give Greg a follow.  He is posting quite regularly on steps in the speaker building process.  Enjoy your journey! 

$68K Vivid G1’s and there’s been no drop-off in performance!  Pretty amazing for a speaker 1/10th the price.

The dynamics of the horns is really interesting.  I guess you call this micro-dynamics, but there are sounds that were before muddled background noises that now can be clearly heard as other instruments playing at a quieter level or in the background.  The bass shakes my sofa!  The imaging is great in my room with a locked-in center and very clear front to back perception.  Very impressive.  If the Vittoras are better than this I’m going to be very happy!”

In another email . . . 

“I am really liking the Razz.  They are making me even more anxious for the Vittoras.  Horn speakers are amazing.  So much more life than my $68K MSRP Vivid G1’s.  I thought the Vivids were very transparent and supplied a lot of detail.  When I listened to the Razz I am hearing so much more.  Really noticeable are the things playing at a lower volume in the background.  I was listening to some very familiar music and what I had always accepted as random background noise was actually violins playing at a lower volume in the background.  I never heard it on the big expensive speakers.  It was immediately clear and obvious on the Razz.  Trumpets and Saxophones are amazing.  Acoustic guitar is right in the room.  The Razz has some solid bass but I’m looking forward to getting out of the ‘box’ and into the better sound with the Vittora bass horn cabinet.  Here is hoping to some good progress on Vittora design.”

and another email . . .

“Hey Greg,

I keep finding ways to be more impressed with the Razz.  I was listening to a favorite jazz recording tonight and I noticed that you could clearly hear that the saxophone was recorded in a different acoustic space than the other instruments.  I have loved this recording for years but I never heard that before.  I was amazed that you could hear such detail that the space around individual instruments could be heard.  It unfortunately was not a good thing to notice.  Once I heard it, I could not unhear it and found it rather distracting.  That was a good thing about the speakers but a bad thing about that recording.  I hope the CNC trip went well and you are getting closer.  I may have to buy your pair of Rival SE’s to tide me over.”

. . . they are the best and most natural sounding speakers I’ve ever owned.  They replaced an excellent pair of more expensive Harbeth HL5 Super Plus, and after listening for a few hours, my wife and I both think the less expensive Razz are much better and do a much better job of capturing what real instruments sound like.

I’ve owned dozens of pairs of speakers over the years, including many from the Klipsch lineup and the Razz are in a different league.  I couldn’t be happier with my purchase.

Ralph – San Antonio, TX