Напольная акустика — Vitavox CN-191

The CN-191 is a two-way corner loudspeaker from Vitavox of the United Kingdom, a design first introduced more than 75 years ago and still hand-built in the company's own workshops. Both frequency bands are horn-loaded, and the bass section is a folded horn meant to sit in the corner of a room, where the two walls and the floor act as an extension of the horn mouth. Vitavox describes the cabinet styling as Art Deco.

Key specs that matter

The system pairs a 15 inch Vitavox AK151 bass driver with a Vitavox Type S2 pressure unit mounted on an R300W HM exponential radial horn. The two sections divide at 500 Hz with a slope of 12 dB per octave, so the pressure unit carries the whole range from the lower midrange upward. Vitavox quotes a range of 30 Hz to 16 kHz, a sensitivity of 105 dB at 1 W and 1 m, a nominal impedance of 15 ohms and power handling of 100 W. High-frequency dispersion is given as 90 degrees horizontally and 20 degrees vertically. In standard form each unit stands 1307 mm tall, 781 mm wide and 714 mm deep and weighs 114 kg. With the optional side baffles fitted the footprint grows to 799 mm by 739 mm and the weight to 130 kg.

Engineering and use context

The carcase is made from Scandinavian birch plywood throughout. The standard finish combines lacquered walnut with metallic bronze and gilt ornamentation. Because the bass horn depends on the room boundaries to complete its flare, the design is intended for corner placement rather than free-standing positions. Owners can take the system further through several factory upgrades. The drivers can be replaced with the uprated LGK151 bass unit and S4 pressure unit, and a TR32 tweeter module on a Time Traveller carriage turns the CN-191 into a three-way system. The side baffles mentioned above are also offered as an add-on.

Pairing

Thanks to its very high sensitivity, low-output amplifiers, including single-ended valve designs, are workable. The 15 ohm load is higher than the 4 to 8 ohm figures common with modern speakers, which reduces the current demand on the amplifier, although valve amplifiers with an output tap near 16 ohms fit best. The power handling gives a ceiling well above what such amplifiers deliver.

Alternatives

The Vitavox TriStar is a three-way corner horn system with an LGK151 bass driver, an S4 pressure unit and a TR32B tweeter.