Stories from our Lowther family

I am sitting here this evening listening to a fabulous Amy Winehouse “live at the BBC” triple album on the Lowthers and realised with horror that I hadn’t replied to your last email over the Holidays……

Thank you so much for the very generous offer of the complimentary foams. I am extremely grateful!

I had arrived at the same conclusion regarding low end response and have had a look at a few possible self build cabinets and / or adding a sub however on reflection I am simply going to keep two sets of speakers in my listening room :)

About 20% of my listening is music that really suits the Lowthers and I have found that setting them up before sitting down to listen when I am in the mood for the right music just adds to the sense of “ceremony” and they always blow me away when I do.

Over the holidays a visiting relative who likes music but isn’t particularly into hifi wanted to see my setup, I spent 20 mins or so playing various things through the Kef’s and they were very impressed even going so far as to say one of the albums I played (one of their favourites) had never sounded as good over the 20+ years they had had it. I then pulled out my new “party trick” and dropped on a wonderful female vocal jazz album and switched to the Lowthers……. My relative was utterly blown away when they chimed up and nearly gave himself whiplash looking over at me with wide eyes. High praise indeed for the amazing brand you have rescued!

On the foams - do you have a charity you support at all? While I am very grateful for the free foams I would like to do something in return, if you do have a preferred charity I will make a suitable donation on your behalf. If you don’t have one I will make a donation to one of the Veterans charities I support - it is a subject close to my heart as I am one.

Many thanks again.

I started with some Fidelio with EX2 drivers. I was building my own design valve amps back in those days. I soon upgraded to EX3’s and then took the plunge to EX4’s. The Fidelio cabinet suited the EX3 the best. This was back in the day before Dianne retired.

What Dianne did for me was a whole lot. She organised a labour exchange, and I built a pair of early Triode designs from a box of new bits and a misappropriated road sign for the base plate. Garv, who was the man going to make my cabinets, crafted the side panels for these amplifiers to a very nice finish.

Anyway, the amplifiers had a job to do in three days from the moment I arrived. They had to demonstrate a pair of speakers. I made them light and detailed with no noise or distortion, recalculating the circuit to match the requirement.

So… I’m going to cut the story and move onto my TP1’s. Garv made them with his brother, and in an evening they had the core of the horn ready for the final outer panels and the front horn to be inserted. Finally assembled and off home, I fitted my EX4’s. They had 15-ohm silver coils, and I had transformers custom wound for a fully balanced long tail amp, sensitive enough to self-regulate and make the horn linear.

This was a trick in loading. You could aim for power at the cost of distortion or, at the other extreme, create a fully class-A, long-tailed pair, directly coupled, with component-matching between the two amps and sufficient feedback to allow the circuit to regulate. I didn’t use the output tube to power the speakers; I used it as a driver for the transformer and its load.

The TP1’s with EX4 drivers… my aim was to keep the impedance high and matched. Blah blah blah. I’m sure you’re not interested in that story. But what I can tell you is that the speaker is so efficient and that beautiful sound can be achieved in a variety of ways. I’ve heard Accolade 4’s up in London with top-class drivers and a full organic midrange picture. The Accolade 4’s will do that.

What the TP1 did was allow balanced loading, and I chose to exploit that with more bandwidth than power. It was great until I moved and had to sell the speakers as they got stuck in a damp garage. I should never have auctioned them on eBay. Such a loss, and I’m weeping from the depths of my heart.

Hello Martin, first of all I would like to thank you and Malcolm for the unprecedented hosting. Having been to many auditions, I have never got such an authentic, natural and truthful reception. I am still digesting this remarkable experience and my head is full of impressions and ideas... but I am sure that after the visit I will stick with “Lowther for life” even closer.  I imagine that Hegeman matched with Audio Tekne gear and master tapes played on Studer, also with some decent vinyls, will create a spectacle of truly epic proportions...

Thank you for making a loudspeaker capable of delivering realistic sound. With the Almira the sound of live music is possible in your home.

I have just fitted the repaired units back into my Acousta cabinets.  I cannot believe the improvement!!  The old units must have deteriorated far more than I realised.  I now have clear transient bass, smooth mid range response and crystal clear treble with excellent presence in the overall sound stage.  Its a revelation! I can sit and listen to individual  instruments with incredible clarity.  I shall at last be able to enjoy my collection of Jazz CDs. without wincing every time there is a grating noise.

Many thanks for an excellent service and to Rosie for delivery and collection. If you ever need a testimonial or Lowther ambassador I’m your man!

About 2 years ago I purchased a pair of PM7A's and have since mounted these units in a speaker of my own design. Together with a self built power amp I'm extremely happy with the result. In fact I find the realism jaw dropping.

"My sister and I had the pleasure of visiting Martin and Malcolm for the day. They had been refurbishing an old Acousta Cabinet 115 that I was fortunate to purchase. I had originally taken them to Martin a few weeks ago, and after a bit of banter, Malcolm offered to revive them for me. I can honestly say they did not disappoint. The Acousta cabinets look amazing, especially with the addition of the DX3 drivers. The sound is fantastic, and they look even better with their new grill cloth.

While there, we also had the chance to listen to a pair of the new TP2 speakers that Malcolm had just finished preparing for the Ascot show. Those are seriously impressive speakers. If you have the space for them, I wouldn't hesitate to get a pair. Their appearance is stunning, and the craftsmanship that goes into all their speakers is simply superb. The attention to detail is faultless, and the sound quality is astonishing.

We were invited back to the listening room where we had the privilege to experience the Almira Speakers. Not only is their design top-notch, but their sound is also absolutely amazing. My sister was particularly impressed by the intricate detail and expansive soundstage they produced. I can tell she's a big fan, and I suspect she might own a pair one day.

We also had the opportunity to listen to the Acousta 117, and personally, they sounded perfect to me. The thought that I had a similar pair in my car, waiting to be taken home, made me even more excited. Over the years, we've owned many pairs of high-end speakers, but we both agree that Lowther speakers are unparalleled. I cannot express my gratitude to everyone at Lowther enough and look forward to our next visit."

I built my Acousta speakers in 1985 and during that time have used the older PM6A, later PM6C and PM7C. Tried other smaller speakers over the years but always returned to the Acoustas. Singing voice and laid back music sound so so good. Decided when I retired that I would build some fancy horn cabinet utilising the Lowther PM2A chassis speakers. Bought the drivers from Lowther and  to 'bed in' them in I decided to fit them to my Acoustas till I got my new horns designed and made. This included moving the front panel forward, increasing  the rear chamber for the larger deeper magnet, and altering the volume of the horn chamber and throat area to suit the new drivers. Wired them up switched them on and was immediately amazed at the sound, That was 8 years ago! Never did design the replacement, just kept playing music through my Acoustas with the PM2As -  they are all the speaker I will ever need....

I built my Mini Acouster speakers in 1982 from plans provided by Lowther. They have been in continuous service ever since and have undergone 2No drive unit upgrades to the current EX3's.

Back in the day, Lowther only supplied the plans. I had to source top quality plywood and spend many hours/days/weeks/months cutting all of the angles and gluing up with airtight joints. But I have never regretted it and they still perform as well today as the day they were completed. But what is this??? You can now purchase a complete kit and build yourself!!! What are you waiting for???

Go and get one and not only enjoy the building, but you will get to hear wonderful sound in your home...just like me!

A huge thank you to Martin and Malcolm for indulging me in my passion for Lowther Loudspeakers, and their hospitality and knowledge, a great way to spend a Sunday morning . If you have the remotest interest in Lowther Loudspeakers and Hi-Fi, book a slot and pay them a visit, you will not be disappointed, and so glad that you did. Once again thank you Martin and Malcolm.