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  • Viscount Chorum or Sonus?

    Greetings all,

    i continue my my search for a home organ.

    There is not a Viscount dealer in Chicago as such. After some research I found Viscount North America and reached Josh. We had a long and informative discussion. He referred me to the dealer responsible for the Chicago area, Hatter Organ Service, located in Il, about 35 miles from St. Louis.

    We had a productive conversation as it turns out that he has several installations here and that his shop is a relatively easy Amtrak/Ubertrip. The two models that I am interested in are the Chorum 60, and Sonus 245. The list price is about $15k for the Chorum and about $25k for the Sonus. One other option would be the Chorum 90. Budgetwise, the Chorum 60 is very doable where the others would be a stretch.

    what are your experiences about the sound and build quality of these models?

    My other option to consider is a Johannus 270 or 370.

    thanks,

    Alexander

  • #2
    Hi Alex:

    My total knowledge of he current Viscount line is from their website, and sound samples. If you haven't heard any yet, this is the URL:

    https://soundcloud.com/viscountinstr...s/chorum-audio

    That is the Chorum 90, but I doubt it is using any stops in the Kittel that are not also on the Chorum 60. My knowledge of the Johannus line is much better, and I ordered a Johannus Opus 370 first of August last year. I am still waiting for it (that's another story), but quality and sound wise, I don't think you could go wrong with either brand, and based on the dealer I am with, the prices are very comparable. PS: My dealer is also in Chicago.

    Tony
    Home: Johannus Opus 370

    Comment


    • #3
      Thanks Tony, I have pretty well covered all the web and YT examples. Now it’s time to put some fingers, and feet, and hear actual examples.

      i spoke to Matt at Johannus Midwest before the holidays. He has a 270 and a couple of Studios and is expecting more “soon”. Checking out the Viscounts will require a trip to the St. Louis areal.

      Comment


      • #4
        My feeling is that the Sonus would be the better organ. If it makes sense for you to spend the extra money for it is a different issue! The Sonus uses Physis as where the Chorum 60/90 is sample-based. Samples can sound excellent of course and I'm sure the Chorum's do sound very good and would make a great sounding instrument (better than mine for sure!), but thinking about flexibility and the future I think Physis is the better pick. Then again, I'm guessing the Chorum line has a full MIDI implementation and once Modartt's commercial Organteq (physically modelled organ) software comes out you could conceivably still use physical modelling of pipe organs at a lower price point than a Physis organ.
        Viscount C400 3-manual
        8 channels + 2 reverb channels (w/ Lexicon MX200)
        Klipsch RSX-3 speakers and Klipsch Ultra 5.1 subwoofers

        Comment


        • #5
          Hi Tony,

          Unfortunate that you are still waiting for your Opus 370; we installed one last fall in a residence and I was actually quite impressed. My technician's general observation of Johannus vs Viscount is that the Johannus consoles are better constructed, and circuit boards are far better quality manufacture in the Johannus. Our local Viscount dealer will only cover the main CPU board for 1 year and 30 days on all other parts. In other words...buyer beware.

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          • #6
            Interesting, Viscount people I have spoken to say that their consoles and circuit boards and consoles are better than Johannus’ I suppose it comes down to the dealer quality, warranty, and service quality. One issue for me is that I have Allen, Johannus, Rodgers, and Ahlborn right in my area, while the closest Viscount dealer is 325 miles south.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by janvds View Post
              Hi Tony,

              Unfortunate that you are still waiting for your Opus 370; we installed one last fall in a residence and I was actually quite impressed. My technician's general observation of Johannus vs Viscount is that the Johannus consoles are better constructed, and circuit boards are far better quality manufacture in the Johannus. Our local Viscount dealer will only cover the main CPU board for 1 year and 30 days on all other parts. In other words...buyer beware.
              Thanks for the kind words, Jan, especially coming from an evident installer of various organs (?) The Johannus warranty is ten years on all parts except speakers, speakers are five years, labor one year.
              I'm sure I will get it eventually, Johannus has just crawled out from under their Christmas rush (mostly to finish large church installations). I do wish the dealer would stay in better touch with me, though.

              Tony
              Home: Johannus Opus 370

              Comment


              • #8
                Tony,

                what reason son have you been given for having to wait so long for the 370? I would have to use the same dealer so this is of concern should I select the Johannus.

                also, if you don’t mind, could you PM me the price you paid for your 370?

                Thanks

                Comment


                • #9
                  The Sonus 245 appears to be configured for the US market. The model specs appear only on the US website and not on the corporate site.

                  As to the Chorum line, looks like I missed a sale. One dealer has aChorum 90 for $17.5k, not bad for a 3 manual, but this sale expired Jan. 1

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Hi,

                    With the market the way it is, it should not be hard to strike a bargain. At least you can try, and see what happens.

                    AV

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Casavant Fan View Post
                      The Sonus 245 appears to be configured for the US market. The model specs appear only on the US website and not on the corporate site.

                      As to the Chorum line, looks like I missed a sale. One dealer has aChorum 90 for $17.5k, not bad for a 3 manual, but this sale expired Jan. 1
                      Still close enough to the date, the dealer may still sell at that price...doesn't hurt to ask!
                      Allen MOS 1105 (1982)
                      Allen ADC 5000 (1985) w/ MDS Expander II (drawer unit)
                      Henry Reinich Pipe 2m/29ranks (1908)

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I am interested in trying these but remain hesitant as the dealer is 325 miles away. Johannus, Rodgers, and Allen have a presence in the metro area

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by rjsilva View Post
                          once Modartt's commercial Organteq (physically modelled organ) software comes out you could conceivably still use physical modelling of pipe organs at a lower price point than a Physis organ.
                          I went to the Modartt site and they have very little information about what their software will do. Does anyone have more information about it. They say it will be released in 2018. I know it is difficult to evaluate something like this without hearing it "in person," but I was not very impressed with what I heard.
                          Bill

                          My home organ: Content M5800 as a midi controller for Hauptwerk

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            The Organteq demo is just a teaser for what may be available later in the year. Our excitement is for its potential quality based on Pianoteq's accomplishments with the physical modelling of pianos. If the virtual organ product lives up to expectations then it will be a formidable competitor in the small virtual organ portion of the small electronic organ market. These days all the organs other than the real wind-blown pipe organs are properly "virtual" organs, but we still maintain a somewhat artificial distinction between Allen, Rodgers, etc. and the DIY world of Hauptwerk, GrandOrgue, and the like.

                            The demo is just a simple flute stop and the 4' octave. So compare it to an 8' flute stop on some other organ for whatever its worth. We will have to wait and see what product emerges and when. Expect relatively light requirements for the PC or Mac based on the world class Pianoteq product, not to mention reasonable prices.
                            http://www.nwmidi.com

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by John Kinkennon View Post
                              The Organteq demo is just a teaser for what may be available later in the year. Our excitement is for its potential quality based on Pianoteq's accomplishments with the physical modelling of pianos. If the virtual organ product lives up to expectations then it will be a formidable competitor...
                              John said it perfectly :) I’m really excited about it. When I first listened to the teaser app I heard some nice things (i.e. evidence of physical modelling, such as irregular tone production, or jitter, etc.) but I wasn’t sure about the tone quality. However when I ran Organteq through the audio system I use with my organ and mixed in the built-in stops it became more apparent that the quality is considerably more realistic in the little teaser app than my organ’s native sounds (which I don’t think sounds bad at all with its current audio configuration). And I love that reverb isn’t built in to the sound because that creates a lot of flexibility for installations and personal taste. I’m really looking forward to what Organteq sounds like when it has a full complement of stops which I presume will also have some degree of adjustability.
                              Viscount C400 3-manual
                              8 channels + 2 reverb channels (w/ Lexicon MX200)
                              Klipsch RSX-3 speakers and Klipsch Ultra 5.1 subwoofers

                              Comment

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