Soundstage and explosive dynamics?

I can sympathize with Kosst over his skepticism about horns.  For many years I felt exactly the same way---all horns I had heard had an annoying "shouting" coloration that I just couldn't get past.  And I still feel that way about many horns including for example any speaker with an Altec 511 or 811 horn.  But there are horns and drivers that don't suffer from these colorations.  The breakthrough for me was hearing a Western Electric 32A horn and then later living with the Altec 32A and 32B horns which are close cousins to the WE.  With proper compression driver and crossover design, speakers with these horns do not have any of the horn colorations that bothered me so much in the past.  I have also heard other horns that don't suffer from traditional horn colorations (such as Emilar EH-500 and YL Acoustic horns) and I am sure there are some commercial horn speakers that are fine too but my experience with commercial speakers is too limited to make specific recommendations.

Even the 511 can sound good if it's properly damped. 

Have not tried the 811

In my experience damping the 511 or 811 causes more problems than it solves.

Hi , this is great stuff . Question to the Horn Guys , you’re way above my skill level , so please share . Do the high quality horn systems move the air with the authority of underhung voice coils and massive power ? My experience is limited , but on this type system ,  can you feel the drum kick on your chest ? Is this an Apples and Oranges thing ? This is a sincere question based on my lack of experience . As a youngster my Grandfather had tube systems with big EV and Altec stuff . It was a sweet , room filling sound , but it didn’t create this sort of “ Air Pressure “ sensation that comes with good live sound or a huge SS rig . Please share as I’m here to learn , not pontificate ( I’m not that smart ). Also I apologize for stepping all over this thread , but with knowledgeable sound engineers and horn experts sharing , this is a wealth of information  . BTW it seems everybody agrees on Tannoy , that says a lot too . Respectfully, Mike.