What does one purchase after owning horns?

Horns do not all need massive space to sound there best. If properly designed large horns will work fine in near field etc. But most are not designed well and need extra listening distance to compensate for poor integration excessive colorations and poor time alignments. Since many are DIY and not properly designed listening space becomes more of an issue. You also have the market demanding small loudspeakers so many commercial horns do not offer proper mid bass or bass systems. So much of the info on horns comes from DIY types who insist on massive listening distance since in there experience its needed. Or from owners of undersized commercial offerings. Who complain of mismatched bass midbass etc. No wonder horns get such a bad reputation in forum.

radiation pattern control lack of distortion and efficiency

04-06-11: Johnk

Lack of distortion ? ... Interesting....

Weseixas, who plainly knows next to nothing about horn loudspeakers, continues relentlessly to underscore that most evident fact with generalities, wives' tales and misinformation. What drives this foolish behavior? What makes a grownup act this way?

While I haven't the ability to measure my horns for distortion, I'm quite happy to say that I can't hear any indication of distortion at all. The presentation is calm and effortless. In my 330 square foot room, they aren't tested at all.

The high efficiency claim goes without saying, as does the radiation control. A horn works like a rifle barrel in directing the sound. The flare of the horn (in my case, 40 degrees) confines the lateral distribution thereby preventing any early interference from room boundaries. But not all horns are that narrow. Likewise, not all horns are made of inch thick, non-resonant hardwood. And not all horns are smooth and conical. Generalities about horns make as much sense as generalities about anything else.

Weseixas is just here to make trouble. Ask him about his death panels.

For a given size enclosure the basshorn will have lower distortion and better damping. Plus far less thermo compression in horn systems. A big positive for horn loaded designs. Controlled radiation pattern means better image with less room interference. I would say another benefit to large horns is they fill room with even SPL. With dynamic and other designs when you walk towards loudspeakers SPL greatly increases with horns room is filled with even SPL so you can stand next to a horn without the great increase in level, this to is a benefit of controlled radiation.

Mapman, let me be the first you tell if you find the field coil Walsh.

Johnk, I have never heard either a DIY horn system, nor one that was well integrated even in what I would call a large room. Horns don't have a bad reputation with me as they alone have the snap that characterizes some instruments. But....