Are Horn Speakers good or bad or simply a complete joke?

Until this year, I would probably have said that horns while very dynamic were not an ultimate answer given inherent colorations. two things have changed that perception, (1) the purchase by a friend of Lowther based horns and (2) my own purchase of a set of Acapella Campaniles which utilize an ion tweeter, a midrange horn and four 10" woofers. With respect to the Lowthers, while they are somewhat deficient at the frequency extremes, they exhibit a continuousness and presence that seem right to me, paricularly with single ended amps. With respect to the Acapellas, to my great surprise, given adequate breakin and proper positioning in the room and toe-in, the drivers mate very nicely and the sound does not localize on the drivers. All in all, a stunning achievement.

I'd love to hear those ion tweeters.

Sean,
My husband agrees with you, in part. He agrees that there are no perfect speakers.
Judith

Hahahaha... Good for you Judith. Do you have any sisters ? : ) Sean
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I think they're just different. I have a friend who has some pretty old Klipsch horns, and they sound very nice. I haven't heard them in a few months (they're 290 miles away). They're clearly different from my electrostatics in some subtle ways.

I auditioned the AvantGarde Duos a few weeks ago, specifically because they're considered good horns. It wasn't an exhaustive session, but it was very clear that they are doing something different. Some folks like the AvantGardes because they are so immediate. They are indeed very up-front - I thought that "in your face" might be more accurate. Some folks like that, although I personally prefer a more laid-back presentation.