@inna
Perhaps someone should start a thread regarding horn speakers. This " love it or hate it " impression has to be explored, I think.
Personally, I don’t like in your face sound nor do I like laid back sound, horns or not.
To truly address horn speakers at least we have to maintain the distinction between the hybrids and the all-horns, but strictly speaking the latter should have the main focus - otherwise, to my mind, it would be doing (all-)horns a disservice, certainly in an effort to narrow down more precisely their sonic imprinting as true horn speakers. Poster @buellrider97 poses a good question above in asking: "Do the high quality horn systems move the air with the authority of underhung voice coils and massive power?," because it calls out comparing quality horns to quality (under-hung voice coil) direct radiating speakers in an area which, in essence, points to revealing differences between them in more general terms. This also goes to show what could be the problematic issue in combining horns with directs radiating transducers, and that at least some of the negativity aimed at "horns" could be rooted in this. Obviously I can’t speak for all let alone base my impressions on an all-encompassing breadth of speakers, horns or not, but going by some monitor speakers in particular (like larger ATC’s, Stage Accompany and JBL’s) and a general larger segment of direct radiating speakers, I find them to exhibit a rather "pulsating," sharply defined, sometimes a bit disjointed (not the ATC’s and SA’s), and in many cases (not the aforementioned monitors) a slight leanness to the upper bass/lower midrange. All-horn speakers by comparison (i.e.: my own speakers, WE, Altec, Living Voice, etc.) can possess more of a kind of a floating/fluid/effortless, warm, enveloping sphere-like crispness, and a sense of uninhibited presence and overall size. The sound here seems less defined (though without lack of detail), and more like a large vibrating, again, sonic sphere in front of you. Contrary to what many believe I find all-horns to perhaps be the most easy-on-the-ears sounding speakers (not to be confused with ’pleasing’ as such), but those who mayn't think this way could in reality be referring to hybrids (or not). The uninhibited presence I’m referring to is not to be confused with in-your-face, a very important distinction here, although I’m aware many describe "horns" to sound like that (and I’m sure they can be right in assuming so based on other speakers). Coming about the sonic impressions of hybrids (horns + direct radiators in some configuration) to my ears generally point in a different, third direction. The last hybrid I listened to more closely were the JBL K2 S9900’s, and I found them to be all-around dynamic but not compellingly coherent, and speaking with different "voices" - particularly in the bass and central to upper midrange. In that regard I find them to mimic in a sense my impressions of other hybrids. Just my $0.02.
