Horn based loudspeakers why the controversy?

Phusis, I respectfully suggest you read the thread I previously hyper-linked.

Midrange purity of horns? Ha! You can’t be serious.

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(... I thought it was obvious that I was questioning the midrange purity of horns. Horns are about as different as omnis as can possibly be. Based upon your love of omnis, (which I do appreciate), I can’t help but feel that horns would be an anathema to you. I find horns to be the most colored of all the different speakers. I will say that they do do dynamics and loudness as well or better than just about all other speakers (though the Wilson’s can give them a run). If one were to listen to nothing but big band music, I could understand one choosing horns, but despite literaly hundreds of demos, including some high touted and expensive rigs, I find horns to be a bad joke.)

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... I don’t like horns because to my sensibilities the are honky, screechy, shouty, have a cupped coloration, are too big, can be so sensitive that they amplify every minutia of noise and distortion, are ugly, require a ridiculous amount of of space, get in the way of themselves in such a manner that time aligning them is next to impossible without the added expense of digital manipulation, image poorly, and due to the the exra needed labor to manufacture, the huge size, unusual shape and extra weight cost more than competing designs. IMHO, all told, horns offer an ugly sound for a very high price.

(I offer my apologies for wandering off topic and mentioning other brands of speakers that don’t offer horns. In my defense it was in response to other contributors that brought up the fact that current technology allows horns to now be time and phase coherent, something that was previously next to impossible to do. I applaud the effort. Another poster suggested that only one other very different speaker technology was capable of that. The inference was that horns are no worse than most in that regard. I thought it appropriate to point out that various other speaker designs offer that capability. Some of us find that important.)

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I couldn’t possibly remember them all, there didn’t seem to be any reason to. I’ve heard just about all the Klipschs, some JBL’s, some Altecs, most of the Avante Gardes, the KARS, etc.,etc.. The absolute worst and perhaps funniest were being demonstrated at a show, were horns that used used actual tuba bells. I still shake my head when I think of those.

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(Macrojack, I think you make a good point. I think electrical amplification is preferable. As I posted earlier, I suspect that the current trend in horn speakers, is due to the current trend in low powered amplifiers, not to any inherent superiority of horns. I will grant you that horns almost always play louder, and are usually superior in dynamic contrasts. To my ears those benefits are far out weighted by their compromises. If mechanical amplification is all that good, why aren’t Victrolas used much anymore?)

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... horns have have historically had some of the biggest companies spending the most money trying to develop them. I don’t see why you think they are capable of lower distortion. Yes, I think horns are more archaic. There’s a reason there are so many more cones and domes, they make more sense. Even panels and omnis make more sense, at least to me. Speaker designers no longer need to compromise their products due to the limited availability of high powered amplifiers. Other speaker designs are capable of filling residential sound rooms with enough volume without the need for additional mechanical volume enhancers. Horns have been well understood for decades. Perhaps there might be advancements due to CAD, improved drivers and digital cross-overs, but those types of advancements will be probably bear more and sweeter fruit for other designs. Truth be told, many if not most of the advancements that might be available in horn development for home use, will probably never see the light of day, because they probably aren’t worth the investment due to market considerations. What ever future horn development there might be, will probably be geared to commercial venue applications in which high fidelity might not be the highest priority.

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... The very concept of a horn suggests to me a distortion creator. I’m not completely satisfied with audio reproduction as it currently exists. I just think other design considerations might hold much more promise, such as the German Physiks carbon fibre DDD.

kost_amojan,

You are deliberately provocative and needlessly argumentative. Not one post has claimed that horn loudspeakers are inherently perfect. It looks like you are trolling.

• Reason I asked why the controversy? Is that it has been my experience that horn loudspeakers bring with them this air of crazy owner not a valid high-end choice 1/2 deaf only listens loud that ribbon dome planar estat dynamic plasma options do not seem to generate. Once it has a horn its sort of taboo. I work with a good amount of advanced transducers Mundorfs, SEAS, Accuton, Moral, RAAL many others and I enjoy working with them I understand strengths weakness I can get results I want out of designs goals that I have for them. I find most all transducers and loudspeaker design to be fascinating and I post about it often but if I post on horns a loudspeaker design that uses some well thought out massive powerful well made and great sounding transducers- I just do not get the hate? Why should such a useful tool be so easily disregarded as a option? One poster referred to early air suspension marketing and stereo salesmen as a potential source to some of the passed on facts about horns for high end use. And the need to talk early mono system owners into new stereo designs so maybe that is still effecting media and general public’s opinion on horns maybe horns are just so terrible and I just cant hear it. But I do have a good num of industry professionals who have listened to my shearers and I never had one complain or point out a sonic flaw just bopping and smiles. More than one has mentioned how its like a musical event not just a playback system. And I would think maybe that might be of interest to audiophiles who are seeking such playback.