Horn based loudspeakers why the controversy?

Kosst_amojan:

i have an architect who knows what he’s doing. We are not going full blown passive house, and there will be an air exchange system. Windows will open and close, etc. That said, tighter buildings are the future. When we started out, our house was twice as efficient as required by code. Code is catching up, now we are only maybe 25% to 50% more efficient. 

I don't post often since these forums tend to be way to opinionated. Listening to music is as individual as choosing your spouse, pet, car, etc. and I wished everyone would simply understand that.
Anyway, I owned an Edgarhorn Titan system for 13 happy years. I got intrigued with the dynamics in music as that is what I hear live and nothing does dynamics like a properly designed horn system. In a word, they can be a lot of fun if you take the time to get them set-up properly.
I started the horn journey with a pair of Avantgarde Duos and I could not get the bass to integrate as a hybrid. My room did not mess well with them but that was me and nothing to say bad as they still have a loyal following. Take a look at the gallery page on Avantgarde website and note that the Asian/European crowd love them.
Still intrigued by the dynamics, I attended 2004 CES and heard the Edgarhorns with an 845 Cyrus Brennaman SET amplifier rated at 45 WPC. Bruce was playing some classical music (and other) with an analog set-up and people in the room were simply entrenched...including me. No one was leaving the session and the room was full. One couple was wiping tears from their eyes. I have never witnessed that again at any show and likely never will. It was all about the music when done right.
After owning them, I did some mods. over the years and my favorite driving amplifier was a 45 Jeff Korneff SET.  It will always be with me that the heating vents in my 15 year old house would shake using a 2WPC amp. on those few of times I would get up the nerve to let them roll.
I sold them because I simply got tired with my space constraints in a 15 X 20 room and the careful amount of set-up due to noise floor restrictions of the 107 DB efficiency. In a larger room they would have been a world beater. 
Don't take these comments that horns are a bad design but can be if not done proper like every speaker out there. They just take more attention to space and more time to perfect. They do some things way better than anything else made especially if you like dynamic swing to the music.
I found them a pure joy and will never regret owning them. 
Once again listening to music is a personal thing so those that don't like horns please remember there are plenty that do. In the end, to each his own.

Ran a few JK 45 SETs nice amps I also had a AG Duo 2.2 and had issues with bass integration so moved on to fully horn loaded systems..  Audio play back has so many variables and to me that is  great it allows many options. I would say that horns can be used in smaller rooms if designed and or set up properly for such use. I have done so for decades and have giant room and smaller room horn systems. 

Interesting thread, I stumbled across while looking for information and thoughts on LaSacala II's as I am thinking about buying a pair. Previously I owned a pair of Heresy II's, one of the few I bought new. At the time I was running all ss gear, Classe’ DR5 & Perreaux 3150. They suffered from the fatal 'fatigue factor'. I suffered for some time with them and thinking it was the speakers fault I eventually sold them off and replaced them with QC-10's which remained my main speakers for years.

Since that time and many upgrades later I ended up with tube/ss set up (ARC LS27 & ML333). Gone were the DQ-10's replaced by Shahinian Hawks on the main system and Obelisk on second system tube/ss ARCLS17se & ML 23.5). I recently dug out of storage a pair of KG4's and as I was contemplating new speakers. I thought I would plug them into the main system to see if they were still as fatiguing as I recalled. As I listen to multiple genres depending on a given mood at the time I was quite surprised by the sound (as I was initially with the Hersey II). So, I thought I should run a few extended listening sessions, which I did.

 

Base was there, improved by keeping the subs from the Hawks with them, mid and highs were clear and spot on, a very nice surprise. Wondering if they can be improved I went with the Crites crossovers and new tweeter. Unfortunately, I upgraded both on the pair and I was somewhat disappointed with the result...something was missing that was previously there. In retrospect I wish I had done either the crossover or tweeter and then listened before completing it.

However, after another several listening sessions, either I forgot what I had initially thought was missing, or perhaps I was just wrong. I am still not sure why I had such an initial bad impression of the upgrades.

This reintroduction to horn speakers has taught me that you need to be careful with all the associated gear and that perhaps I should take another listen to their current line. I have zeroed in on either the LaSacala II or perhaps the Khorns if I think the room can support them (12x21).

So, the only thing I can say in favor of horns is yes, they are not for everyone and depending on source material may not play well with all types of music. However, I have liked from the first time I had heard them and with the proper matching of supporting components they tend to be very musical. Much like the Obelisk's in my experience is that having tubes/ss in the loop seems to tame them and makes them much more listenable. Might I get tired of them again, perhaps but that is why I want to live with the KG4’s for awhile and fire up the Hawks when I am in the mood for some classical music. But for now…. I am loving the KG’s.

 

My $0.02

The Heresy IIIs do need, for my tastes anyway, a good sub to make a full range system. I use 2 RELs I already owned when I bought the Heresy IIIs, and they took some time to adjust as they were getting significantly less signal from the amp as the Heresy doesn't need more than a watt or 2 to get going. I'm in the "all speakers should work with all music camp" as music specific speaker design would be ridiculous (except for ultimate level limits) because classical, heavy metal, and those middle eastern monk yawning albums all need the same mojo coming to your earballs. I mix live shows and use the same speakers for the Baltimore Consort or Julian Lage. Heresy IIIs are coherant, exacting music reproducers, I'm never thinking while listening to them that they're horns, they can expose flaws in your rig or a recording if there are any, and they have surprised me with their tonal accuracy. I think everybody should drop what they're doing a buy a pair immediately. Get a pair, as they say.