Horn based loudspeakers why the controversy?

Open your mind and ears and give a horn system a unbiased extended listen..

" Open your mind and ears and give a horn system a unbiased extended listen".

I couldn't agree more!  We all hear differently and have different tastes.  I personally am not a fan of "A/B" tests, frequent switching back and forth between speakers; I much prefer spending some "quality time" evaluating "speaker A", then switching the cabling to spend "quality time" evaluating "speaker B", all with music you enjoy and are familiar with.

I enjoy all types of loudspeaker all have uses all one can make synergistic systems out of. Horns have strengths weakness like all things to ignore strengths and only focus on weak points is self defeating with a system made of multiple devices playing towards strengths is the best way to get synergy. The more you know about audio the better your system will be those hating on horn loudspeakers without really experiencing maybe missing out on one of the worlds greatest pleasures or may also be saving themselves pain and $ but for me I want to know and I am glad I try most everything. I found what I like in audio what performance aspects have the most meaning for me and I hope you will or already have.

… Most horn systems are physically large, and like a lot of other large speakers, they deliver a "big" sound. The sound seems to fill up a large volume of space and envelop the listener. I like this quality a lot. When one listens to tiny speakers, even when they play quite loudly, one can sense that the sound is coming from a small source and it does not seem to have realistic scale.

I wholeheartedly agree with the above. Being ’enveloped’ (a very fitting term here) by sound the way large horns can do while providing proper-ish scale is what really sets them apart from most others speakers, I find. Another aspect that is inherently linked to this sensation is that of effortlessness; it de-stresses the sound in a way that is both relaxing and more believable. Smaller, direct radiating speakers can sound "large" in a different, spatial way, but they don’t load the listening space in the same authoritative, solid and room-lock kind of way.