Why not horns?

Ralph do you think a single driver speaker can do as good as
a full range ESL (like soundlab) or a dynamic speaker;it seems to be that it would not be able to because it is being asked to do to much especially during complex musicial passages.
I admit I have never heard a single driver system though.

Rleff - My speakers are not single driver but rather a hybrid something like what Ralph describes. I have a 15 inch woofer in a 5 cu. ft. ported cabinet under each horn. I'm sorry I didn't make that clear. I don't know of any full range driver either. Typically a horn can only cover about two and a half octaves. That's why full horn systems are usually 4-way set-ups.
My horns are driven by permanent magnet compression drivers because I can't afford field coil drivers and because I was told by Bill Woods that the B&C drivers I use perform very near to the level of Cogent Field Coils. Certainly they are as close as I am ever likely to get. the Cogent Field Coil sound. My drivers sell for about $480 each. The Cogents are about $15,000/pair.

Macrojack I was surprised to see the beating horns are getting on this thread;I have no experience with them but I do admit I have an interest when the time comes;it sounds like you have a excellant setup.

many people are just not skillfull enought to set-up horn speakers;and they are merciless to inferior electronics....

Done well ,matched with good electronics,they are just magical....And the amount of horn speakers in Japan are just stagerring....perharps a tribute to the skills of the Japanese.maybe those horn-bashers should take a trip there.It we be good education on what a horn speakers really are

and you are right though, a properly set up Horn based system are infectiously musical.,second bar none.

If you don't have the right room. That translates to one with volume. As all know, horns are very directional. So, unless you can sit in the exact 'sweet spot', you lose the total effect. My first experience with horns was with a single K-Horn, yes mono days. Blew me away. Of course it was a Marantz/McIntosh/Vinyl chain. Took me twenty years but I build a room for a pair and till this day I have not found anything better.