Why not horns?

:The irony may lie in you insisting that horns are not for you over and over and over again."

Actually I have indicated that I am interested in horns and have researched them a good bit though I would surely not claim to be an expert.

I do not know if they are for me yet or not because I have never tried them.

And, its good that both the pros and cons are being discussed because like most anything it is a mixed bag.

Not for the faint of heart though I am fairly certain.

Don't Klipschorns achieve a fairly full range sound in a reasonable size (for horns) package?

My thought is that were I to test the waters with horns, that I would start with a proven design that has been around for a while like the Klipschorn. Its been a long time since I heard these, but I recall these to be one of the things that got me interested in audio years ago when I heard them.

I'll chime in on the digital crossover question. My basshorns are 16 feet in a 28 foot room. It would be theoretically possible to physically time align if I sat against the far wall but for the sake of space I use Pure Vinyl running on a Mac Mini with an RME Fireface 400 which allows me to have digital time delay. It digitizes at 24 bit 192 Khz and does its calculations at 64 bits. By eliminating an analog RIAA and doing it digitally I avoid the phase shifts at the knees that analog RIAA networks must have. All in all I think it is an excellent compromise and sounds truly wonderful.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could all stop by for a listen to each others systems?

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Amen, Herman! Hey, I'm not poking a stick at digital xovers. I'm just hoping to impress on the uninitiated that there are several ways to go. Yes, everything is a compromise. No argument there.

Another compromise that can be found is that with bass horns. It is possible to get low enough with a folded bass horn. The Edgarhorn Seismics that I use are such a design and they are about the size of a refrigerator. These get down in the low 20s and can be EQ'd lower.

I'm surprised there was no comment about the link I provided for a small DIY Tapped Horn design that is said to reach 25 Hz. in room. It's footprint is about 7 inches by 20 inches and it stands 30 inches tall. Here's the link again:

http://www.techfx.us/web/insubnia/Exodus%20Anarchy%2025hz%20TH.pdf

Klipschorns are pretty large and they reach down to about the mid 30 Hz. range. They are designed to be placed in corners so only certain rooms can actually accommodate them properly. The idea is for the walls running out from the corners to serve as extensions to the bass horn. It works pretty well. The K-horn can be found pretty cheaply used ($2500/pr.) and aftermarket upgrades to crossover, wiring, horns, drivers, connectors, etc. are widely available. There is much room for improvement in the original execution but the upside is very cost effective. Not a bad place to start at all and quite possibly all you will ever need. But you have to have corners. I've read that some people build extra walls just to provide corners for their K-horns.

Can someone provide some general impressions regarding the difference between a horn bass, folded horn and a good modern sub woofer(s)?

Is the difference more sonic qualities, room loading or is it that only a horn can keep up with a horn?