Why not horns?

08-19-06: Unsound
Oz, I do like the Thiel sound. I'v been using Thiels since 1988. While the 3.5's can sound a bit hard on occasion (and this is very dependent on the recording), I personaly think they might be one of the all time great classics,

With all due respects can you please diluge which of your music sounds erm, unsound through your Thiels?

06-26-10: Macrojack

Ralph Karsten owns Atma Sphere, a designer of OTL amplifiers who has risen to the top of the industry over the past couple of decades. He has stated a preference for horn loudspeakers because he feels strongly that they provide desirable characteristics which cannot be duplicated by any other available option.

WE:

I don't recall Ralph stating a preference for Horn speakers over other topologies and not everyone likes to drop their pants in public, to prove anything to you, just to voice an opinion, so please spare me the condescension.....

For the Record:

I have never heard a horn speaker that met my criteria, my decision is based on hearing the best of the best,So unless the best of the best currently available to man is not good enuff, never setup correctly, had the wrong amps or yada, yada, yada , I will stick to my conclusion until i hear differently ...Dig !

Nothing to do with hating Horns !

You on the other hand sound like you have something to sell.........

Unsound, you are definitely mistaken - many, if not most of the greatest symphonic recordings of the "golden age" were monitored with horns. To name the most famous example, the Mercury people most often used Altec A7's, driven by MacIntosh electronics. A great many orchestral musicians are of the opinion that horns come the closest to recreating the sound of a live orchestra. Electrostats come close as well, but do not have the dynamic range of horns in either extreme. I also agree with Atmasphere and Johnk that horns can image as well or better than any other type, something which indeed is very important for classical music.

Here's a quote from Ralph Karsten of Atma Sphere that you can find on page 2 of this thread. If you are concerned about my lifting it out of context, you can read the entire comment there.
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So when I say I prefer the horns I do, its over mbls, Wilsons, Sound Labs, Quads, Magnaplanars, Appogees (and their current clones, which are quite good), Avalons, Dalis and many other excellent speakers too numerous to mention. Further, I don't expect horns to always be on top; all technologies improve and one has to be ready to pick up and move if you want to stay on top :)
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If I had a pair of Magnepans, I would make sure I lived near a beach with big waves, so I could use them as surf boards.
LOL.