Why not horns?


I've owned a lot of speakers over the years but I have never experienced anything like the midrange reproduction from my horns. With a frequency response of 300 Hz. up to 14 Khz. from a single distortionless driver, it seems like a no-brainer that everyone would want this performance. Why don't you use horns?
macrojack
The Dutch should have to much in their arsenal for Uruguay, although the Dutch have always been a bit suspect in the knock out stages of the World Cup, they need another Cruyff!
Spain can and do play beautiful football (if they show up that is) with their marvelous array of talent, but have been under performing, especially Torres who has been truly woeful. The Germans are playing like a team on a mission with verve and passion, I mean how many teams could stop Argentina from having a sniff of the ball, never mind score a goal?. So, its Germany for me to beat Holland in final.
I hope FIFA pick Mr Howard Webb as the referee, a no nonsence kind of chap who is a top notch referee for the final.
Back to horns +=+=+

Here's a brief history lesson provided by your Audiogon hosts:

http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/gallery.pl?blog&1277867348

Notice that Jonathan Weiss and Oswald's Mill are mentioned.
No comments? No notice?
Jonathan Weiss or Weisselk, as he's known on Audiogon is sort of like the Anthony Bourdain of audio. He has similar gourmet leanings but that is not why I make the reference. Jonathan, like Tony, has an obsession that he travels to feed. Or he used to. Before Oswald's Mill. Once he started that up, the audio world, or it's most retro cutting edge facets, started beating a path to his door. If you visit the Oswald's Mill website you can see a chronicling of The Tastings. Those are a series of get togethers Jonathan hosted at his Mill in north central Pennsylvania annually. The most hard core hobbyist DIY people converge from near and far with their latest projects and strangest innovations. Read about them on the site.

You can also check out the OMA forum which I know DanEd reads. The horn world is a bit lonely. Few get involved and many mistakenly believe they've seen and rejected it. Fact is there are few experts and, unlike conventional box type speakers, horns require a tremendous depth of knowledge and experience that hardly anyone explores. The cookbooks that exist for box speakers haven't been provided for horns.

I've come to believe that horns are a relatively untapped (insider joke) resource that hold a potential well beyond anything that can still be extracted from box or planar designs.
Macrojack....Mr Decibel here. On a review here on Audiogon of the Ohm Walsh 2000 speakers, the reviewer states " Horns, in particular, along with drum kits and guitars(both electric and acoustic)have an uncanny natural quality that comes extremely close to sounding like real instruments playing in real space. This reviewer had the Ohm 2000s for a 120 day trial. It was a rave review. He also speaks of PRAT(pace,rhythm,attack and timing)being fine. He kept the Ohm Walsh 2000s. You started this thread asking "Why not horns?". I good friend of mine who exchanges home visits(listening sessions) with me has top of the line B&W s. We enjoy each others systems, but ultimately he prefers his and I prefer mine. Interesting though, he needs to readjust his listening back at his place, because he speaks about the sessions at my place each and every time. He still stays with the B&W. I do not try to sway him in any way to make a change, nor will he change me. I have been on so many forums over my years, and the forums I enjoy most are those of acceptance and sharing of thoughts,information and experiences. Some here do show that. However, people are entitled to their opinion, which is fine. I have kept away from this for a while now, but realistically, it is the bashing, the insulting, that takes away my enjoyment. I have been around the audio block for a long time. I consider myself and audiophile(hobbyist who seeks high quality audio reproduction through means of high quality electronics). This includes the entire reproduction chain, critically the speaker/room interaction. I also consider myself a music listener. It is to this end that I am an audiophile. I can listen on my pool deck, my boom box, my car system and elsewhere and tap my feet to music that is playing. My main system , however, takes me to a "representation" of the event, as " I " want it to be. I have helped many many people over the years put systems together, some have acquired horns, others (as my friend with the B&Ws)not. Some with tubes, some with ss. Some with analog/digital, etc. I easily accept that not everyone is in my camp, nor do I expect them to be. I believe you are quite happy with your system. While this is the case, just listen and enjoy. I do......Thank you.....Mr DB.
My observation with Walsh drivers like those in the OHMs is that they excel most on a good system with recordings that have a lot of mid-range energy. The large surface area of the Walsh driver available for conveying midrange compared to most other drivers is the reason I believe.

Big band and large brass ensembles is where this is most evident. I find many Duke Ellington recordings to be absolutely mesmerizing, for example. The power dynamics and brashness of the orchestra just come through in full bloom within a huge soundstage where everything is laid out perfectly for digestion with relatively little or no fatigue even at high volumes. No easy trick, even for horns!