There are hobbyists and professionals out there in Audiophile Village who have lifelong experience with every horn made by Klipsch, JBL, Altec, Electrovoice, RCA, Western Electric, etc. who have found ways to surpass the performance levels and/or practicality available from those companies. Many of these people are alive and walking among you. Whether or not you choose to notice and avail youtself of what they have to offer is, of course, up to you. I do not have comprehensive knowledge of all of these designers and experimenters but I had hopes when I started this thread that many would be named. This hasn't happened. Bruce Edgar was something of a pioneer, not so much for what he was doing but more for the fact that he managed to get some light shone on his products. Jim Smith, through his networking and marketing skills, brought a lot of attention to Avant Garde horns. Neither sold much to the masses because horns, as stated earlier, need to be of a certain size and good ones tend to be expensive. When entry into the world of sophisticated horn design is mid five figures, many will be reluctant or unable to explore. I was in the second category. Speakers priced well above $25000 per pair were way out of my league. But a combination of luck and a lucid moment conspired to put me in possession of world class performance for under $5000.
So here are some names and products to investigate. There is Classic Audio Reproductions, which Ralph Karsten owns and recommends. Earl Geddes can be found through his Circle on Audio Circle. He has a pretty big following of DIY guys because he sells kits and his forum provides all manner of assistance to his customers. Tom Danley is considered by many to be the leading light in horn design today. He is more focused on medium sized venue desgn, particularly churches, but his Unity drivers and Tapped Horns have proven to be useful innovations for some audiophiles. Clayton Shaw of Emerald Physics makes an open baffle/horn hybrid that sells at a reasonable price and has won many converts. Audiokinesis also works with waveguides and since he is present here I will not presume to synopsize his work, as I've probably already botched some details elsewhere. And then there is Bill Woods who many feel makes the purest mid-range horn currently available. If you are clever and lucky enough, you can create a very affordable and successful hybrid using Bill's horns and a quality bass cabinet.
I'm sure this is not a comprehensive list. In fact, I just remembered Oris horns as an option I overlooked above. Certainly there are many others. Do you know of any that I failed to mention? Or can you add to what I've said? Feel free to correct any misinformation or oversight. But let's get our heads together and share what we know about current horn offerings.
Aren't you tired of the same old recycled and boring products from the famous brands? Isn't it time to stop letting the magazines tell you what you can like? There is a quantum leap at your disposal if you care to avail yourself of it.
