Why not horns?

Why not horns? Because the USA press killed them for the US market over 30 years ago and most audiophiles are naive enough to believe what they read. In the Far East they never gave up on horns and I can assure you, it's not because they are deaf. Far from it, they never took several horrible wrong turns that the USA audio market did, following the magazine founders, and then the sycophant reviewers they hired, like they were gods.

"Because the USA press killed them for the US market over 30 years ago and most audiophiles are naive enough to believe what they read."

The large systems needed for full range high efficiency horns and space increasingly being at a premium for many probably had a lot to do with it. Not to mention all the other inconveniences and potential additional expenses for many dealing with large and heavy household items.

I don't own horn speakers but I do like them quite a lot when they're properly implemented. At CES last month I heard a multitude of rooms with very expensive and highly raved about speakers. One of the very best sounding rooms I heard in terms of realistic and natural sound was the Cessaro horn driven by the Electra Fidelity 300b SET. Very alive and involving presentation. Many rooms even with high power amplifiers driving relatively inefficient speakers had a duller, less vibrant and flat 2 dimensional sound in comparison. The difference was pretty striking in some cases. A good quality horn can sound excellent.

Charles,

I remember once Harry Pearson (back in the 80s) commenting that horns weren't 'high end'. That sure has changed- no way he would say that now.

If they were not "high end" then they would be pretty much extinct by now, at least for home use.

Obviously that is not the case and they still thrive in pro applications where efficiency is in high demand.