What does one purchase after owning horns?

Ralph, Can you elaborate on exactly WHY the Avantgarde speakers are "meant for" SS amps? And is there an SS amp-type which would work similarly to a tube amp (or at least in a way such that the speaker would think that it was looking at a tube amp)?

I ask because I recently tried SS amps (zero NFB, Class A) on my horns and found myself enjoying the combination. I have not spent enough time since the earthquake here listening critically to get a handle on them yet and my ultimate goal is to bi-amp, but so far so good.

Mapman wrote: "The primary benefit of horns is efficiency."

No doubt I'm in the minority here, but my primary reason for using horns (waveguides being a type of horn) is radiation pattern control.

radiation pattern control lack of distortion and efficiency

"lack of distortion"

That's a tough case to make in reality I think.

I'll buy radiation pattern control as a another unique attribute of potential benefit.

Shadorne you do not mention SPL level for conventional design distort much when near max SPL.

John - yes that is true. I was just passing on info on horns. In conventional designs if you need higher SPL and need good linearity then big and beefy drivers with pro voice coils and magnets are the ticket. In the case of horns however there is a fundamental difference because the non-linearity comes from non-linear air compression in the chamber - so it is an inherent issue that can change the way the sound is compressed as a function of SPL and frequency. As I mentioned, I think it is clear from the JBL paper - these problems are more significant in very high efficiency horns (greater compression) and long horns with narrow flare. AG horns are both efficient and have a long narrow flare - so it may help the OP achieve better bass integration to consider other less "aggressive" horn designs with wider flare and lower efficiency.

Just a thought....every design has its pros and cons and the OP has clearly stated why horns sound so good (the pros).