What does one purchase after owning horns?

People almost always ignore comments such as Atmasphere's:

"Just to dispel a couple of common myths, Sound Labs are capable of impressive dynamics..."

This was my experience. I was actually, very, very pleasantly surprised at how dynamic they were. Just listening, if one didn't know the technology, I'm not sure that one would know they weren't dynamic/cone speakers.
Surprising.
I'm almost certain that my complaints about 'horn coloration' are also, likely, 'dated' and no longer applicable.
Two complaints have always been...'horn coloration', which I 'claim' to be able to hear that, (to me) characteristic 'horn sound'. That and the 'lack of dynamic' consistency between the horn and the bass 'drivers'.
There's this discontinuity that I've always heard between those different drivers.

So I'll ask--(Duke if he's out there), does this still exist? (Of course, given the great dynamics of the horn drivers, it 'has to exist'to some degree, otherwise the horn isn't doing what horns do). So the remaining question has to be, is it still a negative that's obvious? OR, has it been ameliorated to the point, in terms of 'blend' that it's no longer a fundamental issue? Was it ever? Anyone else hear that??

Just wondering.

Good listening,
Larry

Lrsky, having owned the big Sound Labs and many other electrostats, I don't question that they have 'impressive' dynamics but not the speed of horns, especially compression driver horns.

I should also say that all horn systems lack horn bass systems. Yes, such bass horns are very big.

I don't think we have yet 'blended' different drivers. I well remember Nelson Pass's full-range plasma speaker that landed him in the hospital and made me sick after about 15 minutes. It also had no dynamics. I was, of course, being fanciful in asking for a full-range point source driver with great efficiency. I don't expect this will happen in my lifetime.

"There's this discontinuity that I've always heard between those different drivers."

I've always found matching two radically distinct kinds of drivers (in terms of efficiency and dynamics) in the same system to be inherently problematic, but have not noticed a problem in my admittedly limited exposure to what I would consider to be some of the better horn designs I have heard.

Tbg,
"I don't question that they have 'impressive' dynamics but not the speed of horns..."

Surprising...my Sound Labs were about as fast as I've heard...you're saying that horns are faster?

Just clarifying.

I may need to look at horns very seriously. I wish Duke didn't live in Katmandu...

Good listening,
Larry

I don't think I've done this before, but...
I was commenting on another post and this seemed appropriate to this particular post. So I cut and pasted the last few sentences of that, as it relates to dynamics, horns etc. (I realized I write way too much sometimes, OK all the time).

Here it is...
This past Sunday, I was invited to a concert that a friend was conducting, a 40 piece 'BAND'...no strings.
During it, of course, I closed my eyes, pretending it was home stereo, (how 'bout that for full circle irony).
What was missing was pretty amazing.
Very little of the instrument specificity, (that may be something we simply 'apply' in orchestral works)in terms of location.
The MAIN thing missing (at home) is dynamic contrast. The zero to 115+db (and more) was startling. That, and the scaling of the various instruments and how different they are in that dynamic contrasting...piccalos are really, really dynamic, at least, they 'cut through', (no doubt a function of their place on the pitch scale and the human hearing 'curve') all the other instruments. Nature's way of allowing the piccalo to say, 'Here I am', even if I am a fraction the size of a Tuba!

All in all, it was a reminder of what Ngjockey said, AND how important it is to hear, (for me at least) accoustic music played. Moreover, it may, may have been a really good commercial for Horn Speakers--at least the dynamics made it a reminder.

Good listening,