I hear shouty just as atmasphere describes it. In stock form my circa mid-late 80's Klipschorns certainly had it, one major infraction was the K-401 mid horn. Exponential horn, metal, rang like a bell, bad throat design, etc. I could have never lived with those mids, timbre anomalies I would describe as shouty. My replacement Volti tractrix horns were one of the most important upgrades I made to Klipschorns, although further improvements were necessary to get natural timbre throughout frequency spectrum. Quite an experience how my Klipshcorns evolved with each modification, so many components amenable to upgrades! And yes, increased loudness shouldn't cause a single bit more stridency, hard to do with horns.
It seems many don't like horn speakers, I get it, but one bad experience doesn't make for an overarching conclusion. Proper horn loudspeaker design and execution, proper room treatments and sympathetic system matching can bring an illusion of live performers in room that's intoxicating. I've been through many types of speakers in over thirty years as audiophile, these Klipschorns have required the most involved system building and modifications yet, ocd has been required. My Klipschorns expose everything, such great efficiency, absolutely requires even a single watt of signal boost to be high quality, every link in audio chain must be optimized.
It seems many don't like horn speakers, I get it, but one bad experience doesn't make for an overarching conclusion. Proper horn loudspeaker design and execution, proper room treatments and sympathetic system matching can bring an illusion of live performers in room that's intoxicating. I've been through many types of speakers in over thirty years as audiophile, these Klipschorns have required the most involved system building and modifications yet, ocd has been required. My Klipschorns expose everything, such great efficiency, absolutely requires even a single watt of signal boost to be high quality, every link in audio chain must be optimized.