Are horn speaker colored or more open and dynamic?

pure horn gives you nothing except voice.
i listened to Avantgarde Unos and they were on the list of the first horn system i liked. still would realy never stand them against good dynamic speakers for sure...

From what I own and what I have heard, the horn speakers are not really colored. I would say that they're less exaggerated and give listener more control over how they want to listen via both active and passive crossovers.
Due to the larger and more open sound, the lower frequency is not as well define due to the open enclosure. That's why some folks prefer to match horn speakers with subwoofers with seperate amplication. However, the listening experience is very different from the conventional cone speakers. Once you heard, it is hard to live with conventional speakers. If there is no size and space restriction then I would go with horn speakers for more versatility ( especially for large orchestra, opera type of music )

Just my 2 cents

Depends. There are some older horn designs that I wouldn't give a nickel for. And then there are the Avantgarde Duos. Over the years I have owned conventional speakers, planars, and electrostats. I have abandoned them all for the Duos. Nothing compares to the LIVE sound offered by these speakers. They excell in effortless reproduction of dynamics and uncolored, transparent, microdetailed sound. The speakers simply disappear and you hear only the music. I love these speakers and plan to live with them for a long time.

On the negative side, the speakers can be difficult to set up. It took me a few days to get the placement and vertical adjustment right. But once I did I was rewarded with breathtaking reproduction of music. The speakers are also very revealing of source material and amplification so you will want to use good components throughout.

- rmf

Performance of horn speakers is very design-dependent, and must be assessed on an individual basis. The designs and implementations of "horn speakers" varies so greatly, that it is almost impossible to make a generalization. Auditioning is strongly suggested before buying.

Twl, I entirely agree, but at the time of this initial post, it seemed to be the concensus on Audiogon that all horns were colored.