Calling all Horn lovers

The worst cone speakers are horrible. There are cones that seem like they will loosen my fillings in my teeth. The worst panel speakers are horrible. The worst horn speakers are horrible Generalizations are nearly useless.

But the best horn speakers are sublime. Horns are capable of a wonderful combination of sweetness, ease, coherency, power, dynamics. You should try to find some great horns to listen to.

Now, in my "top 5 speakers ever" list is a wonderful dynamic speaker. Unfortunately, it is very inefficient to drive. But my point is that generalizations are flawed.

Now, for MY money, considering the above listed attributes of horns, plus typically good efficiency, more of my favorite speakers are indeed horns, so I would suggest listing to some.

Something I can categorically state is that the prejudice against horns in the Western press and, as a result, Western audiophile circles, is ridiculous and completely misleading.

Seek some out. Go to some shows. Then YOU tell US.

Shakeydeal, our speaker preferences are similar. If I could ask, why did you pick Bob's C model Cornscala rather than one of the other models? I'm thinking of replacing my Cornwall III's with one of his other offerings. Would appreciate your thoughts. For Bander, I grew up with horn loaded speakers and love the accuracy, dynamics and "live" music quality, as many other musicians do as well. Quality, of course, varies as does taste so careful selection is important.

but I do know that this arrangement does not have the dreaded horn "shout" or any other colorations that to my ears identify it as a horn.

IME this is the result of using the wrong kind of amplifier on the horn, rather than something inherent in the horn itself. Most older horn designs have crossovers that are not designed to work with amplifiers with lots of negative feedback (low output impedance); this results in crossover errors when such amplifiers are used. The result is that the horn may be playing information out of its proper passband! *That* is where that honky shouty horn reputation comes from. for more info see:

http://www.atma-sphere.com/Resources/Paradigms_in_Amplifier_Design.php

It may be the case that some of the characteristic horn coloration and "shout" has to do with crossover/amp compatibility, but, clearly, some of it has to do with characteristics of horn reproduction itself. I have heard big changes in sound from use of different damping material on the exterior and interior of the horn itself. Also, the same driver used on different types of horns can deliver completely different sound.

I also suspect that, to some extent, it is the midrange peak of typical horns that, to some extent, creates the impression of great dynamics and liveliness. Those horn systems where such peaks are tamed and tonal balance is actually quite decent also tend to sound a bit less lively.