Click title to read one, or click date to read all below it.
05-22-10
one man's "no-brainer"(btw,i hate that term!!)is a ... Tpreaves
05-22-10
I own horns as well. you should do a bit more reading before ... Viridian
05-22-10
I dislike their sound. Jburidan
05-22-10
If a room is lively already, horns might not be a good idea ... Riley804
05-22-10
The very best horn designs run at about 3% thd when played l ... Shadorne
05-22-10
I absolutely loathe horns! Unsound
05-22-10
Horns are great...on cars!!! Mike_in_md
05-22-10
Honk, honk! seriously though, some are pretty good if the s ... 4est
05-22-10
Shadorne, i have yet seen or heard any speaker which can p ... Sidssp
05-22-10
atc claim this on their highest end designs such as the scm ... Shadorne
05-22-10
I'm sure there are a number of people who have done extensiv ... Herman
05-22-10
Herman, you might be guessing right, but how many hundreds o ... Unsound
05-22-10
Good question, but you could extend that to just about anyth ... Herman
05-22-10
Funny...i have a few speakers all horn design, but with all, ... Bjpd57a1
05-22-10
Bjpd57a1, that is one heck of a love poem there. nicely don ... Soundgasm
05-22-10
I do use horns (klipsch).....i like them a lot. i think the ... Sogood51
05-22-10
no brainer is the exact term for anyone who cannot hear the ... Stanwal
05-22-10: Macrojack
Here is the driver I am using:
www.bcspeakers
Check out Acoustic Horn Company AH300 to see the horn I'm talking about. While it is true that a term like distortionless is hyperbolic, it is also true that you will be unable to detect any semblance of distortion in my room at practical listening levels. Conical horns are claimed to avoid congestion and therefore distortion in the horn throat.
As for room interaction, it is actually lower than with more conventional drivers because the horns are only 40 degree dispersion. That's 20 degrees either side of axis, which is to say pretty narrow. That means the sound reaches you well before it reaches any reflective boundaries.
The disqualifier for some people will be listening distance. It is best to have at least 12 feet between you and your horns.
Distortion figures at 120 db have no place in any discussion about my sound system as it will never play anywhere near that loud.
These are the same horns used by Gogent, Oswald's Mill and Chris Brady of Teres Turntable. There is no honk. The presentation is like that of a very dynamic QUAD.
Macrojack (Reviews | Threads | Answers | This Thread)
05-22-10
" i have yet seen or heard any speaker which can pl ... 4est
05-22-10
Macro, i understand what you are asking but you could open u ... Recordho
05-22-10
Why isn't everybody using recent model quad electrostatics? ... Onhwy61
05-22-10: Macrojack
Those of you who reject all horns out of hand have much to learn.
Macrojack (Reviews | Threads | Answers | This Thread)
05-22-10
I always think of horns as like putting the sound under a ma ... Mapman
05-22-10
i should add "in the bass region" which is where ... Shadorne
05-22-10
Electrostatics is so much harder to say then "horns&quo ... Sounds_real_audio
05-22-10
Personally i have tried most types of speaker, boxes, electr ... Chadeffect
05-22-10: Macrojack
I made an assumption when I started this thread that only a small percentage of audiophiles were aware of how well horns can reproduce music. So far these responses support that assumption.
While there are many of you who might not enjoy the sound and there are a number of others who are in circumstances that make the horn choice inappropriate, many others could improve their sound system to a great degree by switching to quality front loaded horns.
Emerald Physics and Earl Geddes are two sources who offer rather affordable and well regarded options. BD Design and Acoustic Horn Company are a couple of others.
I urge you all to find out what you are missing. High efficiency is a side benefit in that it increases your amplifier options infinitely. Check it out.
Macrojack (Reviews | Threads | Answers | This Thread)
05-22-10
I'm a big fan of esls and ribbons, but the horns i have in m ... Atmasphere
05-22-10
Ralph do you think a single driver speaker can do as good as ... Rleff
05-22-10: Macrojack
Rleff - My speakers are not single driver but rather a hybrid something like what Ralph describes. I have a 15 inch woofer in a 5 cu. ft. ported cabinet under each horn. I'm sorry I didn't make that clear. I don't know of any full range driver either. Typically a horn can only cover about two and a half octaves. That's why full horn systems are usually 4-way set-ups.
My horns are driven by permanent magnet compression drivers because I can't afford field coil drivers and because I was told by Bill Woods that the B&C drivers I use perform very near to the level of Cogent Field Coils. Certainly they are as close as I am ever likely to get. the Cogent Field Coil sound. My drivers sell for about $480 each. The Cogents are about $15,000/pair.
Macrojack (Reviews | Threads | Answers | This Thread)
05-22-10
Macrojack i was surprised to see the beating horns are getti ... Rleff
05-22-10
Many people are just not skillfull enought to set-up horn sp ... Fafafion
05-23-10
If you don't have the right room. that translates to one wi ... Buconero117
05-23-10
Hi tom, i agree with you whole heartilly. a good horn system ... Jessie91
05-23-10
I have owned klipsch la scallas 20 years ago. i am not imply ... Vernneal
05-23-10
Macrojack, part of the reason you're getting some negativity ... Onhwy61
05-23-10
If you want violins to sound like trumpets, get horns. on th ... Eldartford
05-23-10
Macrojack, lets see a pic of the horns. Streetdaddy
05-23-10
Eldartford, or: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mthx0bsune Unsound
05-23-10
Unsound... that's a neat instrument. ideal for a steet perf ... Eldartford
05-23-10
Eldartford, i think it might be more cocrrectly described as ... Unsound
05-23-10
I've had reasonably extensive experience with horns - i curr ... Martykl
05-23-10: Macrojack
My system is unsettled as I am playing around with parts and pieces right now. I have a slight noise, a faint rushing sound behind everything. I've been able to eliminate it by taking the digital speaker management system out of the loop but that is no solution. Because the speakers are so good, I am working to eliminate the sound. I have been using a DBX Drive Rack PA up until now but have recently learned that better units are available. This led me to purchase a British made XTA DP 224 to replace the DBX. Apparently getting home and pro audio to play nice together can be very difficult due to impedance and level matching issues. Toward this end, I have hired a professional sound engineer to do the dirty work for me as I have discovered the XTA to be over my head.
So here's the kit: I have a Technics SL 150 MK II turntable with a Rega RB 300 arm. Both are new and have not been put into use as yet. I have a Parasound JC-2 preamp going into the digital crossover and then to my amplifiers. Todaythere is a Class D Audio 60 watt stereo amp kit driving the horns and a Parasound A-23 amplifier driving the woofers. Other amplifiers that may be used in the final setup are waiting in the wings. I have a second Parasound A-23, a Perreaux PMF 1850, A pair of Audio Mirror 20 watt SET monoblocks, and a soon to be delivered Rawson clone Aleph J.
The speakers are Acoustic Horn Company AH300 horns driven by B&C DCX 50 compression drivers. These are mounted atop JBL L-200 cabinets with RCF L15P530 woofers installed.
Here's a link from the Acoustic Horn website showing a photo of my speakers back when I bought them about 18 months ago. Scroll down to "Tom from Denver" and that's my system then. The speakers still look the same. If you click on a photo, it will enlarge.
www.acoustichorn
I suspect I will wind up using all Parasound because the stuff is balanced, matched and has gain controls on all three pieces. I've read that there can be great advantages in using identical amplifiers in a biamp situation. Input on that theory would be appreciated.
Now about the title of my thread. There was no agenda driving the choice of words. I guess I was just responding to the seemingly prevalent bias against horns which has surfaced in some of our replies. I was a Zu owner previously and I could go back to those in a minute. Sean Casey cut his teeth on horn speakers and I think there is a horn characteristic in the delivery of Zu speakers. That shows up in their exceptional dynamics and broadcast nature.
Perhaps I should have titled the thread something like, "I like my horns. Do you like yours?". The true believer epithet is over the top, Glenn Beck caliber heckling which I would love never to encounter for the rest of my days but Atwater lifted the lid long ago and we, as a result, have become a nation of snipes. I hope this entry answers enough questions and permits us to get back to the topic of "WHY NOT HORNS?".
Macrojack (Reviews | Threads | Answers | This Thread)
05-23-10
I am amused. those that think every sound coming from horns ... Herman
05-23-10: Macrojack
Marty - I can see in theory that the problem you mention has potential to discourage. I don't personally play my system loud enough for the lagging woofer issue to compromise results. But I'm coming into geezerhood so I' may not serve as a useful bellwether in that regard. By the same token, my drivers are coaxial, yet I've never seen fit to hook up the tweeters. They just aren't needed as I don't hear anything up there.
Perhaps there is reason to question my being a useful example in any regard as I no longer hold that the best sound reproduction I can achieve should be my only goal at the expense of all else. I've reached a place in my life where I choose to balance convenience, aesthetics, cost and versatility against audiophile absolutes. Are others making those kind of choices?
Macrojack (Reviews | Threads | Answers | This Thread)
05-23-10
" if at some point in the future i feel the need to put ... Mapman
05-23-10: Macrojack
My bass cabinets are 24 inches wide and 33 inches tall. The horn mouths are 18 inches outside diameter. Total height is 52 inches. You could hide my whole speaker behind a Magnapan 3.6.
Go measure your speakers. Certainly mine are not compact but neither are they outlandishly huge. Some people have space for them and some don't. I'm aware that horns do not have universal appeal. If they are a realistic possibility, I would urge you to investigate. If your wife won't allow it or you can't sit back far enough or your religion clearly states "Thou shall not horn", then you shouldn't tamper with your staus quo. If you have a curiosity, as I inexplicably did, then scratch yer damn itch. Take a flyer and see if you like the horn presentation the way a lot of others say they do.
Macrojack (Reviews | Threads | Answers | This Thread)
05-23-10
Actually i have a decent size house yet parted with my maggi ... Mapman
05-23-10
Proud owner of klipschorns since 1988 and wouldn't consider ... Markpao
05-23-10
I think the old klipsch are a great starting point...easy to ... Sogood51
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