Horn listeners - Do you have trouble listening to others?

You watched Aquaman?

@Soudnsrealaudio

I did. Hysterical. :)

First 1/3 the underwater scenes looked filmed in a pet store tank.

No one gets a good hair die.

Reused props from Lord of the Rings
And Black Mantis - Damn. The HUD display effects were right out of the 1980s. I guess atlantis never got past 320x200 16 color displays
Aquaman in 1985 still watching a 1960’s TV
And again, Black Mantis, the cinematography was just atrocious.

Last, worst offense: No one in Atlantis can give you a decent hair dye

@erik_squires --

...

The reason I’m asking you horn peeps this is that dynamic range is one of the main selling points for horn speakers. Do you feel uncomfortable in the same ways?

If so, this is good evidence that we are hacking our brain when we listen. That we are learning to hear in certain ways based on the gear we listen to.

I can’t quite follow the conclusive part of the above. Learning to hear (in certain ways), or seeking to attain particular traits (that are more or less inherently "correct" to one’s ears) that we’re then further accustomed to? I’d say this is an important distinction.

To me it comes down to the process of discovering the least prohibitive aspect in the overall sonic presentation of a given loudspeaker, and I don’t find this to be a learning process as such - actually the opposite is true, I find. A learning process, where sonic perception goes, to my mind bears the distinction of trying to persuade yourself about something that you’d otherwise be more naturally inclined - as an immediate, synthesized feeling - to deem "false," in a sense. An audio or visual experience that may even approach an aesthetic ditto is all about being the least prohibited and having the feeling of being "washed over" of sensual stimuli; letting it come to you with your guards lowered and the mind at work as little as possible. This is why I find the better speaker is usually more able to elicit an emotional reaction to music.

That’s the one core aspect I cherish about quality (all-)horn speakers, that they’re the least prohibitive to me. What this comes down is rooted in a range of traits, such as presence and warmth even, effortlessness, dynamic and transient capabilities, very little smear to the sound, overall sonic size (i.e.: big, but not unnaturally so), coherency, and an inherent sense of power or force, even at lower volumes. I won’t argue that many feel horn speakers (or more likely: horn hybrids) to be strident, nasal, colored or whatever, but I’d wager most of them haven’t heard really good all-horn speakers and that their frame of reference is limited or unfortunate.

Another important aspect of horn sound, and that is very much part of the its core trait, is how horns actually couple the sound to the air as if the sound is somehow "connected" or linked to the medium, and effectively carried to one’s ears. Direct radiators often sound as is their sound somehow vanishes in front of me, and the energy of music is easily lost this way. It’s not that I’m really troubled listening to other speakers, I’m just not really involved - bored even.

I’ve found a good way to assess whether your stereo, speakers not least, really appeal to you is to pay close attention to the reaction of your first impressions of the stereo having not listened to it for a while. Let it play at more than moderate SPL’s though for an hour or so while you’re out of the listening room, prior to this small "test."

@erik_squires 
My GF and I have no troubles conversing while playing my system.

Glare is not universal with any technology. Certainly not horns. I've heard some solid state amps that are glare-free too (considerably more rare).

Glare IME is an indication of distortion- IMD or higher ordered harmonics, both of which aren't particularly pleasant.

I like scyfy/fantasy a lot and read Aquaman comics when I was a kid but that movie sucked.

 I find with horns they are more likely to highlight glare if it is there.