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How come Horn + woofer designs are not more popular?

A couple guys on my audio discord really love the JBL synthesis 4367 and feel that all traditional 3 way tower speakers suck because they have poor bass response and are generally shy sounding. What I wonder is how come the majority of speaker makes do floor standers that are 3 way as oppose to the Horn +woofer design of JBL?

Is there any downsides to the horn + woofer design? Can a horn convey microdetail as well as a Be tweeter like say from magic A or S line? They claim 3 way floor standers are just trendy. But is there anything more to it then that?
smodtactical
roberjerman
4,319 posts
 
@mrdecibel : Eventually I will try the Speakerlab 7's with my First Watt F5 clone (Tim Rawson- built). 
rodman99999
5,984 posts
 
@roberjerman- The 7’s bass system was designed by Mila Nestorovic. Should you ever need/want another, perfect pair of that Speakerlab system’s 10" woofer(W1048P), I have them(w/ butyl surrounds).
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,467 posts
 
Horns tend to have an uneven radiation pattern with frequency. They also have a comb like response especially at higher frequencies. This can be perceived as shouty or unbalanced. It changes the tonality due to the variable off axis response.
ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62
2,836 posts
 
Horns tend to have an uneven radiation pattern with frequency. They also have a comb like response especially at higher frequencies. This can be perceived as shouty or unbalanced. It changes the tonality due to the variable off axis response.

That’s a lot of “who shot John”. Another way to say it is “horns sound more like real music”.......

Oz


mrdecibel
2,898 posts
 
roberjerman, excellent amplifier !
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