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How much of High End Audio is Horn Speakers?

An audio friend of mine had been discussing my future speaker purchase. We discussed, Harbeth, Devore, Spendor, Audio Note and other more traditional speaker brands. A week or two later he called an asked me what speakers I had purchased. When I told him Klipsch, there was a little silence on the other end of the line. Our call probably ended a little sooner then usual. I could tell he was disappointed in my purchase. Is it the Klipsch name that illicits this type of response or is it Horn speakers in general? After thinking about some of the other Audiophiles in town, a good deal of them are on the low power high efficiency speaker route and more than a few I know are using Horns. Does anyone know how the high end market share is divided? Is there a stigma associated with certain lower cost Horn speakers? Or is this just Klipsch? I now own a pair of Klipsch Cornwalls and am enjoying the journey associated with tweaking the sound to my taste. Is there an unwritten rule that friends don’t let friends buy Klipsch?

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Showing 2 responses by willgolf

willgolf
932 posts
 

First and foremost, if you like your Klipsch Horns that is all that matters.  Screw everyone else.  I have owned higher-end Wilson Audio and Sonus Faber Speakers.  I now own horn speakers and will NEVER go back.  I listened to over 50 different pairs of speakers around the country before deciding on Viking Acoustic Grande Voix Dual horns.  

IMO, horn speakers are not as popular in the USA and there are not a lot of horn dealers.  That in itself is a problem.  Then you have the WAF factor.  Some horns may not look like they would fit into room decor.  Horns are very popular in Europe and Asia and some of the better horns are made in Poland.  I had considered Klipsch, JBL, hORN Universum, BD Design, Tune, Deja Vu, AvanteGarde, Charney, PureAudioProject, Aer, Cessaro, Volti to name a few prior to ending up with Viking.  

Klipsch and JBL are readily available in the USA so they are more popular at a nice price-point.  Enjoy your Klipsch and don't worry about your friends.

willgolf
932 posts
 

@vladtheimpala 

There are many to choose from. Take your pick. If horns were the answer, then I suppose that Magicos, Rockfords, Bowers and Wilkins, Focals, Raidhos, KEFs, Monitor Audios, Sonus Fabers, Stenheims, Wilsons, MartinLogan's, Dalis, TADs, 

I have owned Dali, Wilson, and Sonus Faber.  I listened at great length to every speaker you mentioned above and then I heard a horn speaker.  Specifically, AvantGarde horn speakers.  From there, I eventually decided on Viking Acoustic Grande Voix Dual Horn speakers.  I absolutely love the horn sound especially on live albums.  I will never own any other type of speaker except a horn going forward.  

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