Are horns and hi-eff designs becoming more popular

Dan_ed, thanks for the offer. I've never been to NH, but you never know, do you? I expect to put together a "big system" in mid-2009 so I'll be certain to check out horns before making a decision.

Dave

I also do not think hi-eff and horn speakers are on the increase, which is a shame really. There will always be a dedicated hi-eff/horn following just like antique furniture and cars. I was put onto horns in 1993 by a friend who was selling his speakers (so sadly was he at parting with them that he was nearly crying at letting them go) they are a pair of Impulse H1's (that I bought on the spot on first hearing, as they sounded Incredible compared to my aged Isobarik DMS). Being In a bedroom band and having lots of nice recording gear we recorded my piano at home with a reel to reel and nice mics, then we played It back through the speakers and the similarity between the piano and the recording was scarily close. I think from my little experience is that there are great bargains to be had cost versus performance between horns and enclosed speakers. I listen to as many as speakers as possible at shows etc and while many are very good and a few are excellent (pricey also), I still would not swap my Oris 150's for. I really bought my 150's for peanuts compared to most speakers on sale here on Audiogon and sound wise they are as good as I need. One probably needs a sympathetic partner for one to house large horns as a minus point.

My impression is that horns are a bit more popular these days than in the recent past, but then most things tend to cycle in and out of fashion, irrespective of whether they are good, bad or indifferent.

Horns have their strengths, but they also have weaknesses. In other words, they are like any other speaker or piece of equipment. The key to audio happiness is to line up the strengths of a speaker with the those areas where your ear is most sensitive or that you find important in sound reproduction. In my case, while I enjoy the dynamics of a good horn, I've never heard one yet that didn't have a distinct honkiness that knocked it out of consideration for me. It is a sonic trait that I am apparently more sensitive to than others.

Interestingly, I've just finished the book "Musicophilia" by Dr. Oliver Sacks. It talks about about the brain and how we perceive and process music along with the manner in which afflictions can affect our hearing music, or even using music as treatment. While the book says virtually nothing about audio equipment, the entire text reinforces how differently each of us perceives music. Some of this comes how our brain is wired from before we are born, some comes from experiences and training as an infant (which permanently affects how connections in our brain form) and some comes from our training and experiences later on. (A very interesting read if you like that kind of stuff.)

The net result is that each of us is going to be impressed by different things when we listen. Therefore, rather than read about how this or that speaker is the best thing since sliced bread, the key is to get out and listen and find out what [i]you[/i] are sensitive to when listening to music.

Ive been in the hobbie a long time I have seen so many flavors of the month in loudspeakers. I feel horns -hieff designs are becoming more popular. I see many manufacters taking baby steps using horn tweeters or just saying wave guide not calling a horn a horn. I do agree with MLsstl no one speaker for everyone but ML doesnt address the fact that hi-eff isnt just for horn designs one can build a standard dynamic with med-hieff or ribbon OB TL BR AS all can be hi-eff today I was asking more about the trends toward higher eff not just stating that horns are da bomb though I do feel that to be true;) Horns designs have also made much progress. Many when they think horns think vintage nothing wrong at all with vintage but if your only experance with horns is vintage or PA than your in for a pleasent surprise once you hear a proper modern set. And Dcstep many horns availible that dont sound vintage like klipsch I would start to list some but since I manufacter loudspeakers I dont want to add bias so search about ask others. Horns have been with us since day 1. Dont think horns will ever fade away but since hi-eff can be had without the horn. We might get others into the hi-eff club. And that should be a good thing, maybe its the giant power sucking room heating SS or tube amplifier thats days are numbered? Care to discuse? Take care and happy listening

Johnk,

I couldn't agree more. Lots of baby steps toward hi-eff/medium-hi eff. many of which are not horn designs. Some of these designs are so good for the price that people are jumping on the bandwagon as it is an inexpensive starting point into true audiophile territory. For the price of a mass-market big-box store speaker, someone can assemble a simple bass reflex box with a single driver or an open baffle design, using 1 piece of plywood with an OB specific driver mounted in it. So, for as little as about $200-$400 someone can get a taste of high-end sound if they are willing to do a bit of assembly.

Of course, often this will be the starting point for folks to seek out better, less compromised designs like the ones you build or like the ones on the frugal-horn site.

Concerning "power sucking room heating SS and tube amps", the medium to hi-efficiency designs allow folks to get by with lots less power, size, heat, etc. Heck, right now I have 3 amps that work great with all of my recent speakers (all medium-hi effeciency designs). They are a 6 W/channel T-class switching amp, and two different 3.5 w/channel tube amps. The simplicity and cost saving on amplifiers along was one of the primary driving forces for me to seek out efficient designs.

For less than $1000 someone can assemble a very good sounding system (CD, Amp, Speakers) if they stick to hi-efficency, low powered designs. It might not be pretty and typically wouldn't pass the WAF test, but it could sound pretty good. Of course you can spend a lot more and get even better sound, but the cost of entry can be low and can set folks on the path to great sound.

Happy Listening and enjoy the journey!

TIC