Why not horns?

Unsound... That's a neat instrument. Ideal for a steet performer. But it isn't a violin.

Eldartford, I think it might be more cocrrectly described as a freaking abomination.:-)

I've had reasonably extensive experience with horns - I currrently own a pair of Zingali 3s and I auditioned 2 other brands (SAP and Avantegarde) at length before my purchase. Some years back, I decided to buy a low powered SET amp (I wanted to check out the enthusiasm for these designs) and was looking for an appropriate speaker match. Ultimately, I settled on horns for that reason.

Of the 3 brands, only the SAP presented coloration issues for me, but I gather that I'm less sensitive to mild colorations than some others who participate here. The Avantegardes were appealling but not so much the price tag, so I ended up with the Zings.

After a few years, the issue that caused me to look elsewhere was what I'll call "the dark side" of extended range horns. That is, if the bright side of horns is - as Shadorne noted - lack of compression. All the designs I mentioned are strikingly dynamic at audition, but....

The (sub)woofers are not horn loaded. Horn loading a true low frequency driver is generally impractical, so this "hybrid" approach is common to most extended range horn designs. As the volume goes up, the horn loaded drivers remain unconstrained, while the (sub)woofers compress in fashion that - in my system - was audible and, eventually, offputting. After this discovery, I re-auditioned the Avantgardes at a local dealer and specifically varied the SPL more than I would usually do at such an audition. In the end, I noted a similar, if admittedly subtler, effect with the Avantgardes.

I can't generalize to all such designs, but -in my case(s)- I found the mix of horn loaded upper frequencies and non-horn loaded bass more distracting than, say, a well executed panel with dynamic woofer hybrid (as a reference point). The bottom line is that I now use the Zingalis for background listening - where they sound great, if overkill - because I find them bright at higher SPLs.

I do not intend this to be an overarching criticism of the design approach, merely a response to the OP. For me, that's "why not horns" in my main system.

Marty

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.

http://www.acoustichorn.com/testimonials/

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?".

I am amused. Those that think every sound coming from horns sounds like air blowing through a horn have evidently never heard good ones.

If you want violins to sound like trumpets, get horns"

That statement shows a complete ignorance of what a good horn system sounds like.

The violins through mine are indeed violins. I attend the philharmonic on a regular basis and even though there is no way to completely reproduce that experience in your home, my system does a pretty good job of reproducing a symphony orchestra. I assure you it does not sound like a bunch of trumpets.

Ralph, do you wind your own field coils? I'm not sure he has them on his website yet as they may still be in development but I've listened to some that Jeffrey Jackson and Dave Slagle are developing and they do indeed sound very nice.

http://www.jeffreywjackson.com/

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