Why not horns?

I'm confident my own 20+ years of professional experience is enough to say that he has those horns as "optimized" as they will ever be.

I think you missed my point. It is impossible to ascertain whether or not they are optimized especially just by listening to them occasionally. You can describe the sound, you can say they sound good or bad, you can say they are too bright or too whatever or not enough of whatever..........but you can't say they are optimized unless you have tried every possible combination of every variable. Yes, kind of ridiculous in a way but that's what it would take. I think my setup sounds pretty good but is it optimal? No, just like everybody else I got to a point and quit trying for now. I'm sure when I revisit it I can somehow improve it.

The overall sensitivity pretty much matches the other three horns, which is the point anyway. (right?)

No. Very different. If it takes 250W per driver to match the output of 1 or 2 watts per driver then the sensitivity is not even close. One of the beauties of what I would call a true horn is the fact that you can get a lot of sound with very little power. In fact, needing that much power is a dead giveaway that it is not a horn. Going to 20 Hz has nothing to do with it. It's how you get there. Mine only go into the 30's but they do it with a few watts. A very different beast than doing it with twelve drivers and 3,000 watts. (I got that from 3 pair = 6 with 2 drivers per. If my math is wrong then please adjust but I think you get the idea.)

how did you time align, physically or electronically?
.

As we are discussing audio! I must say there are no winners, no good, better best, one man's euphoria is another anathema !

That said and IMO ,

*8 Watts is not enuff from micro /Macro dynamic reproduction of a recording . I have never heard a system that never benefited from more power. ( all things equal )
using a 250 watt amp is not a demerit in my books..

*High efficiency speakers never ever sound like live music, instruments or convey recordings accurately and have a poor sense of balance.

* Horns are great when used in the environment they were/are intended for PA and sound reinforcement where high db levels and not accuracy is important.

Hence most hi-fi people will not like the sound of horns in their environment.

regards,

for the same reason people did not want to buy a Honda car,

when they first came out.

Because they were different, they did what ALL other cars

could do, in addition, for a whole lot less gas.

Hyundai, is "Today's" Honda.

Ignorance, is All I am left to assume is the same reason here.

No disrespect intended, I only mean, not having heard,

how can someone appreciate something?

"Done Right" Horns can't be beat. Period.IMHO.

All the lame excuses, trying to prove otherwise, are

without any merit.In the situations ideal for Horn

playback

I think some people just see a Horn speaker, and their

brain says " I HATE HORNS!" ? Why? You tell me...

Oh, and yes, some can use a 3watt tube power amp. and

be happy as ever,while, some designs enjoy HUGE POWER &

HEADROOM,YOU! After all, control the volume, unless your

wife,has control.(Sorry)

Horns are NOT for ALL, But, do NOT! TRY to say that they

are not fully capable of Fantastic Audio Reproduction!

Because, that is just "IGNORANT".

And for the record: I have gotten a head-ache listening to

my fill of regular speakers, so don't act as they are

exempt. They are just as capable, of sounding like "crap".

It's like riding in a Lexus and saying, "too much road

noise! I can't take it." Now, any Lexus owner, will attest

to the fact,that they have tried to start the car, often

when it is running, because they did NOT even HEAR the

engine running! Like an "airlock" on a airliner! QUIET!

Prdprez: Amen Brother. Dan_ed: Not ALL Horns are alike.

Mapman:Again 1 Horn system,does not reflect the sound, of

ALL of the many other designs. Thanks for sharing.

Bottom Line: "Different strokes for different folks"

Enjoy Your Music, YOUR way.

I Love Music!

Wes, you are correct, it will never be settled here, but why would one need more power if what one has will cleanly go to rock concert levels?

The all things being equal is the problem. If one believes that an SET is the best route then you can only get a limited amount of power. Everything is a compromise and I'm happy with the compromises I chose.

Weseixas, bold but interesting assertion!

The custom horns I heard (110db efficiency) at the audio show were powered by a very expensive ($50000+) Audio Note tube amp, perhaps 20 some watts per channel or so yet quite substantial physically. the size would not indicate the power level to most.

My OHM 5 omnis at home (87 or so db efficiency) are powered by two 500w/ch Icepower Class D monoblocks. Their size do no not indicate the power delviered either, but they go for about 1/10th the cost of the AN tube amp and are highly regarded in their category by many.

Now I know power levels and sound quality are not always bed partners yet the Class D amp delivers 20 times the power for 1/10th the cost, based on known specs.

Now how do the two compare? That was the question I started working on answering last night listening at home.

My assessment so far is that my setup though totally on the opposite end of the design spectrum, can probably almost match the dynamics of the horn system at any listening volume I would care to ever experience and is quite competitive and possibly superior in most every other regard. Fatigue factor is also quite low.

Go figure!

BTW, as most know I am a big fan of teh Walsh driver approach and OHM speakers in general. The Walsh driver is a big part of the sound equation on my system. I don't think most conventional box designs can match these or the dynamic strengths of the horns. Planars have their own set of constraints that are not insurmountable but significant in the dynamics department.

I would have to hear the two systems side by side with the same source material playing in order to make a more detailed comparison of the two. In lieu of that, so far I;d assert that my setup can at least compete in the same league as the megabuck setup I heard basedon comparitive listening. Same true with other more conventional setups I heard running some big time players like Magico V3, mbl, and YB Acoustics among others.

Bottom line, I think that horns can sound like live music and at least convey certain kinds of recordings accurately, but it seems like one must practically be a millionaire rocket scientist to accomplish it. When you do though, the results can be quite rewarding. Nothing really good ever comes cheap or too easily I suppose....