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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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russ69's avatar
russ69
3,360 posts
 

Klipsch is a top selling brand if not THE top selling brand. What models are considered the top end of audio, I'll leave to someone else. 

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oldhvymec
5,101 posts
 

I like horns. There is a lot more out there than people think. 90% of the people who own horns and all the other speakers don't post or care to post.

I think the 10% that do post 3 out of 10 do own horns, maybe not AG so much but there are a LOT of Klipsch, Altec, WE, Imperial, and DIY. The comment about the Horns and Japan, it was the same here. It's just who you hang out with. 

I was into making all these weird horns and loading them in a folded baffle, la-te-da. Way over 20 years tinkering, still do from time to time.

The simple answer is horn guys hang out with horn guys. Planar guys hang out with planar guys. Mcintosh guys hang out with Mac guys.. Maybe.. LOL

The common thing between all of us is suppose to be MUSIC, how we get there, that is a personal preference.

Regards

ebm
9,311 posts
 

Get what you like and enjoy it horns are great with the right amp and preamp.

femoore12's avatar
femoore12
683 posts
 

I have always preferred high sensitivity speakers and built my own cabinets. That lead me to trying horn speakers. I acquired a pair of Klipsch La Scala AL5s this year. The La Scala’s paired with tubes are simply stunning. To me these are my final speakers (at least until I get bored and start building more 😂). 
 

There is zero wrong with Klipsch speakers. Their speakers can hold their own with any brand out there. In every hobby or interest there are people who are “snobs” when it comes to what you own. Ignore them and enjoy those fantastic horn speakers. 
 

The speakers your friend is building with the field coil drivers will be really cool. The next set of speakers I build will use field coil drivers. They won’t replace my La Scalas, but I want to pair them with tubes. 

hilde45's avatar
hilde45
4,784 posts
 

Interesting topic, not unrelated to other recent threads on high sensitivity speakers. For me, the question comes down not only to how to pair these with various kinds of amps, nor the tonality, but the dimensionality of the sound. What is the imaging like in horns vs. planars vs. domes? How does the room feel?

In other words, in my understanding -- corrections appreciated -- it is possible to get tonality and pacing pretty close to perfect with the right match between amplifier and speaker, but that will still leave wide open the way the soundstage is presented by the speakers. And, here there is no "best," either, but the choice of which genre of soundstage become the decisive choice point.

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