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?

128x128coachpoconnor

Hyman and Masse playing together should be magic. Everyone should own a set of horns at some point in the audiophile journey….

I don’t think the market share numbers mean much. There will always be a place for horns. Try putting dynamat on the exterior horn body ….have fun

tomic601– That is in the plans! Mr Decibel and I have discussed via text, I believe The Boston Audiophile has a video that accurately shows what Mr. D has described. I also have changed some interconnects

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.