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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?

128x128coachpoconnor
willgolf
933 posts
 

@vladtheimpala 

There are many to choose from. Take your pick. If horns were the answer, then I suppose that Magicos, Rockfords, Bowers and Wilkins, Focals, Raidhos, KEFs, Monitor Audios, Sonus Fabers, Stenheims, Wilsons, MartinLogan's, Dalis, TADs, 

I have owned Dali, Wilson, and Sonus Faber.  I listened at great length to every speaker you mentioned above and then I heard a horn speaker.  Specifically, AvantGarde horn speakers.  From there, I eventually decided on Viking Acoustic Grande Voix Dual Horn speakers.  I absolutely love the horn sound especially on live albums.  I will never own any other type of speaker except a horn going forward.  

ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62
2,842 posts
 

I’ll pile on.

 

@vladtheimpala 

I’ve owned

Wilson, Piega, Magnepan, Montana, Von Schweikert, Spatial Audio, Reference 3a, Nola, Green Mountain Audio, and the list goes on……..and on…….

 

Listening to Klipsch LaScala IIs as I type this. Guess I’m slumming now.

coachpoconnor's avatar
coachpoconnor OP
378 posts
 

I just received my First Watt SIT-3 today This combined with my Coincident Statement Preamp. Wow! This kinda of slumming is cool.

vladtheimpala
99 posts
 

roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,691 posts
 

What kind of compression driver are you going to put behind that vlad?😄

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