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Horns - Necessary to complete the Audiophile Journey?

mhardy6647

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On Craigslist near me:

00a0a_5KlLho1WIJ9_0CI0t2_1200x900.jpg



$2500 asking price
I wouldn't (FWIW) -- although one thing I can pretty much guarantee... you may find that all amplifiers don't sound the same when the load you put on 'em is a pair of LaScalas (or any of the other heritage Klipsch loudspeakers, for that matter)! :)
 

Sal1950

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Or audiophiles are just bored with objectively well measuring speakers.
Maybe it's just time for the audiophile community to stop parroting all the BS that's been repeated for years.
If they really prefer a little fart box, monkey coffin like a LS3/5A they deserve the likes of Synergistic Research stealing their wallets.
I've heard these newer speakers and they are just as bright and harsh as in the past. I just don't get it. But then again, JBL's newer horns also sound bright and hard to me (I worked for JBL for several years).
Funny, no one else is saying that now-a-days, specially about the new JBL's I think my HDI's sound smooth as silk.
Garbage in, garbage out, as the old saying goes. Maybe it's the associated gear you've heard them with?
Or your ears? :p
 

Ilkless

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I would definitely go Synergy, or compromise on the unique point-source characteristics for a modern low-diffraction modern waveguide/horn. Users @Duke and @Joseph Crowe have some really cool speakers in this camp. Perhaps get a used Gedlee if possible.

JTR is another option.
 

JohnBooty

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Narrow directivity (less room interference above transition).
Low distortion at high SPL.
Low distortion at very low SPL (speculation, to be confirmed :cool:).
S.E.T. amplification?
I would consider narrow directivity a weakness and not a strength, generally speaking! My guesses (re: the appeal of high sensitivity / high output speakers, horns or otherwise) always been "low distortion at high SPL" and "lack of dynamic compression in the speaker itself" but I don't have the technical grounding to really know if that's correct.
 

SIY

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Apparently my journey is incomplete since I've never owned horns and have never heard one that made me want to own it. Over and over, I've been told, "Oh, wait until you hear [insert expensive or magic name here], that'll convince you." And over and over, I've walked away thinking, "That did not sound at all like live acoustic instruments."

That said, I haven't heard Earl's yet, and maybe they'll overcome my objections. Ditto the Drew Daniels DIY setup. But I'm not holding my breath.
 

gvl

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The majority of musical instruments are not directional, I'm a bit at a loss why would narrow directivity speakers be beneficial in reproducing their sound.
 

anmpr1

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The majority of musical instruments are not directional, I'm a bit at a loss why would narrow directivity speakers be beneficial in reproducing their sound.
It's the debate about 'wave launch'. Omni, point source, line source. Microphones pick up the front and secondary directional stuff (depending) at their set up location. If you have a bunch of them going through a mixing board then good luck with that. How it is subsequently reproduced in a living room is a big question. I don't think there will ever be an 'correct' answer. With the exception of possibly a few percussion instruments, drums, blocks, bells and such, I don't think I've ever heard a loudspeaker/recording that made me think I was listening to a live event--that is, the real instrument as it would sound in my living room.
 

Frank Dernie

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I would consider narrow directivity a weakness and not a strength, generally speaking! My guesses (re: the appeal of high sensitivity / high output speakers, horns or otherwise) always been "low distortion at high SPL" and "lack of dynamic compression in the speaker itself" but I don't have the technical grounding to really know if that's correct.
FWIW I sit a long way from my speakers in a relatively narrow room and I find narrow directivity speakers add less of my room acoustics to the recorded acoustics.
It isn't really a problem with bought recordings because I have no idea what the original acoustic was (and in the case of multi track studio pop music there was no original acoustic) but on my own simply miked classical recordings it is markedly less accurate.
It is why I ended up selli g my Apogee Divas. The stereo was very impressive but entirely false, being made up of lots of dipole room reflections which, obviously, weren't on the recording.
This sounded fine, lovely in fact, on bought recordings but disappointingly wrong on my own recordings.

I understand why people find it nice (I do too) and why it may be preferred but accurate it ain't.
Now I don't make recordings any more the lovely effect may appeal again but the lack of accuracy would always nag...
 

Sal1950

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The majority of musical instruments are not directional, I'm a bit at a loss why would narrow directivity speakers be beneficial in reproducing their sound.
The theory is to minimize room sound & early reflections.
It has proven a good solid approach to me when it comes to spot-on imaging.

Ha Ha, Frank beat me to it. ;)
 

Frank Dernie

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The majority of musical instruments are not directional, I'm a bit at a loss why would narrow directivity speakers be beneficial in reproducing their sound.
You are reproducing a recording of their sound in a space. Adding your own acoustic to it may sound nice but it is a recording you are trying to reproduce not an instrument.
 

tuga

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The majority of musical instruments are not directional, I'm a bit at a loss why would narrow directivity speakers be beneficial in reproducing their sound.

Speakers are not instruments, they reproduce recorded music.

P.S. instruments of the horn family are indeed quite directional. Other instruments tend to radiate in different directions depending on the frequency being played:

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watchnerd

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You are reproducing a recording of their sound in a space. Adding your own acoustic to it may sound nice but it is a recording you are trying to reproduce not an instrument.

I have a lot of different recording microphones with different radiation patterns.

Once upon a time, I toyed with the idea of trying to get mixing monitoring speakers that matched the radiation pattern of each of my different microphones...
 

tuga

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I have a lot of different recording microphones with different radiation patterns.

Once upon a time, I toyed with the idea of trying to get mixing monitoring speakers that matched the radiation pattern of each of my different microphones...

Why? Or rather, what for?
 
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watchnerd

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Okay a question I should know the answer to:

What's the theoretical advantage of horn-loaded bass?

To match the radiation pattern of the mids/highs?

But I thought bass was pretty much omni-directional due to wavelength vs radiator factors.....
 
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watchnerd

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Why? Or rather, what for?

To try make the capturing transducer and reproducing transducer more closely match.

I was inspired by my success with binaural recordings.

However, it's not that simple with speakers and rooms (even when using the same room for recording and playback), so ultimately I scrapped it.
 

Frank Dernie

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Okay a question I should know the answer to:

What's the theoretical advantage of horn-loaded bass?

To match the radiation pattern of the mids/highs?

But I thought bass was pretty much omni-directional due to wavelength vs radiator factors.....
Efficiency.
Also, being a pedant, they are only horn speakers if they are horns for the whole frequency range, otherwise they are hybrid.
 
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watchnerd

watchnerd

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Efficiency.
Also, being a pedant, they are only horn speakers if they are horns for the whole frequency range, otherwise they are hybrid.

Leaving pedantry/purism aside, is hybrid bad if total system efficiency is high?

The JBL and Klipsch hybrids usually spec in the mid-90s to low 100s sensitivity range.

Given modern amp power, this would seem plenty.
 
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