Believe me now and hear me later, check out a pair of Hornshoppe Horns. I spent several hours with a pair the other day, driven by a BYOB (10 wpc) amp (with car battery). For me, the jury is still out on jazz and classical, but rock ... MAN THESE THINGS ROCK!! These are serious rockers! We easily blew past 100dB with Metallica and they still sounded clear. Don't be fooled by their diminutive size (4" single-driver). They kick serious ass. Ed allows 30-day trials. Only $850!!
Showing 6 responses by rockadanny
Shadorne - I can understand your skepticism. I too was an unbeliever about these small drivers/boxes. Granted, I have only heard them in a small room driven by a 10wpc chip amp (BYOB), but even there they astounded and confounded me. Their ability to produce clean, clear rock at high SPLs was shocking, considering the size of the Horns and amp. My brain is still knotted up over this. A kind gentleman has offerred me another opportunity to hear them, this time in a large room (17'x24'x10'), driven by tubes. I will report back about this trial within the next couple of weeks. |
Scott_wojo - Sure will. Ann Arbor? The last time I was in Ann Arbor I was standing inside the stadium feeling mighty queezy as Colorado just scored the winning touchdown in the final seconds in what, for me, was UM's most shocking and sickening loss of all time. I haven't been able to convince myself to go to another game since. That, and the fact that I moved 800 miles away the following year. Boy, do I miss Zingerman's. Now I'm hungry. |
Scott_wojo - Heard the Hornshoppe Horns in a medium/large room (17'x24'?) the other night driven by a Cayin A-88T (integrated). The sound of these IS addicting. I am still not convinced of their use for jazz, but can say with utmost confidence that for rock, these buggers ROCK!! This implementation had them pulled away from the corners but were augmented with Ed Schilling's "The Cube", a small (10" box with two 6.5" drivers) but very effective woofer box driven by external amp (box and amp sold together) to fill in the lower freqs. Together, these would be a great choice for what you are looking for. Affordable and small but MIGHTY is how I'd describe this set up. And they can play very loud, yet maintain clarity and control. The speaker bases were filled with copper BBs, spaged about 12' apart, and crossed about 1-2' behind my head. I would not hesitate replacing my $5,000 mains with these $850 wonders, except I am still undecided when it comes to jazz music. Vocals, acoustic, and rock - these are great! Chamber, opera, jazz, piano - I could live with them but not sure I'd be as happy as with my current mains for this type of music. For me, I still need to evaluate more. But for you, call Ed today! Also, I preferred them with the Cayin over the BYOB for jazz, vocal, and piano. For rock, either would be fine. |
Scott_wojo - Only SS I've heard them on was BYOB http://www.mother-of-tone.com/byob.htm and for rock they did really well. It was only on some acoustic (piano, guitar, voice) that they sounded "cupped" to me (i.e., cupping your hands around your mouth when speaking). But after speaking with another Horns owner, he felt that effect may have come from having them too close together and crossing in front of the listener. Perhaps. I have read numerous times that Ed Schilling prefers Nelson Pass' First Watt amp, which are sold used here at times. I have heard (rumor?) that Nelson designed the First Watt with Ed's Horns in mind. But I've not heard the First Watt with the Horns. |