Calling all Horn lovers

Thank you for the kind words, Mapman and Larryi and Atmasphere and Charles1dad and Clio09 and W3ux. I'll try to answer some of the questions that came up.

Mapman wrote: "I'd be curious to know your opinion of how close your designs come [to the Classic Audio Reproductions designs]?"

I aspire to build poor man's alternatives to the Classic Audio Reproductions speakers. My designs do not have the combination of power and finesse of those magnificent field-coil drivers and their Beryllium diaphragms, paired with amazing high-efficiency woofers of unknown origin that can actually keep up. In years past I've sometimes thought that maybe my crossover design had a slight edge here or there, but after hearing CAR speakers at RMAF 2013 I'm under no such illusions. My think my designs are contenders in their weight class, but they wouldn't last long in the ring with John Wolff's speakers.

Mapman again: "Would one one need to have a particularly large high quality listening space for the differences to be apparent? How about in smaller more common listening spaces like those most people have? You seem to place more of a focus on value and optimizing designs for certain more common listening scenarios that most are more likely to find themselves in, so in those cases, I'm thinking the "gap" could be pretty minor?

Well I do design for smaller spaces and try to build in a fair amount of adjustability (user-adjustable bass tuning and top-end "tilt"), so once we start looking at smaller listening spaces the gap between my speakers and Classic Audio Reproductions might shrink a bit in some areas... but not in others. And in all fairness, the CAR speakers use the world's best custom L-pads (which cost more than most woofers) on both midrange and tweeter, so they are quite adjustable as well.

Larryi wrote: "Audiokinesis, you mention "waveguide" horns. Do you mean systems where the horn is primarily acting as a means to control dispersion and where "loading" of the diaphragm with a column of air is not a primary part of the design?"

Yes, exactly! My target is constant directivity with minimal coloration. At RMAF 2013 a couple of weeks ago, I was showing speakers that use the SEOS 12 waveguide-style horn developed and produced by DIY Design Group. I have other models that use the Pyle PH612, and in the past I used the DDS ENG 1-90. I also often use a reduced-level rear-firing tweeter to fill in otherwise-missing reverberant field energy when I use a rectangular or elliptical waveguide-style horn, to compensate for the narrowed vertical dispersion relative to the woofer in the crossover region.

Larryi again: "Also, the Classic Audio Reproduction speakers that you liked, were they the reproductions, like the Hartsfield, or the contemporary design like the T-3? I personally like both lines, perhaps more so the contemporary line."

I love both lines! My favorite is whichever happens to be playing when I walk into the Classic Audio Reproductions room. My Jazz Modules (now the Jazz Module 2.0) are arguably sort of like the T1/T3/T5 line, while a new speaker I showed at RMAF 2013, the Event Horizon 210, would be my counterpart to the magnificent Hartsfields. The EV 210 is really only a horn speaker from 8 kHz on up, so I'm not sure it belongs in this thread.

Charles1dad, the Jazz Module 2.0 is a bit more expensive than the original but perhaps not terribly so, considering the time lapsed and improvements. Shoot me an e-mail for info on version 2.0 if you're interested; I haven't gotten it up on my website yet.

Clio09 and W3ux, very glad to hear the speakers I made for you are doing their thing and adaptable as needed. Thanks for posting.

And thank you too, Atmasphere. In case anyone doesn't know, I design my speakers to be compatible with his amps, including the little S-30, which we used at RMAF a couple of weeks ago (and which could make the room shudder on a pipe organ recording). My speakers will work with most other amps including solid state, but there's a free lunch to be had with a low damping factor tube amp.

Just so ya'll know, I am now selling my most refined models (the Jazz Module 2.0 and the Dream Maker LCS - the latter being the Jazz + a pair of effects speakers) through a small dealer network. Clio09 (of Electra-Fidelity) is one of my first dealers, along with Aaron Goecke of American Audio Design.

Duke

My own fondness for waveguide-style constant-directivity horns is largely because of the radiation pattern control that format offers. I believe that the reverberant field plays a much larger role in perception than it is normally given credit for, and a good constant-directivity horn-based system offers an imo elegant way to do a good job with the reverberant field.

The dynamic contrast and liveliness, particularly at low levels, are icing on the cake to me... the radiation pattern control is the cake, because the reverberant field has a strong influence on the tonal balance of the system, and imo a good tonal balance is among the most fundamental requirements of a high-end loudspeaker. Unfortunately it is poor tonal balance (honk or harshness) that has prejudiced many people against horns, based on a listen to an inadequately-engineered system. I've been fortunate enough to win over a few avowed horn-haters, who apparently hadn't heard what the format has to offer when done with care.

Another major advantage of a good horn system is its compatibility with specialty tube amps (OTL, SET). These are the best-sounding amplifiers made, assuming a compatible loudspeaker system, and a good horn system will offer the efficiency and tube-friendly impedance curve that such amplifiers are looking for.

All horns are not created equal of course, and regardless of the type of horn used, a premium is placed on doing a good job with the crossover... as a bad horn system can be really, really bad. I utterly failed at my first attempts to design a crossover for a horn system, and had to learn from a couple of masters in the field (Wayne Parham and Earl Geddes) before I could even begin to do an acceptable job.

Duke
dealer/manufacturer

I have at least one customer who set up his hybrid horn speakers (waveguide-type horn on top, direct radiator woofer on bottom) in a nearfield setup so close that he could lean forward in his chair and touch them. I was skeptical, but heard it myself and yup it worked fine!

Further experimenting when I got back home indicated that, with my speakers at least, if you listen from very close (like arm's length), the height of your ears relative to the drivers became critical. With ears at the height of the center of the waveguide, the waveguide was the apparent sound source. With ears lower, at the midline between top of woofer and bottom of waveguide, the vertical discrepancy was audible and distracting.

So I don't know that this observation necessarily translates to other horn speakers, but it is possible that ear height is a factor in whether or nor the speaker sounds coherent at close range.

Atma-Sphere mentioned Classic Audio Reproductions... utterly magnificent speakers. Not cheap, but extremely refined and natural sounding, with stunning dynamics and impact, and no distracting little colorations. The current versions are among the finest speakers anywhere, and if their equals exist, I have yet to hear them.

Duke

Thanks, JohnK! You go too, my friend!!

Jwm, I appreciate the suggestion. I'm actually not looking to expand my dealer network at this time, that may happen at some point, and I have requests from several dealers already if/when the time comes.

Ralph, wow, I didn't realize John Wolff was actually manufacturing his own field-coil woofers. But that does explain how he came up with woofers that can keep up with those incredible compression drivers. I've never been a fan of combining an ubertweeter with a woofer that is clearly outclassed, because it's consantly reminding you of the mismatch. Better imo to have a well-matched system that may not be the last word in top end resolution but is easier to forget about and just get lost in the music.

Duke