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Horns with good timbre and tonality?

I’m looking into buying a pair of horns for my next speaker. I sold my Sonus Faber Elipsa SE. Looking for a more realistic, more lively sound. I’ve heard the Triangle Magellan and enjoyed the sound, but wonder if there is better.

I appreciate speed and dynamics with good timbre and tonality. I know horns are good with speed and dynamics, but not sure if they can do timbre and tonality like SF can.

Looking at German Blumenhofer FS1 / FS2, French Triangle magellan, Fleetwood deville, Avantgarde.

It will be paired with Mastersound 845 Evolution SET or Auris Fortissimo amp.

Room size 40 x 15 x 8 feet

Must realistically play Solo Piano, Cello and full scale symphony.

 

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wolf_garcia
6,708 posts
 

Worth mentioning is the fact that my Heresy IIIs have a sophisticated mid horn with the currently (in the IVs) abandoned titanium drivers. With good gear in front they're very coherent, possibly due to the fact that unlike some other horn speakers the drivers are very close together. From the tweeter to the top of the 12" woofer is only 6 or so inches. This is clearly worth mentioning since I've mentioned it here maybe 436 times. 

david_ten
5,480 posts
 

@larryi  Very cool. Are you in a position to share more? 

 

Today, I heard an exceptionally good midrange horn.  For comparison purposes, one channel of a stereo pair was equipped with a wooden horn with a mouth opening around 16” wide and around 13” tall.  The other channel had a wooden replica of a Western Electric 22A horn (around 28” wide by 28” high).  The bigger horn was astonishingly more lively and clear sounding.  This horn was better than the 22A horns I’ve heard before.

david_ten
5,480 posts
 

A generic question. Mostly we have horn hybrids discussed here. Not true horns. Should we be differentiating? Thanks.

antigrunge2
1,417 posts
 

Most pure horn designs require dimensions patently impractical for residential use.

larryi
4,031 posts
 

The builder Deja Vu Audio is rushing to build and show a system at Capital Audiofest with twin 18’ woofers and a large square horn sitting on top with a straight horn that is 38” long (hence, the horn cannot be built into the cabinet).  The big wooden 22A replica horn I mentioned above  came from Japan and cost $12,000 plus $4,100 for shipping.  
All of these Deja Vu horn systems are NOT at all like Klipsch or Altec or EV systems—they are not nasal or peaky or rough sounding.  They are closer, tonally speaking, to Edgarhorns, but they are more alive and engaging.  I like JBL Everest, but these custom systems are warmer, and to me, more natural sounding.

There are non-horn, high efficiency systems which should be in the same discussion because they have similar attributes.  As I have mentioned before Songer Audio and Charney Audio systems using fullrange single drivers or two-ways using such full range drivers are also in the same game.  Another system I really like is the Cube Audio Basis Nenuphar (widerange driver plus a powered woofer).

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