How come Horn + woofer designs are not more popular?


A couple guys on my audio discord really love the JBL synthesis 4367 and feel that all traditional 3 way tower speakers suck because they have poor bass response and are generally shy sounding. What I wonder is how come the majority of speaker makes do floor standers that are 3 way as oppose to the Horn +woofer design of JBL?

Is there any downsides to the horn + woofer design? Can a horn convey microdetail as well as a Be tweeter like say from magic A or S line? They claim 3 way floor standers are just trendy. But is there anything more to it then that?
smodtactical

Showing 1 response by harrylavo

I grew up with a big old then-SOA James B Lansing C-31 front-loaded horn speaker driven by Newcomb tube amplification.  The speaker had two 15" active woofers and the potato-masher horn tweeter.  (This was the first version JBL "super corner horn").  It sounded wonderfully dynamic and balanced, not shrill, not shouty, not boomy.  Some of the most "realistic" sound I've heard in a living room.

Many years later, my son unknownst to me bought floor-standing Klipsh's (the less expensive ones).  I was surprised at how good they sounded, since I was aware of the bad reputiona that horns have in the high-end.  I am now keeping my eyes upon for an affordably-priced C-34 that I might used to replace my second stereo system.