Why not horns?

Herman -
If you are in the U.S. would it be too risky to provide the first 3 digits of your zip code? That way those of us who pose an acceptable risk could have an idea whether to consider further pursuit of the topic. I live in 81521 and I feel pretty certain you are too far away for me to visit as I seldom travel more than 50 miles from home.

A hoosier!! Definitely beyond my radius. I haven't been that far east in almost 10 years.

Here's an excerpt:

Conical Horn Geometry

I’m often asked how horns differ from one another, and also how different types of horns differ in sound and design, such as exponential, tractrix, and new versions of these which carry the names of their designers. I’ve put together some observations, backed up by actual frequency response curves and measurements, so that people can decide for themselves what types of horns would work best for them.

The above are the words of Bill Woods. If you are genuinely interested in knowing something about horns, this article is available in its entirety on the Acoustic Horn website.

I am not an expert but I can tell from reading these comments that many of you are overestimating your understanding of the subject. Do yourselves a favor and get the real info from someone who has devoted his life to this study.

Horns differ tremendously and Bill has as good an understanding as anyone of how and why this is true. Let him explain it to you. He's a scientist with a degree in industrial design and a lifetime of trial and error experience.

Those of you making categorical pronouncements about the limitations of horns - all horns - demonstrate the greatest need for education.

And so it goes ............

Has anyone taken the trouble to read the Bill Woods piece I recommended?

It's quite possible that some of you are well informed on the subject of horns but I have heard from no one so far who wouldn't benefit from Bill's expertise.

Calling me smug is powerful stuff but unlikely to move you any further along in your understanding of horn function and the distinctions that exist from one concept to the next.

Mapman - I have found with my system that the lack of distortion can cause me to play louder than I otherwise might. Perhaps we equate loudness with distortion and respond by playing louder when the distortion is absent. Just a guess but that might account for your throbbing noggin.

Prdprez - I started this thread with the hope that I might engender a useful and enlightening discussion about horn loudspeakers. I know from first hand experience that there are horns that do not pollute the air with what generally is called horn sound. Mine are as crystal clear and utterly precise as anything you have ever heard and in all likelihood significantly more so. It can be done and Bill Woods has done it. I gambled when I bought my horns and it paid off handsomely. Not all of my gambles have been so rewarding.

My reason for asking everyone to read Bill's article on horn geometry is an attempt to get all of us on the same page. It is a thoughtful piece around which we could center a debate. It could serve to take us beyond isolated anecdotal testimony and baseless claims.

Everyone:
Duke and Johnk are professional speaker builders who have found out first hand what they are trying to share with you. A bit of gratitude would be nice and a show of respect would not be entirely out of line. Ralph owns Atma-Spere, one of the most highly respected lines of tube amplification made in the U.S. For some years now he has worked closely with John Wolfe of Classic Audio Reproductions, a very highly reviewed line of horn hybrid loudspeakers. These guys know more than you do. Be grateful that they are sharing their views and experiences and stop trying to show off. Ralph, in particular, has attended every major U.S. show for more than 20 years and knows most products pretty well. Unlike me, he has a broad knowledge of how one product compares to another and in this area his knowledge likely surpasses any of us. Please be grateful. What these guys bring to the table goes beyond just theory - it is the voice of experience.

Unsound - Both of you are acting like petulant children insistent about your inalienable right to remain willfully ignorant. Who can argue? You have that right.
But why not do so quietly? Neither of you has said anything to move this thread forward and neither has provided anything more than unsubstantiated and/or anecdotal comments. Have you done your homework? Have you read the brief article I suggested? Has anyone here read it?

If you are not interested in horns and have a practical reason, please share it.
Many cannot afford the money or space. We have acknowledged that. They sound like horns. Some do - not all. What other objections can you raise?

I'm not interested in baseless opinions. I don't need any more input from individuals who aren't interested in anything outside their own ego space. If you need to be right, you are in the wrong place.

Pretty broad spectrum of feelings about horns - all the way from love to hate. It seems to be a subject that is unresolved for most of us. If you are one who feels like he'd like to explore horn ownership, what keeps you from making the move?

Plainly there is no consensus on the desirability of horns in this discussion. However, it is equally plain that most of us see horns as a viable alternative. A few have no taste for them at all and a couple are hell bent on discouraging others from exploration.

I would posit however, that those who are encouraging newcomers to try horns out and see if they like them hold a higher position than those who claim to be protecting newbies from such exploitation. After all, they are the same individuals who retreat to arguments about the primacy of personal taste every time their other gambits appear at all shaky.

Clearly horns are not everyone's answer but to some of us they hold a position that known alternatives fail to challenge. How is that a problem?

Weseixas - I can't see much value in your opinions. Sorry.

Audio Asylum seems more like an appropriate format for your debating technique. That 30 years in the audio biz has taught you to view the majority of high end audio with an informed cynicism but your "shout louder" approach to discussion keeps me from taking you very seriously.

O. K. wiseass, you've alluded repeatedly to your 30 years of experience designing and building loudspeakers. It seems to be the justification for your opinions and the reason that we should feel subject to your authority. While more than a dozen of us have testified as to actual experience we have in owning and using our horns, you feel that your theories which you value so highly because of your thirty years of experience, thirty years of experience, thirty years of experience is superior to any personal testimonials any of us can issue.
Think about that. Doesn't it make you feel kinda foolish?

Before you bowl us over with more unsubstantiated nonsense about your vast thirty years of experience, try providing a resume. Duke and Ralph have very good credentials and a desire to remain impartial. I find them to be helpful. You come across meanwhile as a grandiose, self inflated, naysayer.

Cdc - I'm not well schooled in the matters you brought up just now but my sense is that you are demonstrating that an Aveo gets decidedly better mpg. than a Corvette. Of course, you are right but the parameters qualify the argument.

I recall you mentioning earlier that you listen at 65 db. Probably the areas where you find your single driver to excel are dependent on keeping the SPLs down. My average listening level is more like 85 db (still not very loud) and I suspect your single driver might keep up at that level in a small enough room. Mr.decibel would not get much of a bang from that approach, however, because he says he listens at upwards of 100 db., though I can't imagine how.

So, while specifications are very useful, even essential, they are dependent on circumstances and conditions that don't always appear on the stat sheet.

I'm pretty tempted by the logic and testimonials I read about with single drivers but I can't see them as a realistic replacement for my horns.

I wonder if John Bau gave this matter any thought when he created the Spica TC-50? When was that, like 1982?

If you are a full wavelength behind, wouldn't that make you 360 degrees out of phase?

It would also seem logical that "out of phase" signals, regardless of cause, are less of an issue for longer wavelengths than for higher frequency discrepancies. In my case, there is no crossover of any type or description, real or imagined, above 300 hz. At the crossover point I have a wavelength of 45 inches. I correct for the 16 inches of front to rear positioning between my drivers by utilizing a half meter of time delay in my DBX. I'm not sure the difference would be very audible though.

Po-Tay-To = Po-Tah-To

Let's call the whole thing off.

Here's a thread from last year that might shed some light on the subject. Please note the same few people chiming in then as now in behalf of horns. That indicates to me the need for a broader base of knowledge on the subject.Too few audiophiles are aware of the performance potential locked up in this technology.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&1238177483&openfrom&17&4

Sthomas - I agree. Probably. Can you elaborate as to what comments are funny and why?

re: Walsh drivers in horns, I know nothing about the credibility of the reviewer but I do know that German Physics is a legitimate and highly credible manufacturer who is unlikely to market a product that is utterly without merit. We should probably withhold judgement until we have actually heard them.

I don't think it sounds too promising but I have no grounds for such a presumption. I'm not an expert on horns.

Prez-
Here is an anonymous contribution sent to me by a horn enthusiast. I hope it provides some clarification.

----------------------------

I am not an expert on this but, when the sound forms in a pipe, and it leaves the end or "mouth, it becomes mainly a refraction wave. At the throat it is a pressure wave

Due to an 180 degree phase shift , there is an abrupt drop in pressure at the end of the tube, and the wave is reflected back down the horn, and the cycle repeats itself.

But, if the tube is made into a horn shape the pressure drop is not nearly as intense at the mouth, and the refraction wave is diminished so only a small portion of it reflects back down the horn. The throat of the horn is a High pressure wave.

-----------------------------------

More from the same source:

from.....http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/sound/u11l3d.cfm

Refraction of Sound Waves

Refraction of waves involves a change in the direction of waves as they pass from one medium to another. Refraction, or bending of the path of the waves, is accompanied by a change in speed and wavelength of the waves. So if the medium (and its properties) are changed, the speed of the waves are changed. Thus, waves passing from one medium to another will undergo refraction.

Delighted to be of assistance.

Somebody out there likes horns besides me.

Bill Woods is so busy he has had to stop taking new orders until he can catch up.

And as an aside, here's a very interesting speaker that will challenge a lot of beliefs and assumptions:
http://www.yorkville.com/products.asp?cat=38&id=268&type=29

These will be a downgrade cosmetically for nearly everyone but an upgrade for most people in terms of sound. Not suitable for intimate settings, however. They are big and sound bigger. Reports from seasoned audiophiles are uniformly positive.

Here's a testimonial for the Unity Horn when it was available through DIY channels:
http://www.cowanaudio.com/unity.html

Here's a source randomly chosen from a Google search:
http://www.musiciansbuy.com/YORKVILLE-U215-SPEAKER-CABINET.html

I urge all of you to do your own searches to learn more about this option. The pricing exposes high end audio for the rip off that it is.

Mapman - Dynamics and bass would be two obvious areas.

Before the masses go unhinged, please note the expression "upgrade for MOST people". I am not saying that everyone will find an upgrade here but I feel certain that few audiophiles have better bass than those four 15 inch woofers will provide and very few will match the dynamics of the Unity horn.

Danley is very innovative and according to the few people I've talked to who know his work is in a class by himself. His speakers are said to sound very good and his tapped horns and Unity drive are changing things quickly. The main reasons to hesitate buying his speakers have to do with size/scale and cosmetics. They are not compact and they are not offered in wood veneer. They are well engineered, innovative and inexpensive however.

Same old story -- experts emerge with judgements concerning the probability ( in their expert opinion) that the speaker they see on paper cannot sound good. They have doubts. Never mind that it is a widely applauded, eagerly received triumph of design by the acknowledged foremost expert of horn design, an innovator who has successfully challenged the preconceived limits of horn design and left them laughing and patting him on the back. Why should they trust that? Well, they shouldn't. But they might, for once, look into the matter before speaking. You know, have some knowledge, if not first hand, at least info from reliable sources. Or any sources for that matter. Or anything stronger than a self-congratulatory guess.

I haven't heard these. In fact, I never heard my horns before I bought them. I read sources that I felt I could trust and took a leap of faith. Certainly I don't imagine or expect anyone else to do that. But just as you shouldn't go off half cocked and buy something without investigation, you should keep your uninformed opinions where they belong - in your imagination - until you have something with which to form them.

Google is your friend. If you care to look, you will find the experiences and opinions of those who have actually heard these speakers. See what they have to say. Maybe their actual experience may contradict your interpretation of the spec sheet and maybe they'll agree. Maybe you should find out. Or maybe you don't care. In that case it would be reasonable to ask why you issued those observations. Were you trying to be helpful?

Thanks, Unsound. You are a marvelous dancer. Puts me in mind of Richard Gere in" Chicago".

You aren't interested but you dissed them as a public service?

Unsound - It goes without saying that horns are not for everyone. Can't you go without saying so?
I'm not able to promote the Unity. All I want to do is bring them to the attention of the many who seem to be unaware of the fact that good and desirable horns exist. Those, while not too pretty, do things that you will never get from a dome tweeter box. The design is crazy but the reports are strong and flattering.

Because of the introduction of petty nitpicking and sentence parsing, I suggested quite some time ago that I perhaps should have called this thread "Why Horns?". Would that have made a difference? Would you and Wiseass have withheld your negativity and your attitudes of primacy? Probably not.

You seem fair and rational and well informed. You could be helpful if that was your mien. For reasons that continue to elude, you choose the devil's advocate posture. Whatever floats your boat. Personally, I think the advocate would be looking to unseat the politically assisted, boringly consistent, ad and review driven names that contribute nothing much to the advancement of audio other than new cosmetics and higher prices.

For the most part pro audio delivers much more bang for the buck. Many of their products have no place in a home system but many others can successfully and advantageously cross pollinate. Let's see where that leads.

If it is not your cup of tea, let others enjoy it or at least explore it. Don't just dump it all in the harbor because you don't see much promise in the recipe you read.

O.K. you guys- Springsteen's gone - get those wimpy horns out of here and bring in the typical dynamic speakers - we've got a string quartet to record in less than 2 hours.

Unsound - The "distortionless driver" comment in my opening is hyperbole and you are not the first to call me on it. "seems like a no brainer" could be chastised as sounding kinda "valley girl" but it clearly stands as nothing more than opinion.
As for the "rip off" comment, I cannot apologize. I think that the pricing of many of the so called statement products are scandalous and most other stuff is unjustifiably priced.
Watt/Puppy 8 speakers are priced about the same as a loaded Camry. Let's not take a detour on that point, however. The only reason I mentioned it is because I think we can find better bang for our buck outside of the reviewer's boutique.

Anything weather-proof enough for the deck would be far too ugly for the house.

Aside from the effortless clarity my horns provide, I guess the thing that impresses me so much is the way they move air. There is something large and lifelike in the wave that reaches me. I'm not fluent in audiospeak so I'm not sure I can convey my meaning but there is a crisp vitality and persuasive definition in every small ting and pluck and crack. All sounds are not only well defined but impossible to overlook. It's very lifelike, very here and now. I've never experienced this from any other speaker system to this degree.

06-25-10: Unsound
Some might say bigger than life.
Unsound (System | Threads | Answers |

Yep! - That is a question one might legitimately raise and I think your priorities would temper your feelings about it. That and the music you favor. Amplified music of any kind is probably outside the scale argument but small acoustic stuff might well be misrepresented by some horns. I don't think I could fault my horns in that regard. Does any other horn owner have a problem with larger than realistic presentation?

Johnk - Roger that on the dispersion. My horns are 40 degree cones. Very controlled dispersion. Narrow is another word that works. But you are right about room interaction. That has never been a problem since I installed these about 1.5 years ago.

And your wave analogy was helpful. It's like the fans in the stadium doing a wave. The wave moves along without anyone changing seats.

Unsound - Here's one of our problems. I meant that the quartet would be there in 2 hours, meaning there was a setup deadline to meet. However, true to your contentious approach, you had to conclude that I meant it would take only 2 hours to do the recording. And so what if I did? That wasn't at all the point I was making and I'm sure you know as much.

Likewise you have been told numerous times very recently by people you should respect that there is no problem with imaging from horn speakers. Try to let go of your wrong assumptions about horns. You do not know what you are talking about and yet you continue to impose your wrong notions. What's the agenda?

For any of you who do not know, Johnk is the owner of KCS loudspeakers.
He designs all kinds of loudspeakers to spec or by commission. You can check his website in the Industry Directory on Audiogon. Johnk favors horns despite the fact that he has designed and owned nearly every other format.

Ralph Karsten owns Atma Sphere, a designer of OTL amplifiers who has risen to the top of the industry over the past couple of decades. He has stated a preference for horn loudspeakers because he feels strongly that they provide desirable characteristics which cannot be duplicated by any other available option.

Duke LeJeune is the owner of Audiokinesis, a high end audio dealer. Duke has established himself as an authority on the parameters of loudspeaker design and has helped literally hundreds of people through his unselfish and tireless contributions on this and numerous other forums. His own speaker designs have won unstinting praise from all corners of the audio universe. Duke favors horn usage and will gladly tell you why if you contact him.

I have worked in audio in a number of different capacities on and off since 1974. I have no resume of interest and cannot claim to be an expert. I'm just another audio schlub who, through some accident of providence has stumbled across the best mid range sound reproduction currently available. This makes me proud and delighted and eager to share my discovery. Some here seem to feel that I am guilelessly lurking here as the head of a dangerous horn cult from which they are duty bound to rescue you. Please be sure to thank them on your way out.

Mr Decibel showed up here brimming with enthusiasm and good will. His emotion was countered and dissed by certain all knowing disproponents of the emerging horn trend. One of them went so far as to follow him to another thread whereupon he intruded one too many times and caused MrDecibel to retreat from our presence. All of this occurs with great pomposity and claims of good intention. Results are invariably contentious and good will and forward progress always suffer.

Can we get back to horns and why we like them? Are there any news items or personal discoveries to report? Can we possibly consider the costs and other objections while, at the same time, proffer suggestions as to how these matters might be overcome via solution or compromise?

If horns are not to your liking, go talk to someone who is discussing something you do like. Spend some time on the positive side.

I believe everyone here is fully aware that Unsound and Weseixas don't like horns. Is there anyone who needs to be told again? If so, please get in touch with them via private email and ask them all about it. They may tell you and they may not. I suspect their grandstanding negativity is more about bringing attention to themselves than bringing light to our topic.

I have provided a bit of info above about the credentials of some of our contributors. Perhaps the guys who so frequently remind us of the fact that they don't like horns would be kind enough to establish their credentials so that our readers can properly measure their comments against the others. As moderator of this thread, I would certainly appreciate that illumination.

Does anyone here know anything about tapped horns?

Here's a quote from Ralph Karsten of Atma Sphere that you can find on page 2 of this thread. If you are concerned about my lifting it out of context, you can read the entire comment there.
---------------------------------
So when I say I prefer the horns I do, its over mbls, Wilsons, Sound Labs, Quads, Magnaplanars, Appogees (and their current clones, which are quite good), Avalons, Dalis and many other excellent speakers too numerous to mention. Further, I don't expect horns to always be on top; all technologies improve and one has to be ready to pick up and move if you want to stay on top :)
-----------------------------------

Poor Bill Woods. All those years of research, study and experimentation resulted in a horn that could easily be improved by consulting the posters right here on Audiogon.

I have posted links to his website several times now that would answer your questions. If you are sincere in wanting to know about his horns, you can get most of the info you are asking about right there.

Perhaps if you understood Bill's true stature in the pantheon of speaker designers, you would show more respect. You might even learn something.
I have.

Here's a link to a 6moons article about horns. If everybody who is still on board would read it, we might progress forward with a modicum of commonality. It's worth a try - and the article is very entertaining.

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/hornographic1/1.html

I've got time but no inclination. I put my speakers together almost without tools. I did have to drill a couple of screw holes to mount the horns above the bass cabinets. Also used a screwdriver to change out the woofers and a wire stripper for bare speaker cables. Bass horns are not a realistic consideration for me for a variety of reasons but I would love to have a pair like Herman has if logistics ever permit.

That article was entertaining and informative for me. I fantasize about adopting such a project but I have enough self-awareness to know that I lack the enterprise, tools, and the tactile skills to ever pull it off.

In all probability I'm done with speaker upgrades.

And I have nothing to sell in the area of horns. I do have excess amplifiers, etc. but those can wait.

I started this thread because my horns have so far exceeded my expectations that I'd like to spread the news. I'm not drumming up business for Bill Woods. He's so busy that he has stopped taking new orders. So the only person apt to benefit from my recommendations is you. I'm willing to demonstrate mine in Colorado and Oswald's Mill is showing them in Manhattan. Some of you probably heard these horns at RMAF a couple years back. If you get the chance, check them out.

Here is an article I found online that might be of interest to the more scientific amongst us. The math got over my head rather quickly.

http://sound.westhost.com/articles/waveguides1.htm

If it provides no other benefit to anyone here, it will at least demonstrate the complexity involved in horn design.

WOW!! Just like in school. I propose a little independent reading and everybody runs for cover.

Mapaman - I don't know much more than what I've read in your posts about the Walsh driver. I was aware of it back in the 1970s along with the Heil and the Magnaplanars. All were interesting and radical and exotic at the time. For reasons that elude me, the Heil and Walsh seemed to flash and fade while the Maggies slowly developed a huge following. I suspect the magazines had something to do with that.

Mapman - If you have the corners, K-horns would very possibly be welcomed by you wife because they will be out of the way with no wires running across the floor, they look like furniture with lots of wood and little grill, and they have a large flat space on top of each for knickknacks, etc. Learn how they work in the corners and shop for a deal. Sometimes a decent pair can be found for $2K or less and they will not depreciate if you maintain them properly.

If you see promise in them, there are many simple, cost effective mods available.
Because they are extremely efficient, the amplification options are many and small power amplifiers can be had for less money. If tubes aren't your thing, there are many interesting Class A SS amps to consider. I have a Rawson Aleph J Mini clone that sounds great with my horns. It cost me $275 from a guy at Audio Circle, as an example.

I too would choose Altec first but they are not so available as K-horns, and might not please your wife or resell as well. So, for your specific circumstances, I think the K-horns are a cool idea.

When viewed from above the K-Horn looks like home plate with the point going into the corner. The idea is for the bass to vent from the rear and use your room walls as an extension of the basshorn. While there is probably no more than 24 inches of cabinet adjoining the side and rear walls, you do want your walls to extend smoothly , without interruption well beyond the speaker cabinet if at all possible. I'm not sure that failure to do this is a game breaker, it is said to compromise bass performance. Maybe there's a K-Horn owner here who can refine my comments. I used to sell Klipsch in the late 80s and I can remember achieving pretty good results with a pair of K-Horns and a Levinson ML-9.

Try putting a wanted ad on Craigslist in your area. You never know but what somebody will give you a call.

Back to horns +=+=+

Here's a brief history lesson provided by your Audiogon hosts:

http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/gallery.pl?blog&1277867348

Notice that Jonathan Weiss and Oswald's Mill are mentioned.

So far I've watched just about every minute of the World Cup and I have to say that my horns reproduce the drone of the vuvuzelas very well. Of course, I've never actually heard a live vuvuzela chorus with which to compare but I'm convinced that the sound is convincing. Then again, who cares, the games are so engrossing and the announcers so entertaining that sound quality is the last thing I'm thinking about. Then again, perhaps there is an added value in having such a full throated, vibrant reproduction. Whichever, I can definitely see why the whole world is gaga about this game. Less scoring makes for more tension.

Unsound - I wish you and the Netherlands good luck. It seems that the outcome of these games defy prediction so who knows what will happen next? The Dutch are particularly physical and if they find themselves governed by a card happy referee, their game could be sunk quickly.
Thiel must not reproduce the vuvuzela very well. they sound great on my horns.

Vernneal - Poor bass is utterly incorrect. You have not heard good horns. As for size, they tend to be large but that is a subjective determination influenced both by perception and the realities of available space.

Of course you don't like vuvuzelas - they're horns, after all!

I'd be worried about Uruguay if I were you. They've won two more World Cups than the Dutch. They even won one in Brazil. Plus everything is upside down. Both Germany and Spain were upstaged in the Group stage and Spain was eliminated in one of the biggest upsets in history. Seems plain enough that the tables can turn at any moment.

Admittedly there is no excuse for Ghana losing to Uruguay but it would be unseemly now for the Apartheid people to walk away with a trophy in South Africa. Uruguay is down two starters as well, including their best scorer, Mr. Handball.

If Germany is as strong as they look, I'm betting that they will take the trophy home in a rain of vuvuzela cacaphonic orgasm.

No comments? No notice?
Jonathan Weiss or Weisselk, as he's known on Audiogon is sort of like the Anthony Bourdain of audio. He has similar gourmet leanings but that is not why I make the reference. Jonathan, like Tony, has an obsession that he travels to feed. Or he used to. Before Oswald's Mill. Once he started that up, the audio world, or it's most retro cutting edge facets, started beating a path to his door. If you visit the Oswald's Mill website you can see a chronicling of The Tastings. Those are a series of get togethers Jonathan hosted at his Mill in north central Pennsylvania annually. The most hard core hobbyist DIY people converge from near and far with their latest projects and strangest innovations. Read about them on the site.

You can also check out the OMA forum which I know DanEd reads. The horn world is a bit lonely. Few get involved and many mistakenly believe they've seen and rejected it. Fact is there are few experts and, unlike conventional box type speakers, horns require a tremendous depth of knowledge and experience that hardly anyone explores. The cookbooks that exist for box speakers haven't been provided for horns.

I've come to believe that horns are a relatively untapped (insider joke) resource that hold a potential well beyond anything that can still be extracted from box or planar designs.

WOW!!!! Such precision. The Spanish will be making orange juice in the final. They have gotten better in every game I've seen. I think they will make things really miserable for the Diving Dutch -- unless the referee plays their game and that isn't something we can rule out in light of the uneven officiating so far.

Today we had a no cards no how guy and that seems preferable to the gift wrapped penalty kicks, offside no-calls and calls, and the disallowed goals provided by some of the refs so far.

I believe Bert Doppenberg is Dutch, isn't he?

There are hobbyists and professionals out there in Audiophile Village who have lifelong experience with every horn made by Klipsch, JBL, Altec, Electrovoice, RCA, Western Electric, etc. who have found ways to surpass the performance levels and/or practicality available from those companies. Many of these people are alive and walking among you. Whether or not you choose to notice and avail youtself of what they have to offer is, of course, up to you. I do not have comprehensive knowledge of all of these designers and experimenters but I had hopes when I started this thread that many would be named. This hasn't happened. Bruce Edgar was something of a pioneer, not so much for what he was doing but more for the fact that he managed to get some light shone on his products. Jim Smith, through his networking and marketing skills, brought a lot of attention to Avant Garde horns. Neither sold much to the masses because horns, as stated earlier, need to be of a certain size and good ones tend to be expensive. When entry into the world of sophisticated horn design is mid five figures, many will be reluctant or unable to explore. I was in the second category. Speakers priced well above $25000 per pair were way out of my league. But a combination of luck and a lucid moment conspired to put me in possession of world class performance for under $5000.

So here are some names and products to investigate. There is Classic Audio Reproductions, which Ralph Karsten owns and recommends. Earl Geddes can be found through his Circle on Audio Circle. He has a pretty big following of DIY guys because he sells kits and his forum provides all manner of assistance to his customers. Tom Danley is considered by many to be the leading light in horn design today. He is more focused on medium sized venue desgn, particularly churches, but his Unity drivers and Tapped Horns have proven to be useful innovations for some audiophiles. Clayton Shaw of Emerald Physics makes an open baffle/horn hybrid that sells at a reasonable price and has won many converts. Audiokinesis also works with waveguides and since he is present here I will not presume to synopsize his work, as I've probably already botched some details elsewhere. And then there is Bill Woods who many feel makes the purest mid-range horn currently available. If you are clever and lucky enough, you can create a very affordable and successful hybrid using Bill's horns and a quality bass cabinet.

I'm sure this is not a comprehensive list. In fact, I just remembered Oris horns as an option I overlooked above. Certainly there are many others. Do you know of any that I failed to mention? Or can you add to what I've said? Feel free to correct any misinformation or oversight. But let's get our heads together and share what we know about current horn offerings.

Aren't you tired of the same old recycled and boring products from the famous brands? Isn't it time to stop letting the magazines tell you what you can like? There is a quantum leap at your disposal if you care to avail yourself of it.