Horns: Why don't they image well?

Duke has made some great comments addressing the topic, answering it to its fullest.
If you don't get the nerdy part of it, it translates as:
"A well designed horn images as well as any other speaker".
Having made a good number of my own recordings, I can attest to that fact, by using those same recordings. Its not just theory- horns have been some of the most musical and involving speakers I've heard (Duke's amongst them, and his are unusually good deals on top of that), including their ability to image and play depth.

Erik’s thread is entitled, "Why don’t horns image well?", and the entire text of his opening post is, "Anyone have a theory?".

In asking for theories, it seemed like Erik was inviting "tech details" as well as how they "relate to actual perceived sound".

I do think both are useful and fun, but we should be careful about being sure when we join one to the other. 

Best, 

E

Horns require large space and proper placement. My tractrix horns image well enough that I get compliments on my (nonexistent) center channel.

I have Heresy IIIs - a fairly cheap speaker as horns go - and they image better than some 2-way monitors I've had in house. They only require a bit more distance to do so.