Why not horns?


I've owned a lot of speakers over the years but I have never experienced anything like the midrange reproduction from my horns. With a frequency response of 300 Hz. up to 14 Khz. from a single distortionless driver, it seems like a no-brainer that everyone would want this performance. Why don't you use horns?
macrojack
A Thiel is time coherent, which makes it unique in this regard.

Prez, what Thiel calls Time Coherence is time alignment, it is certainly not unique to Thiel. Google "time coherent speakers" and you will find many who make that claim including NSM, Green Mountain, Vandersteen, Meadowlark, and others including mine. I do not care to debate you on this, you are as wrong about this as you were about the last issue.

My physical crossover consists of a single capacitor in line with the tweeter. It is physically aligned with the mids and electronically aligned with the woofer through an electronic delay. All other crossover functions are done digitally with no phase shifts or timing issues. The next step is to get rid of that single cap and triamp completely eliminating any passive components between my amps and drivers.

You can question my methods but my speakers are most definitely time coherent.

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Herman, I applaud your efforts, I don't believe I have heard a horn system that makes similar claims. It would appear as though you have a rather unique custom speaker system. A speaker system that would be unique to other horns systems, and perhaps even an anathema to some other horn enthusiasts. A speaker system that would not readily be available to the typical consumer. I have concerns that the horns themselves would get in the way of themselves in providing a waveform that would actually be time and phase coherent at the listening position. Still, it's refreshing to see the effort being made. Bravo.
Why can't we all accept that 'we like what we like'. Many of us have been around the block and have much experience in listening to many different kinds of systems. There are those that have not. I have never said that everyone needs to go out a buy a pair of Lascalas. Only that I enjoy them and feel they do what I want them to do for the price and for the room. I will not bash planars or box speakers because many are very good, as well as, different strokes for different folks. I have left so many forums because this bashing continues......I do not want to leave this one, but honestly....I am sure I will be missed !
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.
Herman, believe me, I have no desire or intention of getting into another worthless debate with you.

But you do force me to defend myself.
First, I never said that Thiel was the only time coherent speaker out there. Having owned Meadowlark as well as multiple pairs of Dunlavy I can safely say that time coherence is not something new to me. My assertion was simply that the exact speaker in question (Thiel) WAS time coherent and that "most" horns are not because "most horns" that I have encountered do not use first order crossovers.
Clearly, I do not know what YOUR speakers use. But when I look at the pictures of your system I appears to me that the upper horns are the Avantgarde Duo. If this is wrong please share. Yesterday I took apart a pair of Duo horns to see what was inside. On the (stock) pair that I looked at there was certainly more than a single capacitor going to the tweeter. I then measured the speaker and found I was correct in assuming that the Duo was not time coherent. The impulse response and step response clearly show that it is NOT.
THIS is why I said that (quote) "unless you changed the crossovers" neither are yours. I ALSO started off by asking what you meant by "time aligned". This, in other words, was the perfect opportunity for you to explain that indeed YOUR speakers use first order filters.
If indeed they do then they very well may be time coherent.

I am perfectly willing to accept this. But up to this point you have not indicated this is the case with your speakers. And time alignment is not the same as time coherent.

So, as I said. Please indulge the curious here (not only myself. I happen to know that Unsound is also a fan of time coherence).
Please go into more detail on YOUR speakers.
If you have a first order filter on tweeter. Great. What about the midrange and woofer? All three need to have minimum filters for the speaker to be truly time coherent. I am sure you know this. And I ask because I am truly curious. If your speakers use first order from top to bottom then you are only the second person I have come across to implement something that I have been exceedingly curious about for a very long time. Ie. horns+first order.

I am also very curious to know what woofers you are using. If your speakers did start life as an Avantgarde Duo, did you incorporate the stock woofer into your horn?

Thanks.