(by
@johnk )
The best horn systems are not the ones you find at audio dealers research horns consider a bit of DIY combinations of the best of vintage and modern are the best performing options.
I find there’s merit to this statement. The industry of all this "hifi" is not our affair or business even; we’re the picky consumers (or ought to be), and the industry provides us with the products we deem worthwhile - an important, albeit banal distinction. Still there’s the sense the consumer is sometimes offended on the part of the industry when the latter is deselected by individuals (in favor of DIY offerings, wholly or partly, or specialty/boutique craftsmen) or critical assessment is otherwise placed as if the consumer has somehow gotten infested with the inertia of the hifi industry at large as the steady, and convenient provider.
Perhaps modernity is part of this tendency in light of the thinking that holds what’s new is necessarily better, while at the same time being instrumental in keeping the wheels of said industry turning in ever-ongoing consumerism. Mixing old and new, making it a partial DIY-approach (furthering a lack of convenience), potentially very large speakers - all-horns at that as a minority principle, and at prices that may easily break the rule of "you get what you pay for" (or certainly prices that are far removed from the typical high-end realm) - all of which stirs the pot in ways I’m sure to make many an audiophile feel uncomfortable or strangely alienated, for a variety of reasons.
Above quote I find expresses a freedom of approach that goes contrary to many a coagulated way in much of hifi; how do we attain some of the *best* sound out there going with horn speakers, size and most everything else be damned.
I wouldn’t consider Klipsch unless entry-level. Avantgarde is also entry-level horn with crazy prices.
Above quote I believe should be seen in the context of its addressor, not to make it all-relative, and the aspiration sought. Entry-level to one may be perfectly suitable for others, and yet isn’t it a provoking or intriguing thought that what we deem close to sonic excellence may dwarf next to offerings of another kind, not necessarily at elevated price levels yet at the expense, in a sense, of much bigger size.
The Shearer horn designs are pretty much the best horns get but they are not small small horns are wrong horns.
Would love to get my hands on a pair those Shearer’s in some iteration - we’ll see how that turns out in the future.
You want a fully horn-loaded system any ported box is a compromise not really worth having if performance is the true goal.
Incorporating all-horns in a domestic environment may be more about a change in mentality (and priority in regards to interior decoration) than whether it’s really sonically feasible. In that light certainly my recommendation would also be to strive for all-horns to really get to know what horns qua all-horns according to their true definition are capable of.
That being said I find there are modern hybrid offerings that perform very well in distancing themselves from all-direct radiating solutions in terms of dynamics and yet being quite coherent (in some respects even more so), like JBL’s 4367 (I like them in particular) and 4429. The M2’s from JBL are fancied as well, and PBN Audio looks interesting. From what I’ve read Audiokineses speakers are also fine offerings.
