Why not horns?

Why isn't everybody using recent model Quad electrostatics? Single driver, no crossover, low distortion, etc...

Macrojack, part of the reason you're getting some negativity about this post is because there's an inherent arrogance in your question. You may not have intended that to be the case, but it's there. In form your question is no different than, "I've found salvation in Jesus, why haven't you?" There are two obvious responses to this type of question. "I'm happy for you", or "go shove it!" True believers are boring.

Also clouding the discussion is the fact that you haven't listed your system. What exactly are we talking about? It's coming out in dribs and drabs. It's confusing the issue.

Several people have commented that the horn detractors haven't heard properly set up horns. That's very presumptive upon their part. Again it goes back to that whiff of arrogance. Additionally, in my experiences it raises suspicions when a product is so critical to "proper setup". It could be that the sound is simply an acquired taste.

I recently heard a marvelous demonstration of a horn system. It was all the positives described in this posting. If at some point in the future I feel the need to put two refrigerator sized objects in my listening room, horns would definitely be on my list.

I have found this to be a very educational thread. Well done to those making positive contributions.

I too heard the CAR setup at Akfest and thought it sounded quite good. But as a point of comparison, for substantially less money and far smaller physically, two non-horn speakers, the Audio Note and the Tom Evans setup were better. Different strokes...

Macrojack, you are proselytizing, but the true believer mark was over the top. My apologies.

Some of the criticism of Peter Aczel in this thread is overblown. In a changing environment for someone to alter their position can be considered a sign of an inquiring/flexible mind. "All amplifiers sound the same" is not an accurate statement of his position, it should read "all amplifiers should sound the same". If amplifiers are designed to be accurate to the input signal, then they should sound very much alike. Stereophile considered this issue when they put a Cary 805 tube amp on the cover with a Krell and asked, "If either of these amplifiers is RIGHT...the other is WRONG." Aczel believes that he had a methodology for determining if an amplifier was "right". Whether or not his methodology was correct or even useful is a tangent I won't pursue, but at least he was asking the question about accuracy. I believe that the real legacy of HP and his followers is that we are no longer concerned with high fidelity reproduction, or accuracy, but instead pursue good sound. The end result of this type of thinking is that we now talk about "the sound" of fuses, outlet covers, resistors and binding posts.