Are Horn Speakers good or bad or simply a complete joke?

Sean -

I remember well the Classic Audio speakers (I forget the model; "T" something, I think) driven by Atma-Spheres at the 2001 CES - a very musical combination. Absolutely no hint of honk. Vibrant and richly textured, full-bodied, harmonically correct, and easy to listen to long-term. The system had very little signature of its own - each recording had a unique presentation and tonality, instead of all sounding the same (which is what happens when a speaker imposes its signature on the sound).

What kind of horns do you have? What did you think of the Avantgardes?

I was impressed by Living Voice and Acapella horns, driven by Atmasphere & 300B SE's (can't remember which). Acapella use composite matl for the horn, so no metalic ringing.

The midrange, the sense of space the holographic imaging were outstanding on both occasions (listening to female vocals). As with Sean, the venue was a hotel room with no treatment.

Great horns also to be had from Tannoy, JBL, and Lowther and others... Also listened to a pair of PRE-WW2, modified, WE horns originally used in a cinema!!! Yes: impressive (and massive).

Often bass-shy, horn-loaded speakers usually sport conventional woofers for the lower register. Matching the sound in a seamless sounding package is tricky!

Cheers.

Frap and Sean are right! For another manufacturer who has licked all the problems, Sean mentions in his post, take a look at www.acapella.de/english and click on "exalibur" on the left of the page. What they have to say of this speaker is no hype. I've listened extensively to them.
Regards,
Detlof

Has anyone heard the Oris horn speakers distributed by Welborne Labs in the U.S. I have not heard these myself but would love to hear from those who have. I have heard the Classic Audio Reproductions/Atma-Sphere combo and really enjoyed them.

Duke, i've never seen or heard the Avantgarde's. Given my past experience with listening and modifying horns, i have a REAL hard time believing that they could sound "good" to MY ears. I've read the reviews and customer raves, but that is just a LOT of horn body in terms of resonances and ringing. Do you know what they use for materials ? Is it some type of phenolic or is it metal ???

I currently have a set of Klipsch Heresy's and La Scala's. I've had and modified more than a few sets of each of these, but they keep finding new homes when i'm done with them : ) The La Scala cabinets are in REALLY rough shape and need a complete overhaul. When i get around to doing these, i'll probably just start from scratch. I've been compiling notes ( both written and in my head ) for quite some time and this would be the perfect opportunity to apply ALL of them. I may need to sneak over to Bob Bundus' house and snag his ALK crossovers first though : ) Sean
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