Horn based loudspeakers why the controversy?

But....I suppose makers of box designs may *claim* that they’ve gotten rid of their cabinet resonances by their sheer prowess in wood construction and so forth....only in fact to rely on a lot of help from their crossover design in the final result. So I guess why can’t a horn speaker manufacturer basically do the same really...I dunno.

I think all that is one reason why I eventually moved out of the speaker market and into DIY - once I went open baffle, I found it all much easier for me to get what I really want...and for far less.

@ivan_nosnibor

... We don’t as a rule tolerate vowel sounds in box designs, in fact makers regularly go to great lengths to tout that they’ve removed them with careful attention to the cabinets, don’t they? So why are so many makers of horn speakers so seemingly silent on the subject of audible horn resonances - especially as it relates to horn material?

This has confounded me as well, and yet, perhaps the obvious answer involves failing to direct proper attention towards and financially invest sufficiently into making great horns (one hopes there’s actual knowledge there to be aware of these implications, but the care needed for this to translate into the product itself appears to be in minor demand). As an example JBL has long touted their "Sonoglass" horn material, but going by my similar-ish impressions of several of their models featuring Sonoglass horns it seems the general sonic imprinting generated here (that of a grey-ish and rather "splashy" character, as some rightly puts it) could stem from the horn material used. Sonoglass is by all accounts cheaper, lighter, and easier to manufacture than a, say, machined (and thick-walled) hardwood horn, all factors that weigh in heavily in cost considerations; let’s not fool ourselves into thinking JBL has, in essence, other incentives to use this material, and that anything from hereon is simply "damage control." As a general rule I believe horns are much more sensitive, so to speak, with regard to their implementation, manufacture and need of care to work really well compared to direct radiating speakers, but these are demands that doesn’t sit well in today’s manufacturing market, for obvious reasons (sad they are). As such I suspect really well-sounding horns (all-horns in particular) may be a relative boutique business, certainly compared to the mass market of speakers in general, but I’ll be among the first to acknowledge their outspoken qualities when done right.

@kosst_amojan

The sensation I've always gotten, even from the best horns I've ever heard, is the same sensation I get standing right in front of a trumpet or sax horn. My dad and brother played trumpet. I played sax and electric bass.

In my world that could as well be a compliment to horn speakers, and your experience in playing the saxophone only makes you the better judge for drawing this comparison. I'm quite sure what you're intentionally referring to here is an aspect that to your ears follows horn speakers regardless of the music being played back - i.e.: one that mimics the "shouty" and present sound of a real sax or trumpet - but my takeaway from this (and which I believe you may be at least subconsciously influenced by as well) is the significance of spontaneously comparing speakers to live instruments, and all that could entail. Think about it, and to reiterate; you're comparing live instruments to speakers, horns not least, and this also calls out shared traits such as tonality/timbre, dynamics, uninhibited presence (a sense of ease, you may say), etc. While your intentional takeaway is for this to be negatively fused and support your stance, I'm conversely seeing you being dismayed by a sound that emulates a live acoustic ditto, for the reason mainly being that any comparison made here will be grounded in more than what you're consciously aware of. Speculative and total B.S.? Quite possibly, but it's a potential "the plot thickens" example of how many audiophiles may be less interested in or even repels live acoustic sound (as reproduced by a stereo) than creating their own (and by a whole community supported) hifi-sound. 

Kosst you said{ It's no mystery to me at all why you NEVER see horn loaded bass guitar rigs}  http://philjonesbass.com/product/16-h-bass-horn-speaker/

' Shouting contest thickens ', no doubt. He is not against live music or its approximation, he is against bad 'live music' shouting at him.
Phusis, I suggest you leave the man alone, let him 'play sax' any way he wants to and just listen without commenting. I would also say that you yourself do not tolerate the same things.