Why not horns?

I think we can all agree that horns are not going to set the mainstream audio world on fire anytime soon. But I believe it is NOT because of mechanical amplification being outdated. (Are we now going to claim that tube amplification is old technology and outdated?) Most designers don't understand how to work with them. Then there are the drivers. Many horns, including the ones I use, are built with vintage, pro drivers in mind. Except for my Fostex horn tweeters which are very recently made. There are shipping issues, user issues, WAF issues, etc., which are all valid reasons why there are not more horn speakers being designed these days than this old and in the way technology theory.

Victrolas? Bad analogy. Just because those had a horn does not make it work in this comparison. There are many, many more issues with those old gems which would speak to why they aren't used anymore. If we all remember, those things had no electronics and you cranked them by hand.

Horns have greater potential than any other approach. Designers who move into using horns do not go back unless they need the money they can make producing yet another boring rendition of the 3-way.

Dan-ed,

Those other issues you mention are some of the reasons why physical amplification (ie horns), which is one of the older audio technologies out there, have largely fallen out of popular favor and been replaced by other approaches. Isn't that pretty much what outdated means?

Tubes versus SS amplification is not a relevant analogy because the pros and cons of each of those approaches are totally different than those associated with electronic versus physical amplification in general.

06-03-10: Almarg
Re phase and polarity, I believe the reason for the ambiguity and inconsistent use of the term "phase" is that a delay or phase shift mechanism can be either phase dispersive (affecting the phase of different frequencies differently), or phase non-dispersive (affecting the phase of all frequencies equally).

A polarity inversion is the same thing as a 180 degree non-dispersive phase shift. An arrival time difference caused by multiple drivers whose physical placement is not time-aligned relative to one another would be a dispersive phase shift.
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Hello Al,

All true , but the word Phase describes a relationship it can be applied to anything really.

regards,

Macrojack, why would "Horns have a greater potential than any other approach."?