Are horns and hi-eff designs becoming more popular

03-17-08: Gregm said:
"So I ask you what horns did you hear honk?
Perhaps a narrow circular (miscalculated exponential) front horn stretched fm upper to lower mids? A bit like those portable battery-powered pa devices?
I have been myself intrigued by this reported "honk" and usually attribute it to what is really a mismatch/ misalignment somewhere between tweet - mid- lower mid..."

Altec and Klipsh, many moons ago. Every horn set up that I heard was seriously colored with a nasal honk. I listen to a lot of trumpet and female vocals, so I couldn't abide that sound.

Tell me more. Is this a thing of the past?

Another question, why are consumer horns so darn expensive??? They seem relatively simple to make, yet Avant Garde gets into the tens of thousands quite quickly.

I want full range without taking up a ton of space and, of course, no honk. Where should I look?

Dave

Horns are costly for few reasons limited production, Hi-eff transducers use more costly materials large mags etc than other designs again this adds to cost. Molds for horns if plastic are very costly. Cabinets are large and complicated to constructed shipping such large systems is costly. some good horn designs Edgar horn, Avantgarde,Modern JBL,Oris, KCSloudspeakers,TAD, Goto, Ale in your price range maybe DIY or custom built would be best. You will not get horn bass in a small cabinet so your looking more at horn hybrid systems which most designs on the market are. Some of the old horns have problems with resonance and intergation of horns.Toss in old capacitors etc and I can see why when folks hear old horns they hear problems. Why judge modern designs by your experance with antiques. Like most all things tech horns have advanced.

Mlsstl, the 'honkiness' you refer to is real, -but- it is usually an artifact of using the wrong kind of amp on a horn. Amps with low output impedance can get strident and honky as the highly reactive horn driver can put an amp with lots of feedback into conniptions!

IOW to experience what horns are about is usually done with zero feedback amplifiers. All of a sudden its a different world: horns can and are every bit as extended, relaxed and detailed as the best ribbons.

Seems like I'm not in town when the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest visits my neighborhood, but maybe I'll search out a horn dealer if I can't make the next RMAF. I AM very curious, because I love easy, big, dynamic range. If I can get that uncolored with good imaging, then I'd be tempted to jump, even if it stretched my budget.

Dave

Yes, I think horns are becoming more popular. I have never heard a horn system that I could live with. That includes, the previously praised new and old versions, and yes with the supposedly correct amplifiers. I always hear that honky, nasal, shouty, sound. I always walk away from those systems shaking my head and muttering, "I just don't get it". Then again, many of the fans of those systems have publicly criticized the gear I prefer. To each his own, YMMV, etc..