Horn Speakers. Love them or hate them? 

Vilip and I are very close friends and he means no harm. I promise you will learn to like his no filter personality ! - Jay

This guy in the middle is such a grumpy old head - I love it!

I owned and listened to audiophile's speakers and components, tubes, discrete and digital, electronics, you name it. I spent literally 10's of thousands on them in the 51 years I've owned or listen to them. Read all the reviews on most speakers and components. What it really comes down to is affordability and sound preference. The horn speakers to me are very truthful to the source they're given. Each horn system has a slightly different focus depending on the maker of these horn speakers, that give them certain characteristics in volume and stage presentation, according to their size, cabinets and internal components, crossovers and placement in the room. Horns if well designed can give faithful reproduction of the sound source, if properly engineered and executed. The one thing they all can do is produce high efficiency with smaller power requirements. This is another important factor in purchasing this type of speaker to certain consumers. Good review.

Jay was actually correct; sort of. There was an Altec model A4 but, it was about 9 feet tall with the HF horn and the bass bin itself was 7 feet tall by 3 feet wide. It had two 15" Altec 515 woofers. However, he did then explain that he meant an A7 which is a much more modest sized system. However, the image at 1:34 shows an A5 which was similar to the A7 but, had more capable, higher output drivers. The one item all three missed was that none of the Altec Voice of the Theatres were bass horns. True, they had a horn on the woofer but, that only worked effectively in the midrange. The real bass output was from the bass reflex section of the bass bin. What they did was have the system response transition to the bass reflex at the point that the horn/woofer response started to drop off. Sort of an acoustic crossover. In spite of that trick these speakers never went into anything like deep bass. In fact, when we started to get serious about full bandwidth sound in cinema in the 70's with Dolby Stereo we had to add subwoofers to augment the Altec VOTT speakers because they were ineffective below 45Hz. What these models did extremely well that these guys touch on is that they were VERY efficient. I used to hook up a tiny, transistor radio to an Altec A4 and get plenty of output in a 500 seat cinema!

I like big horns, I cannot lie.

Straight and direct... Sometimes people can't take that... I have zero problem with any of this.. Non scripted, personal choice of words, differences of experience and opinions and the need to take fluids onboard.. Just 3 guys discussing a passion.

Yeah, not a big fan of videos where one person puts down another person for the sake of sounding more knowledgable. He could have asked him to clarify what he meant before telling him that he is wrong. They are making videos to promote their store and we are counting on their expertises. In that one gesture, that guy is attempting to take away the credibility of the other person. Perhaps having a quick chat before filming is a better way to do things in the future.

I use to be a electrostatic /planer speakers ,but since I had klipsch in my system wow hands down most dynamic !! Love this topic thanks guys

3:52 - A horn is not an acoustic amplifier, as there is no acoustic power gain. It is an acoustic transformer, which efficiently couples a high-pressure low-displacement driver to low-pressure high-displacement output at the ambient air.

Just wanted to tell you guys that you come across in a great way. An unbiased fun group you are. Ron

Thank you all for sharing your knowledge

It sounded to me like Vilip just horn shamed Jay. Seemed a bit uncalled for especially to do on camera. This is HiFi, and it should be fun.

I have always enjoyed horns. I have a pair of Klipsch Cornwall IV's that I just traded in my III's for. Having said as much, I find that their application is much more limited than most other speakers and that in certain forms of music they sing. But, they do so only for rock or other fast paced music that may or may not be recorded to the highest caliber. As such transience with them is a major problem as that "cuppiness" that they color sound with is both a blessing and a curse. They throw sound at you the way the narrow part of an old theater does and you have to be careful with which recording you use for that reason. Having said as much, I love how they excite the air in which they do project and think I may have found salvation in a JMC Soundboard. I heard one at their HQ in Switzerland a few months ago and have my own arriving in a few weeks. It delivers that dynamic, room filling feel many seek from a horn. But, it does so in a far more natural way without the echo effect horns tend to come with.

I'm gonna go listen to my Klipsch KG4's, like I've been doing for just over 33 years.

I have vintage Sansui SP300 and I love them after swapping out the woofer and lpf it to bring the low end up to match the vibrancy of the horns. I put a bird video on for my cat and he ran around looking for the bird, it is just so real sounding. They are great if you have enough lower mid to balance them otherwise can seem a bit ear piercing.

Adrian gave a great comparable of how we all hear and perceive things differently ! To each their own.

Nice topic, nice content, would nice to do the same with transmission line speakers!

I have A7’s and love them. Stunning realism. Very coloured though. I heard Advante Garde and they had all the dynamics but a softness and naturalness that I really liked.

Chris here,I have had many different Horn designs,and still have 5 pairs 3 of which I am constantly playing with ,changing drivers,Damping experiments,and love them,as much as my little high end Rogers,Kefs,Focals,etc.

"Honkiness" lol love it!! Big JBL's are the way to go.

I'm "resto modding" a '65 Magnavox Astro-sonic. I'm replacing the stock 12's, adding a 10"sub, keeping the stock, metal horns (10uf/25v capacitor). Powered by a modest class D amp & It sounds fantastic!

Horns are an acquired taste... Been living with same Cornwall since early 80's. Still here ! To each his/her own... Makes for a much more interesting world. Well done gentlemen.

Jay, you said that horns can make you deaf, can you expand on that? I’m running Belles and Dynaco, with the MK3- it’s a bit much. I understand the horn on the A7 is 108Db, so twice as loud as my Belles. Was the system just too much for the space, or is there something else going on here?

Have you guys listened to Unity/Co-entrant/synergy horns? Something like the SM60F from Danley Sound Labs?

True , even the mythic vitavox s2 was surpassed by the beyma amt 150, its very difficult to avoid the 'horn' coloration

Adrian, curious if you have ever done a blind a/b test where you didn't know what speakers you were listening to, i.e. horn vs box or whatever?

have you guys listened to JBL Paragon? Any thought?

I like both horns and electrostats and have owned both. I now use Altec 604E Duplexes. I think the best turnkey, all in one box horn system is the Altec Model 19, a hybrid with a direct radiator woofer and horn treble. The late Bruce Edgar, who brought back Voight's tractrix horn, made excellent horns and horn systems. Some of the best horn systems are those made by DIYers using gear from Altec, JBL Pro, EV, Emilar, Radian, B&C and such. Many Klipsch speakers sound like Hell and making generalizations about horns from experience with Klipsch is like judging all direct radiators from having heard, oh, Bose 901s.

I have a pair of University "Dean" folded horn speakers from the early 1960's. They are corner speakers in beautiful mahogany cabinets. there is a "sister" model named "Classic" that are not angle cut to fit into corners. One watt drives them to 104 db. The cross overs "N3 Baton" are adjustable for Presence and Brilliance. They sound like a live band and have enough bass to shake the floor. Have you ever heard these speakers?

when i 1st time heard the avantgarde trio..i straightly fell in love with its speed and presence...ive tested it with various genre of music... from mayo nakano,joe hishaishi,,,,,Y.S.Ting,alan parsons up to the fred shredding gary moore to even the master plucker mark knopfler......to me..its a different chapter what horn can play and re tell the stories...i never notice the cuppyness that much , maybe its the freq crossover and the acoustics of the room was done well ...as i am in the music playing band ,keys and tonal variations are our everyday game....but i do find abit of lightly saturated from horn especially when it comes to rock music..could be the nature of the way the instruments was and traditionally rock was staged ,played with normal PA speakers ......maybe due to almost 35 years of listening to normal coned speakers....still i cant lie..im still in love with the trio...... "still in love with you - Thin Lizzy"

It’s good to have a variety of views. No one loses. We all gain.

You really can't make generalizations, because there are so many factors that influence how they sound. Things such as dispersion angle, the driver itself, or even the crossover point. Klipsch is a great example. In Paul Klipsch's designs, many listeners thought they sounded nasal, much like a PA speaker---after his passing, engineers redesigned the horns to eliminate that. Sorry Paul, but your predecessors got it right.

Great to listen to different opinions, and why we prefer this or that... What I don't like though, is when this beautyful hobby gets hateful & snobbish.. This destroys the brotherhood, and the community.. The discussion in this video, was totally okay though :-)

Can someone tell me what that cool looking device is on their left? Thanks😁

I would say to guys who say horns sound cupped, how can you accept the dynamic compression effect of most direct radiating speakers especially panels? That is a obvious limitation as well. Another aspect of vintage speakers you didn’t mention is alnico magnets or even better field coils. Now we are talking life like breathing and micro as well as macro dynamics. I agree the limitations in the high and low end of many vintage speakers is glaring. Most do not have the supertweeters which they need. Furthermore there are phase alignment issues between the woofers and the compression drivers, maybe not on A7s. Some of these issues can be mitigated by biamping and dsp which is what I have on a pair of 604s.

Best things about horn speakers are the headroom in the treble. Other tweeters with less output tend to turn to mush in sound when you crank them up, but with horns you can get almost limitless sparkle to your acoustic and drum sounds. You can crank them through the roof and the sound never garbles up. This and the less boomy midbass give the more effortless sound that doesn't sound like a paper membrane in a box. Just seems to be the characteristics of a more efficient speaker. That and they do midrange well. There are downsides to some designs and it is harder to eliminate the nasal quality to the sound if they aren't properly designed. They are going to be quite large in size and also pick up amplifier hiss more easily.

You don’t need jbl or the other brand! The Klipsch and yes Klipsch Cornwall IV are amazing enough said!! Now that ain’t a cheap bad speaker! And worth also lots of $ plays great! I own them! But I’m thinking do I keep them even though I like them I’m curious to try focal Aria 948 very different but what more dynamic and detailed? What do yo I think is the better quality sounding speaker I don’t want cheap sounding ! Any thoughts people?

Did any of you listen to Danley Sound Labs horn speakers? Their products go down low (bass), have minimal phase change (across the whole frequency range!!!), etc. etc. They don’t go to audiophile shows but have high-end qualities none the less. A true point-source, with excellent properties against a wall (=mirror) or 2 seamless combined (double angle spread).

You haven't heard the Living Voice Vox Olypian or Elysian speakers. They're horns with no honkiness at all and their timing, natualness and accuracy are second to none. They are horn speakers of the very best in sound reproduction. They have world acclaim.

Heresy is a good middle of the road choice. They work in a small room or big as long as you have a sub woofer in the bigger room. Great at low volumes too.

AV Trio’s with Basshorns are by far the best reproduced sound I’ve heard. Horns need active bass to keep up. One day I’ll own some UNO’s.

Altec VOTT series and yes there was an A4 where designed to cover the range that theaters used at the time 100hz-9khz was the standard but many surpased that in the lower frequincy but not so much in the treble range one shouldnt be judging these old loudspeakers without considering what they were designed to do. They do respond well with modern crossovers and adding tweeters and once done they can compete with modern loudspeakers that exceed there price ranges.

Vilips a dink

Any horn speakers today worth listening and owning that can fit in a real domestic space?

Exemplar chose the original Karlson K15 tuned to 30Hz and eq-ed to "keep up" with their reflex/horn hybrid. K15 used normally can do some things better than a folded midbass horn of similar bulk. PWK's little exponential horns (K700/K600/K400) are good performers whether liked or not. BTW - speaking of Karlson. a slotted pipe wavegude such as Transylvania Power Company's "The Tube" is a very nice performer but lacks the low end gain of a horn. Karlson's X15 system introduced 1965 used a mini-klam wood tweeter then moved onto the slotted pipe AKA "K-tube". Good SE amplifiers can be built relatively cheap and the old Loftin -White arrangement a good way to go.

While I use Magnepan planar speakers to have zero cabinet resonances and to suffer no inconsistent inductance with respect to frequency, I wish I had more audiophile friends because I like to hear different approaches to music reproduction. I used to use 245 single ended triode amplifiers, but to get enough power for my inefficient Magnepans I replaced the speaker transformers on them with headphone amplifiers to take 5k down to 500 Ohms which I connect between ground and the grids of 833-A radio station transmitter tubes I run at 1 kV plate and zero grid bias voltage which is just right for the 833-A. Horns interest me even if I don't use them in my main system.

Absolutely amazing that the three of you seem to know so little about the acoustic theories behind horn speakers. And yet with the wealth of information available on the internet about research done by Bell Labs in the 30s along with technical papers by Paul Klipsch since the 40s all you talk about is how horns don’t need much amplifier power. Well, yeah they don’t but the development of horns was as much or more to reduce distortion. It has been proven that as the movement of a driver increases the distortion produced increases. Horns require less movement for a given loudness output. And yet people continue to think some new idea will change how direct radiator speakers work. Porting and transmission lines reduce cone movement for a given output but at the expense of resonance peaks. Please do more research about how and why horns were developed and implemented in many early speaker designs. And by the way, I love horn speakers - and in particular Klipsch Heritage speakers, and even more particularly, the Klipschorn. I’m used to sitting in the middle of the brass section of large and loud abd powerful symphony orchestras and only large fully horn loaded Klipsch (well, Cornwalls and Fortes come close too) come close to recreating that experience.

If you like "Rock music" you should listen to the JBL 4367 with a good power amp. Years ago I had Krell KMA 100'S with celestion SL700.....I've moved on. Just my 2 cents worth. :) Keep on rocking in the free world! :)

Simple do you like the PA sound

I believe that when people hear honkiness or other artifacts in horns it is due to them being truncated, or the sound path being distorted, or the horns being asked to cover a larger bandwidth than they realistically can. Almost every horn out there is compromised in some way, mainly due to size considerations. Some day I am making a home theater INSIDE of a giant bass horn.

I love open baffles. I also adore modest power tube amps and high efficiency so would really like to try good horns but they are very expensive good compression drivers are not cheap by any means (DIY is my world). I am also much more classical than rock. Of course pipe organ is a big deal for me so sub is almost a requirement.

I think its important for those who dont know that all horns are not the same! The design and components can make two horn speakers sound completely different. It might seem obvious but Ive seen people reject horns because of one speaker they didnt like. IMO certain horn speakers (or more accurately a large waveguide) is the optimal way to to decrease reflections in a domestic living situation. ie, they're ideal speakers.

Im interested in hearing synergy horns

I've got eight 3 x 7 Motorola pizo horns, and a bunch of old Radio Shack speakers on each side connected to 500 watt per channel amp. Does that mean i'm an audiophile?

1st- I love Vilips no filter personality, I would love to live near him to share listening experiences with him. That said I disagree with one thing he said, and that is that for best results you need a full horn-loaded system and that other things are "not as good". I feel efficiency is efficiency, however, it is attained. What your trying to get is similar efficiencies with sections in a speaker system. More sensitivity(when honest, and measured properly) usually sound similar. This creates similar sonic signatures when other things are equal. So to have a bass section far less efficient but with more amplifier power to compensate for the SPL difference usually produces more distortion to keep up, and more dynamic compression(where the heat in the voice coil reduces dynamics) so will sound much different. What we call fast bass, is really more dynamic, and with different types of distortions. Arrays create efficiency through larger amounts of moving mass, you get similar effects as to horns, my experiments have taught me efficiency is efficiency however you are able to attain it. IF your working within the frequency ranges of the separate speaker sections. The horn sound often comes with pushing driver sections beyond their bandwidth. I love that JBL specs their woofers regarding dynamic compression it helps in matching components. When people say "fast bass", I think what they are hearing is "dynamic bass." Of course, efficiency isn't the only way to achieve this, electrostatics are not efficient but are very dynamic in their frequency range, similar to Magnapans. But because they need more power you don't get macro-dynamics you get with horns as easy. I have heard a horn system sound very similar to an electrostatic system.

The midrange of an RCA1443 in a conical horn is unmatched. Even the Wilson XVX I heard was not quite there.

That was hilarious ! Vilip's a fun guy !

I think Villip is funny. He’s a character. I like the way he messes with Jay.

I heard deep bass with a klipshhorn calculated for 18" electrovoice ...flat to 20hz..in that room

I only like Avantgarde horn speakers only. Very special sounding! Vintage horn speakers are great but they are so BIG!

If you like horns then get Tannoy's. Sounds like a single point source horn thats full frequency with an added lower bass horn that's an active driver. The only thing they lack is a roll off from 16k. A super tweeter solves this.

That guy in the middle has a huge ego

I have an awesome vintage 10 cell horn that's set up for dual drivers that I'm selling right now on Ebay.

Whe love them

Nelson Pass wouldn't agree that "to do a lower power is easy" -) With a traditional amplifier of course. If it's designed to be a "first watt" amplifier, a combination with a good horn is an A-class nirvana (because you'll be always in A-class mode with a proper amplifier bias current, no matter of a high power working mode is).

horns are great,i am a trumpet player,thats a horn too!these guys are comparing horns vs boxes?its no contest!,and what then for open baffle?with a super fast base,I am talking about full-range speakers.my own speakers grown up philips ad9710 m,thats ad1255m7,so a12 inch speaker with a wizzer cone,needs according specs if in a closed cabinet 280.65 liters!I think horns and open baffles sound great

Horns rock. Increased detail, better harmonics, better spatial precision and lots more power. The REAL fun begins once you managed to get your speaker over 100dB @ 1w/1m, when even a low power class A tube amplifier becomes viable. Just one warning: leave everything below 500Hz to high efficiency cone drives in sealed enclosure.

Hi 👋 wen we talk about horns speakers 🔊 i perfer the vintage peavey fh1 folded horns, makes every one stand up and dance.

The JBL Studio 590 is one of the best compression horn speakers you can by in its price range. Beats Klipsch any day of the week. It does not suffer from any of the discrepancies that have been stated in this video and unfortunately, has become extremely underrated. It's a shame that none of these RU-vid reviewers will touch the JBL Studio 500 Series. This series not only was advertised on the JBL Synthesis website but was designed and built by two of the best designer and builder in the business. Samsung fired them both sadly...

I sold my flat sounding speakers for 3 way horns. 15inch bass, 8inch mid, 1inch compression tweeter. Never ever going back. In your face dynamics

😍😍😍

Late to the party. Have you heard any Tune Audio speakers?

I'd have to stand with Adrian in this. Horns don't do it for me, anatomically speaking (as in my ears & brain structures). They all seems to be shouting at me, even Diana Krall. But omnis, oh yeah! As Adrian put it best: everyone has different hearing abilities & sensitivities, and different weightages on sound qualities... so go listen and decide for yourselves. I would never have realised that horns doesn't suit me if not listening to them personally. Also, Vilip is cool... like his shoot-from-the-hips banters. Though understandably some will be put off.

I love horn speakers only branded tannoy on it¡¡¡¡

I don't understand why you cannot get deep bass from horns. I built one on 15 inch beyma and it is just crazy with uptempo music, can go low and is driven without much power compared to normal speaker design limit is just starting point for horn loaded. Dynamic and low at the same time this is crazy thing. Now looking at speakers without horns like guys you are wasting power into airto gain like 1/5 of a horn loaded version.

Horn speakers are quicker than regular speakers but not as quick as panel electrostatic speakers.

My feeling is that horns done right are unbeatable , i.e. extremely low distortion even at very high SPLs. I am not sure that all are done right. I see horns with strange shapes/sections ... one case of horns done right is Acapella speakers imho

Horns are for sports arenas. Ribbons sound much better up close.

Man Vilip was kinda mean on this one...

I’ve owned several of those and other high end horn and variants, and honest and revealing is NOT at all why I owned or enjoyed them. They are fun, different, enable dramatic room and equipment interactions and can be really engaging. But not at all honest, revealing nor usable for any sort of reference grade fidelity, whether $5K to $1.1 million.

Is it just me but it appears that Jay is mostly summarizing what he is reading off of the WWW ? It didn't come across as a review or insight from first-hand listening.

“True horns” lmao. Let’s hear what true horns are......

Damn! Those avantgarde horns guys! Who i have to kill in order to own one pair of trios?

Vilip-“It invokes an increase in sound pressure level.” Exactly wrong. High sound pressure/low sound volume at the throat -> low sound pressure/high sound volume at the mouth.

The Bryston reference made no sense - you can hook up horns to a 500W amp, they will still only demand a few watts of power, at most. Unless he cranked the volume!

Ya know what’s gross? People gulping liquids right into their mics. Vilip, you listening?

Using old horn speakers are not good examples for what horn speakers are capable of. Even Avantgard horns have certain limitations. But long story short, using active crossovers for hornspeakers makes them supreme. Honkiness is an issue of bad adjustment, like using 6db crossovers etc..., Or not having the equivalent parts for a fully capable horn system. Bass means I need massive area, can be done with huge bass horns, room sized or gigantic basswalls, which means you need a gigantic amount of material. Honky horns are just badly adjusted speakers nothing more. If you have ironed out all the problems of a horn, which are not much, you will get a sound that is superior. But many people ask then... Why are people not using horn speakers more often? Simply because a proper horn system has to be huge as you room, there is no other way. And don't get me wrong, Klipsch, JBL etc. are legends, but they are not proper horn speakers.

Now this is a horn ! (890) World's Largest Horn Shatters Glass - RU-vid

If y’all were talking about Ramen I’m with you. But Horns? I’m out

Philip doesn't have must self awareness...Cones are boring, Horns have energy and make the content better and compelling. Macintosh tubes with Klipsch are a Devine combination.

16:50 haha😅you almost said ‘horny’ 😅😅😅

The that keeps gulping water mic'd up made me not watch this video. It's too bad, because I'm interested in the subject matter.

Oh the smugness of the chubby orange guy is so repelling. This is solitary hobby so we're overrun with those types. Jay - wave good buy to this group and the viewers will follow your enthusiasm.

Yikes! The size of those A2’s

Grumpy old men Love midrange, because their hearing has deteriorated LOL

A well-designed horn system has no parallel. If you think horns are colored, you haven’t heard great horns! You do NOT need to sit in the sweet spot or at the apex, not with a well-designed, constant directivity (i.e., conical horns) horns.

this video is ewww, we will see the next one

It is crazy how honking this videos acoustics are. Ironically the biggest downside of horns. I have a thing about audio quality in the poor recordings of reviewers. Horn honking is not relevant if your own audio is bad. It is the biggest thing I have learned from watching speaker reviews, it is mostly in the recording. But I like horniness.

Control ur body language when you attempting to lie lol :D

The guy in the middle thinks he’s way smarter than the other guys. Personally, I thought he was full of shit. I love Klipsch, especially paired with REL subs.