One hopes that most of the threads on the WBF are informative. Although it is not their intent to reveal such lofty secrets as the true meaning of life, one hopes they provoke some clarity and if one gets lucky perhaps some entertainment as well. However, when a thread begin by stating a premise that is infused with an insurmountable bias, my tendency is to shrug my shoulders and move on. It was hard to read the OP and understand the rationale for the hypothesis that many/most/all listeners in Ked’s experience have an inherent imprint bias for their audio gear that is rooted in their continued quest for bigger, better, taller box speakers with which then governs their lifelong purchases. Moreover, the reader is then subjected to beratement for not having the wherewithal and good sense to pursue the many alternative paths of transducer and amplifier design that the OP considers a more enlightened approach to audio nirvana.
I guess the question I would rise first is why the obvious bias of the OP makes for an effective argument at all? I’m not sure what anyone’s purpose of acquiring a good audio reproduction system is, but if one believes it is to reproduce orchestral music realistically in a home environment, I suggest that is an unproductive and impossible task at the outset. I don’t know about you, but my system has one purpose and one purpose only, which is namely to enjoy listening to music at home. All kinds of music. From a single instrument or voice to orchestral tuttis. Nobody gives a rats’ ass about anyone’s journey including mine, but I’ve traversed planars, electrostats and cone drivers, both in and out of boxes. Since I began with speakers that were over 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide (Magneplanar IU circa 1973) and now have speakers that are shorter are far narrower, I’m not sure I’m a poster child for obeying to the bigger is better approach that Ked eschews, but I’m probably not too far from it either since I have some hefty JL Audio Gotham subs that augment my Alexx V (from Ked’s favorite speaker manufacturer). But one thing I can say with certainty is that I have stayed far away from horns and SETs (not explicitly stated as Ked’s prefs but c’mon man, we understand where you’re coming from) for a very good reason. Which is namely this. I have not heard a full range horn system to date that I find as enjoyable as several alternatives for home reproduction. The reasons are three-fold.
First, we should understand why horns are so popular in certain parts of the world for home reproduction. (We’re not talking about theater systems of sound reinforcement which is aa totally different kettle of fish). In Japan, most homes are very narrow (but long) due to fact that property taxes have been based historically on the width of the home (and not square footage). This obviously severely limits the size of speakers most audiophiles can accommodate. In the EU, many flats, apartments or private homes are also not conducive to massive, large speakers or the boat anchor sized amplifiers needed to drive them to realistic SPLs. Thus, horn speaker were and still are often the best path for practical affordable home listening. Using horns in many environments only requires one more prerequisite which was best said by Paul Klipsch when he advocated that what the world really needed was not a huge expensive speaker, but a good 2-watt amplifier. For many listers, a good efficient horn with a. modestly powered amplifier satisfies their listening needs very nicely. I respect that.
So allow me to suggest why I have zero interest in pursuing horns in any way, shape or form. Simply put, the bass reproduction for any horn system is simply unacceptable to me sonically. You can jump up and down and tell me that’s not the case, but that argument does not move me at all simply because I have never heard a proper horn speaker do bass exceptionally well. And its not like I haven’t tried over the past serval decades to hear it otherwise. Passable bass? Yes. But very well? No. Keep in mind that these same folks tell me I should listen to the Avantgarde G3 Trio with their super subwoofer horns, as if this is a valid solution for the dreaded “bigger and better” imprinting from which you think young audiophiles suffer? Do you advocate that seeking bigger and better is only OK if you pursue bigger and better with horns, not cones? But focus on SQ not size. Yes, sound from 25 (20?) to 40 Hz will come out of many horn drivers. But there is no way on god’s green earth that they can do this with the speed, timbre, extension, precision, definition, and control of today’s best cone drivers with the requisite amplification. Think about it. Why is it that even the best horn systems used for sound reinforcement always rely on cone drivers for bass reproduction? Bass reproduction from horns are colored and is a light year away from arriving with the same high performance transient and decay characteristics as the sound a good horn can deliver in the midrange, at least in every horn system I have heard. Yeah, yeah, I must not be listening to the right horns. Well, then show me. I will get to listen to the Avantgarde Trio G3 w subs in a few months (hope springs eternal), but still, it seems one has to aspire to yet “bigger and better” to still get there even with horns, no? In the interim, horns are simply not a SOA speaker system for bottom end. Period. They are always truncated in low frequency performance, and slow by comparison, even when driven by those mighty flea sized amplifiers. You know, the ones with a massively large damping factor (Ha!)
Combine that with my perception that many horns have intrinsic colorations in comparison to today’s best cones, planars and electrostats, and that’s reason number 2 why they are not on my list of speakers to aspire to owning. Third, they are generally devoid of top end extension which is important for me in that I think that attribute is what allows for the accurate capturing of the air/ambience and “penumbra” of the instruments in the hall. (The current fad, particularly in Asia, seems to be to a add high frequency drivers such as Heil AMTs to many horn speakers, which tells me a lot). And the OP believes it’s because of imprinting as a young audiophile when the forces of the universe somehow colluded with me into believing that bigger speakers are better, or that cost and prestige is what formed my audio aspirations? This is especially worth pointing out as an egregious hypothesis since I am a well-known cheapskate who comes from the Karmeli/Choi school of cables and wires (and accessories) which plainly suggests that spending big money there is just stupid. An alternative explanation, which is far more understandable in what has truly driven my adult audio pursuits is simply the fact that I attend a lot of music concerts. Listening to live music is what makes me a better, more discriminating listener at home and shapes my audio purchases more than any other factor. Not some gobbly gook pre-ordained high end audio imprinting that has somehow led me astray on the road to audiophile hell from which there is no return.
To be clear, I’m not saying there are not good horn speakers out there, but only that I’d never consider owning any based on what I have heard due to their full range limitations. And that makes them unacceptable for enjoyable home music reproduction, for me.
Why not suggest that people who seek better audio systems at home just stop buying better gear since everyone knows that the most important prerequisite to obtaining great bass response is the room. How many people can accommodate their desire for that? Most cannot and know it. Yet you genuinely believe that their imprinting for bigger and better speakers and not seeking a better room occurs early in their audiophile career and that is their Waterloo?
Feel free to pin names on my approach to seeking improvement for my home music reproduction if you wish, but in general I find the argument terribly misguided and irrelevant to my approach to better listening. But Jeez, this became a 10 page thread in a matter of days so the WBF advertisers should at least send you a Christmas card for that this December!
