View Full Version : What do " Horns" in speakers mean???
rb902
07-28-2004, 04:16 AM
Hi guys. i am planing to get the klipsch rf 35 series for my HT. while going thru many reviews in this and other sites. lot of people were talking about the word 'HORN' in relation to the refrence series. some people said it is bad and others said it is great. can someone please explain what exactly does horn mean and is it good or bad to have or its a personal choice. thanks
brigrizzme
07-28-2004, 05:52 AM
Horns tend to be bright, very forward and in your face. They're used in P.A. systems and public address systems. If you love loud Rock-N-Roll-Balls-To-The-Wall sound Klipsch is for you. Many of the speakers remind me of the dance club sound. Don't get me wrong, Klipsch has made some fine speakers in the past. But, I've never been impressed with anything Klipsch has made since the Heritage line. This is just my opinion and I'm not bashing Klipsch. The line has suffered since Paul Klipsch quit designing the speakers. If your taste in music is Classical or Jazz you may look for a less efficient or "laid back" speaker. Once again, they're you're ears and you'll figure it out. I would listed to the Klipsch and decide for myself. Some other speakers close to your price range are JM labs, Paradigm, Meadowlark and my favorite, Magnepan.
rb902
07-28-2004, 06:13 AM
Horns tend to be bright, very forward and in your face. They're used in P.A. systems and public address systems. If you love loud Rock-N-Roll-Balls-To-The-Wall sound Klipsch is for you. Many of the speakers remind me of the dance club sound. Don't get me wrong, Klipsch has made some fine speakers in the past. But, I've never been impressed with anything Klipsch has made since the Heritage line. This is just my opinion and I'm not bashing Klipsch. The line has suffered since Paul Klipsch quit designing the speakers. If your taste in music is Classical or Jazz you may look for a less efficient or "laid back" speaker. Once again, they're you're ears and you'll figure it out. I would listed to the Klipsch and decide for myself. Some other speakers close to your price range are JM labs, Paradigm, Meadowlark and my favorite, Magnepan.
thanks dude. my problem is that i heard the b&w 603 series and the klipsch rf 35 series about a month back, they both were great. now i cant hear them any more as where i am they only come on order. so i have to decide by seeing the reviews and asking people like u for help. i wont be listening to jazz or classical music. mostly for HT or fast/hip hop etc. so i have to finalize without listening to it. any suggestions
skeptic
07-28-2004, 06:54 AM
A horn is a device for coupling a driver (which is an assembly which consists of the magnet, voice coil, and vibrating member) into a room. Any speaker can be "horn loaded" but most used for home high fidelity are not. The narrow end of the horn is placed directly in front of the vibrating member and the wide end (where the sound comes out) is further away. Because they are typically flared, they look like horns and so are called horns. Engineers found out that the ideal shape for the flare follows a mathematical curve called an exponential shape hence the term exponential horn. In the 1940s Paul Klipsch invented a way to fold the horn shape back and forth on itself so that it could perform this function in a relatively compact enclosure. Not only that but he designed it to fit into a corner of a room so that the walls of the room became an extension of the horn further improving its performance. So his invention the Klipschorn is a corner folded exponential horn speaker and for its time, it extended bass down to a remarkable 40 hertz. One characteristic of horns is that they are very efficient and Klipschorn is no exception able to fill an auditorium with sound with only a few watts of amplifier power. This made it a great choice for theaters. Another thing about horns is that they can be designed to disperse their sound in a controlled manner making them ideal for sound reinforcement systems in large auditoriums and sports arenas because they can be installed in arrays to provide uniform coverage and the maximum possible gain before feedback to the microphone. Unfortunately they have other characteristics which limit their advantages for high fidelity loudspeakers. Horn midranges and tweeters tend to have poorer dispersion than cones and domes and are therefore considered less desirable. Another characteristic of many but not all horn midrange and tweeters is their tendencey to not have a smooth frequency response. But there are exceptions to this rule and they should not be automatically counted out. There are designs which will use a mix of horn drivers for say the woofer and cones and domes for the midrange and tweeter. Because electrical power in power amplifiers is relatively cheap today, the decision of which speaker to buy should be made based on the sound that comes out of it, the practicality of installing and using it, and your budget, not its design philosophy. It is the single most important choice to make when building a sound system. Take your time and listen carefully before you decide.
rb902
07-28-2004, 08:04 AM
A horn is a device for coupling a driver (which is an assembly which consists of the magnet, voice coil, and vibrating member) into a room. Any speaker can be "horn loaded" but most used for home high fidelity are not. The narrow end of the horn is placed directly in front of the vibrating member and the wide end (where the sound comes out) is further away. Because they are typically flared, they look like horns and so are called horns. Engineers found out that the ideal shape for the flare follows a mathematical curve called an exponential shape hence the term exponential horn. In the 1940s Paul Klipsch invented a way to fold the horn shape back and forth on itself so that it could perform this function in a relatively compact enclosure. Not only that but he designed it to fit into a corner of a room so that the walls of the room became an extension of the horn further improving its performance. So his invention the Klipschorn is a corner folded exponential horn speaker and for its time, it extended bass down to a remarkable 40 hertz. One characteristic of horns is that they are very efficient and Klipschorn is no exception able to fill an auditorium with sound with only a few watts of amplifier power. This made it a great choice for theaters. Another thing about horns is that they can be designed to disperse their sound in a controlled manner making them ideal for sound reinforcement systems in large auditoriums and sports arenas because they can be installed in arrays to provide uniform coverage and the maximum possible gain before feedback to the microphone. Unfortunately they have other characteristics which limit their advantages for high fidelity loudspeakers. Horn midranges and tweeters tend to have poorer dispersion than cones and domes and are therefore considered less desirable. Another characteristic of many but not all horn midrange and tweeters is their tendencey to not have a smooth frequency response. But there are exceptions to this rule and they should not be automatically counted out. There are designs which will use a mix of horn drivers for say the woofer and cones and domes for the midrange and tweeter. Because electrical power in power amplifiers is relatively cheap today, the decision of which speaker to buy should be made based on the sound that comes out of it, the practicality of installing and using it, and your budget, not its design philosophy. It is the single most important choice to make when building a sound system. Take your time and listen carefully before you decide.
thanks dude but i cant listen to them. i heard them a while back and now where i am they only come on order so i have to decide between klipsch rf 35 series or b&w 603 series
Post your questions here http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/HUG/bbs.html - or on the speaker asylum.
If it's between the two and ONLY those two it's going to have to be your decision. Both are built well - both sound reasonably good for the money - there are good and bad examples of horns even within Klipsh. It is untrue that all horns are bright or in your face - my Wharfedales use a Fostex or OEM derivitve Ring Horn driver that sounds absolutely nothing like the Klipsh models I directly compared them against - and while the tweeter extends to 23kz there is no hint of shrillness - believe me people on this forum are well aware of home much I detest treble shrillness - I can put up with mostother faults but treble shrillness simply rules out the spekaer instantneously for me no matter how expensive. Klipsh can be forward and a bit sloppy depending on models - but certain attributes are big pluses. Dynamic impact bass depth a cleanness to the sound - Horns have incredibly low distortion compared to most higher sensitivity - can play louder on lower watts - and can generally play louder overall - good IMO for home theater or Rock music - clubs use them because of these advantages.
Reall it is the sound you get used to more than the speaker itself. If you like horns you will notice that other speakers simply won't sound right or fast or expressive - the other way around and horns might sound coloured. Both the 603 and the Klipsh have made certain compromises - it sounds like you liked them both - whether you will like one long term over the other I can't say.
These Klipshes are not true horn speakers - they are metal tweeters with a horn loaded configuration - Tractrix I think.
There are subtle variations - Audio Note's wave Launch support is a horn transmision line type of deal - their AZ two is a quasi horn transmission line speaker - You are not going to mistake it for sounding like a Klipsh http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/m.mpl?forum=speakers&n=104997&highlight=Klipsch+Horn+advantage&r=&session=
Lot's of threads here about horns.
Some discuss the measurements which are often very good - Klipsh has been selling well now for over 60 years with good reason - no not everyone will like their sound - but enough have over the years - are the most techniclaly accurate maybe not - but they have more dynamics and ballsy sounding grunt that the much of the constipated alternatives passing as high fidelity loudspeakers. I'll take fun and enjoyable over restrained and banal sound anyday - just so long as the treble isn't annoying.
http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/search.mpl?searchtext=Klipsch+Horn+&b=AND&topic=&topics_only=N&author=&date1=&date2=&slowmessage=&sort=score&sortOrder=DESC&forum=speakers
Woochifer
07-28-2004, 02:21 PM
The main advantage that a horn driver offers is their unmatched efficiency. That's why they are so common with concert rigs and movie theater systems. They can go very loud with minimal power. This is also why they are popular with people who own low powered tube amps. The main disadvantages of horn drivers are that they generally have uneven tonal characteristics and their dispersion pattern is somewhat narrow, which means that they will image well only within a narrow seating window and can standout as point sources if you don't have the space to position them correctly.
If you're comparing the RF35 with the DM603, you're talking about a fairly clear cut difference in how they sound. In general, the RF series will give you a punchier and more aggressive sound than the B&Ws. Klipsch voices the RF series to have a bit more kick than most other speakers, but that series is more refined and reigned in than some of their other models. A lot of people like the basic sound, and you won't have to worry about finding an amp powerful enough to drive those things because of their efficiency. One thing I would listen very carefully for with the RF series is the cabinet resonance. I'm not sure if the newer RF models have made any changes, but the previous RF series models did not have very well braced cabinets and when they hit certain notes, the cabinet would audibly resonate. With the newer Klipsch Reference series models, I've only listened to the bookshelf models and in general those speakers aren't as problematic in that area.
In general, Klipsch is one of those love it or hate it speakers. B&W's a bit more user friendly and nonoffensive, but people leaning more towards the Klipsch sound might view them as bland. Best thing to do is give them a listen and go with the one that best meets your preferences.
Debbi
07-28-2004, 02:58 PM
Horns made a comeback after the birth of the CD....prior to that, the main listening sources were fm with white noise, the tape with hiss and the LP record with pops and ticks where horns ruthlessly revealed undesireable high frequency sounds.With this noise removed in the digital age, horns made a comeback since clean highs were more desireable. There were other imaging problems with true horms. Having said that, the present Klipsch have vestigial horns which are not a whole lot different than the other mainstream speakers on the market, with small drivers indented less than 2"...I own some and like them so I am biased....If I leaned toward HT use, I would recommend them, especially since they can be had for 40% off....If I leaned toward music, I might look elsewhere..or better yet, one 5 channel Klipsch system for HT and a separate 2 channel system for music only...
pelly3s
07-30-2004, 11:33 PM
horns can be your best friend and your worst enemy. not all horns are in your face and bright. they are extremely effiecient though and require little power to get going. the throw isn't always narrow, for example the JBL 2344 is a 100x100 which is a very wide throw. it's all a matter of preference. i personal am a fan of horns used properly. everything from horn loaded subs to ring radiators and crystal slots. if you wanna hear what a horn can do get yourself a pair of JBL 4430's and biamp them.
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