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Calling all horn-heads

asilker

asilker

Super Member
I've got a steady stream of cabs and woofers coming through me these days so I'm thinking of giving an econo waveguide design a try. I've still not owned something with horns. I have owned ribbons, domes, paper tweeters. But no horns.

That being said, I feel a bit overwhelmed when viewing the different designs for horns. I see circular ones, econo style ones, square shapes, old school Altec ones, Western electric style, the list goes on. Can anyone give me a bit of a primer as to which horn will sound like what? Is there any indication or rule, or is it really as diverse as "each sounds completely different"?

EDIT: Perhaps I should say "waveguides" instead of "horns". I mean compression driver guides, NOT back loaded fostex horns and the like.
 
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Each sounds different but I think most sound good when properly used. Much depends on the dispersion pattern, two horns of the same type, radial horns say, but with different patterns will sound different.
 
I'd stick with the ones the guys used in the EconoWave. The crossover was designed so the dispersion pattern of the woofer and horn were the same at the crossover frequency, so to use the EconoWave design crossover, you need a compatible horn design. The JBL PT-F95HF for 1.5" drivers or the Pyle 1" copies were the ones IIRC, and I think Wayne @ Pi speakers made a compatible waveguide H290C to use in his 3 Pi product.

If you're talking about just designing a "horn" system, then there are a mind boggling selection of different horns/waveguides.
 
Jeffery said:
I'd stick with the ones the guys used in the EconoWave. The crossover was designed so the dispersion pattern of the woofer and horn were the same at the crossover frequency, so to use the EconoWave design crossover, you need a compatible horn design. The JBL PT-F95HF for 1.5" drivers or the Pyle 1" copies were the ones IIRC, and I think Wayne @ Pi speakers made a compatible waveguide H290C to use in his 3 Pi product.

If you're talking about just designing a "horn" system, then there are a mind boggling selection of different horns/waveguides.
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Got it. Ok well if the project is all designed with the same parts integrated then that makes my (possible) build a lot easier. Thanks for clarifying!

I'm still interested on hearing different opinions and experiences, especially if we can compile some sort of guide to the world of horns. I know that's an ambitious idea, but sometimes on these forums, horns seem like a bit of an exclusive group.
 
My impression is that as a general rule, the modern, computer-designed horns have a much more even dispersion pattern, and perhaps lower distortion, than the older, trial-and-error designs. Within the modern ones, you can find different patterns to suit your preferences. Beyond that, you can get a lot more technical than I care to try to wrap my brain around.
 
Over many years of both DIY and turnkey horn action I used radial horns, multi cell horns, diffraction horns, straight exponential horns, tractrix horns, CD horns, horns with lenses--wood, aluminum, fiberglass, plastic, molded resin, tar filled sheet metal--Altec, JBL, Klipsch, Edgar, EV, McCauley, Bertinelli, PAudio, Emilar, home made-- and in the end (I'm no longer a horny) I was back with old fashioned Altec 511s and 811s and Emilar bow ties. Oh, yeah, and a set of JBLs with CD horns.

My preferences, not a statement of objective superiority.
 
I'm no expert but my understanding is a 2 inch throat on a compression driver is superior to the 1 inch....
 
The ewave concept is nice in that allows you to experiment without a big investment in equipment or equipment space. However, if starting from scratch, I would suggest looking at something like the miniDSP 2x4 if you really want to experiment with different drivers, waveguides, and woofers. Or you can skip the experimental part and build a proven/documented design..

Good luck!
 
Jeffery said:
Yeah, but they cost more, so they fell out of favor in the "econo" part of the equation.
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Very few, if any can cover the high end adequately for most hifi listener's demands. That alone pushes the cost for many designs over the top as they by necessity require more extensive crossover engineering and a 3rd speaker component(tweeter) to allow the system to be truly full range.

asilker said:
What's superior?
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With a well engineered driver like a JBL 375/2440(for example), EVERYTHING, from ~500hz to ~10khz.
 
IF I were you, I'd try and hear as many types as you can. It's the only way to really find out what you like....
 
If I do go through with some kind of horn build, it will probably be with Eminence Beta 12" woofers in an empty old Bic Venturi Forumula Six cab, as it's already cut for a 12" woofer. This project will likely pick up after the holidays and when I have a little bit more stereo money. I do think I have a line on some 2" compression drivers, though... Maybe that should be the way to go
 
Horns don't need to be confined to the upper end range.. Woofers like horns too... :D

experience1.jpg
 
bowtie427ss said:
Very few, if any can cover the high end adequately for most hifi listener's demands. That alone pushes the cost for many designs over the top as they by necessity require more extensive crossover engineering and a 3rd speaker component(tweeter) to allow the system to be truly full range.

With a well engineered driver like a JBL 375/2440(for example), EVERYTHING, from ~500hz to ~10khz.
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The driver (D2430K) used in the JBL M2 can cover 800Hz to 40k (not that you would hear much above 16k). Of course it is a revolutionary design and not exactly econo (~$300 + waveguide).
 
donprice said:
The driver (D2430K) used in the JBL M2 can cover 800Hz to 40k (not that you would hear much above 16k). Of course it is a revolutionary design and not exactly econo (~$300 + waveguide).
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My wife would kill me!!

Love the pillows. Reminds me of playing blues in bands. We often took off the from face of the bass drum and dropped a pillow, leaving it open. Much different feeling :)
 
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