I'm affiliated with π Speakers, but I'm still curious.

zeno

I haven't finished the designs, and basically just have the requirements and some simulations done. My goals make it a little more challenging because I want to be able to use more than one driver, and the ones I'm hoping to use have fairly dissimilar specs. I also have some space constraints to deal with, mostly for aesthetics but also for dispersion sake. And I'm really, really busy right now, so I don't expect to have anything available until sometime in the first quarter of 2004.

But generally, a nice horn can be made having fairly simple straight sides and it is easy to model accurately so you can expect performance to be as predicted by the model. Check out Adrian's horn on the π Speakers forum. This kind of horn is very common in prosound use, and when used with a high-quality driver, they sound very, very good through the vocal range. Definitely "Hi-Fi."

One thing about a horn like this is that it covers the vocal fundamentals up through the overtone region, where the tweeter kicks in. You just can't get a modern 1" or 2" compresion driver down to the bottom of the vocal range like you can a horn like this. I'd rather push 'em up too high than down too low.

As an aside, some say that in high-fidelity applications, pushing a subsystem down below it's limits is "OK." But to me, especially in high-fidelity applications, it isn't. Like I said, I'd rather push 'em up high than down low. Adding a horn like this reduces the need to push a tweeter crossover down or a midwoofer crossover up. The system is made more complex, and a crossover point is added. But bandwidth per subsystem is reduced, with the corresponding benefits afforded from doing so.

Wayne

As for full-rangers, I really like the Fostex units I've heard and can see why people would be enchanted by them. Some full-rangers sound like clock radios to me, but Fostex speakers don't. They really sound quite good.

A brief intro on my choice of speakers - Klipsch heresy all around HT/music room, Heresy in office, 2PI in music/TV downstairs.

I used a couple of Fostex 168 sigma as mid woofers in my center channel upstairs (coupled with a Heresy Tweeter and Mid horn) that I made a couple of years ago. They are very nice, even when managed less than FR - the box is tuned to 50hz and these little jewels work very well from about 70hz (the bass is managed to the sub at 80hz) to the xover managed top end around 700 - 800hz. I couldn't be more pleased with the overall match of the center and two pairs of Heresy. The strength of the dialog and centering LFs are the Fostex - they are very pleasing. I would use them again (the 168 sigms T/S let it be a very good mid woof as well as backloaded horn)for something similar, and would be pleased to try other Fostex based on the way these continue to perform.

Good luck with the forum - I'll be watching often and every once and a while I'll be dispensing inarguable logic, invaluable wisdom and secret answers to the meaning of life. All this is done with false humility that is the result of an insufferably bloated ego. It is so much fun being me........