With the different designs you have had and promote, I am curious how the 4430's fell within the group.

Ron

(Current owner of your old 4430's)

This is the Altec-Lansing A7 more effectionately know as the "Voice of the Theater". It was a 15" woofer and a 1" compression driver, as is the 4430's and the Summa.

The 4430's were an improvement in that the horn was axi-symetric and Constant directivity, the A7 was not. The 4430's had a better crossover.

The Summa's are an improvement in that the waveguide is not a diffraction device - the 4430's are - and it has a foam refractive plug for even lower diffraction in the waveguide. It has a low diffraction enclosure which is also more solid than either the A7 (which were pretty flexible) or the 4430 (better than the A7. Finally the Summas have a better crossover optimized for polar response not axial response.

So each of these speakers has the same basic design, but each of them uses more up to date technology and theory to achieve a better performance. If you liked A7's or 4430's you'd love Summas.

PS. I have Spkrmn57's old A7s, which I love (the speaker, not Ron.) Maybe I can talk him out of the 4430s when he gets the Summas .

I like the newer offerings from companies like B&C. Extremely good quality at very reasonable prices. And I prefer composit plastics to wood. Why go anywhere else?

I use (Bruce) Edgar wood horns with Altec 902's for most of mine though.

By the way, Colin is using stock N-501 8A crossovers which could be improved on.

Regards, Ron

I much prefer a radial horn, maybe one of the other horn variants in your book would satisfy. Seems like I recall you mentioned a geometry that provides a rectangular pattern but that still provides some of the other benefits that you have worked towards in respect to reduction of high order modes and diffraction.

The rooms in homes are rectangular, and the desired pattern is wider than it is tall. We don't want the sound bouncing off the floors and ceiling, energy there is a waste. The coverage required in a prosound environment is almost always wide, whether inside small indoors venues or large outdoor events. If axisymmetric horns are used, they are best splayed so that they form what is essentially a multicell horn. So since we're working with a rectangular coverage pattern, I prefer a horn with a rectangular aspect ratio.

Find me a woofer with an asymetrical polar pattern and I'll agree with you. To me MATCHING directivity, DI, power response through the crossover is more important having a narrower vertical directivity.