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Cornerhorns! [message #37435]

Mon, 22 July 2002 02:41

Wayne Parham
Messages: 18774
Registered: January 2001

Illuminati (33rd Degree)

Recent discussions about various horn shapes prompted me to revisit the tried-and-true π cornerhorn.

The flare of a π cornerhorn is literally the room's corner, itself. Eighth-space loading provides DI gain of 9dB over free space, a significant amount. Directivity is uniform down to as low frequency as the room will support, much lower than any horn alone could do. The forward axis crossing point is ahead of the listeners, improving stereo balance over a wide listening area. And the best part about this implementation is that it is so simple.

Response from this configuration is very smooth, and coverage is uniform. All sound is directed into the listening room, bounded by the walls extending from the apex of the corner. So the π cornerhorn is one of my favorite configurations. it is extremely simple and works very well.

π horn design philosophies

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Cornerhorns? hmmm [message #37438 is a reply to message #37435]

Mon, 22 July 2002 06:38

ToFo
Messages: 219
Registered: May 2009

Master

Now my theater 4's are facing into corners as a crude test. 5-6 inches from baffle to wall seems good. I just wanted to see if I liked it. Considering HF faces backwards, it sounds great. 1 small problem. The corners that would work best from the loading perspective are almost 20' apart(people from 10-15 feet away from that wall). Sound distribution is very even, and while entertaining I am not sure the great distance between speakers would be such a negative. I wonder how far apart is too far. This is a different kind of speaker and I have had a lot of so called "no no's" turn out ok. Thought I should ask questions instead of moving my rack or making 25' long speaker cables just to test it.

My only other option is with 11' between, (current position) but the HF horns will be aimed pretty far away from where anyone would ever be. In this case could I build asymetric 7 Pi's? They could face more into the room by an additional 10 or 15 degrees. would this mess up the lower midrange distribution from the rear?

Experiences, or thoughts anyone? Bear in mind my Theater 4's would be in an even better setup in another room for private listening.

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Re: Cornerhorns! [message #37440 is a reply to message #37435]

Mon, 22 July 2002 11:40

Anonymous

I like hatchback cars for audio, a "Free" horn too! hehe
Basshorns are sweet, most people want cute enclosures so it looks
nice when the guests visit while they drink the wine and chit chat
about the weather - haha.........

Ok, now for some serious talk. Any thoughts on a design for
a sofa - woofer ? Always wanted to make one. A good way to hide
your 15" or 18" woofers - the sofa! heh. Feel the bass!

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Acoustics and aesthetics [message #37441 is a reply to message #37438]

Mon, 22 July 2002 13:09

Wayne Parham
Messages: 18774
Registered: January 2001

Illuminati (33rd Degree)

My experience with typical homes - framed drywall construction, concrete slab and eight foot ceilings - Rooms from a few hundred square feet to around 1500 square feet having length/width ratio's between 1.5 and 1.7 to 1.0 work best. It's usually preferable acoustically to put the speakers across the short wall. This crosses the forward axis in the front half of the room, which usually provides the best imaging. See the post called "Making speakers disappear", for more discussion about that.

However, just like you, I've had a great deal of experience with placements other than that. Some put them across a long wall, some diagonally. Some are asymmetrical, and in oddly-shaped rooms. Often there are obstructions or disruptions, changes in wall construction or windows. As you might expect, some things are more objectionable than others.

So my best suggestion to you is to keep doing what you're doing. Get a spool of large guage stranded wire and go ahead and try them in each position and see what you like best. This is as important for aesthetics as it is acoustics, and so setting everything up and "living with it" for a few hours or days will help you decide. Probably the most pleasant placement will be self evident.

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Re: Cornerhorns! [message #37443 is a reply to message #37440]

Mon, 22 July 2002 16:31

Chris R.
Messages: 82
Registered: May 2009

Viscount

RE: Ok, now for some serious talk. Any thoughts on a design for
a sofa - woofer ? Always wanted to make one. A good way to hide
your 15" or 18" woofers - the sofa! heh. Feel the bass!

Not a sofa, but I'm seriously considering a coffee table sub.
I have this one 15" Eminence woofer that calculates out to a
10cu ft box with PiAlign, it it generates fairly small boxes!
I can't remember what BoxPlot wants it to be, maybe 20-25 cu ft?

Chris

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