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I would not be surprised to learn that the impression of depth from multi-cells is the result of their creating a bit of what has been referred to on this site as the x-factor; a sort of cross-feed/expander effect (see discussion of Lamm preamps and x-factor). In one case we are talking about an electronic amplifier, in the other a physical amplifier. While it may be useful to describe the effect in similar terms, the means by which it is achieved in each case are obviously different.
 
So how might these horns be producing x-factor?
 
My hypothesis:
 
Multi-cell horns take what comes out of the driver and slice it into parts; in this case into 18 parts; each cell then processes a different part of the total; parts taken near the center of the throat are not the same as those taken near the periphery (especially given a throat of rectangular-section). Each part is processed in isolation; meaning in the absence of the total sum, which must be very different from allowing development in the presence of the total. The result is that the 18 parts exit the horn each having different "identities". This might be analogous to quintuplets (18-tuplets?) separated at birth, sent off to different boarding schools, then reunited. Or to a schizophrenic looking out the window. Or to a melting-pot culture as opposed to a society of clones.

Upon exit, the product of each cell, which lack different parts of the total, collides with or overlaps that of neighboring cells, resulting in a sort of fusion that does not occur with single-cell horns. The "offspring" that is the product of this fusion might be "healthy" and interesting.
 
If any of what I'm hypothesizing is valid, a multi-cell, round-section horn having its partitions evenly spaced and radiating from the center, would not produce the effect of depth, as this would result in a "society of clones"; the resulting "offspring" would be analogous to the product of inbreeding. Varying the spacing of the partitions and adding a second tier (a flare within the flare) should result in healthy offspring; the impression of depth.

If a multi-cell horn is analogous to a melting-pot society, a correctly implemented, single-cell horn might be analogous to the complete, right-living man of exceptional integrity (something even more rare than correctly implemented horns). A single, correctly implemented horn will not offer the x-factor of a multi-cell, but an audio system consisting of correctly implemented, single-cell horns should result in its own kind of x-factor.

jd*

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